On the other hand, how should it be possible to compare the proportion of
protected forest area in two countries and the responsibility of forestry ministries if
different definitions are used? The exact determination and characterization of
habitats and ecosystems is important whenever we talk about ecology, biogeography, species compositions, laws that are linked to activities in the landscape or nature
conservation measures.
As comprising term for categories such as forest, swamp or heathland in this
contribution we prefer to use habitat types. The terms ecosystem, habitat and
community are particularly used for the same section of a landscape or sea region.
However, the view is slightly different. The term ecosystem has a focus on energy
and material reservoirs and fluxes, on ecosystem functions and ecosystem services
which include benefits for humans. Habitat types are units with a typical structure
and species composition. The community today is related to the living part of a
habitat or ecosystem. According to Chiarucci (2007, 214) “A plant community is
formed by all the plants living in a given unit of space and time”. Analogously, a
community with all inhabitants is formed by all organisms in a given unit of space
and time. With respect to the references cited, the term habitat, habitat type (abstract
unit) and habitat group (formation) are preferably used in the following.
Classification schemes of ecosystem, habitat or community types are often based
on species composition, structure, climate, soil and other ecological criteria (FaberLangendoen et al. 2012; Jennings et al. 2009; Mucina et al. 2016, see also the
regularly updated classification for European ecosystems of EUNIS, the Red List of
European habitats, and the IUCN Red List on the internet). We here consider EUNIS
(Davies et al. 2004) which is predominantly in accordance with the Red List of
European habitats (Janssen et al. 2016) and the habitats as defined by the IUCN Red
List (IUCN 2018, 2019a, b, c). In this chapter only a few adjustments with respect to
other classification schemes are applied.
A species can be rare in a region even if it is widely distributed. It can be endemic
(restricted) to a certain region and in the same time be non-endemic to another
region, e.g. a smaller one.
The term endemism refers to species that exhibit a clearly limited spatial distribution (Hobohm 2014). Even if the fundamental understanding of endemism refers
to a spatially limited area, evolution of species and their population dynamics and
dispersal takes always place within a given environment including abiotic conditions
(e.g. resources) and biotic interactions (e.g. mutualism or competition).
Threatened species often suffer from human pressure and/or changing environmental conditions. However, not all endemics are threatened and threatened species
are often dispersed across large regions (IUCN 2018, 2019a, b, c).
Both, rare and endemic species are often vulnerable or threatened to become
extinct, for example due to changing environmental conditions.
Species with extremely limited areas have an outstanding value in nature conservation (Hobohm 2014). Such species are frequently protected by law. Various
management activities are undertaken in order to ensure their survival. Such species
are underrepresented in data bases not only because of their limited occurrence but
also to avoid exploitation, damage and/or biological tourism. Research on endemic
236
C. Hobohm et al.
protected forest area in two countries and the responsibility of forestry ministries if
different definitions are used? The exact determination and characterization of
habitats and ecosystems is important whenever we talk about ecology, biogeography, species compositions, laws that are linked to activities in the landscape or nature
conservation measures.
As comprising term for categories such as forest, swamp or heathland in this
contribution we prefer to use habitat types. The terms ecosystem, habitat and
community are particularly used for the same section of a landscape or sea region.
However, the view is slightly different. The term ecosystem has a focus on energy
and material reservoirs and fluxes, on ecosystem functions and ecosystem services
which include benefits for humans. Habitat types are units with a typical structure
and species composition. The community today is related to the living part of a
habitat or ecosystem. According to Chiarucci (2007, 214) “A plant community is
formed by all the plants living in a given unit of space and time”. Analogously, a
community with all inhabitants is formed by all organisms in a given unit of space
and time. With respect to the references cited, the term habitat, habitat type (abstract
unit) and habitat group (formation) are preferably used in the following.
Classification schemes of ecosystem, habitat or community types are often based
on species composition, structure, climate, soil and other ecological criteria (FaberLangendoen et al. 2012; Jennings et al. 2009; Mucina et al. 2016, see also the
regularly updated classification for European ecosystems of EUNIS, the Red List of
European habitats, and the IUCN Red List on the internet). We here consider EUNIS
(Davies et al. 2004) which is predominantly in accordance with the Red List of
European habitats (Janssen et al. 2016) and the habitats as defined by the IUCN Red
List (IUCN 2018, 2019a, b, c). In this chapter only a few adjustments with respect to
other classification schemes are applied.
A species can be rare in a region even if it is widely distributed. It can be endemic
(restricted) to a certain region and in the same time be non-endemic to another
region, e.g. a smaller one.
The term endemism refers to species that exhibit a clearly limited spatial distribution (Hobohm 2014). Even if the fundamental understanding of endemism refers
to a spatially limited area, evolution of species and their population dynamics and
dispersal takes always place within a given environment including abiotic conditions
(e.g. resources) and biotic interactions (e.g. mutualism or competition).
Threatened species often suffer from human pressure and/or changing environmental conditions. However, not all endemics are threatened and threatened species
are often dispersed across large regions (IUCN 2018, 2019a, b, c).
Both, rare and endemic species are often vulnerable or threatened to become
extinct, for example due to changing environmental conditions.
Species with extremely limited areas have an outstanding value in nature conservation (Hobohm 2014). Such species are frequently protected by law. Various
management activities are undertaken in order to ensure their survival. Such species
are underrepresented in data bases not only because of their limited occurrence but
also to avoid exploitation, damage and/or biological tourism. Research on endemic
236
C. Hobohm et al.