Download The Community Biodiversity Index and Biodiversity Awareness

The Community
Biodiversity Index and
Biodiversity Awareness
Mississippi State University Extension, along with its community partners, conducts Mississippi BioBlitzes to measure and demonstrate local biodiversity to residents. The
BioBlitz is a great way for schools, religious institutions,
and other community groups to sample the diversity of
life within a given area. A BioBlitz takes place over twelve
or twenty-four hours during which community members
team up with scientists to find and identify as many living
species as possible. The event usually takes place in a park,
school ground, or similar open, natural area. During the
scientist-led walks, participants learn about herbaceous
plants, trees, mammals, invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles,
and birds. They also learn about the importance of biodiversity. More information on the BioBlitz can be found
in Extension Publication 2887. This publication describes
biodiversity, measures of biodiversity, and how they can be
used with the BioBlitz.
Importance of Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the number, variety, and variability of life
found in a habitat or ecosystem (Figure 1). Biodiversity is
expressed in terms of both genetic variety and ecosystem
variety. Biodiversity is critical to the health of ecosystems
and, ultimately, the entire planet. In a biodiverse ecosystem, each organism plays an important role. Some are
predators while others are prey, striking a delicate balance
in the regulation of plant and animal populations. High
levels of biodiversity typically result in ecosystem productivity. Benefits of biodiversity can be outlined in terms of
ecosystem services. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2016) group these services in the following four
categories:
• Provisioning – products obtained from ecosystems,
such as food, clean water, textiles;
• Regulatory – benefits obtained from ecosystems, such
as the cleansing of air and water;
• Cultural – human enrichment obtained from ecosystems, often seen in spiritual, religious, recreational,
and educational activities;
• Supportive – foundational components of the earth
that support the other three ecosystem services; these
occur over long periods of time.
Biodiversity supports all these services, and each depends
on the others. If one has a problem, they all have a problem.
Figure 1. Biodiversity
Genes Diversity within a species Species Diversity among species Ecosystems Diversity of ecosystems inhabited by a species Biodiversity
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have the
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Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reported that species extinctions are continuing at
about 1,000 times the natural rate, calculated from fossil records. Threats to biodiversity include
habitat destruction, land conversion for agriculture and development, climate change, pollution,
Figure 2. Major threats to biodiversity (Source: IUCN, 2015)
disease
invasive species
exploitation
habitat loss
pollution
climate change
habitat degradation and change
Biodiversity is threatened in many places around the
world. In 2015 the International Union for Conservation
of Nature (IUCN) reported that species extinctions are
continuing at about 1,000 times the natural rate, calculated
from fossil records. Threats to biodiversity include habitat
destruction, land conversion for agriculture and development, climate change, pollution, and spread of invasive
species (Figure 2).
While extinction is a natural part of life, the rate of extinction has been increasing rapidly due to unnatural causes.
The IUCN Red List was begun in 1964 as the most comprehensive inventory of threatened species. Currently, 41,415
plant and animal species are listed on the Red List (Table
1). Of these, as many as one-third are threatened with extinction, an increase of 188 over the previous year. Figure 3
lists threatened organisms in the United States.
• Biodiversity is complex and difficult to define (cf.
United Nations Commission on Biodiversity).
• There are few assessment tools for planners to measure
the progress of their planning efforts.
• They may lack resources – specifically, available personnel. For example, there may not be a specialist
available who can dedicate time to conduct research,
interpret results, educate planning staff and the public,
and incorporate these findings into the planning process.
The City Biodiversity Index (CBI)
Table 1. Globally threatened species
(Source: IUCN Red List)
Organism
Number of
Described Species
Number of
Threatened Species
and Percent of
Described Species
Mammals
4,612
1,199 (26%)
Birds
10,562
1,373 (13%)
Amphibians
4,773
1,957 (41%)
Insects
5 million+
993 (NA*)
*Only 0.5% of roughly 1 million described have been evaluated. Number
of living species may exceed 5 million.
Biodiversity Index
Urban planners often find it difficult to explain and quantify biodiversity to residents when they want to increase
biodiversity in their municipalities. There are three main
reasons for this:
A biodiversity index is a tool that assesses the condition,
function and structure of a habitat. There are a number of
indices available to measure biodiversity. These indices
primarily exist at two scales. Regional or continental indices evaluate large geographic areas and are helpful for
determining habitat connectivity for conservation efforts
(i.e., biodiversity hotspots). Other indices are designed for
use on a small scale (e.g., a stream or patch of habitat) and
are usually site-specific.
