Ecosystem diversity

Ecosystems: Diversity

Published in Yeqiao Wang, Terrestrial Ecosystems and Biodiversity, 2020

Ecological diversity should be distinguished from ecosystem diversity, which relates to the assortment of biological communities and their habitats, and the physical environment and ecological processes within an ecosystem and between different ecosystems. Ecosystem diversity can be defined as the variety and relative extent of ecosystem types, including their composition, structure, and processes. It refers to the spectrum of ecosystems—i.e., the diversity of ecosystems, sometimes called ecodiversity—present in the biosphere. Ecosystem diversity is high in Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America, which have a massive land area with variable climate, complex geomorphic types, a long shoreline, and an extensive river system.

Bringing back ecological flows: migratory fish, hydropower and legal maladaptivity in the governance of Finnish rivers

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Journal Information

Published in Water International, 2019

Niko Soininen, Antti Belinskij, Anssi Vainikka, Hannu Huuskonen

The legal and policy challenges include questions as to whether and to what extent hatchery-impacted stocks can recover in rivers that are potentially subjected to the re-evaluation of the hydropower permits and compensation measures. Thus, the apparent question is whether compensation measures should be taken nationally, in rivers where the opportunities for the recovery of native populations are better. Damming’s local harm to the landscape cannot be compensated for anywhere else, but aquatic ecosystem diversity at the national scale could be maximized by taking action where the cost–benefit ratio is the best. This would require a new national-level compensation mechanism and fisheries fees collected from all hydropower companies.

Ecosystem diversity

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Ecosystems: Diversity

Bringing back ecological flows: migratory fish, hydropower and legal maladaptivity in the governance of Finnish rivers