Richard M. Cowling

Bio: Richard M. Cowling is an academic researcher from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Thicket & Biodiversity. The author has an hindex of 96, co-authored 392 publications receiving 30042 citations. Previous affiliations of Richard M. Cowling include University of Zimbabwe & University of Cape Town.

Effectiveness of the global protected area network in representing species diversity

Abstract: The Fifth World Parks Congress in Durban, South Africa, announced in September 2003 that the global network of protected areas now covers 11.5% of the planet's land surface. This surpasses the 10% target proposed a decade earlier, at the Caracas Congress, for 9 out of 14 major terrestrial biomes. Such uniform targets based on percentage of area have become deeply embedded into national and international conservation planning. Although politically expedient, the scientific basis and conservation value of these targets have been questioned. In practice, however, little is known of how to set appropriate targets, or of the extent to which the current global protected area network fulfils its goal of protecting biodiversity. Here, we combine five global data sets on the distribution of species and protected areas to provide the first global gap analysis assessing the effectiveness of protected areas in representing species diversity. We show that the global network is far from complete, and demonstrate the inadequacy of uniform--that is, 'one size fits all'--conservation targets.

Plant diversity in mediterranean-climate regions.

Abstract: The high plant diversity of mediterranean-climate regions has attracted much attention over the past few years. This review discusses patterns and determinants of local, differential and regional plant diversity in all five regions. Local diversity shows great variation within and between regions and explanations for these patterns invoke a wide range of hypotheses. Patterns of regional diversity are the result of differential speciation and extinction rates during the Quaternary. These rates have been influenced more by the incidence of fire and the severity of climate change than by environmental heterogeneity. All regions have a high number of rare and locally endemic taxa that survive as small populations, many of which are threatened by habitat transformation.

Conservation planning in a changing world

Abstract: Conservation planning is the process of locating, configuring, implementing and maintaining areas that are managed to promote the persistence of biodiversity and other natural values. Conservation planning is inherently spatial. The science behind it has solved important spatial problems and increasingly influenced practice. To be effective, however, conservation planning must deal better with two types of change. First, biodiversity is not static in time or space but generated and maintained by natural processes. Second, humans are altering the planet in diverse ways at ever faster rates.

Preserving the evolutionary potential of floras in biodiversity hotspots

Abstract: One of the biggest challenges for conservation biology is to provide conservation planners with ways to prioritize effort. Much attention has been focused on biodiversity hotspots. However, the conservation of evolutionary process is now also acknowledged as a priority in the face of global change. Phylogenetic diversity (PD) is a biodiversity index that measures the length of evolutionary pathways that connect a given set of taxa. PD therefore identifies sets of taxa that maximize the accumulation of 'feature diversity'. Recent studies, however, concluded that taxon richness is a good surrogate for PD. Here we show taxon richness to be decoupled from PD, using a biome-wide phylogenetic analysis of the flora of an undisputed biodiversity hotspot--the Cape of South Africa. We demonstrate that this decoupling has real-world importance for conservation planning. Finally, using a database of medicinal and economic plant use, we demonstrate that PD protection is the best strategy for preserving feature diversity in the Cape. We should be able to use PD to identify those key regions that maximize future options, both for the continuing evolution of life on Earth and for the benefit of society.

Vegetation of southern Africa

Abstract: Foreword B. J. Huntley Preface Contributors Part. Physiography and History: Introduction 1. Evolution of landscapes T. C. Partridge 2. Climate R. E. Schulze 3. Phytogeography, flora and endemism R. M. Cowling, and C. Hilton-Taylor 4. Vegetation history L. Scott, H. M. Anderson, and J. M. Anderson Part II. Biomes: Introduction 5. Categorization of biomes M. C. Rutherford 6. Fynbos R. M. Cowling, D. M. Richardson, and P. J. Mustart 7. Succulent karoo S. J. Milton, R. I. Yeaton, W. R. J. Dean, and J. H. J. Vlok 8. Nama-karoo A. R. Palmer, and M. T. Hoffman 9. Desert N. Jurgens, A. Gunster, M. K. Seely, and K. M. Jacobson 10. Grassland T. G. O'Connor, and G. J. Bredenkamp 11. Savanna R. J. Scholes 12. Forest J. J. Midgley, R. M. Cowling, A. H. W. Seydack, and G. F. Van Wyk 13. Coastal vegetation R. A. Lubke, A. M. Avis, T. D. Steinke, and C. Boucher 14. Freshwater wetlands K. H. Rogers 15. Marine vegetation J. J. Bolton and R. J. Anderson Part III. Ecological Themes: Introduction 16. Plant form and function W. D. Stock, N. Allsopp, F. van der Heyden, and E. T. F. Witkowski 17. Herbivory N. Owen-Smith, and J. E. Danckwerts 18. Fire W. J. Bond 19. Species diversity at the regional scale R. M. Cowling, D. M. Richardson, R. E. Schulze, M. T. Hoffman, J. J. Midgley, and C. Hilton-Taylor 20. Human use of plants A. B. Cunningham, and G. W. Davis 21. Human impacts on vegetation M. T. Hoffman 22. Alien plant invasions D. M. Richardson, I. A. W. Macdonald, J. H. Hoffmann, and L. Henderson 23. Conservation A. G. Rebelo Glossary Index.

Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities

Abstract: Conservationists are far from able to assist all species under threat, if only for lack of funding. This places a premium on priorities: how can we support the most species at the least cost? One way is to identify 'biodiversity hotspots' where exceptional concentrations of endemic species are undergoing exceptional loss of habitat. As many as 44% of all species of vascular plants and 35% of all species in four vertebrate groups are confined to 25 hotspots comprising only 1.4% of the land surface of the Earth. This opens the way for a 'silver bullet' strategy on the part of conservation planners, focusing on these hotspots in proportion to their share of the world's species at risk.

The Theory of Island Biogeography

Abstract: Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201

High-Resolution Global Maps of 21st-Century Forest Cover Change

Abstract: Quantification of global forest change has been lacking despite the recognized importance of forest ecosystem services. In this study, Earth observation satellite data were used to map global forest loss (2.3 million square kilometers) and gain (0.8 million square kilometers) from 2000 to 2012 at a spatial resolution of 30 meters. The tropics were the only climate domain to exhibit a trend, with forest loss increasing by 2101 square kilometers per year. Brazil's well-documented reduction in deforestation was offset by increasing forest loss in Indonesia, Malaysia, Paraguay, Bolivia, Zambia, Angola, and elsewhere. Intensive forestry practiced within subtropical forests resulted in the highest rates of forest change globally. Boreal forest loss due largely to fire and forestry was second to that in the tropics in absolute and proportional terms. These results depict a globally consistent and locally relevant record of forest change.