Biodiversity and Conservation - Science topic

What are your thoughts on the use of artificial intelligence in advancing sustainability technologies for biodiversity conservation, energy management, transportation, and water resource management?

Dear colleagues,

Biological invasions, predominantly stemming from human activities and interference with nature, have emerged as a global burden, significantly impacting both ecosystems and economies. Mitigating the effects of non-native species is a complex issue and the eradication of established non-native species is typically impossible. The prevention of new introductions is therefore generally considered to be the most effective and efficient option and partly relies on public awareness. To this end, the education of stakeholders and the general public can be very helpful, with elementary school pupils being an especially crucial target group. Greater levels of education could help foster a more informed future generation around sustainability agendas and invasive species particularly.

Here, we ask you to cooperate with us in an international effort that aims to elucidate the relationship between the volume of economic losses caused by non-native species in various countries and the educational effect, namely the number of lessons focusing on biological invasions at elementary/primary/secondary schools (depends on the local rules and school system; pupils aged ca. 6 to 16 years). The below questionnaire is fully anonymous and should adhere to privacy policies. We thank you very much for your time and effort. Your help will be much appreciated!

link (English): https://forms.gle/TMMD2KL7cEGkTCi7A

If you will need other translations, let me know.

Thanks in advance!

Sincerely,

Jiří Patoka, Ph.D.

Leader of the international team

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic

Correspondence: patoka@af.czu.cz

I need PDF books or articles that were written on biodiversity conservation?

In Spain, in mid-December, wintertime temps on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean coasts were recorded at around 30 degrees C, or temperatures that were once considered typically summer in Europe for many years are now occurring in winter. But this is just one of the last recorded numerous occurrences of record-high, historically highest levels of the planet's atmospheric temperature in 2023. Never before have such high, record-breaking atmospheric temperatures been recorded so often and in so many parts of the world during the summer heat and beyond.

That the companies and enterprises of the combustion, dirty energy sector, lobbyists and others acting on their behalf, for the interests, business of the companies and enterprises of the combustion energy sector is a matter of course. The driving force behind the development of business operating in the dirty combustion energy sector is dominated by selfishness, greed and lack of looking to the future, ignoring the future of the climate, the biosphere, the biodiversity of the planet's natural ecosystems and the future of future generations of people. Greed and selfishness, lack of social, climate and environmental responsibility, including ignoring the issue of responsibility for the future of the next generations of people, dominate. As early as the 1970s, some leading oil companies commissioned and financed scientific studies, or should we say pseudo-scientific studies with a predetermined informal result of these pseudo-studies on climate change and the role of human activity in these changes with a predetermined confirmation of the thesis that it is not the burning of fossil fuels that is responsible for the progressive warming of the climate. Through these actions, humanity has lost half a century of time. If a few decades ago the companies of the fossil fuel extraction and energy sector had not covered up the actual results of the studies carried out, if they had not swept the problem of global warming under the rug, if they had not financed fictitious studies that had the predetermined goal of questioning the role of fossil fuel combustion as the main factor generating the process of global warming, then the process of green transformation of the economy, including the green transformation of the energy sector, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, counteracting and reducing the scale of the greenhouse effect could have been started half a century earlier. Half a century of time is precisely the time that will be sorely lacking in the 21st century, because the process of global warming is accelerating and what has been done so far in terms of the green transformation of the economy, including the green transformation of the energy sector is still far from sufficient. For wasting half a century of time on this issue, humanity owes it to the deliberately unethical, anti-social, anti-climate and anti-environmental activities of companies and enterprises operating in the fossil fuel extraction, processing and combustion sector. It is these companies and enterprises that bear the main responsibility for the lost time of the mid-century. Time that is now in short supply. Time that may be missing to prevent the critical level of the amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gases emitted into the planet's atmosphere from occurring in a few years or so, after which the process of global warming will further accelerate and enter a path of irreversible process which may then inevitably lead to the occurrence of a global climate catastrophe already in the second half of the 21st century. The result of this catastrophe will be a much greater degradation of the climate, biosphere and biodiversity of the planet's natural ecosystems to a much greater extent than has occurred to date. This will lead to most land areas experiencing permanent heat, droughts, forest fires, tornadoes, violent storms. The climate and nature will be destroyed to such an extent that there will be no living conditions for humans in most land areas of the planet. For all this, the full responsibility lies mainly with the companies and enterprises that continue to extract, process and burn fossil fuels and have knowingly for at least half a century, since the 1970s or even before, knowingly misled the public by claiming that humans are not responsible for global warming despite the fact that they themselves knew that this was not true, that it is their activities that are generating high greenhouse gas emissions to a key degree, which results in the planet's greenhouse effect and the global warming process proceeding ever faster.

Unfortunately, it is still the case that not only in the business community, but also in the political and scientific community, there are still a few representatives of the position of questioning the results of many scientific studies confirming the thesis that it is the man-built combustion economy that is the main source of the accelerating process of global warming and the growing risk of a global climate and environmental catastrophe in the perspective of the next few decades. In fact, this is an obvious point, and the question should be: Why is this still being questioned?

In view of the above, 2023 was the warmest year in 130,000 years. It was another year in a row with historically high temperatures of the planet's atmosphere recorded in various parts of the world during the summer and non-summer recurrent seasons. Researchers and scientists operating in various parts of the world, on the basis of their research work, conclude that it is the civilizational activity of humans within the framework of the development of the combustion emission economy that is the source of climate change, the working greenhouse effect, the accelerating process of global warming and the ever-increasing risk of a global climate catastrophe in the current 21st century. In 2023-2024, the cyclical El Ninio effect is also an additional factor in the increase in the average temperature of the planet's atmosphere. If you disagree with the above thesis, with which about 99 percent of researchers and scientists around the world agree, then give your scientific arguments.

A lot of data on the planet's climate, including the results of studies of long-term climate change indicate that the current year 2024 will also be another year of record high temperatures of the planet's atmosphere and the scale of weather anomalies and climate disasters may increase again.

