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[Main conclusion] Both AE and SIE rarity on La Palma show a clear spatial pattern, with hotspots of endemic rarity found at high elevations and in rare climates, presumably owing to geographical and climatic constraints and possibly anthropogenic pressure (e.g., land use, introduced herbivores, fire). Areas of high rarity estimates coincide with the distribution and extent of PAs on La Palma, especially since the recent addition of the Natura 2000 sites. The hypervolume approach is a promising tool to estimate species range sizes, and can be applied on all scales where point/plot data are available. [Methods] We recorded all present endemic vascular plant species in 1,212 plots covering the entire island. We calculated endemic rarity (corrected range-rarity richness for endemics) using a rarity estimation approach based on kernel density estimations (hypervolume approach). We performed a sensitivity analysis based on multiple linear regressions and relative importance estimations of environmental drivers to estimate the performance of the hypervolume-based rarity estimation compared to standard methods (occurrence frequency, convex hulls, alpha hulls). [Aim] Rarity—an important measure for conservation biogeography—can vary over many orders of magnitude. However, it is unclear which regional-scale abiotic conditions drive processes affecting rarity of endemic species on islands. To support conservation efforts, we (1) assess the main abiotic drivers of endemic rarity, (2) determine how well existing protected areas (PAs) coincide with hotspots of endemic rarity and (3) introduce and evaluate a new hypervolume-based rarity estimator. [Results] Climate variables (mean annual temperature, climatic rarity, precipitation variability) best explained archipelago endemic (AE) and single-island endemic (SIE) rarity. Existing PAs covered the majority of AE and SIE rarity, especially national and natural parks as well as the Natura 2000 sites. In our study system, hypervolumes performed better than standard measures of range size. This work contributed to and was partially supported by the European H2020 Project 641762 ECOPOTENTIAL: Improving future ecosystem benefits through Earth Observations. [Location] La Palma (Canary Islands). © 2017 The Authors. Peer Reviewed

The phytosanitary emergency caused by the spread of Xylella fastidiosa in the Mediterranean has raised demands for a better understanding of the ecology of its presumed and candidate insect vectors. Here, we present the results of a two-year survey carried out in olive groves across southern, eastern and Central Spain and northeastern Portugal. Several sampling methods were tested and compared to select the most appropriate to estimate population levels of potential vectors of X. fastidiosa. The spittlebugs Philaenus spumarius and Neophilaenus campestris (Hemiptera: Aphrophoridae) were the main species associated with olive groves. Both species were widely present on herbaceous ground vegetation within the olive groves; P. spumarius mainly associated with Asteraceae and N. campestris with Poaceae. Due to the patchy distribution of spittlebugs within the olive groves, sweep nets were the most effective and least time-consuming sampling method for the estimation of population size both in the ground cover and tree canopies. Trends in population density showed that spittlebugs can be abundant on ground vegetation but very rare on olive canopies. Spittlebugs disperse in late spring to non-cultivated hosts that act as natural reservoirs. In late fall, adults return to the olive groves for oviposition. However, olive trees may act as transient hosts for spittlebugs and high population densities of these insect vectors should be avoided in areas where X. fastidiosa is present.

