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2 Biodiversity in Scotland today
Children at Jupiter's Urban Wildlife Centre with staff of the Scottish Government and the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers ( BTCV)
The evidence - Scotland's Biodiversity Indicators
To measure progress towards the objectives of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy it is essential to have information about the current status of biodiversity in Scotland. The first set of 22 Scottish biodiversity indicators was published in 2007 to provide a basis for that assessment.
These indicators provide insights into the state of Scotland's wildlife and natural environment. Reflecting the Strategy's strong emphasis on the relationship between the people of Scotland and their natural environment, the indicators also provide information on the extent of people's engagement with biodiversity and the natural world.
Five of the indicators (nearly a quarter) show improvement. A further five show no change, fluctuation or divergent trends. Nine of the indicators (two-fifths) are baseline assessments, for which no trend can be established, either because the way they are measured has changed over time, or because they are new indicators being assessed for the first time. Three of the indicators (one-seventh) show deterioration: seabird populations, plant diversity, and invasive non-native species.
The first report on the Scottish Biodiversity Indicators 7 gives detailed information about the indicators. Following are some key highlights from this report.
Halting biodiversity loss
The most recent assessment revealed that of 153 priority threatened species in Scotland, nearly 40% are increasing or stable, while 18% are declining. The status of around 30% of these species is not currently known. Of 41 priority habitats in Scotland, 35% are increasing or stable, while nearly 30% are declining. For 34% of habitats the status is unknown.
Birds
Most land-based birds and waterbirds included in the indicators have remained stable or increased in recent years. However, the numbers of some seabirds have declined dramatically, indicating changes in the marine environment.
Plants
The range and diversity of some types of plants (acid grasslands and some heathlands) have changed significantly, probably in response to nitrogen levels in air pollution.
Butterflies and moths
Butterflies and moths are good indicators of habitat diversity, fragmentation and the impact of climate change. Generalist butterfly species that can live in a range of different habitats have increased substantially, whilst butterflies that specialise on particular habitats have done less well.
Protected areas
Scotland has over 1,400 protected sites of various kinds on land and sea (Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Ramsar sites, Special Protection Areas and Special Areas of Conservation), often home to rare species. The most recent assessment shows that 50% of habitats, 89% of geological features and 70% of species in these sites were in favourable condition.
Fresh waters
Many previously polluted rivers have improved in condition in the past 20 years, evidenced by increases in the range of invertebrate species, and the widespread return of otters to rivers across most of Scotland.
Estuaries
Many fish species have returned to Scotland's major estuaries in recent years, demonstrating the improvement in water quality following extensive pollution from sewage and industrial pollution from the mid 19th to mid-20th century.
The sea
Plankton is a vital food source for many other species in the sea. Plankton species that flourish in warmer water temperatures have increased dramatically in recent years, probably in direct response to rising sea temperatures due to climate change. The conservation of commercial fish stocks is of prominent national and international importance. Of 11 sea fish stocks assessed in 2005, seven were at full reproductive capacity.
Non-native species
Around 1,000 non-native species occur in the wild in Scotland as a result of human intervention. Most of these do little or no known harm, and the majority have shown no change since the 1950s. However, 14% of these species have increased in prevalence, some of them becoming so invasive that they threaten native wildlife.
Benefits for people
Four out of five people in Scotland live in towns and cities, and green spaces within them make settlements pleasant to live in, offering opportunities for people to experience and enjoy their natural surroundings and providing space for wildlife. A quarter of the area of Scotland's settlements is covered by local greenspace policies, half of which is designated as green belt or for its natural environment. Over three-quarters of Scottish adults made at least one visit to the outdoors during the past 12 months. Over three-quarters of adults surveyed recognised the relevance of biodiversity to them, and nearly 38% of adults had done some volunteering in 2004, including environmental projects.
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Machair flowers, Barvas, Isle of Lewis:
Image courtesy of SNH | Volunteers digging a pond, Chatelherault, Lanarkshire June 2006:
Image courtesy of Richard Davison |
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