I am conducting research on this issue. I have described the key aspects of the above issue in the article: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY DEVELOPMENT AS A KEY ELEMENT OF THE PRO-ECOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE ECONOMY TOWARDS GREEN ECONOMY AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY

I invite you to scientific cooperation in this problematic,

In view of the above, I address the following question to the esteemed community of scientists and researchers:

What do you think about this topic?

What is your opinion on this issue?

Please answer,

I invite everyone to join the discussion,

Thank you very much,

Best wishes,

Dariusz Prokopowicz

To consider the question of the role of so-called "carbon credits" in the context of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, one would have to assume that such a system actually reliably works. However, from what is reported by independent journalists, environmentalists, people who care about protecting the climate, biosphere and biodiversity of the planet's natural ecosystems, including the forests of the Amazon, even those declared patches of natural Amazon Rainforest taken for protection under the so-called carbon credits are nevertheless often cut down.

Perhaps something will finally begin to change, to improve, in terms of protecting the climate, biosphere and biodiversity of the natural ecosystems of the Amazon Rainforest in connection with the first Amazon Forest Conservation Summit in 14 years, currently being held in Belém, Brazil. Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell by 60 percent in July compared to the same month last year. The announcement of the positive trend coincides with the start of a summit in Belém of the 8 countries whose territories include the Amazon forest. This summit is attended by representatives of the governments of the 8 countries whose territory includes the natural Amazon Forest. Perhaps plans and commitments will be made to realistically protect this largest terrestrial reservoir of natural biodiversity and natural forests characterized by a particularly high contribution to absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere and producing oxygen. It may also be that the processes of increasing the scale of protection of these forests and reducing their still large-scale logging will be accelerated so that by 2030 at the latest, the deforestation of these forests will be completely ended. This is a particularly important issue because more than 20 percent of the Amazon rainforest has already disappeared due to human activity.

In view of the above, I address the following question to the esteemed community of scientists and researchers:

What do you think about this topic?

What is your opinion on this issue?

Please answer,

I invite everyone to join the discussion,

Thank you very much,

Best regards,

Dariusz Prokopowicz

📣Calling all experts in sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and open education resources!

We're seeking insightful chapters for our upcoming book, "Sustainable Management of Natural Resources: Energy-Smart Farming." to be published by Apple Academic Press under the editorial role of Pedro Aguilar-Zarate, A. K. HAGHI, PhD, Dr. Sachin Gupta and Dr Pushan Kumar Dutta. This comprehensive guide aims to equip farmers, agricultural professionals, and students with the knowledge needed to adopt green practices, harness renewable energy, and enhance profitability in farming.

We're particularly interested in topics such as:

- The effectiveness of Open Educational Resources (OER)

- Sustainable agriculture practices

- Sustainable energy solutions for small-scale farmers

- Development of solar-powered irrigation systems

- Impact of climate change on agriculture

- Agroforestry as a solution to deforestation

- The role of micro-organisms in biodiversity conservation

...subthemes including Impact on Farmers and #AgriculturalProfessionals, Sustainable #EnergySolutions for #SmallScaleFarmers, Development of #SolarPoweredIrrigation Systems: Testing #BiogasDigesters, Impact of Sustainable Agriculture Practices, Effects on #SoilHealth and Biodiversity: Promotion Among Farmers, Role of #LocalFoodSystems in Sustainable Agriculture, Reduction of #GreenhouseGas Emissions, Potential of Agroforestry System: Promotion of Sustainable Agriculture, #CarbonSequestration and #BiodiversityConservation, Innovative Approaches to #SustainablePestManagement, Exploration of #PrecisionAgricultureTechnologies, Promotion of Sustainable Agriculture Practices: Reduction of Resource Use, Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture, Promotion of #ClimateResilience Among Farmers: Sustainable Agriculture, Practices for Urban Agriculture System, Development and Testing for #RooftopandCommunity Gardens, #FarmProfitability and the Business Model of Sustainable Agriculture, Assessing the Impact of Sustainable Practices: Promotion Strategies, #Agroforestry as a Solution to Deforestation, #DualProduction and #LivestockGrazing Benefits, Opportunities for Farmers in Temperate Systems, Agroforestry as a Sustainable #LandUseSystem, Addressing Production Needs and Providing Environmental Benefits, The Role of #MicroOrganisms in Agroforestry and Biodiversity Conservation, Agroforestry Systems in Biodiversity Conservation: Assessing Their effectiveness Across #LandscapeContexts and #LandUse Histories, Assessing the Role of Local and Landscape Scale Management in Agroforestry Systems and Biodiversity Conservation, Unveiling the Connection Between Agroforestry, #AgriculturalProductivity, and #HumanWellBeing

📅 Abstract Submission Deadline: 15th Dec, 2023

📅 Full Chapter Submission Deadline: 10th March, 2024

For more details, please email us at greenenergies2024@gmail.com

#sustainablefarming #renewableenergy #openeducationresources #callforchapters #agriculture #sustainability

The venomous Australian bird spider lives in cities in Australia and is also dangerous to humans. The venom of the Australian bird spider kills a variety of insects that feed in grasslands and agricultural fields but apart from bees. Therefore, research work is underway to create a natural, organic insecticide based on the venom of the Australian bird spider, which could be used in agricultural fields instead of chemical pesticides, which poison the environment and also kill bees. This is an excellent example of how, in an evolutionary process lasting millions of years, nature has created unique organic compounds that can solve many problems for the development of human civilisation. There are undoubtedly many species of flora, fauna, fungi and micro-organisms that are not yet fully known, which could be used in medicine and pharmacy based on natural organic compounds, in the development of herbal medicine, in the development of sustainable organic farming that does not use chemical pesticides and fertilisers, in the protection of trees in forests against pests as part of sustainable forest management, in the restoration of natural ecosystems in areas degraded by civilisation, in counteracting the progressive sterilisation of soils, etc. Such scientific discoveries, which could and probably will be realised in the future, will also be particularly helpful in the modern ecological and intelligent shaping of restored natural highly biodiverse ecosystems. Such scientific discoveries, which could and probably still will be realised in the future, will also be particularly helpful in the modern, ecological and intelligent shaping of restored natural, highly biodiverse ecosystems, restored and rehabilitated, functioning in various geo-climatic environments, geological zones, climatic zones, etc., and carried out in accordance with the principles of sustainability, the achievement of sustainable development goals and the use of the achievements of modern sustainable biotechnology and genetics. Of course, the fields of application beyond sustainable organic agriculture of not yet fully discovered, studied and described unique natural ecosystems and species of flora, fauna and fungi, the unique organic compounds produced by individual species of the biosphere, their medicinal and other properties are numerous. Above all, in the field of herbal medicine and natural medicine, there are many possibilities for the applications of not yet fully discovered, studied and described unique natural ecosystems and species of flora, fauna and fungi for the treatment of various diseases, including many diseases currently considered incurable. Probably many such opportunities to learn about not yet fully discovered, researched and described unique natural ecosystems and species of flora, fauna and fungi, to learn about the unique organic compounds produced by individual species of the biosphere, their healing and other properties have already been irretrievably lost due to the human-induced extinction of many species of flora and fauna, i.e. the ongoing and human-induced 6th great extinction of many species of life forms in the context of the more than 3 billion years of development of life on planet Earth. It is therefore essential to increase the scale of nature conservation and bio-diversity of the planet's natural ecosystems and to stop the deforestation of forests.

In view of the above, I address the following question to the esteemed community of scientists and researchers:

What is your opinion on this topic?

What is your opinion on this subject?

Please respond,

I invite you all to discuss,

Thank you very much,

The above text is entirely my own work written by me based on my research.

In writing this text I did not use other sources or automatic text generation systems such as ChatGPT.

Copyright by Dariusz Prokopowicz

Best regards,

Dariusz Prokopowicz

Este é um convite para você preencher o formulário:Title: Participate in the Research on Backyard Agrobiodiversity in the Continental Amazon!

Introduction:

Dear

You are invited to participate in a scientific research on the agrobiodiversity of backyards/quintal in the Continental Amazon region. Your participation is essential for advancing knowledge about the diversity of cultivated species and their importance in biodiversity conservation and food security.

Research objectives:

Map the variety of species cultivated in backyards, manor houses and urban and rural family patios in the Continental Amazon; Investigate management and conservation practices for these species;

Understand the importance of backyards in the food and nutritional security of communities;

Identify the challenges and opportunities for the conservation of agrobiodiversity in the region.

How to participate:

Go to the survey form and fill in all the questions carefully. The estimated time to respond is 5 minutes. Link to reply https://forms.gle/n9fDZ4zryMivNnBd6

The information provided will be treated anonymously and confidentially, guaranteeing your privacy.

If you don't own a backyard, but know someone who does and wants to participate in the survey, feel free to share this invitation.

If you have any questions about the survey or need more information, please contact us at ctsanchez@uea.edu.br.

Benefits of participation:

Contribute to science and to the conservation of agrobiodiversity in the Continental Amazon;

Raise awareness of the importance of backyards in food and nutrition security;

Possibility of access to research results and related scientific publications.

Acknowledgment:

Thanks in advance for taking the time to participate in this survey. Your collaboration is essential to expand knowledge about agrobiodiversity in the Amazon region and contribute to the adoption of sustainable management and conservation practices.

Remember, your voice matters and your answers can make a difference!

Yours sincerely,

[Camilo T. Sanches/UEA/CESTB/AGROECOLOGY

Agrobiodiversidade de quintais/Solares/Patios familiares urbanos e rurais/rurales na Amazonia Continental

Agrobiodiversity of farms/Plots/Urban and rural/rural family backyards in the Continental Amazon.

As part of intensive, unsustainable, profit-maximising agriculture with no regard for the long-term negative effects on the biosphere and the planet's climate, large quantities of pesticides and other plant protection products are used, often to maximise crop yields, by farmers who do not take into account the negative effects of this practice, resulting in, among other things, the mass extinction of bees and other pollinating insects. Bees and other pollinating insects are being poisoned by the use of pesticides and other plant protection products, which are poured on to fields in excessive quantities and often also during the daytime during the hours when the sun is at its highest, i.e. when most pollinating insects are feeding on the plants. It looks as if the mass poisoning of pollinating insects is not being taken into account at all in the spreading of pesticides on agricultural fields, and therefore that, thanks to such practices, in a few years' time there may no longer be enough of these insects to pollinate flowers in agricultural fields and orchards. Paradoxically, globally, three quarters of arable land is used to produce arable crops, which do not directly produce food for humans, but feed for livestock, whose livestock production, which is also mainly carried out in an unsustainable, intensive, production model, consumes large quantities of water, which is also beginning to run out over increasingly large areas, and generates large amounts of methane released into the atmosphere, which is a powerful greenhouse gas, several times more potent than CO2. Another paradox is the systemic support of agricultural development through a system of non-refundable financial subsidies per hectare for all farms, including those that produce plant and animal crops in a model of intensive, unsustainable agriculture carried out under a profit-maximising formula without taking into account the long-term negative effects on the planet's biosphere and climate. This means that systemic support is generally supported as part of a short-sighted strategy, a strategy of planning the development of agriculture on a year-by-year basis or at most on a scale of a few years at most, taking into account the production cycles of specific types of plant or animal crops. As the system of non-refundable system subsidies for agricultural production does not generally take into account the type of agricultural model, i.e. it also supports intensive, unsustainable agriculture and livestock breeding with many negative effects on the planet's biosphere and climate, so requiring more work, inventiveness, innovative approaches, pro-climate and pro-environmental awareness, etc., sustainable organic farming is developing very slowly. Sustainable organic farming continues to develop slowly, and this despite the fact that this sustainable agricultural formula produces healthier, chemical-free crops, produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions, generates many times fewer negative impacts on the planet's biosphere and climate, and poisons pollinating insects with pesticides that are not used many times less. And yet, if this relationship of 3/4 of the acreage of arable land being used for animal feed and only 1/4 being used for direct human food production were reversed, many global problems would be solved and many positive effects would emerge. The problems that would be solved are hunger and malnutrition in many regions of the world. Positive impacts are in the conversion of livestock farms to crop farms: a reduction in water use and the scale of water scarcity; a large reduction in greenhouse gas emissions which is particularly important as globally livestock farms are responsible for more than 1/4 of greenhouse gas emissions according to various estimates; the possibility to reduce the scale of crop production intensity to avoid overproduction and thus the possibility to switch to a model of sustainable crop organic agriculture; an improvement in the quality of the crop produced under sustainable crop organic agriculture and thus the possibility to produce much healthier food for humans; a significant reduction in the use of, or total abandonment of, pesticides and other chemical plant protection products, thereby halting the mass extinction of bees and other pollinating insects; a reduction in the scale of application of artificial fertilisers, which from the fields also end up in surface, subcutaneous and groundwater, resulting in environmental pollution, pollution of lakes, rivers and, as a consequence, also resulting in water pollution of seas and oceans, contributing to a change in the chemical composition of the water of many natural aquatic ecosystems, a negative change in the composition of the species of flora and fauna in these aquatic ecosystems, a decrease in the level of biodiversity, etc.; and The following are just a few examples of the benefits of this type of farming: more possibilities to convert a productive farm into an agri-tourism farm based on sustainable organic farming; more possibilities to develop small-scale agriculture; more possibilities to use low-quality and depleted soils for afforestation; more possibilities to create different types of green areas to separate fields and reduce the scale of soil barrenness, sand storms, soil water retention, etc, greater possibilities for relocating part of the population of large urban agglomerations to the countryside, and greater possibilities for running home flower gardens in which highly biodiverse ecosystems made up of various types of grassland and woodland plants, including shrubs and trees, additionally installed insect houses, apiaries for bees and, in the absence of pesticide use, etc., would provide an excellent environment for insects to thrive. would be an excellent environment for pollinating insects and would halt the years-long trend of rapid decline in bee and other pollinating insect populations.

