Two new taxa, Falklandoglenes spinosa gen. nov. and sp. nov. and Beauchenia striata gen. nov. and sp. nov. , are described from Beauchêne Island, the most remote island in the Falkland Islands archipelago. Both species are in subfamily Mynogleninae, previously thought to be confined to Central Africa and to New Zealand and its neighbouring subantarctic islands. Both species show intermediate characters between the Mynogleninae and the remainder of the Linyphiidae, and hence they throw some light on the phylogeny of this large, complex, world–wide family of spiders.

Soil Use and ManagementVolume 22, Issue 3 p. 323-323 The Biology of Soil: A Community and Ecosystem Approach Michael B. Usher, Michael B. UsherSearch for more papers by this author Michael B. Usher, Michael B. UsherSearch for more papers by this author First published: 28 June 2008 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-2743.2006.00049_1.xRead the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume22, Issue3September 2006Pages 323-323 RelatedInformation

Sphaerosporella brunnea is a pioneer and opportunist ectomycorrhizal species, and the most common fungal competitor in nurseries producing plants mycorrhized with Tuber species. Our objective was to learn more about its life cycle as the first step to manage its presence in greenhouses. Conidiation and formation of resting spore-like structures were found to be triggered by aeration and to be highest on CMA medium. In pot experiments S. brunnea was able to form ectomycorrhizas and ascocarps rapidly, in 2 and 3 months respectively, if substratum moisture was high. Both mycelia and conidiospores were effective sources of inoculum for mycorrhization. This species seems to be homothallic as apothecia have been obtained after inoculations with single monospore isolates. Propagation by mitospores and homothallism are poorly documented in ECM fungi, therefore these results may be of fundamental interest beyond the question of greenhouse management.

We describe the origins, development and characteristics of a major programme of research into soil biodiversity, the NERC Thematic Research Programme 'Biological Diversity and Function in Soils'. The programme was conceived to address a number of questions relating to the role of biodiversity in the ecological functioning of soils. It had six scientific aims, which in outline were: (i) to quantify the taxonomic diversity of key groups of the soil biota in a single ecosystem; (ii) to extend taxonomic understanding of the soil biota, especially to poorly characterised groups; (iii) to characterise the roles played by all major groups of the soil biota in the ecologically important process of the carbon cycle; (iv) to determine the extent to which depauperation of the soil biota may reduce its ability to perform essential ecosystem services; (v) to conduct parallel manipulations of major taxonomic groups of soil biota under controlled conditions; (vi) to determine the extent to which soil biodiversity is an indicator of soil ecosystem resilience.The research was focussed on a single, upland grassland site and combined both field studies and experiments in controlled laboratory conditions. We present the rationale for the study, provide information on the field site and the experimental design, and then give results of the background monitoring of both the soil chemistry and the botanical composition during the progress of the research. These changes reflect the results of the major treatments (N and Ca applied singly and in combination) in the experimental design. We briefly review the main achievements of the programme (such as understanding the outstanding diversity of the small soil organisms bacteria, protozoa, mycorrhizal fungi and nematodes - and the speed with which processes in the soil occur) and argue that the research has made substantial advances towards our understanding of both the extent and function of the biological diversity of soil ecosystems. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Landscape sensitivity is expressed as the ratio of the change in a system to the change in a landscape component. The larger the ratio, the greater the sensitivity. An array of drivers of landscape change is reviewed, but there is seen to be little benefit in separating natural changes from human-induced changes: most change has a component of each, though there is a continuum from one extreme to the other.Changes in the systems themselves are reviewed, including the increasing evidence for two or more system states bring possible. Whilst one state may be preferred, there is no consensus on what kind of a landscape we want, or how aspects of that landscape can be manipulated to give us what we want. This is a field of research were really new ideas are wanted, and where interdisciplinary research should be the norm. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

New PhytologistVolume 146, Issue 1 p. 25-25 Free Access Nature conservation in Britain: the formative years. By John Sheail. xiii + 282 pages. London, UK: The Stationery Office, 1998. £19.95 p/b. ISBN 0 11 702308 6. Michael B. Usher, Michael B. Usher 1 Scottish Natural Heritage, 2 Anderson Place, Edinburgh EH6 5NP, UK (tel +44 (0)131 446 2401; fax +44 (0)131 446 2401; e-mail mbu@snh.gov.uk)Search for more papers by this author Michael B. Usher, Michael B. Usher 1 Scottish Natural Heritage, 2 Anderson Place, Edinburgh EH6 5NP, UK (tel +44 (0)131 446 2401; fax +44 (0)131 446 2401; e-mail mbu@snh.gov.uk)Search for more papers by this author First published: 25 December 2001 https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1469-8137.2000.0621b.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume146, Issue1April 2000Pages 25-25 RelatedInformation

Numerical ecology is the field of quantitative ecology devoted to the numerical analysis of data, mostly multivariate, with emphasis on community composition data. It is a sub-discipline of ecology, not of statistics or other mathematical discipline. Many of the methods used in numerical ecology have been developed by ecologists, specialists of classification methods, geneticists and other researchers who were facing questions about multivariate data in their fields of study. The field of numerical ecology results from the work of a large number of dedicated scientists who experimented with numerical methods of analysis before and in the computer era. They developed a broad palette of methods of analysis to answer specific ecological questions. The article lists some of the pioneer researchers, as well as the scientists who wrote the first textbooks describing how numerical and statistical analysis of ecological data could and should be done to answer ecological questions and test hypotheses. The field is also indebted to the scientists who developed the many computer packages now available for numerical analysis of ecological data.

Agricultural landscapes can be defined as mosaics of landscape elements which are affected by farming practices. Woodland habitats, even though they are managed, are amongst the most stable elements of agricultural landscapes and can play a key role in the maintenance of biodiversity. This study of the ground beetle (carabid) communities of woodlands and woody linear features in a Scottish agricultural landscape shows that these habitats contribute significantly to the overall landscape diversity of these beetles. Communities in woods and hedgerows display the same species diversity and are both characterized by the presence of forest species. The main factors constraining carabid communities in both environments are the grazing intensity and, to a lesser extent, the type of soil. Heavily grazed locations are characterized by the occurrence of grassland species while forest species are restricted to ungrazed locations. At the landscape scale, the distribution of the forest species is limited by spatial isolation, indicating that there are insufficient functional links between woodland habitats in the study area. Isolation could be compensated for either by a better control of grazing so that linear features can be used as dispersal corridors for forest carabids or by planting more linear features and woods in the area.

The Farm Woodland Scheme, which provided incentives to convert agricultural land to timber production, contained an implicit assumption that farm woodlands produce important benefits for wildlife. The moth fauna of 18 farm woodlands in the Vale of York was surveyed between May and November 1991. The aims were twofold. The first was to determine if there were benefits for moth species diversity. The second was to ascertain whether concepts of island biogeography and the plant species richness of the woods were related to the moth species composition.

1. Over the last 20 years many criteria have been proposed for undertaking conservation evaluations. These are reviewed briefly, but it is shown that two-species richness and rarity-are most frequently used.2. For dealing with large data-sets, computer algorithms have been developed so that optimal selections of areas to protect for nature conservation can be made. These algorithms can incorporate most criteria, but again rarity and species richness are most frequently used.3. More recent developments include greater taxonomic awareness ('Should all species be counted equally?') and a focus on 'hotspots'-areas which have unusually large assemblages of species.4. In any evaluation work, classification is an essential first step. Classifications establish classes on the basis of their fauna, flora and/or physical characteristics.5. Nature is dynamic, and what might be valued today may increase or decrease in value in the future. This dynamism in nature implies that nature conservation may need to invoke the precautionary principle, since a minimalist approach now may mean a sub-standard set of protected areas in the future.6. There is a greater need to incorporate socio-economic activity with nature conservation. This is not necessarily part of the evaluation process, but is important in the long-term management of sites selected on the basis of their biodiversity.

