Challenging the Scientific Foundations for an IUCN Red List of Ecosystems

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is currently discussing the development of a Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) that would mirror the categories and criteria used to assess the conservation status of species. The suggested scientific foundations for the RLE are being considered by IUCN for adoption as the backbone of the RLE. We identify conceptual and operational weaknesses in the draft RLE approach, the categories, and criteria. While species are relatively well-described units, there is no consistent means to classify ecosystems for assessing conservation status. The proposed RLE is framed mostly around certain features of ecosystems such as broad vegetation or habitat types, and do not consider major global change drivers such as climate change. We discuss technical difficulties with the proposed concept of ecosystem collapse and suggest it is not analogous to species extinction. We highlight the lack of scientific basis for the criteria and thresholds proposed by the RLE, and question the need to adopt the structure of the Red List of Species for an RLE. We suggest that the proposed RLE is open to ambiguous interpretations and uncertain outcomes, and that its practicality and benefit for conservation should be carefully evaluated before final approval.

[1]  Georgina M Mace,et al.  The role of taxonomy in species conservation. , 2004, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences.

[2]  J. Houghton,et al.  Climate Change 2013 - The Physical Science Basis: Working Group I Contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , 2014 .

[3]  J. P. Grime,et al.  Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning: Current Knowledge and Future Challenges , 2001, Science.

[4]  W. Knorr,et al.  A climate-change risk analysis for world ecosystems , 2006, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[5]  F. Chapin,et al.  Principles of Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology , 2002, Springer New York.

[6]  Jarrett E. K. Byrnes,et al.  A global synthesis reveals biodiversity loss as a major driver of ecosystem change , 2012, Nature.

[7]  A. Huggett.  The concept and utility of ecological thresholds in biodiversity conservation , 2005 .

[8]  Michael Hoffmann,et al.  The value of the IUCN Red List for conservation. , 2006, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[9]  José I. Barredo,et al.  Mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services - An analytical framework for ecosystem assessments under action 5 of the EU biodiversity strategy to 2020 , 2013 .

[10]  G. Daily,et al.  Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity , 2012, Nature.

[11]  L. Boitani,et al.  Update or Outdate: Long‐Term Viability of the IUCN Red List , 2014 .

[12]  Kevin J. Gaston,et al.  How Large Is a Species' Geographic Range? , 1991 .

[13]  L. Fahrig,et al.  HABITAT LOSS AND POPULATION DECLINE: A META‐ANALYSIS OF THE PATCH SIZE EFFECT , 1998 .

[14]  Maes Joachim,et al.  Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services , 2013 .

[15]  Jody Hey,et al.  Understanding and confronting species uncertainty in biology and conservation , 2003 .

[16]  Lawrence B. Slobodkin,et al.  A Critique for Ecology , 1991 .

[17]  Andrew F. Bennett,et al.  Landscape-level thresholds of habitat cover for woodland-dependent birds , 2005 .

[18]  Vicente Orostegui.  Thresholds of Climate Change in Ecosystems , 2010 .

[19]  Corinne Le Quéré,et al.  Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis , 2013 .

[20]  Hugh P. Possingham,et al.  Limits to the use of threatened species lists , 2002 .

[21]  Mark A. Burgman,et al.  Scientific Foundations for an IUCN Red List of Ecosystems , 2013, PloS one.

[22]  A. Watts,et al.  The Myths of Restoration Ecology , 2005 .

[23]  R. Noss.  Indicators for Monitoring Biodiversity: A Hierarchical Approach , 1990 .

[24]  L. Santini,et al.  Generation length for mammals , 2013 .

[25]  N. Mouquet,et al.  Biodiversity and Climate Change: Integrating Evolutionary and Ecological Responses of Species and Communities , 2010 .

[26]  G. Mace,et al.  Biodiversity and ecosystem services: a multilayered relationship. , 2012, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[27]  R. J. Pool,et al.  Plant Succession. An Analysis of the Development of Vegetation , 1917 .

[28]  E J Milner-Gulland,et al.  Quantification of Extinction Risk: IUCN's System for Classifying Threatened Species , 2008, Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology.

[29]  A. Tansley.  The Use and Abuse of Vegetational Concepts and Terms , 1935 .

[30]  R. Hobbs,et al.  Biological Consequences of Ecosystem Fragmentation: A Review , 1991 .

[31]  F. Golley.  A History of the Ecosystem Concept in Ecology: More Than the Sum o f the Parts , 1993 .

[32]  Thomas E. Lacher,et al.  The IUCN global assessments: partnerships, collaboration and data sharing for biodiversity science and policy , 2012 .

[33]  John E. Kutzbach,et al.  Projected distributions of novel and disappearing climates by 2100 AD , 2006, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[34]  H. Resit Akçakaya,et al.  Critiques of PVA Ask the Wrong Questions: Throwing the Heuristic Baby Out with the Numerical Bath Water , 2002, Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology.