Environmental change: prospects for conservation and agriculture in a southwest Australia biodiversity hotspot

Ecology and Society

Robert J. Naiman¹  Peter Cook¹  Geoff S. Woodall¹  Rebecca J. Dobbs¹  Harriet L. Paterson¹  Bradley J. Pusey¹  Barbara Stewart¹  Peter C. Speldewinde¹  Neil E. Pettit¹  Sarah Comer¹  Julia M. Fry¹  Paul G. Close¹  J. Dale Roberts¹  Peter M. Davies¹  Colin J. MacGregor²  Sandy Toussaint³ 

[1] Centre of Excellence in Natural Resource Management, The University of Western Australia;College of Marine & Environmental Sciences, James Cook University;School of Social and Cultural Studies, The University of Western Australia;

关键词: adaptive management;    agriculture and conservation;    biodiversity;    climate change;    land-use change;    southwest Australia.;   

DOI  :  10.5751/ES-07727-200310

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Accelerating environmental change is perhaps the greatest challenge for natural resource management; successful strategies need to be effective for decades to come. Our objective is to identify opportunities that new environmental conditions may provide for conservation, restoration, and resource use in a globally recognized biodiversity hotspot in southwestern Australia. We describe a variety of changes to key taxonomic groups and system-scale characteristics as a consequence of environmental change (climate and land use), and outline strategies for conserving and restoring important ecological and agricultural characteristics. Opportunities for conservation and economic adaptation are substantial because of gradients in rainfall, temperature, and land use, extensive areas of remnant native vegetation, the ability to reduce and ameliorate areas affected by secondary salinization, and the existence of large national parks and an extensive network of nature reserves. Opportunities presented by the predicted environmental changes encompass agricultural as well as natural ecosystems.These may include expansion of aquaculture, transformation of agricultural systems to adapt to drier autumns and winters, and potential increases in spring and summer rain, carbon-offset plantings, and improving the network of conservation reserves. A central management dilemma is whether restoration/preservation efforts should have a commercial or biodiversity focus, and how they could be integrated. Although the grand challenge is conserving, protecting, restoring, and managing for a future environment, one that balances economic, social, and environmental values, the ultimate goal is to establish a regional culture that values the unique regional environment and balances the utilization of natural resources against protecting remaining natural ecosystems.

【 授权许可】

Unknown