Urbanization rate in Central America is the second fastest worldwide and its major cities face challenges regarding urban sustainability. Urban Green Fabric (UGF) is an important material condition for the urban quality of life and, therefore, key to planning processes. We performed an analysis of the UGF of Guatemala City including the identification and classification of UGF, their spatial pattern analysis, construction of ensembles of districts (zones) and revealing citizen&rsquo recognition of green spaces, their perceptions about green space amount and availability as well as their support for UGF future interventions. Finally, we discuss the implications for planning promoted by our results and suggest three actions for UGF sustainability: Creation of new green spaces, protecting existing green spaces and enhancing the mosaic with different green spaces types. UGF is an essential decision support tool for a diversity of actors. s interactions with UGF. We used remote sensing and land use mapping techniques, spatial metrics and a questionnaire survey. Main results are the UGF map of Guatemala City and six ensembles of zones based on a set of indicators. We further revealed citizens&rsquo

Increased efforts are required to prevent further losses to terrestrial biodiversity and the ecosystem services that it provides1,2. Ambitious targets have been proposed, such as reversing the declining trends in biodiversity3; however, just feeding the growing human population will make this a challenge4. Here we use an ensemble of land-use and biodiversity models to assess whether—and how—humanity can reverse the declines in terrestrial biodiversity caused by habitat conversion, which is a major threat to biodiversity5. We show that immediate efforts, consistent with the broader sustainability agenda but of unprecedented ambition and coordination, could enable the provision of food for the growing human population while reversing the global terrestrial biodiversity trends caused by habitat conversion. If we decide to increase the extent of land under conservation management, restore degraded land and generalize landscape-level conservation planning, biodiversity trends from habitat conversion could become positive by the mid-twenty-first century on average across models (confidence interval, 2042–2061), but this was not the case for all models. Food prices could increase and, on average across models, almost half (confidence interval, 34–50%) of the future biodiversity losses could not be avoided. However, additionally tackling the drivers of land-use change could avoid conflict with affordable food provision and reduces the environmental effects of the food-provision system. Through further sustainable intensification and trade, reduced food waste and more plant-based human diets, more than two thirds of future biodiversity losses are avoided and the biodiversity trends from habitat conversion are reversed by 2050 for almost all of the models. Although limiting further loss will remain challenging in several biodiversity-rich regions, and other threats—such as climate change—must be addressed to truly reverse the declines in biodiversity, our results show that ambitious conservation efforts and food system transformation are central to an effective post-2020 biodiversity strategy. To promote the recovery of the currently declining global trends in terrestrial biodiversity, increases in both the extent of land under conservation management and the sustainability of the global food system from farm to fork are required.

Les stratégies de développement régional actuelles exigent des régions de montagne qu'elles se spécialisent dans leurs ressources paysagères et qu'elles les valorisent de manière indépendante. L'hypothèse est que cette stratégie doit être remise en question compte tenu de l'accroissement des inégalités spatiales en Europe. Dans les zones périphériques, cette inégalité est principalement due aux différences dans les opportunités de développement. Elle trouve son expression dans un clivage social croissant, qui s'exprime à son tour dans les pratiques de vote polarisé de la population : les régions riches agissent de façon régionaliste afin de quitter la communauté plus large de solidarité de l'État-nation. Les régions pauvres voient se répandre des courants nationalistes et ouvertement racistes. Les villes, y compris celles des Alpes, attirent une population éduquée et plus prospère et sont capables de gérer plus généreusement les conflits sociaux. L'écart entre les grands villes centres et leur arrière-pays s'élargit. Dans l'intérêt des sociétés cohésives, il ne semble pas très utile dans cette situation d'intensifier davantage la concurrence régionale en valorisant sélectivement les ressources paysagères. D'une part, toutes les régions ne sont pas en mesure de le faire. D'autre part, la valorisation des