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New PhytologistVolume 137, Issue 4 p. 703-707 Free Access Conserving Peatlands. Ed. by L. PARKYN, R. E. STONEMAN and H. A. P. INGRAM. 23×15 cm. Pp. xxi+500 with numerous text-figures. Wallingford, Oxon., UK: CAB International, 1997. Price h/b: £60.00, ISBN 0 85198 998 5. Michael B. Usher, Michael B. UsherSearch for more papers by this author Michael B. Usher, Michael B. UsherSearch for more papers by this author First published: 09 October 2008 https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1469-8137.1997.00872-1.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume137, Issue4December 1997Pages 703-707 RelatedInformation

Collembola were extracted from soil under stands of lodgepole pine Pinus contorta, in northern England, ranging in age from two to twenty five years. Twenty nine species were recorded, but the community was dominated by only four: Folsomia brevicauda, Friesea mirabilis, Onychiurus armatus and Pseudisotoma sensibilis. There was little indication that community composition changed in relation to the age of the stand or distance from tree base, although in both cases the tests were significant for 2 species. By contrast, more species were significantly correlated with soil water, local vegetation and fungal fruitbodies than would be expected in random data. O. armatus correlated both with abiotic factors (soil water, tree age and distance from tree base) and with the saprophytic fungus Marasmius androsaceus, which is known to be one of its preferred foods.

1 We present a method, worked out in detail for Scotland, that classifies the environment in a way that maximizes information about species distributions. Biogeographical zones defined by the method are based on permanent features of the environment, while at the same time reflecting species distributions and vegetation cover.2 Data on the occurrence of native species in six taxonomic groups (breeding birds, diurnal insects, terrestrial molluscs, vascular plants, mosses and liverworts) in 10-km squares in Scotland were extracted from national databases. The environment of each square was specified by 12 climatic variables and four topographic variables.3 A measure of the environmental difference between 10-km squares was derived by relating their environmental attributes to the species that occur in them, using detrended canonical correspondence analysis (DCCA), a method of ordination. DCCA defines a metric in environmental space such that unit difference corresponds to a given degree of species difference.4 For each of the six taxonomic groups, DCCA was used to generate a four-axis ordination of the 10-km squares, which were then clustered into 10 groups by a minimum-variance clustering algorithm. Ten clusters were also derived using the full set of 24 axes resulting from all six ordinations. Characteristic species for each of the clusters were identified using a numerical preference index.5 Most clusters could be mapped as discrete zones. There was substantial similarity between the clusters for differing taxonomic groups. The 10 clusters created by combining all six groups provided a succinct general summary of the natural zonation of Scotland. The characteristic species of these clusters were used to contrast the high conservation value of some areas with the lesser value of others.6 Our biogeographical zones compared well with certain previous classifications, but have the additional strength of being based on a combination of environmental data and species data at a national scale. There is considerable scope for developing the methodology and for extending its application for conservation purposes.

Plant species recorded from two surveys of the Ingleborough limestone pavements in the U.K. 11 years apart, in 1974/75 and 1985, are used to assess the performance of potential reserve networks over time. The minimum set of pavements needed to represent all nationally rare and uncommon species occurring on the pavements in 1974/75 is inadequate in 1985 because of a very high level of apparent turnover in species composition. The number of species lost or gained is not correlated with pavement area and the turnover has not resulted in an equilibrium number of species; overall more species were lost than gained. Even if this turnover is due only to observer bias, it is a real phenomenon when it comes to land use decision‐making and should be taken into account when planning reserve networks and developing conservation management strategies. A statistical model of extinction probability is derived by relating the variable “extinct or not in 1985” to frequency of occurrence in 1974/75 using logistic regression. This model is then used to predict that 18, 19, or 20 and 21 species will have become locally extinct by 1994, 1995, and 1996, respectively. The list of species from which these extinctions are likely to be drawn is supplied.