In view of the above, given the numerous synergies, interrelationships and dependencies occurring between the above-mentioned factors, the change of agricultural model to a more pro-environmental, pro-climate and, in the long term, with a view to the next generation of people, also more pro-social one, i.e. the change of agricultural model to a more sustainable one, i.e. the change of agricultural model to a more sustainable one. In view of the many interconnectedness of the many factors involved in changing from non-sustainable, production-intensive agriculture and livestock farming to sustainable crop-based organic agriculture and the many positive effects on the biosphere, the climate, the maintenance of biodiversity and consequently on people, it is essential to take a forward-looking, long-term strategic planning and management approach, starting as early as the ministerial and system level. Without the application of a systemic approach already from the highest level of governance, i.e. the level of central institutions, government ministries and agencies and international organisations dealing with agriculture, the process of the necessary green transformation of agriculture will not be realised efficiently and effectively and in a timely manner. Time is of the essence when it comes to the implementation of the green transformation of agriculture, as the process of global warming is accelerating, the negative effects of climate change such as increasingly frequent and permanent droughts and forest fires are acting on an ever-increasing scale, the scale of environmental pollution is still high, pollinating insects continue to die out en masse, the level of biodiversity of the planet's natural ecosystems continues to decline rapidly, etc.

In view of the above, I address the following question to the esteemed community of scientists and researchers:

What is your opinion on this?

What is your opinion on this subject?

Please respond,

I invite you all to discuss,

Thank you very much,

Warm regards,

Dariusz Prokopowicz

The era of accelerated development of civilisation, significantly accelerating the scale of matter processing, production processes, the scale of environmental pollution, consumption of renewable and non-renewable natural resources, greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, etc. is referred to as the Anthropocene epoch, the Great Acceleration and Ecological Catastrophe has been taking place primarily since the mid-20th century. The term Anthropocene has not yet been introduced into the history of the development of planet Earth by geologists, but this is likely to happen soon. In the Anthropocene epoch, humans are increasingly transforming the biosphere into the technosphere. However, the scale of consumption of non-renewable raw materials is steadily increasing. The stocks of biodiverse forest areas that absorb part of the CO2 emitted by humans are continuing to decline rapidly. The supply of clean drinking water is also declining in increasingly large areas inhabited by humans. On the other hand, the scale of waste separation and recycling is still negligible and does not even compensate for a significant part of the consumption of raw materials and hardly reduces the level of waste pollution. The scale of the ongoing green transformation of the economy, including the implementation of a pro-environmental and pro-climate transformation of the classic growth, brown, linear economy of excess to a sustainable, green, zero-emission growth and closed loop economy is still too small to significantly reduce the level of greenhouse gas emissions, reduce the level of environmental pollution, implement reforestation processes and counteract the accelerating process of global warming is too small. It is essential to integrate a key aspect of the circular economy into the green transformation of the economy, i.e. the concept of zero growth consisting of zeroing out economic growth. This zeroing of economic growth should be implemented in a multi-faceted and multi-year perspective. It is not about zeroing economic growth in the short term (a few months) or in the medium term (a few years), i.e. as a periodic slowdown in economic growth occurring cyclically, within business cycles of several years during economic crises. It is about permanently resetting the rate of economic growth with the recognition of this issue as a key factor in a circular economy. Consequently, the economics of economic growth should be changed into the economics of zero growth, i.e. according to the concept of zero growth already known for several decades but not applied. An important issue of the Anthropocene epoch is also the rapidly progressing and human-induced extinction process of many species of flora and fauna referred to as the great 6th extinction in the history of the development of life on the planet. Consequently, the scale of the loss of biodiversity of the planet's natural ecosystems is progressing rapidly. Paradoxically, the great extinction of millions of species of flora and fauna was caused by just one species of living organisms - homo sapiens. Paradoxically, homo sapiens, which is responsible for this, is widely acknowledged to be the most intelligent species of life forms found on planet Earth. On the other hand, it is assumed that 99 per cent of the species that have lived on Earth over the last 3.5 billion years are extinct or have evolved into other species. But it is extremely difficult to estimate both the number of species and the duration of their existence for those of many millions of years ago and in the context of the evolutionary process. However, an extremely paradoxical and sad all at once process taking place in the Anthropocene epoch is that the acknowledged most intelligent single species of life form on Earth, which is homo sapiens, due to its robbery, combustion economy and rapid development of civilisation based on unlimited greed and disrespect for the surrounding nature, is causing the degradation of both the climate and the biosphere of the planet. Therefore, what has recently been described as a climate crisis should be studied, described, etc. in connection with the ecological crisis determined by the rapidly progressing process of deforestation, degradation of the biosphere, pollution of the natural environment, extinction of many species of flora and fauna life forms and, as a consequence, a rapidly decreasing level of biodiversity of the natural ecosystems of the planet Earth. Thus, the main negative effects of the development of a predatory, combustion-based civilisation and the key attributes of the Anthropocene epoch include not only a climate crisis but also an ecological crisis. The human-induced crises can thus be collectively referred to as the climate-ecological crisis. These crises should be considered, studied, analysed, described, etc. together because there are many relationships between them, synergistic processes, analogous and mutually influencing. By analogy, the process of a future climate catastrophe, which may already occur at the end of this 21st century if man does not manage to bring about a complete green transformation of the economy by 2030, should also be studied, analysed, projected, described, etc., in conjunction with the loss of biodiversity, the degradation of the biosphere, the extinction of species, etc., and thus the ecological catastrophe of the planet. By combining these issues, it is therefore possible and necessary to study, analyse, forecast and describe the future climatic-ecological catastrophe of the planet. If this catastrophe occurs in an extremely negative scenario then the Anthropocene epoch will be over.