ressources paysagères, notamment dans les Alpes, doit être rentable pour leurs habitants afin qu'ils n'émigrent pas. Cependant, des bénéfices moyens ne peuvent être obtenus que par le biais de grandes structures économiques. En retour, celles-ci alimentent la mobilité mondiale, sont problématiques pour des raisons écologiques et excluent la population locale de leur utilisation. Le clivage actuel des sociétés européennes confirme le travail historique sur le caractère de ressource des relations sociales (le concept de capital de Bourdieu, interprété comme capital territorial) et l'effet positif des différences nombreuses mais plates dans une société (les clivages transversaux de Rokkan). Dans ce contexte, l'accent mis par le développement régional sur une identité alpine étroitement définie, qui refuse de servir les intérêts des régions métropolitaines voisines, apparaît de plus en plus contre-productif. D'une part, parce qu'elle annule les nombreux conflits en faveur d'un seul conflit profond entre les régions métropolitaines extra-alpines et une pseudo-ruralité alpine, et d'autre part, parce qu'elle coupe les régions périphériques des connaissances externes, dont elles ont besoin si elles veulent être "durables". Les innovations sociales, qui sont particulièrement importantes pour les régions faiblement peuplées, n'apparaissent que si, outre la confiance en soi régionale, il existe une ouverture d'esprit à l'égard des connaissances extérieures. C'est la seule façon de défendre des structures et des modes de vie dignes d'être préservés contre la majorité de la population en dehors des Alpes. Le concept de macro-régions européennes pourrait offrir un moyen de sortir de la tension entre identité et ouverture, à condition que les macro-régions tentent sérieusement de combler les écarts de prospérité et de dépasser les limites des frontières nationales par leur large périmètre géographiques. Pour ce faire, elles ont besoin d'une compétence suffisante et de la volonté de façonner les relations entre les Alpes et la plaine de telle sorte que les intérêts de travailler et de vivre dans les régions de montagne dans des conditions topographiques particulières soient protégés. Cela ne sera pas possible sans subventions croisées ; pour y parvenir, les zones de montagne devront, dans une certaine mesure, répondre aux besoins des zones urbaines. Il reste à renégocier les relations entre les Alpes et les plaines afin de redéfinir la complémentarité entre elles sur la base d'une nouvelle solidarité territoriale. Die heute vorherrschenden Regionalentwicklungsstrategien verlangen von den Gebirgsregionen, sich auf ihre Landschaftsressourcen zu spezialisieren und diese selbständig in Wert zu setzen. Angesichts zunehmender räumlicher Ungleichheit in Europa, so die Hypothese, muss diese Strategie in Frage gestellt werden. In den peripheren Gebieten besteht diese Ungleichheit hauptsächlich in unterschiedlichen Entwicklungschancen. Sie findet ihren Ausdruck in einer zunehmenden gesellschaftlichen Spaltung, die sich wiederum in polarisiertem Abstimmungsverhalten der Bevölkerung äussert: Reiche Regionen agieren regionalistisch, um die grössere Solidargemeinschaft des Nationalstaates zu verlassen. In ärmeren Regionen machen sich nationalistische und offen rassistische Strömungen breit. Städte, auch in den Alpen, ziehen eine gebildete und wohlhabendere Einwohnerschaft an und sind in der Lage soziale Konflikte grosszügiger zu handhaben. Es vertieft sich der Graben zwischen den grossen Kernstädten und ihren Hinterländern. Im Interesse kohäsiver Gesellschaften erscheint es in dieser Situation wenig zielführend, den regionalen Wettbewerb durch eine selektive Inwertsetzung von Landschaftsressourcen weiter zu verschärfen. Zum einen sind nicht alle Regionen dazu in der Lage. Zum andern bedeutet die Inwertsetzung von Landschaftsressourcen, insbesondere in den Alpen, dass sie für die Bevölkerung rentabel sein muss, damit sie nicht in andere Regionen abwandert. Durchschnittliche Rentabilität lässt sich aber in der Regel nur durch Grossstrukturen erreichen. Sie treiben die globale Mobilität an, sind aus ökologischen Gründen problematisch und oft schliessen sie die einheimische Bevölkerung von der Nutzung aus. Die aktuelle Spaltung der europäischen Gesellschaften bekräftigt die historischen Arbeiten zum Ressourcencharakter sozialer Beziehungen (Bourdieus Kapitalbegriff, interpretiert als territoriales Kapital) und der positiven Wirkung von vielen, dafür aber flachen Konfliktlinien in einer Gesellschaft (Rokkan’s cross-cutting cleavages). Die Fokussierung der Regionalentwicklung auf eine eng begrenzte Alpenidentität, die sich den Interessen der angrenzenden Metropolregionen verweigert, erscheint in diesem Licht zunehmend kontraproduktiv. Zum einen, weil sie die vielfältigen Konflikte aufhebt zugunsten eines einzigen tiefgehenden Konflikts zwischen ausseralpiner Metropolregion und alpiner Schein-Ruralität; zum andern, weil sie die peripheren Regionen von externem Wissen abscheidet, das diese jedoch brauchen, wenn sie «nachhaltig» sein wollen. Soziale Innovationen, die für dünn besiedelte Regionen besonders wichtig sind, entstehen nur, wenn neben regionalem Selbstbewusstsein eine Öffnung zu externem Wissen besteht. Nur so lassen sich erhaltenswerte Strukturen und Lebensweisen gegenüber der Bevölkerungsmehrheit ausserhalb der Alpen verteidigen. Einen Ausweg aus dem Spannungsverhältnis zwischen Identität und Öffnung könnte das Konzept der europäischen Makroregionen bieten, sofern diese ernsthaft versuchen, mit ihrer geographisch weiträumigen Abgrenzung Wohlstandsgräben und nationale Grenzen zu überbrücken. Damit sie dies auch tatsächlich tun, bedarf es ausreichender Kompetenzen und die Bereitschaft, das Verhältnis zwischen Alpen und Ebene so zu gestalten, dass die Interessen der Bergbevölkerung, unter den besonderen Bedingungen der Topographie in den Berggebieten zu arbeiten und zu leben, gewahrt bleiben. Dies wird nicht ohne Quersubventionierung gehen und dafür müssen die Berggebiete auch bis zu einem gewissen Grad auf die Bedürfnisse der urbanen Gebiete eingehen. Es bleibt die Aufgabe, die Beziehungen zwischen den Alpen und den Ebenen neu zu verhandeln, um die Komplementarität zwischen ihnen auf der Grundlage einer neuen territorialen Solidarität neu zu definieren. The current regional development strategies require mountain regions to specialise in their landscape resources and to value them independently. The hypothesis is that this strategy has to be questioned in view of increasing spatial inequality in Europe. In the peripheral areas, this inequality is mainly due to differences in development opportunities. It finds its expression in an increasing social cleavage, which in turn is expressed in polarized voting practices of the population: Rich regions are acting regionalist in order to leave the larger community of solidarity of the nation state. Poor regions see nationalist and openly racist currents spreading. Cities, including those in the Alps, attract an educated and more prosperous population and are able to handle social conflicts more generously. The gap between the large core cities and their hinterlands is widening. In the interest of cohesive societies, it does not seem very expedient in this situation to further intensify regional competition by selectively valorising landscape resources. On the one hand, not all regions are in a position to do so. On the other hand, the valorisation of landscape resources, especially in the Alps, means that it must be profitable for their inhabitants so that they do not out-migrate. However, average benefits are only achievable through large economic structures. In turn, they fuel global mobility, are problematic for ecological reasons and often exclude the local population from use. The current division of European societies confirms the historical work on the resource character of social relations (Bourdieu's concept of capital, interpreted as territorial capital) and the positive effect of many but flat lines of conflict in a society (Rokkan's cross-cutting cleavages). In this light, the focus of regional development on a narrowly defined Alpine identity, which refuses to serve the interests of the neighbouring metropolitan regions, appears increasingly counterproductive. On the one hand, because it cancels out the many conflicts in favour of one single deep conflict between extra-Alpine metropolitan regions and an alpine pseudo-rurality, and on the other hand, because it cuts off the peripheral regions from external knowledge, which they need if they want to be "sustainable". Social innovations, which are particularly important for sparsely populated regions, only arise if there is an open mind towards external knowledge in addition to regional self-confidence. This is the only way to defend structures and ways of life worth preserving against the majority of the population living outside the Alps. The concept of European macro-regions could offer a way out of the tension between identity and openness, provided that these macro-regions seriously attempt to bridge prosperity gaps and national borders with their geographically wide demarcation. In order to do so, they need sufficient competence and the willingness to shape the relationship between the Alps and the plain in such a way that the interests to work and live in the mountain regions under the special conditions of topography are safeguarded. This will not be possible without cross-subsidisation; to achieve this, mountain areas will have to some extent respond to the needs of urban areas. The task remains to renegotiate relations between the Alps and the plains in order to redefine complementarity between them on the basis of a new territorial solidarity.