This index was designed to measure biodiversity across entire cities and so focuses on elements that are important to
the function of a city. The creators of the index recognized
that urbanization will continue to increase throughout the
world and biodiversity will play an increasingly important
role in urban places. Because it was spearheaded by the
city of Singapore, it is called The Singapore Index on Cities’ Biodiversity.
Figure 3. U.S. threatened species (Source: IUCN, 2015)
The index has two main goals:
• To facilitate the benchmarking of biodiversity within a
city; and
• To help measure the progress and performance of conservation efforts.
Every city is unique, so the CBI is typically not used to
make comparisons across cities.
The index has twenty-three indicators and is organized
into three categories (Appendix A). Each indicator has its
own score based on its own calculations, and the score in
each category can range from zero to four points. The highest possible overall score is 92 points. The scores for each
category indicate its importance in the overall index.
1. Native biodiversity (indicators 1-10) – 40 points possible
2. Ecosystem services provided by native biodiversity
(indicators 11-14) – 16 points possible
3. Governmental support for local biodiversity conservation (indicators 15-23) – 36 points possible
Two elements of the index are mandatory. First, the assessment must identify ecosystems within the city and whether
they include habitat for endangered or Red List species.
This includes the extent and proportion of tree canopy.
Second, the assessment must note the presence of species
within at least five taxonomic groups.
The city profile describes the city using data and maps. It
includes physiographic and ecosystem data, climatic information, and demographic and economic data for the city
and its immediate surroundings. Data on the surrounding
area is important because it helps show the internal and external pressures on the biodiversity. Finally, the city profile
includes a description of the city’s governing organization
(Chan et al., 2014).
Next, the city must inventory native species within five
taxa. Three of the taxa – birds, butterflies, and vascular
plants – are considered core indicators of biodiversity and
must be included. The other two taxa are selected by the
city. Ants and aquatic invertebrates are often selected because these taxa reflect the overall habitat health and species composition of their environments.
Specimens are recorded by taking a simple random sample
at each public property site. Sites may include parks,
school grounds, wastewater treatment plants, open space,
and other public areas. To account for species migration
throughout the year, data collection should occur in the
spring and fall at a minimum. Sampling will follow a belt
transect with the transect geocoordinated for future reference and comparison. See MSU Publication 2887 (What is a
BioBlitz) for more information. The county Extension agent
can assist with sampling procedures.
The final category is governmental support. The index
measures this support based on budgetary allocations,
public outreach programs, and collaborative efforts to support biodiversity. Information for this group of indicators
(15-23) can be collected in the following ways:
Review of the city’s comprehensive plan for historical
information pertaining to biodiversity and the natural environments that support biodiversity. The review includes
a search for goals and objectives that indicate support for
biodiversity.
Interview heads of departments to determine specific policies, programs, or partnerships within each department
that may support biodiversity.
Review the city’s annual budget for line-items that support
biodiversity.
Summary
Remember, the CBI shows how a city’s biodiversity changes over time. The first assessment establishes baseline data,
and the assessments after that show how biodiversity has
improved or declined. A public BioBlitz, where residents
help with data collection, is a good way to start the process
and create awareness about biodiversity in the community.
Changes over time can be observed using the baseline data,
historical data (if available), and ongoing data collection.
The CBI does not require that every species be counted in
the city, but it is a useful tool in helping communities plan
for biodiversity.
The City Biodiversity Index can be accessed by visiting the
Singapore National Parks website at https://www.nparks.
gov.sg/biodiversity/urban-biodiversity/the-singaporeindex-on-cities-biodiversity.
References
Chan, L., Hillel, O., Elmqvist, T., Werner, P., Holman, N.,
Mader, A. and Calcaterra, E. (2014). User’s Manual on
the Singapore Index on Cities Biodiversity. In S. National Parks Board (Ed.), (pp. 47). Singapore: National
Parks Board, Singapore.
Gordon JS, Self B (2015) What is the Mississippi Bioblitz?
P2887. Mississippi State University Extension Service.
Appendix A: Singapore Index on Cities’ Biodiversity
Reproduced from The Users Manual on the Singapore Index on Cities’ Biodiversity (Chan et al., 2014).
Publication 2952 (POD-04-16)
By Dr. Jason Gordon, Assistant Extension Professor, Department of Forestry; Dr. Andrew “Brady” Self, Assistant Extension Professor, Department of
Forestry; and Leslie Moma.
Copyright 2016 by Mississippi State University. All rights reserved. This publication may be copied and distributed without
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Produced by Agricultural Communications.
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Extension Service of Mississippi State University, cooperating with U.S. Department of Agriculture. Published in
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