GBIF Data Portal Try out the new GBIF portal! Why not try out the new GBIF portal at www.gbif.org, which has many more features and includes lots of information about the GBIF community, including great examples of data uses in research and interesting applications? The old GBIF data portal which you are viewing now will continue to be supported until we are satisfied it can be taken down without causing major inconvenience. Be aware that the content here is static and has not been updated since the launch of the new portal on 9 October 2013. If and when a date is confirmed for discontinuing the old data portal, we will post it here with plenty of prior notice. Welcome to the (former) GBIF Data Portal Access 416,242,316 data records (363,215,360 with coordinates) shared via the GBIF network. Explore Species Find data for a species or other group of organisms. Species Example species: Puma concolor (Linnaeus, 1771) Explore Countries Find data on the species recorded in a particular country, territory or island.
Big animal extinction 'severed nutrient arteries' 12 August 2013Last updated at 02:01 ET By Mark Kinver Environment reporter, BBC News The study is the first to look at how prehistoric megafauna distributed nutrients The demise of big animals in the Amazon region 12,000 years ago cut a key way that nutrients were distributed across the landscape, a study has suggested. Researchers say animals such as huge armadillo-like creatures would have distributed vital nutrients for plants via their dung and bodies. The effects, still visible today, raise questions about the impact of losing large modern species like elephants. The findings have been published in the journal Nature Geoscience. A team of UK and US researchers developed a mathematical model to calculate what impact the sudden loss of megafauna - animals with a body mass of more than 44kg (97lb) - had on the Amazonia's ecosystem. Results showed that the extinctions resulted in a 98% reduction in the dispersal of phosphorus (chemical symbol "P"). Essential for life
iPlant Collaborative Web Portal | The iPlant Collaborative: Empowering a New Plant Biology Commerce de services environnementaux | WRM en français Les “service environnementaux”, ou“services rendus par les écosystèmes”, est un concept inventé dans les années 70, dans le cadre de l’économie capitaliste, par des biologistes et des économistes. Ces termes indiquent que la nature fournit une série de services importants à l’humanité, comme l’eau, la biodiversité, les sols fertiles, etc. Ces concepts sont directement liés à l’idée de fixer un prix à la nature comme unique moyen de la protéger d’une destruction future. De là, intervient un système de paiement au titre des“services environnementaux”, ainsi qu’un commerce de ces “services”. C’est ainsi que ces derniers sont transformés en actifs financiers qui peuvent être vendus, commercialisés et négociés sur les marchés financiers.Il s’agit bien d’un pas de plus vers la marchandisation de la nature.
European Assessment Maps | NATURVATION Scenarios Reference: Representing the current situation Green: Additional trees and parks are implemented within the city Grey: Trees and parks are largely removed from the city Nature for Society: Integrating nature into the city where people most need it by implementing additional trees, permeable surfaces, parks and forests within the city. Nature as Culture: Creating ‘attractive’ nature within the living environment by increasing the amount of public accessible green spaces (e.g. parks, beaches, forested area) within the city. Nature for Nature: Bringing nature back into the city by creating additional space for semi-natural green areas (e.g. forests, grasslands, parks) within the city. Benefits Biodiversity: Potentially occurring fraction of species (POF), measuring the proportion of birds and flying insects populations which could potentially survive in the urban area based on the availability of semi-natural habitat within 100m and 1000m distance.
Species 2000 - Welcome to Species 2000 website Scientists identify 2,370 'irreplaceable' places An international team of scientists has made a list of Earth's most "irreplaceable" places, highlighting more than 2,300 unique habitats that are key to the survival of rare wildlife. The goal of their research, published in the journal Science, is to help wildlife managers make existing parks and nature preserves more effective at preventing extinction. "Protected areas can only fulfill their role in reducing biodiversity loss if they are effectively managed," says Simon Stuart, chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Species Survival Commission, in a press release about the study. The study offers an irreplaceability score for 2,178 protected areas and 192 proposed sites, ranking their importance to rare wildlife in general and to specific biological groups. "These exceptional places would all be strong candidates for World Heritage status," says lead author Soizic Le Saout. Manú National Park, Peru Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Apuan Alps, Italy
GIS and Mapping Resources « Writing for Nature I love maps. Maps tell convoluted stories in a seemingly simple, clean interface that belies the effort and planning that goes into constructing an understandable map. The one below is one I drew after working for several months in this particular portion of Ecuador, but it is only one of the many, many ways the area could be represented. Sketch Map of the region around Pucara in Intag, Ecuador During graduate school I was the TA for several courses where map making was one of the essential skills being taught, both old school with a compass and your stride length, and with the newer GIS methods. A good map, to me, is a work of art, it is something that you want to look at because it is interesting and beautiful on its own visual merits. This page has a partial list of some good mapping and GIS resources. The Weather and Climate page also has some GIS links. Keep in mind that within the US each state has a publicly accessible GIS clearing house, as do more and more cities. Hey What’s That?
High-Biodiversity Wilderness Areas (HBWA) definition | Biodiversity A-Z Legal and compliance – The identification process for HBWAs did not include any legal and compliance requirements. Most of them are too large to legally protect in their entirety and national governments were not involved in their identification. They are, however, referred to in some environmental safeguard standards such as those of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative 5 that require that procurement promotes the conservation of HBWAs. Biodiversity importance – HBWAs are based on high irreplaceability of species within large intact wilderness areas. Socio-cultural values – These areas are not associated with any socio-cultural values due to low human presence and intervention within these areas.
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