Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

About: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is a nonprofit organization based out in Sandy, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Biodiversity. The organization has 670 authors who have published 1425 publications receiving 88006 citations. The organization is also known as: RSPB & Plumage League.

Habitat use and diet of skylarks Alauda arvensis wintering on lowland farmland in southern Britain

Abstract: Summary 1 The habitat use and diet of skylarks wintering on lowland farms were studied to assess whether changes in agricultural practice could have reduced their most favoured wintering habitats or foods. Faecal samples were collected and soil seed densities were estimated. Skylarks in 122 cereal stubble fields in Oxfordshire were counted monthly to examine habitat use. 2 Cereal stubble fields were more likely to be occupied than other crops, and densities of birds in occupied fields were high. Barley stubbles were significantly more likely to be occupied than wheat stubbles. Growing cereals were weakly selected. Sugar beet stubbles held high densities of birds. Rotational set-aside was occupied more frequently and held higher densities than non-rotational set-aside. 3 Field size affected field occupancy independently of crop type, with larger fields more likely to be occupied. Fields enclosed by hedges or trees tended to be avoided. Cereal and set-aside fields that were occupied by skylarks in at least 1 month held significantly higher soil seed densities than fields that were not occupied. 4 Differences in occupancy between crops could be explained by diet. Birds in cereal stubbles fed largely on cereal grain, whereas those in winter cereals fed largely on cereal leaves. Broad-leaved weed leaves were strongly selected as food in cereal crops and farmland grass fields. In grass fields, the proportion of the diet made up by broad-leaved weeds was positively correlated with their availability. Broad-leaved weed seeds did not make up a significant dietary component in any crop. 5 Our results show that the shift from spring to autumn sowing of cereals has led to a loss of the skylark’s most strongly selected wintering habitat and best food source. In winter cereals and in grass there was a high selectivity for relatively scarce, and probably declining, food resources. Our results suggest that the retention of weed-rich cereal (particularly barley) and sugar beet stubbles through the winter, particularly in large open blocks, will improve conditions for skylarks in winter. Whole-field rotational set-aside, particularly as naturally regenerating cereal stubbles, provides good winter food resources for skylarks.

Extinction Risk and Conservation Priorities

Abstract: Threatened species lists based on extinction risk are becoming increasingly influential for setting conservation priorities at regional, national, and local levels. Risk assessment, however, is a scientific endeavor, whereas priority setting is a societal process, and they should not be confounded

Measuring the success of climate change adaptation and mitigation in terrestrial ecosystems

Abstract: BACKGROUND Responding effectively to climate change requires urgent action to halt net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to adapt to changes that cannot be prevented. The Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has committed governments to the following: keeping global temperature rise below 2°C, pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C, and adapting to reduce the vulnerability of people and ecosystems to the damaging consequences of a changing climate. When protected, restored, or managed appropriately, natural and seminatural ecosystems make critical contributions to climate change mitigation and to helping people adapt to climate change. Ecosystems themselves are vulnerable to climate change, but by restoring natural ecosystem processes, resilience can be built, and a wide range of adaptation strategies can ameliorate the impacts. Both synergies and conflicts between different objectives can arise, and it is essential to have clarity about what constitutes success across the range of adaptation and mitigation outcomes and to track progress. The success of ecosystem-based mitigation can be measured in terms of falling net emissions and stabilization of atmospheric CO2 concentration. Although this is conceptually straightforward, it can be difficult to measure ecosystem fluxes accurately. Adaptation is more complicated because it encompasses a wide range of objectives, with respect to people and biodiversity, including both reducing vulnerability and managing unavoidable change. ADVANCES Many studies have investigated how nature-based solutions can contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. The evidence is now clear that protecting and restoring ecosystems is essential to holding global temperature rise to between 1.5° and 2°C. The value of different interventions for reducing GHG emissions and promoting carbon sequestration can be quantified with varying degrees of confidence. The evidence for the effectiveness, opportunities, and limitations of ecosystem-based adaptation in enabling people to cope with climate change is also growing, and these approaches are starting to be implemented. Adaptation to reduce the vulnerability of biodiversity and ecosystems themselves to climate change has been discussed over many years but proposed measures remain largely untested. This is starting to change, with recent studies gathering empirical evidence of the factors that influence the vulnerability of ecosystems and biodiversity. Nevertheless, evaluation and reporting of adaptation is currently focused on planning and implementation of actions rather than on assessment of whether these programs have successfully reduced vulnerability. OUTLOOK A picture is emerging of what successful adaptation and mitigation in terrestrial ecosystems looks like when it is built around protecting and restoring natural ecosystem processes. To realize the potential of ecosystems to ameliorate climate change requires integrated actions that are consistent with wider biodiversity and sustainable development goals. High-carbon ecosystems, particularly forests and peatlands, are essential, but other ecosystems, such as savannas, are also important elements of wider nature-based solutions and should be protected and restored. Pursuing mitigation objectives alone risks perverse outcomes that increase rather than reduce vulnerability. Further work is required to test the effectiveness of specific ecosystem-based mitigation and adaptation measures and what works best to support biodiversity in a changing climate. More-robust monitoring and evaluation are needed to drive progress. Measuring adaptation for biodiversity is particularly challenging, and monitoring and management will need to develop together as we learn from experience.