7.9. Vohland
Keynote Presentations from the 3rd ALTER-Net Summer School, Peyresq 2 - 14 September 2008
Speaker: Katrin Vohland
Katrin.Vohland -at- pik-potsdam.de
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
Personal homepage
Title of the talk: Do we need other conservation targets facing climate change? (pdf: 4MB)
Summary of the talk by Gina Prior: Students´ summary (pdf)
Abstract
Do we need other conservation targets facing climate change?The most important threat for biodiversity is land use change, i.e. the loss of habitat for plant and animal species. Rapid global warming now poses a supplementary pressure on biodiversity, and impacts biodiversity at various scales. Distribution and phenology of species changes, and subsequently species interaction and ecosystem performance are modified.
Overall conservation target is biodiversity conservation, but in detail, the defined targets differ between regions and countries, between ecosystems and policy descriptions. Functional ecosystems are addressed but also specific species at specific locations. In my talk I would like to review the different targets in relation to the challenges of climate change and to propose a way neither to reduce nature to ecosystem services nor to the beauty of being a colorful flower. From this, priority setting for nature conservation is discussed to combine the ideal with the feasible.
Recommended background literature on this presentation
- Wilson KA, Underwood EC, Morrison SA, Klausmeyer KR, Murdoch WW, et al. (2007) Conserving biodiversity efficiently: What to do, where and when. PLoS Biol 5(9): e223. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0050223
- Isaac NJB, Turvey ST, Collen B, Waterman C, Baillie JEM (2007) Mammals on the EDGE: Conservation priorities based on threat and phylogeny. PLoS ONE 2(3): e296. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000296
- Brooks TM, Mittermeier RA, da Fonseca GAB, Gerlach J, Hoffmann M, Lamoreux JF, Mittermeier CG, Pilgrim JD, Rodrigues ASL(2006) Global biodiversity conservation priorities. Science 313:58-61, doi:10.1126/science.1127609
- Marris E (2007) What to let go. Nature 450:152-155, doi:10.1038/450152a
