Title
Co-benefits of soil carbon protection for invertebrate conservation
Date Issued
2020
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Flores-Rios A.
Thomas E.
Peri P.P.
Amelung W.
Borchard N.
Lizárraga-Travaglini A.
Sheil D.
Tscharntke T.
Steffan-Dewenter I.
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas
Publisher(s)
Elsevier Ltd
Abstract
The global decline in invertebrate diversity requires urgent conservation interventions. However, identifying priority conservation areas for invertebrates remains a significant challenge. We hypothesized that aligning the conservation of invertebrate biodiversity with climate change mitigation ofer offers a solution. As both soil carbon storage and invertebrate biodiversity are positively influenced by plant diversity and productivity, a positive correlation can also be expected between SOC and invertebrate biodiversity. Drawing on >10,000 invertebrate observations organized into functional groups, and site-specific soil organic Carbon (SOC) measurements from Patagonia, the Peruvian Andes, and montane tropical rainforest, we examined the role of climate, soil, topographical position and land use for prediction of invertebrate biodiversity. We found that taxonomic and functional invertebrate diversity and abundance closely correlate with SOC stocks within ecosystems. Topographical position of sites, which was partly associated with SOC, was also important, whereas land use was of subordinate importance. We conclude that recent advances in predicting and mapping SOC can guide the identification of habitats within landscapes with high biodiversity and conservation value for invertebrates. Our findings stress the importance of linking global climate change mitigation initiatives that aim to preserve and restore SOC to efforts aimed at improving the conservation of invertebrates and the ecosystem services they provide, for the realization of mutual climate and biodiversity benefits.
Volume
252
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ciencia animal, Ciencia de productos lácteos
Ciencia del suelo
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85095983329
Source
Biological Conservation
ISSN of the container
00063207
Sponsor(s)
We thank Raul Inojue for facilitating our efforts to import the Patagonian invertebrate samples into Peru. Evert Thomas was supported by the CGIAR fund donors. The handling editor and a reviewer provided helpful, constructive feedback that improved the manuscript.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus