TY - JOUR
T1 - Scientific foundations for an IUCN red list of ecosystems
AU - Keith, David A.
AU - Rodríguez, Jon Paul
AU - Rodríguez-Clark, Kathryn M.
AU - Nicholson, Emily
AU - Aapala, Kaisu
AU - Alonso, Alfonso
AU - Asmussen, Marianne
AU - Bachman, Steven
AU - Basset, Alberto
AU - Barrow, Edmund G.
AU - Benson, John S.
AU - Bishop, Melanie J.
AU - Bonifacio, Ronald
AU - Brooks, Thomas M.
AU - Burgman, Mark A.
AU - Comer, Patrick
AU - Comín, Francisco A.
AU - Essl, Franz
AU - Faber-Langendoen, Don
AU - Fairweather, Peter G.
AU - Holdaway, Robert J.
AU - Jennings, Michael
AU - Kingsford, Richard T.
AU - Lester, Rebecca E.
AU - Nally, Ralph Mac
AU - McCarthy, Michael A.
AU - Moat, Justin
AU - Oliveira-Miranda, María A.
AU - Pisanu, Phil
AU - Poulin, Brigitte
AU - Regan, Tracey J.
AU - Riecken, Uwe
AU - Spalding, Mark D.
AU - Zambrano-Martínez, Sergio
N1 - Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.
PY - 2013/5/10
Y1 - 2013/5/10
N2 - An understanding of risks to biodiversity is needed for planning action to slow current rates of decline and secure ecosystem services for future human use. Although the IUCN Red List criteria provide an effective assessment protocol for species, a standard global assessment of risks to higher levels of biodiversity is currently limited. In 2008, IUCN initiated development of risk assessment criteria to support a global Red List of ecosystems. We present a new conceptual model for ecosystem risk assessment founded on a synthesis of relevant ecological theories. To support the model, we review key elements of ecosystem definition and introduce the concept of ecosystem collapse, an analogue of species extinction. The model identifies four distributional and functional symptoms of ecosystem risk as a basis for assessment criteria: A) rates of decline in ecosystem distribution; B) restricted distributions with continuing declines or threats; C) rates of environmental (abiotic) degradation; and D) rates of disruption to biotic processes. A fifth criterion, E) quantitative estimates of the risk of ecosystem collapse, enables integrated assessment of multiple processes and provides a conceptual anchor for the other criteria. We present the theoretical rationale for the construction and interpretation of each criterion. The assessment protocol and threat categories mirror those of the IUCN Red List of species. A trial of the protocol on terrestrial, subterranean, freshwater and marine ecosystems from around the world shows that its concepts are workable and its outcomes are robust, that required data are available, and that results are consistent with assessments carried out by local experts and authorities. The new protocol provides a consistent, practical and theoretically grounded framework for establishing a systematic Red List of the world's ecosystems. This will complement the Red List of species and strengthen global capacity to report on and monitor the status of biodiversity.
AB - An understanding of risks to biodiversity is needed for planning action to slow current rates of decline and secure ecosystem services for future human use. Although the IUCN Red List criteria provide an effective assessment protocol for species, a standard global assessment of risks to higher levels of biodiversity is currently limited. In 2008, IUCN initiated development of risk assessment criteria to support a global Red List of ecosystems. We present a new conceptual model for ecosystem risk assessment founded on a synthesis of relevant ecological theories. To support the model, we review key elements of ecosystem definition and introduce the concept of ecosystem collapse, an analogue of species extinction. The model identifies four distributional and functional symptoms of ecosystem risk as a basis for assessment criteria: A) rates of decline in ecosystem distribution; B) restricted distributions with continuing declines or threats; C) rates of environmental (abiotic) degradation; and D) rates of disruption to biotic processes. A fifth criterion, E) quantitative estimates of the risk of ecosystem collapse, enables integrated assessment of multiple processes and provides a conceptual anchor for the other criteria. We present the theoretical rationale for the construction and interpretation of each criterion. The assessment protocol and threat categories mirror those of the IUCN Red List of species. A trial of the protocol on terrestrial, subterranean, freshwater and marine ecosystems from around the world shows that its concepts are workable and its outcomes are robust, that required data are available, and that results are consistent with assessments carried out by local experts and authorities. The new protocol provides a consistent, practical and theoretically grounded framework for establishing a systematic Red List of the world's ecosystems. This will complement the Red List of species and strengthen global capacity to report on and monitor the status of biodiversity.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84877264727&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0062111
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0062111
M3 - Article
C2 - 23667454
AN - SCOPUS:84877264727
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 8
SP - 1
EP - 25
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
IS - 5
M1 - e62111
ER -