In view of the above, I address the following question to the esteemed community of scientists and researchers:

What do you think about this?

What is your opinion on this subject?

Please respond,

I invite you all to discuss,

Thank you very much,

Warm regards,

Dariusz Prokopowicz

Flag/Indicator species are known to be representative indicator in large-scale biodiversity conservation. But in a regional or micro-scale urban area, should we still take flagship species as a crucial surrogate/representative index?

If so, what is the proper way to select flagship species in urban area?

If not, how should we assess the biodiversity conservation outcomes in urban area?

Thank you.

The Amazon Tropical Rainforests are referred to as the 'lungs of our planet'. The Amazon Tropical Rainforests and other highly biodiverse natural boreal areas are one of the key factors in removing CO2 from the atmosphere and are thus a limiting factor for greenhouse gas emissions, slowing the rate of progressive global warming, reducing the scale of the ongoing climate crisis. The tropical rainforests of the Amazon and other highly biodiverse natural forests and other natural green areas are a major reservoir of terrestrial biodiversity. In some but unfortunately still few countries and urban agglomerations, the scale of aforestation exceeds that of forest deforestation. Unfortunately, this does not apply to the tropical rainforests of the Amazon and many other natural forests of the tropical and subtropical zones. It is essential for the future of future generations of people, the state of the biosphere and the planet's climate to protect the state of biodiversity in the natural ecosystems of the tropical rainforests of the Amazon and other natural forests and to convert deforestation processes into aforestation. The state of biodiversity of the planet's biosphere and the rate of progressive global warming depend to a large extent on this. It has therefore been a common knowledge issue for many years to significantly increase the level of nature conservation, including the protection of the biodiversity of the tropical Amazon rainforest and other natural forest and natural ecosystems. It has also been a matter of common knowledge for many years, confirmed by many scientific studies and published scientific papers, that the processes of deforestation of the tropical Amazon Rainforest and other natural boreal, forest formations of the planet must be urgently converted to processes of aforestation. This, if it has been common knowledge for years, is why deforestation processes still dominate many times over aforestation. This problem was already signalled by researchers and scientists in the second half of the 20th century. Unfortunately, large-scale deforestation of the tropical Amazon rainforest and other natural forest formations of the planet continues. In addition, over the last 15 years the scale of deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and other natural forest formations of the planet has increased instead of decreasing. At the UN climate summit COP26, many countries pledged that by the end of this decade at the latest, i.e. by 2030, deforestation processes would be significantly reduced to such an extent that aforestation processes would prevail. But why should we wait until 2030 for this when we know how important this is for the preservation of the planet's biodiversity and for the urgent issue of halting or slowing down the progressive process of global warming. The improvement of conservation techniques and the development of aforestations programmes is fostered by the society-wide pro-environmental awareness of citizens, modern technologies, available financial resources, scientific knowledge, etc. So what is missing, what still needs to change. Is the key problem still the lack of changes in politics and business, i.e. the necessary changes towards pro-environmental and pro-climate reforms, the development of a real environmental policy and environmental protection, the implementation of the concept of sustainable economic development, the realisation of sustainable development goals, the pursuit of sustainability of the development of civilisation with the surrounding nature and climate, the carrying out of a pro-environmental and pro-climate transformation of the classic, dirty economy of excess towards a sustainable, green economy of moderation, a closed loop economy?

In view of the above, I would like to address the following question to the esteemed community of researchers and scientists:

What do you think about this topic?

What is your opinion on this subject?

Please answer with reasons,

I invite you all to discuss,

Thank you very much,

Warm regards,

Dariusz Prokopowicz

How would I obtain a single (average) list of species in such scenarios for biodiversity indices such as Shanon Weiner? For example problem as follows.

The ongoing process of global warming is also causing, among other things, an increase in the temperature of the seas and oceans. This increase in temperature and the increase in the scale of water pollution in the seas and oceans is causing the death of coral reefs, which have formed over millions of years and have developed the most biodiverse ecosystems of the seas and oceans.

In view of the above, I address the following question to the esteemed community of researchers and scientists:

How can instruments and systems for the conservation of nature, of the biosphere, of the highly biodiverse coral reef ecosystems of the seas and oceans be improved?

What is your opinion on this?

What do you think about this topic?

Please reply,

I invite you all to discuss,

Thank you very much,

Best regards,

Dariusz Prokopowicz

As you are aware, climate change has a dual impact on many approaches and sectors, both positive and negative. As a result, most of the time, the positive impact of climate change on biodiversity conservation in the agricultural ecosystem is unclear and lacks a researchable area. If anyone has an idea and the sources of published findings, please share your evidence!