Macroalgal forests have gone missing from most temperate rocky shores during the last decades, triggering an important biodiversity loss. Cystoseira species are some of the main marine habitat-forming species on shallow water Mediterranean rocky bottoms and follow the same tendency, mainly related to habitat destruction and pollution. However, here we suggest that anormal positive thermal events may contribute to this widespread Cystoseira decline. Monitoring thorough natural populations showed a drastic decline on a natural and relict C. crinita population in terms of density and structure coinciding with anormal high temperatures experienced during a summer period. Additionally, we experimentally test in the laboratory the cause-effect of those temperatures and UV radiation conditions experienced in the field on C. crinita populations. Although, C. crinita is able to resist high temperature picks, usually reached in Mediterranean summers, exceptional and maintained periods as those experienced during extreme events (28ºC) lead to the death of all individuals, compromising the viability and conservation of these forest-forming populations. We show how climate change may seriously compromise algal populations and synergically act with historical drivers of macroalgal decline (pollution, habitat destruction and herbivorism). Financial support from EU2020 (R+I) under grant agreement No 689518 (MERCES), MINECO (CGL2016-76341-R) and from University of Girona under congress assistance fellowship program for PhD and master students.

The modern food system is characterised by 1) unsustainable agricultural practices, heavily dependent on agrochemical inputs and leaking large amounts of reactive nitrogen (N) whilst degrading soils, and 2) the consumption of energy-rich but nutrient-poor foods, contributing to non-communicable diseases related to malnutrition. Substituting cereals with low-input, protein- and fibre-rich legumes in the production of mainstream foods offers a promising solution to both issues. Chickpea ( Cicer arietinum ) is a legumi- nous crop that can be grown with little or no synthetic N fertiliser. We performed life cycle assessment (LCA) to compare the environmental footprint of pasta made from chickpeas with conventional pasta made from durum wheat ( Triticum durum ) from cradle to fork. Two functional units were used, an 80g serving of pasta, and a Nutrient Density Unit (NDU). Environmental burdens per serving were smaller for chickpea pasta across at least 10 of the 16 impact categories evaluated. Global warming, resource use minerals and metals, freshwater eutrophication, marine eutrophication, and terrestrial eutrophication burdens were smaller than those of durum wheat pasta by up to 45%, 55%, 50%, 86%, and 76%, respec- tively. Cooked chickpea pasta contains 1.5 more protein, 3.2 times more fibre and 8 times more essential fatty acids than cooked durum wheat pasta per kcal energy content. Thus, the environmental advantage of chickpea pasta extended to 15 of the 16 impact categories when footprints were compared per unit of nutrition. Global warming, resource use and eutrophication burdens per NDU were 79–95% smaller for chickpea pasta than for durum wheat pasta. The one major trade-off was land use, where chickpea pasta had a burden 200% higher per serving, or 17% higher per NDU, than wheat pasta. We conclude that there is high potential to simultaneously improve the environmental sustainability and nutritional quality of food chains through simple substitution of cereals with legumes in staple foods such as pasta. Breeding and agronomic management improvements for legumes could reduce the yield gap with cereals, miti- gating the land use penalty. Meanwhile, the higher protein content of chickpea pasta could contribute towards wider environmental benefits via animal protein substitution in diets, and merits further investi- gation. Consumers who look for the traditional taste and texture of wheat pasta can achieve these aspects by cooking the chickpea pasta al dente and combining it with a typical pasta sauce, which will hide its subtle nutty taste.