Chapter from STATUS AND TRENDS OF, AND THREATS TO, MOUNTAIN BIODIVERSITY, MARINE, COASTAL AND INLAND WATER ECOSYSTEMS: abstracts of poster presentations at the eighth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Resource Type: ReportsChapter from STATUS AND TRENDS OF, AND THREATS TO, MOUNTAIN BIODIVERSITY, MARINE, COASTAL AND INLAND WATER ECOSYSTEMS: abstracts of poster presentations at the eighth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Resource Type: ReportsChapter from STATUS AND TRENDS OF, AND THREATS TO, MOUNTAIN BIODIVERSITY, MARINE, COASTAL AND INLAND WATER ECOSYSTEMS: abstracts of poster presentations at the eighth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Resource Type: ReportsChapter from STATUS AND TRENDS OF, AND THREATS TO, MOUNTAIN BIODIVERSITY, MARINE, COASTAL AND INLAND WATER ECOSYSTEMS: abstracts of poster presentations at the eighth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Resource Type: ReportsThe forests of eastern Tanzania are a globally important biodiversity hotspot. In this study 361 eastern Tanzanian restricted range forest tree taxa were assessed. Of these taxa, 223 occurred in the Eastern Arc, 150 in Coastal forests, 17 in Northern forests and 21 in the Lake Nyasa forests. The majority of the taxa had restricted elevational ranges with 76.3 occurring in no more than two 200 m elevational bands out of a total potential elevation range of 3000 m. The majority of the taxa occupied a small area in the eastern Tanzanian forests, with 201 taxa being only found at a few sites. In determining priority areas for conservation, selection of taxon definitions can have important effects. For example, tree size varies with elevation, so if only large trees are used then site selection will be biased towards particular areas.
Resource Type: Journal PapersThis study demonstrates the utility of carbon isotope discrimination in describing genetic adaptation to arid environments, although it is probably most useful in detecting differentiation when the strategy of the species under investigation is to increase water use efficiency, rather than drought-avoidance. The results suggest that populations on the eastern and western sides of the Andes should be treated as separate management units for the purposes of conserving the genetic resource of this species.
Resource Type: Journal PapersTropical trees in the genus Aquilaria Lam. are the principal source of gaharu, one of the most valuable forest products traded internationally. Although these species are the focus of increasing conservation concern, information on their status and distribution is lacking. Information from herbarium accessions, a national forest inventory (NFI), field surveys and gaharu traders was used to assess the distribution of Aquilaria species in Indonesia, indicating population concentrations in Sumatra and eastern Kalimantan.
Given current deforestation rates, these data suggest that all Aquilaria species in Indonesia classify as Vulnerable according to the IUCN Red List criteria.
Resource Type: Journal PapersThe threatened Chilean conifer Podocarpus salignus D. Don is currently the focus of ex situ conservation eorts being undertaken by the Conifer Conservation Programme of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. To assess variation within in and ex situ populations of the species, leaf material collected from four wild populations was analysed by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD).
RAPD was found to be an effective tool for assessing the genetic structure of P. salignus, for providing a guide to future germplasm-sampling strategies, and for hybrid identification. Implications for genetic conservation of the species and the role of ex situ approaches are discussed.
Resource Type: Journal PapersFagus grandifolia var. mexicana (Mexican beech) is limited to about 10 populations (2-35 ha) in the Sierra Madre Oriental, Mexico. The objectives were to assess the current status and distribution of beech by surveying five sites. Species richness varied between three to 27 tree species in the canopy, and from nine to 29 species in the understorey. Basal area of trees greater than or equal to 5 cm dbh varied between 27.87 and 70.98 m2 ha-1, and density from 370 to 1290 individual ha-1. Beech represented 22-99.6 of total basal area, and 6.8-83.3 of total density. Beech dominance varied from monodominant to codominance with Carpinus caroliniana, Quercus spp., Liquidambar styraciflua, Magnolia schiedeana, and Podocarpus spp. Beech total population size ranged from 180 to 6300 trees with a total of less than 1300 individuals in four sites. Anthropogenic disturbance remains a major threat to these forests. It is uncertain whether Mexican beech will be able to survive without conservation efforts.
Resource Type: Journal PapersWith a view to the future, the book points the reader to the Mountain Biodiversity Portal (http://www.mountainbiodiversity.org) that has just been launched by the GMBA and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). This tool has the potential to greatly facilitate access to mountain biodiversity data because it allows users to find GBIF data for specific elevational and thermal belts within their region of interest. A very similar tool already allows users of the World Database on Protected Areas (http://www.wdpa.org) to find GBIF data for a protected area of interest. Thanks to these collaborative efforts, researchers will increasingly get the data they require without the need to carry out time-consuming overlays of species and other data sets for their region of interest. The GMBA/GBIF Mountain Biodiversity Portal is a fine example for the technical possibilities of our time and will certainly help to further stimulate the creative use of georeferenced biodiversity data promoted by this book.
Resource Type: Journal Papers©2013 UNEP All rights reserved