The Chilean sub-Antarctic ecoregion hosts the largest expanse of temperate forests, wetlands and peatlands, as well as the largest proportion of protected areas in the southern hemisphere. Bryophytes are highly diverse and ecologically essential in sub-Antarctic ecosystems and are considered as biodiversity loss indicators caused by the current socio-ecological crisis. However, knowledge about their biodiversity is rather limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis paper describes the relationship between the landscape and the socio-economic and political characteristics of a highly biodiverse Andean region of Colombia, which is now recovering from the socio-ecological impact of protracted armed conflict. We quantify the current spatial relationship between nature and society, and we include legacy effects from the most recent period of armed conflict and its consequences of forced displacement and land use disruption. The procedure followed provides a quantitative model where a minimum number of socio-economic and political variables explain the variation in land cover.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTraditional rural landscapes host a biocultural heritage acquired by rural societies, developed in a secular adaptation with nature. Hedgerows play a key role in preserving biocultural diversity and associated ecosystem services. Despite their benefits, in some European regions inappropriate hedge management has led to a drastic degradation of hedgerows, with significant effects on natural and biocultural diversity, landscape connectivity and sustainable flow of ecosystem services.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSocio-ecological systems maintain reciprocal interactions between biophysical and socioeconomic structures. As a result of these interactions key essential services for society emerge. Urban expansion is a direct driver of land change and cause serious shifts in socio-ecological relationships and the associated lifestyles.
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