Securing the Conservation of Biodiversity across Administrative Levels and Spatial, Temporal, and Ecological Scales – Research Needs and Approaches of the SCALES Project

Abstract

Biodiversity conservation measures and biological processes often do not match in scale. The EU funded project SCALES (Securing the Conservation of biodiversity across Administrative Levels and spatial, temporal, and Ecological Scales) is intended to solve this challenge. SCALES analyses how selected pressures (climate change, habitat loss, fragmentation, disturbance), their drivers, and their impacts on biodiversity change with spatial and temporal scale. The project develops methods for a better understanding of scaling properties of biological processes from the genetic level to populations, communities, and ecosystem functions. SCALES also seeks ways to integrate the issue of scale into policy, decision-making, and biodiversity management, focusing on networks of protected areas, regional connectivity, and biodiversity monitoring.