Forests are the biodiversity wealth of natural ecosystems and a key factor in the wealth of the planet's biosphere. However, this natural wealth is rapidly being eroded by human civilisational activities. The scale of forest fires has been increasing in recent years. The increasing scale of forest fires is a result of the ongoing process of global warming. In some regions of the world, forests are also being burned in order to acquire more land for the cultivation of agricultural crops, which is usually carried out under predatory and unsustainable farming practices. It is well known that forests are one of the key factors in reducing the rate of increasing CO2 in the atmosphere, an important factor in slowing down the greenhouse effect and consequently also in slowing down global warming. It is therefore essential to increase the scale of forest fire protection.

The following questions are therefore becoming increasingly topical:

What is your opinion on this subject?

What do you think about this topic?

Please reply,

I invite you all to discuss,

Thank you very much,

Regards,

Dariusz

To describe ecological interactions of a plant with all the different components. A software that can add photos. For a blog post or even an article to be submitted for publication!

Thank you!

Do humans who eat food prepared in a restaurant face a higher risk of contracting an illness than those who eat packaged food?

Is anyone aware of bibliometric software that are open source? I am looking for something in the league of Leximancer.

I plan to undertake the extent to which policies in Kenya are supportive (or not) of biodiversity conservation in smallholder agroecosystems.

Thanks for your help in advance.

Hello,

my name is Carolin Fischer, a sociology student from the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena. I am currently writing my Bachelor's Thesis in the field of Cultural and Environmental Sociology. As this will be a qualitative study on environmental topics I am looking for interview partners, who work (or used to work) in the field of environmental and climate change research. The interviews will be held via video chat either in German or English.

If you're interested in being interviewed and in helping me with my thesis please feel free to contact me via Research Gate or mail: fischer.carolin@uni-jena.de

Thank you and kind regards,

Carolin

I am doing a research related to the link of biodiversity conservation and climate change policies. I wonder if you can share your experience on how an economic instrument help link biodiversity conservation and climate change policies?

Many thanks

Capacity building and sensitization of people particularly young minds towards biodiversity conservation and its sustainable utilization needs more efforts to engage and inspire the large number of people. In this context, the role of conservation education has emerged very effective to address the issues of long term conservation. Considering the importance of education in conservation related issues, various projects have been initiated to involve young generation particularly students in participatory conservation programme all across the globe including India. The aim of the conservation programme was to sensitize the young minds towards science and addressing the issue of biodiversity conservation.

What innovations have been used in recent years to help protect the environment?

Please reply

Best wishes

Dear colleagues,

What are the most prominent ongoing debates in the fields of landscape ecology and biodiversity conservation? I can name several, e.g. SLOSS, habitat amount vs habitat configuration. What are other examples? Maybe some latest controversies in the literature?

I know, the question is a bit simplistic. It is also not only about the plants, but more about the photosynthetic organisms ... However, in this time of global biodiversity crisis, we are constantly confronted with prioritizing. Recently I read somewhere that in the Arctic, the photosynthetic algae should be taken care of and not the polar bears. Also in temperate regions, where the habitats are under enormous pressure, shouldn't we pay the greatest attention to the producers/plants? On the local level (local administration, journalists) I am constantly confronted with the question: who do we save first? With this somewhat provocative question, I simply wanted to know/hear what researchers from various fields will say about it (or against it).

Does exists a "standard methodology" to define a species like a flagship species?

I know some methodologies are based on surveys, but I would like to know if we have others types of methodologies? (e.g. number of public papers discussing on a species in a country, number of pictures takes in a specific area, etc...)

Actually, I search a methodology based on social data to quantify the interest of species for considering them like flagship/iconic/emblematic species.

Do you think, facebook, instagram, twitter could be sufficient for that?

Does exists a package to search directly keywords in google search?...

Thanks for your help,

PL

Mostly Jim Corbett is been discussed as an Man Eater Hunter. I am interested in this second segment studying him by humanistic point of view.

There are several options for improving the institutional framework for biodiversity incentives:

(1) decentralization of resource management decision making to local levels

(2) engaging and reorienting government institutions

(3) establishing new national and international institutions

(4) establishing functional linkages between key institutional actors

Are you agree with this? any more to add?

When talking to visitors of our museum/zoo, some of the most frequent questions asked are "Why is keeping species from going extinct an activity worthwhile to pursue?" or "Why does it matter if this midge or that tick is going extinct?".

While most biologists will probably reply that species have very specific roles in their ecosystems and thus the extinction of one species can probably affect others, too, or that each species is part of the richness of our nature (a value in itself so to speak), some non-biologists are often not that easily convinced (especially when you refer to species not very attractive to the human eye). What even more hampers an easy answer is that more than 99% of species that ever existed have died out in the course of evolution. So what is all that conservationist effort, to 'preserve the current state' all about? Changes in biodiversity and mass extinctions have always happened, so why don't we let it just happen now (to put it insensibly)? There are also some human related arguments, for example "we breathe air and thus need plants of some sort". But that does not mean I need every plant species on the planet to produce oxygen, crops will do that, too...

I would like to hear your thoughts on this to have some good arguments at hand when dealing with the next inquisitive visitor. ;-)

Hi,

I coordinate the sending of PAID solidarity corps servants by French government for NGO doing direct action for conservation into the world.

The servant (often with M.Sc in science), are paid (480€/months, during 10-12months, get insurance and stipend for the travel).

The NGO provide accommodation and real mission in conservation.

If you know NGO needing free motivated manpower, please contact me.

CONSERVATION in ACTION! =D

In all six Zelkova tree species mature fruits fall with the entire twig, and the dried leaves that are still attached function as a parachute, carrying the fruits a few metres away from the parent tree (see attached pictures, first photo: twig of Zelkova serrata from Taiwan, second: dispersed twigs of Z. abelicea from Crete). 

Does anybody know other similar examples of such dispersal mechanisms in other trees/woody species?

For more images of fruits, and more details on the relict tree genus Zelkova see www.zelkova.ch and the publications available on this webpage.

