Analysing and monitoring human impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services

Biodiversity, that is, plants, animals and other organisms, contribute to the provision of numerous ecosystem services, such as medicinal plants (Kala 2006; Kideghesho and Msuya 2010), agricultural products (Tweddell et al. 2006), and clean water (Adekola and Mitchell 2011). Issues 2 and 3 of volume 7 looked into the various aspects of managing biodiversity and ecosystem services (Van Oudenhoven 2011; Van Oudenhoven and de Groot 2011, respectively). In this last issue of volume 7, however, the authors provide insight into the impacts of human pressures on biodiversity, as well as on the ways of monitoring biodiversity and promoting incentives to invest in the protection of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Deforestation and fragmentation of forests takes place at a large scale in Bangladesh, as has been shown before by Akther et al. (2010) and Rahman et al. (2009). A recent study by Muhammed et al. (2011) provides new insights into the structure and benefits of homestead forests in the country. Whereas more connected and intact forests are able to provide a more constant flow of timber products, homestead forests were found to host more horticultural species. In other words, although plant diversity might have increased, the productivity of timber products has decreased as a result of forest fragmentation. In southern India, anthropogenic disturbance was found to play a significant role in the survival and success of non-native tree species in riparian forests (Sunil et al. 2011). Since invasive tree species can impact water availability in the riparian areas (Blanchard and Holmes 2008), the study by Sunil et al. can be important for discussing appropriate biodiversity management strategies in southern India. But how can we monitor biodiversity and the associated resources in an accurate, reliable and cost-effective manner? Seak et al. (2011) analysed three systems for monitoring biodiversity and biological resources, namely, state-managed, NGO-managed and community-based monitoring. For a case study in Cambodia, the authors assessed the systems based on practical and methodological criteria, such as the ease of use and methodological rigour, respectively. Over the past years, the International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services & Management has been an important platform for studies on medicinal plants, as recent studies in Africa (Kisangau and Herrmann 2007; Maroyi 2008; Kideghesho and Msuya 2010), South America (Soldati and de Albuquerque 2010) and Asia (Arfin Khan et al. 2009; Chowdhury et al. 2009) have shown. Rahman et al. (2011) present the results of an extensive study into the status, diversity and use of medicinal plants in a national park in Bangladesh. Although the research found an impressive diversity of species with medicinal properties, one finding was particularly worrying. The harvest of medicinal plants by local communities occurs largely in a sustainable manner, but it was the commercial extraction of a few, particularly valuable species that was found to be unsustainable. A short research paper by Tesio and Follis (2011) takes us ‘back to the future’. In an Italian study of three old local flint maize varieties, the authors proved that these old varieties are better adapted to the damage caused by mechanical weed control and herbicide treatments compared to currently preferred high-yielding hybrid maize species. Specifically when taking into account management costs and ecological durability of agricultural lands, ‘rediscovering’ traditional crops might provide an answer to ever increasing demands for agricultural production. Finally, the conservation and management of biodiversity and ecosystem services require considerable financial investments (Loft 2011). Lambooy and Levashova (2011) investigated why the private sector should and would invest in nature, and what the barriers and opportunities would be. The authors provide an overview of biodiversity and ecosystem service markets that are currently emerging. The barriers and opportunities that were identified are important for practitioners and policymakers to take into consideration. The diversity of studies, in terms of both scope and geographical distribution in this issue, once again proves the increasing popularity of the ecosystem service concept. The upcoming double issue of our journal, due to appear in the spring of 2012, will provide more insights and practical guidelines towards the integration of biodiversity and ecosystem services into local, national and international policies and markets.