Biodiversity informatics (BDI) information is both highly localized and highly distributed. The temporal and spatial contexts of data collection events are generally of primary importance in BDI studies, and most studies are focused around specific localities. At the same time, data are collected by many groups working independently, but often at the same sites, leading to a distribution of dat...

Contents 1. Introduction 2. Technical aspects of agricultural biotechnology at the interface with agrobiodiversity 2.1 In vitro technologies 2.2 Genetic modification and the sourcing of genes 2.3 Molecular marker technology 2.4 Genomics and beyond 2.5 The context of agricultural biotechnology 3. Agro-biodiversity as a source for biotechnological applications 4. Biotechnological tools in genetic...

The Chinese Seed Systems Project started in January 2000 in Southwest China. It is co-funded by IDRC (International Development Research Centre, Canada) and Ford Foundation, and is carried out by the Centre for Chinese Agricultural Policy (CCAP) of the China Academy of Science (CAS), in collaboration with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) and with academic supervisio...

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Contents 1. Introduction 2. Tropics: description, climate and ecosystems 3. Earth's biodiversity 4. Why are there so many different kinds of organisms in the Tropics? 5. Latitudinal gradients in species richness and their hypothesis 5.

In this contribution, I identify possible biotic elements of reptiles of China using biotic element analysis. I test whether the vicariance model could significantly shape reptilian current distribution patterns. My results show that dispersal is prevailing for reptiles in China. There are four major biotic elements in reptilian distribution, which are East Xizang, YunnanGuizhou Plateau, Taiwan...

(Mountain biodiversity in Brazil). The high species richness and diversity found in tropical montane habitats are often related to: 1) an effect of climatic and geological history on biotic evolution; 2) the various environmental impacts on species adaptation mechanisms; and 3) the continuous dispersal of fauna and flora in time. However, little is known about how these factors shaped species r...

Assessing the status and monitoring the trends of land cover dynamics in and around protected areas is of utmost importance for park managers and decision makers. Moreover, to support the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)’s Strategic Action Plan including the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, such efforts are necessary to set a framework to reach the agreed national, regional or global targets...

The concept of biodiversity, its introduction in conservation biology, and its evolution in the framework of systematic conservation planning, are analyzed. Attempts to quantify biodiversity and to find surrogate measures for it are described. It is shown that biodiversity originated as and remains a fundamentally normative concept. However, while attempts to reduce biodiversity conservation to...

The Digital Observatory for Protected Areas (DOPA) has been developed to support the European Union’s efforts in strengthening our capacity to mobilize and use biodiversity data so that they are readily accessible to policymakers, managers, researchers and other users. Assessing protected areas for biodiversity conservation at national, regional and international scales implies that methods and...