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Fear of failure in conservation: The problem and potential solutions to aid conservation of extremely small populations
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The potential for extirpation of extremely small populations (ESPs) is high due to their vulnerability to
demographic and environmental stochasticity and negative impacts of human activity. We argue that
conservation actions that could aid ESPs are sometimes delayed because of a fear of failure. In human
psychology, the fear of failure is composed of several distinct cognitive elements, including ‘‘uncertainty
about the future’’ and ‘‘upsetting important others.’’ Uncertainty about the future is often driven by information obstacles in conservation: information is either not easily shared among practitioners or information is lacking. Whereas, fear of upsetting important others can be due to apprehension about angering constituents, peers, funders, and other stakeholders. We present several ways to address these fears in hopes of improving the conservation process. We describe methods for increased information sharing and improved decision-making in the face of uncertainty, and recommend a shift in focus to cooperative actions and improving methods for evaluating success. Our hope is that by tackling stumbling blocks due to the apprehension of failure, conservation and management organizations can take steps to move from fear to action.
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Historical legacies accumulate to shape future biodiversity in an era of rapid global change
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Main conclusions : The failure to give adequate consideration to widespread cumulative time-lags often masks the full extent of biodiversity changes that have already been triggered. Effects that are particularly relevant for human livelihoods (e.g. changes in the provision of ecosystem services) may emerge with the most pronounced delay. Accordingly, the consideration of appropriate temporal scales should become a key topic in future work at the science–policy interface.
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Reform forest fire management: Agency incentives undermine policy effectiveness
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Globally, wildfire size, severity, and frequency have been increasing, as have related fatalities and taxpayer- funded firefighting costs (1). In most accessible forests, wildfire response prioritizes suppression because fires are easier and cheaper to contain when small (2). In the United States, for example, 98% of wildfires are suppressed before reaching 120 ha in size (3). But the 2% of wildfires that escape containment often burn under extreme weather conditions in fuel-loaded forests and account for 97% of fire-fighting costs and total area burned (3). Changing climate and decades of fuel accumulation make efforts to suppress every fire dangerous, expensive, and ill advised (4).
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Ecosystem carbon stocks and sequestration potential of federal lands across the conterminous United States
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Federal lands across the conterminous United States (CONUS) account for 23.5% of the CONUS terrestrial area but have received no systematic studies on their ecosystem carbon (C) dynamics and contribution to the national C budgets. The methodology for US Congress-mandated national biological C sequestration potential assessment was used to evaluate ecosystem C dynamics in CONUS federal lands at present and in the future under three Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Emission Scenarios (IPCC SRES) A1B, A2, and B1. The total ecosystem C stock was estimated as 11,613 Tg C in 2005 and projected to be 13,965 Tg C in 2050, an average increase of 19.4% from the baseline. The projected annual C sequestration rate (in kilograms of carbon per hectare per year) from 2006 to 2050 would be sinks of 620 and 228 for forests and grasslands, respectively, and C sources of 13 for shrublands. The federal lands’ contribution to the national ecosystem C budget could decrease from 23.3% in 2005 to 20.8% in 2050. The C sequestration potential in the future depends not only on the footprint of individual ecosystems but also on each federal agency’s land use and management. The results presented here update our current knowledge about the baseline ecosystem C stock and sequestration potential of federal lands, which would be useful for federal agencies to decide management practices to achieve the national greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation goal.
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Stop misuse of biodiversity offsets
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Governments should not meet existing conservation targets using the compensation that developers pay for damaging biodiversity, say Martine Maron and colleagues.
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Fire History of the Appalachian Region: A Review and Synthesis
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This review and synthesis explores fire history from Alabama to New England, and provides a context for describing resilient forests of the future.
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News & Events
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New Habitat Guidelines for Six Species of Eastern Wildlife
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The American marten, Bicknell’s thrush, Canada warbler, rusty blackbird, scarlet tanager and wood thrush – six beleaguered northeastern forest animals – should get a boost from a new series of publications explaining how best to create and manage habitat for them.
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Barrens Topminnow , Barrier Construction for Invasive Gambusia
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Reintroduction and management of a highly endemic and endangered species to the TN Barrens. Derived resources from this project include/will include data sets, general report, and news announcement.
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Bear Creek Mussel Recovery
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Restoring mussel fauna
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Alabama Statewide Crayfish Survey
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Stuart McGergor - Geologial Survey of Alabama
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