Towards evidence‐based conservation of subterranean ecosystems

作者：Stefano Mammola, Melissa B. Meierhofer, Paulo A. V. Borges, Raquel Colado, David C. Culver, Louis Deharveng, Teo Delić, Tiziana Di Lorenzo, Tvrtko Dražina, Rodrigo Lopes Ferreira, Barbara Fiasca, Cene Fišer, Diana M. P. Galassi, Laura Garzoli, Vasilis Gerovasileiou, Christian Griebler, Stuart Halse, Francis G. Howarth, Marco Isaia, Joseph S. Johnson, Ana Komerički, Alejandro Martínez, Filippo Milano, Oana Teodora Moldovan, Veronica Nanni, Giuseppe Nicolosi, Matthew L. Niemiller, Susana Pallarés, Martina Pavlek, Elena Piano, Tanja Pipan, David Sánchez‐Fernández, Andrea Santangeli, Susanne I. Schmidt, J. Judson Wynne, Maja Zagmajster, Valerija Zakšek, Pedro Cardoso · 发表于：Biological reviews/Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.1111/brv.12851 · 被引用次数：103 · 研究领域：Subterranean biodiversity and taxonomy、Environmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies、Karst Systems and Hydrogeology

Subterranean ecosystems are among the most widespread environments on Earth, yet we still have poor knowledge of their biodiversity. To raise awareness of subterranean ecosystems, the essential services they provide, and their unique conservation challenges, 2021 and 2022 were designated International Years of Caves and Karst. As these ecosystems have traditionally been overlooked in global conservation agendas and multilateral agreements, a quantitative assessment of solution-based approaches to safeguard subterranean biota and associated habitats is timely. This assessment allows researchers and practitioners to understand the progress made and research needs in subterranean ecology and management. We conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed and grey literature focused on subterranean ecosystems globally (terrestrial, freshwater, and saltwater systems), to quantify the available evidence-base for the effectiveness of conservation interventions. We selected 708 publications from the years 1964 to 2021 that discussed, recommended, or implemented 1,954 conservation interventions in subterranean ecosystems. We noted a steep increase in the number of studies from the 2000s while, surprisingly, the proportion of studies quantifying the impact of conservation interventions has steadily and significantly decreased in recent years. The effectiveness of 31% of conservation interventions has been tested statistically. We further highlight that 64% of the reported research occurr...