A relict species population is a population that currently occurs in a restricted area, but whose original range was far wider during a previous geologic epoch. Threatened plant species with small geographic range and small population size are most at risk of extinction and the highest priority in urgent conservation programs. As for the relict endemic species, which witnessed during the past 50 years a significant decrease in the geographical area and population size, it is one of the most important primary goals of conservation, whether in situ or ex situ. In some cases, ex situ conservation is the only available solution to protect a species from extinction and to ensure the possibility of an attempt to return to the wild after its extinction after the improvement of the surrounding environmental conditions. Unfortunately, some species depend on the range of environmental variables so small that by changing the organism cannot adapt to and it becomes extinct. For example, in the cases of plants that depend on the availability of a constant and continuous water source throughout the year, they are subject to a significant collapse in the absence of that water, especially in desert environments. The question now is, how can we increase the chances of conserving these species through in situ practices, given the weak opportunities for long-term financing?

Hi,

we decided to go back to our origins and relaunched the Parrot Researchers Group. The mission of the Parrot Researchers Group (PRG; formerly known also as Working Group Psittaciformes or as Research Coordination Committee on Parrots) group is to establish and promote research needs and priorities, with particular attention to regional conservation strategies to the parrots of the world. To achieve this, the PRG

1) Promotes parrot research,

2) Establishes research needs and priorities, with particular attention to regional conservation strategies,

3) Identifies and addresses barriers to effective research and conservation of parrots (Psittaciformes).

The PRG is characterised by a regional approach, being organised in four regions (African, Australasian, Neotropical, and Indo-Malayan), a Wild Parrot Veterinary Section, and a Secretary Office that coordinates joint work.

You can read more about our specific objectives in our homepage:

or in the attachment.

We (405 members to date) are currently looking for more researchers to join the group. If you are interested, please, get in touch with me or any of the regional coordinators.

Any questions?

Looking forward to work together.

All the best, JUAN

Dr. Juan F. Masello

Justus Liebig University Giessen

Department of Animal Ecology & Systematics

Personal information, projects and publications

Burrowing Parrots & behavioural ecology

Penguins & energy landscapes

Prions & evolution

The Alliance of World Scientists

I work as an environmental analyst and work with biodiversity conservation in 2 Brazilian National Parks located at the southern end of the Atlantic Forest Biome. In addition to native forests, these national parks conserve areas with southern Brazil grasslands. I need to define local bioindicators to monitor biodiversity conservation in areas with southern Brazil grasslands.

We know that diversity studies have a key role in the selection of conservation strategies, what implications does beta diversity have due to the species turnover or nesting in the selection of these conservation strategies?

What are potentially huge yet unexamined questions/problems related to pollinator conservation? What basic knowledge do we lack? What knowledge do we have but fail to apply? Do we need to learn more about biology and ecology of pollinators or we should rather focus on undertaking conservation activities (and what kind of activities/actions specifically)?

Although many academic papers have pointed out that shark conservation is an international issue that requires multi-nation collaboration, public media still commonly attribute this problem to a single nation, China, and see shark finning as the major, if not only, reason for shark's being forced to the edge of danger. They believe racism is the "weapon" and key to the solution.

Even worse, quantities of news comments and even news reports themselves are full of racism.

What the news industry and the public think of shark conservation is vastly different from what the academic field has found. There are two types of shark conservation, one of the folk concept and the other of academic.

In folk concept, shark's situation is all due to China, and shark fin soup is the only reason for massacring sharks. The public pay no attention to the bycatch problem of tuna fisheries, nor do they criticize sports fishing that targets endangered mako shark.

It has been obvious that in public-oriented shark conservation publicity, racism has been quite ubiquitous. Just open some news link on Facebook ot Twitter, and you may easily find racist comments that believe all Chinese are bad to sharks. I tried to rebute them but they refuse to listen.

But racism is vicious and it can not help any vulnerable species. How to help provide a comprehensive view of shark's situation and help remove racism in shark conservation education?

Since, TOFs are important natural resources that contribute significantly tothe national biomass and carbon stocks and also to the livelihood of people in many regions of the world.

Dear researchers,

Please recommend some of the best species with the facts and stats...

I am looking for potential collaborators for a project that seeks to assess the ecological importance of specific tree species of Borneo. I invite interested specialists to message me. 

19 whose source has been linked to yet unknown 'bird species', many people presumably have/may develop aversion towards. What is the plight of some wild animals [even some domesticated ones] given legal protection for many animal species of most countries are either non-existent/omitted/inadequate more so under "Wildlife Acts"?

What are the likely implications to animals protection rights and animals diversity/biodiversity conservation?

Alguém possui alguma informação sobre as áreas prioritárias para a conservação da biodiversidade, estabelecidas pelo Ministério do Meio Ambiente do Brasil em 2004? Diferente daquelas já disponibilizadas no sítio oficial do governo, que constam no seguinte link: http://areasprioritarias.mma.gov.br/processo-de-avaliacao-2004

Alguma coisa parecida com os procedimentos metodológicos adotados na época ou uma publicação que discuta e descreva as áreas selecionadas? (sem ser as tabelas básicas de descrição e o map original).

Does anyone have any information on the priority areas for biodiversity conservation, established by the Ministry of Environment of Brazil in 2004? Different from those already available on the official government website, which are listed in the following link: http://areasprioritarias.mma.gov.br/processo-de-avaliacao-2004

Something similar to the methodological procedures adopted at the time or a publication that discusses and describes the selected areas? (other than the basic description tables and the original map).

While shorfin mako and longfin mako have been listed as endangered species, their jaws are still welcome in shark jaw market with poor regulation, as a great number of people ardently display photos of their mako shark jaw collection on Facebook, Twitter and somewhere else. I find that while shark fin trade has drawn much attention, shark jaw trade, despites its popularity, has not been a highlight.

It is really hard to find a paper on the species composition of shark jaw market.

Even worse, some game fishing fishermen killed the living mako sharks and keep their jaws for trade or self entertainment.

Shark jaw trade of endangered species is as harmful as shark fin trade, and maybe even worse. It is because the harm of shark jaw trade has not been revealed to the public, while shark fin trade has been notorious. And some people even find excuses for their collecting endangered shark jaws, such as "this jaw is from a shark that dies a natural death" or "I got it from a legal aquarium".

Do you have any suggestions on mitigation of shark jaw trade of endangered species? Or have you ever studied this problem?

Some people argue that it is completely acceptable to trade non-endangered sharks species, such as bull shark and blue shark by-caught by fisheries. They hold that even if these sharks are still alive and stand high chance of surviving by-catch if released, it is still okay to kill them and trade their fins, meat and jaw.

