Biome Awareness Disparity is BAD for tropical ecosystem conservation and restoration

Author(s):Show less -

Silveira, Fernando A. O. ^[1] ; Ordonez-Parra, Carlos A. ^[1] ; Moura, Livia C. ^[2] ; Schmidt, Isabel B. ^[3] ; Andersen, Alan N. ^[4] ; Bond, William ^[5] ; Buisson, Elise ^[6] ; Durigan, Giselda ^[7] ; Fidelis, Alessandra ^[8] ; Oliveira, Rafael S. ^[9] ; Parr, Catherine ^{[10, 11, 12]} ; Rowland, Lucy ^[13] ; Veldman, Joseph W. ^[14] ; Pennington, R. Toby ^{[15, 11]}

Affiliation:Show less -

^[1] Univ Fed Minas Gerais, Dept Genet Ecol & Evolut, Belo Horizonte, MG - Brazil

^[2] Inst Soc Populat & Nat, Brasilia, DF - Brazil

^[3] Univ Brasilia, Dept Ecol, Brasilia, DF - Brazil

^[4] Charles Darwin Univ, Res Inst Environm & Livelihoods, Darwin, NT - Australia

^[5] Univ Cape Town, Dept Biol Sci, Cape Town - South Africa

^[6] Aix Marseille Univ, Avignon Univ, Inst Mediterraneen Biodiversite & Ecol, IUT Avignon, IRD, CNRS, Avignon - France

^[7] Inst Pesquisas Ambientais, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[8] Univ Estadual Paulista UNESP, Lab Vegetat Ecol, Rio Claro - Brazil

^[9] Univ Estadual Campinas, Dept Plant Biol, Campinas - Brazil

^[10] Univ Witwatersrand, Sch Anim Plant & Environm Sci, Johannesburg - South Africa

^[11] Univ Liverpool, Sch Environm Sci, Liverpool, Merseyside - England

^[12] Univ Pretoria, Dept Zool & Entomol, Pretoria - South Africa

^[13] Univ Exeter, Coll Life & Environm Sci, Dept Geog, Exeter, Devon - England

^[14] Texas A&M Univ, Dept Ecol & Conservat Biol, College Stn, TX - USA

^[15] Royal Bot Garden Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Midlothian - Scotland

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY; OCT 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

We introduce the concept of Biome Awareness Disparity (BAD)-defined as a failure to appreciate the significance of all biomes in conservation and restoration policy-and quantify disparities in (a) attention and interest, (b) action and (c) knowledge among biomes in tropical restoration science, practice and policy. By analysing 50,000 tweets from all Partner Institutions of the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, and 45,000 tweets from the main science and environmental news media world-wide, we found strong disparities in attention and interest relative to biome extent and diversity. Tweets largely focused on forests, whereas open biomes (such as grasslands, savannas and shrublands) received less attention in relation to their area. In contrast to these differences in attention, there were equivalent likes and retweets between forest versus open biomes, suggesting the disparities may not reflect the views of the general public. Through a literature review, we found that restoration experiments are disproportionately concentrated in rainforests, dry forests and mangroves. More than half of the studies conducted in open biomes reported tree planting as the main restoration action, suggesting inappropriate application of forest-oriented techniques. Policy implications. We urge scientists, policymakers and land managers to recognise the value of open biomes for protecting biodiversity, securing ecosystem services, mitigating climate change and enhancing human livelihoods. Fixing Biome Awareness Disparity will increase the likelihood of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration successfully delivering its promises. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 19/07773-1 - Restoring neo-tropical dry ecosystems - is plant functional composition the key to success?
• Grantee: Rafael Silva Oliveira
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants