Biodiversity Information Projects of the World

Assessing LArge-scale Risks for biodiversity with tested Methods

Project Website

http://www.alarmproject.net/alarm/

Project Description

Based on a better understanding of terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity and ecosystem functioning ALARM will develop and test methods and protocols for the assessment of large-scale environmental risks in order to minimise negative direct and indirect human impacts.

Research will focus on assessment and forecast of changes in biodiversity and in structure, function, and dynamics of ecosystems. This relates to ecosystem services and includes the relationship between society, economy and biodiversity. In particular, risks arising from climate change, environmental chemicals, biological invasions and pollinator loss in the context of current and future European land use patterns will be assessed.

There is an increasing number of case studies on the environmental risks subsequent to each of these impacts. This yields an improved understanding on how these act individually and affect living systems. Whereas the knowledge on how they act in concert is poor and ALARM will be the first research initiative with the critical mass needed to deal with such aspects of combined impacts and their consequences.

Risk assessments in ALARM will be hierarchical and examine a range of organisational (genes, species, ecosystems), temporal (seasonal, annual, decadal) and spatial scales (habitat, region, continent) determined by the appropriate resolution of current case studies and databases.

Socio-economics as a cross-cutting theme will contribute to the integration of driver-specific risk assessment tools and methods and will develop instruments to communicate risks to biodiversity to end users, and indicate policy options to mitigate such risks.

Contact

Josef Settele
Principle Project Coordinator
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Department of Community Ecology

Project Type

Data Provider

Project Language

English

Project Start Date

01-Feb-2004

Project End Date

31-Jan-2009

Key Inputs

Eu integrated project, (contract number: GOCE-CT-2003-506675), 68 partners from 35 countries, 10 non-European countries,
ALARM research focuses on assessment and forecast of changes in biodiversity and in structure, function, and dynamics of ecosystems. This relates to ecosystem services and includes the relationship between society, economy and biodiversity. In particular, risks arising from climate change, environmental chemicals, biological invasions and pollinator loss in the context of current and future European land-use patterns will be assessed.

The knowledge on the concerted action of all these factors is poor and ALARM will be the first research initiative with the critical mass needed to deal with such aspects of combined impacts and their consequences.

Key Infrastructure

In order to achieve the objectives mentioned above, ALARM consists of seven modules: four natural science modules, the socio-economics module, a sixth module of cross-cutting analyses of multiple pressures across landscapes, and a seventh module which includes training activities, dissemination of scientific results, promulgation of toolkits as well as information and expert systems developed and tested within ALARM.

Key Technologies

Biodiversity monitoring,
biodiversity sampling,
biodiversity impact modelling,
biodiversity risk assessment.

Key Processes

Large-scale risk assessment;
risk assessment toolkit;
multiple pressures to biodiversity;
biodiversity impacts by climate changes, environmental chemicals, land-use changes, socio-economics, invasive species, loss of pollinator species;
publication, review of data, collection of data, monitoring, review of collection of bees, databases, genetics, GIS,

Geographic Scope

From local to global, from ecosystem to genes

Taxonomic Scope

All - Fresh water species, pollinator species, invasive species, plant species, ......

Comments

Nature & Science publications out of the project:

Araujo MB and Rahbek C (2006): "How does climate change affect biodiversity?
1." Science 313 (5792): pp. 1396-1397.

Biesmeijer JC, Roberts SPM, Reemer M, Ohlemuller R, Edwards M, Peeters T, Schaffers AP, Potts SG, Kleukers R, Thomas CD, Settele J, and Kunin WE (2006): "Parallel declines in pollinators and insect-pollinated plants in Britain and the Netherlands." Science 313 (5785): pp. 351-354. Full ALARM Acknowledgment

Donald PF, Sanderson FJ, Burfield IJ, Bierman SM, Gregory RD, and Waliczky Z (2007): "International Conservation Policy Delivers Benefits for Birds in Europe." Science 317 (5839): pp. 810-813. ALARM Acknowledgement

Ladle RJ, Jepson P, Araujo MB, and Whittaker TJ (2004): "Dangers of crying wolf over risk of extinctions." Nature 428 (6985): pp. 799.

Penuelas J (2005): "Plant physiology - A big issue for trees." Nature 437 (7061): pp. 965-966.

Schroter D, Cramer W, Leemans R, Prentice IC, Araujo MB, Arnell NW, Bondeau A, Bugmann H, Carter TR, Gracia CA, de la Vega-Leinert A, Erhard M, Ewert F, Glendining M, House JI, Kankaanpaa S, Klein RJT, Lavorel S, Lindner M, Metzger MJ, Meyer J, Mitchell TD, Reginster I, Rounsevell M, Sabate S, Sitch S, Smith B, Smith J, Smith P, Sykes MT, Thonicke K, Thuiller W, Tuck G, Zaehle S, and Zierl B (2005): "Ecosystem service supply and vulnerability to global change in Europe." Science 310 (5752): pp. 1333-1337.

Settele J, Kühn I, Klotz S, Hammen VC, and Spangenberg J (2007): "Is the EC Afraid of Its Own Visions?" Science 315 (5816): pp. 1220. Full ALARM Acknowledgement

Thomas CD, Williams SE, Cameron A, Green RE, Bakkenes M, Beaumont LJ, Collingham YC, Erasmus BFN, de Siqueira MF, Grainger A, Hannah L, Hughes L, Huntley B, van Jaarsveld AS, Midgley GF, Miles L, Ortega-Huerta MA, Peterson AT, and Phillips OL (2004): "Biodiversity conservation - Uncertainty in predictions of extinction risk - Effects of changes in climate and land use - Climate change and extinction risk - Reply." Nature 430 (6995).

Thomas JA and Settele J (2004): "Evolutionary biology - Butterfly mimics of ants." Nature 432 (7015): pp. 283-284.

Thuiller W, Araujo MB, Pearson RG, Whittaker RJ, Brotons L, and Lavorel S (2004): "Biodiversity conservation - Uncertainty in predictions of extinction risk." Nature 430 (6995).

Walther GR (2007): "Tackling ecological complexity in climate impact research." Science 315 (5812): pp. 606-607.

Record Status

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