What do you think of this problem?

I am developing a research related to forest regeneration and biodiversity conservation in a dry forest in Brazil. However, I did not get any funding from local agencies. I'm trying at Rufford Grants. But, I would appreciate it if someone could suggest other potential opportunities for me.

I have published an article titled "Compare the Biodiversity Conservation Effectiveness between Regions based on a Reference Condition", it's aimed to compare the biodiversity effectiveness between different Biological Effectiveness Function Zones in China. In China it really have its practical application value, Because The Ministry of Ecology and Environment measures the performance of local government departments by quantitatively assessing the conservation effectiveness of BEFZs and then adopts appropriate policy and funding investments according to the results. I wonder whether our research has application for Other countries? Thanks.

What are the basic identifying characteristics or features of a freshwater swamp forest.

And what will be the appropriate tools to identify a forest or come to a decision about a forest that, it is a freshwater swamp forest.

The Amazon forest is on fire and the whole world will suffer the climatic consequences. The main cause of forest fires in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil and Bolivia are the deforestation policies promoted by the anti-environmental presidents Jair Bolsonaro and Evo Morales. We need to do something to stop this. In the long run, these policies will destroy even large-scale rainforests in the region. We are coming closer to the point where there is not enough rainforest left to produce the rain that sustains those forests. The vast Amazon basin will tip into a drought state, which would be devastating for wildlife, the indigenous people, the global climate, and agriculture in the region. Is there something we could do to stop this ecological disaster before is too late ? What is your opinion about this important subject ?

I have 10 million dollars to invest in biodiversity conservation or restoration. I am looking for an average annual return of 5% over 10 years and can accept a medium level of risk. What financial instruments are available to make such an investment?

Trees in urban system provide a variety of ecosystem services including biodiversity conservation, removal of atmospheric pollutants, oxygen generation, noise reduction, mitigation of urban heat island effect, microclimate regulation, stabilization of soil, groundwater recharge, prevention of soil erosion and carbon sequestration. The important roles played by green spaces are social, economic, cultural and environmental aspects of sustainable development. Urban green spaces can be a comprehensive tool for long term protection of environmental sustainability through improving the quality of life and air quality, increasing property value due to their amenity and aesthetic characteristics, and reducing the energy costs of cooling buildings.

Do you have any idea for to do research on this species? Maybe unexplored yet or needs more further study? Thank you so much ♥️

I am pretty confused about the use of taxonomic diversity and taxonomic distinctness.

Taxonomic diversity can be defined as the average taxonomic path between randomly chosen individuals. It takes into consideration taxonomic differences and heterogeneity (species richness and evenness). Why should we not just decide to use taxonomic diversity instead of Simpson’s index/Shannon index when we know the taxonomy of each species? Moreover, isn’t calculating the taxonomic diversity across different areas more appropriate than other beta diversity indices such as Jaccard Similarity?

Taxonomic distinctness can be defined as the average taxonomic path between two individuals from different species. I don’t understand the point of this index. It doesn’t give us information about the heterogeneity (which taxonomic diversity does), but at the same time it is not an index of the how the different species are related taxonomically (which is delta+). Which information gives us? When is the use of taxonomic distinctness more appropriate than the one of taxonomic diversity? 

Thank you for anyone who will help, I really appreciate it!

I have an impression that as time goes by, the gap between conservation science and practice is increasing. Since the practitioners (such as PA rangers, NGO staff with no research background, people in the decision making bodies, and simple interested people) are and will be at the same knowledge level, conservation science is getting more and more sophisticated. High quality literature frequently reporting the findings or providing suggestions that itself requires specific qualifications and skills to be understood.

As an example, most of the decision makers, and great deal of conservation practitioners in Georgia never reads articles published in leading conversational journals. What about other countries?

If we want to study an area of tourist interest for bringing it under the concept of Eco-tourism, what parameters should be selected? Or what aspect we have to study and analyse? What changes are expected to convert tourism in to Eco-tourism?

I am interested in contributing to a more collaborative, participatory, and engagingly more cooperative nature / biodiversity conservation model in Gorongosa National Park (in Mozambique, Southeast Africa) where Western nature conservation practitioners coexist and sometimes conflict with indigenous stakeholders over whose model dominate. Any suggestions, be they on literature or life experience on these matters?

This is not strictly related to research, but I was just wondering if there is any recognized association, at any scale, for therapy/support on how to address ecoanxiety and ecological depression.

Thank you.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) is viewed as "native science" developed across generations in particular localities and within given social-ecological systems. Such a knowledge system may act as a livelihood strategy and is also intended to positively contribute to biodiversity conservation. Given that biodiversity losses continue unabated even where TEK may exist, its relevance/impacts are questionable. In that case, several pertinent questions arise despite status of biodiversity being dependent on several area-specific factors. For instance: 1) Is TEK system reliable to help conserve biodiversity? 2) Is it sustainable? ......Please feel free and give your opinion and where possible empirical evidence/publications in support of your assertions.

For sustainability in the social - ecological system, a balance needs to be met. However, biodiversity is often lost because of imbalances in the nexus. Give an opinion on whether economic growth through anthropogenic activities largely drives biodiversity losses more than others.

As you may know there are several compilations of classic papers in Ecology (e. g. Foudations of Ecology). I am trying to find such a volume or classic papers about morphological abnormalities in Neotropical frogs.

Please share your opinion and/or any sources. Thanks

Assess the state of conservation of natural resources and drivers to guide decision-making;

Analyze the conservation gaps of protected area systems in relation to their capacity to protect biodiversity and carbon stocks;

Propose participatory natural resource management tools adapted to socio-economic contexts

Preservation of endemic species and threatened species constitutes a very important part of the conservation of biodiversity. Most of the endemic species grow in protected areas or areas with greater human impact. Determination of biological, ecological, and proliferation of their features would contribute to raising awareness and educating students and people interested in conserving biodiversity in Albania and beyond.

The study will also affect the acquisition of a new and very important experience for our country as a country of democracy in development.

Defining phylogeny and biodiversity and communicating with one another can be used to protect biodiversity....