They examined material from the Korea National Insect Collection, the Korea National Arboretum in Pocheon, the Department of Entomology at Kyungpook National University, the R.M. Bohart Museum of Entomology at the University of California, Davis, and the Entomology Research Museum at the University of California, Riverside. Japanese Zeyanus specimens were borrowed from the Laboratory of Entomology at Meijo University in Nagoya. Most specimens deposited in the Korea National Arboretum and Kyungpook National University collections had been collected with Malaise traps, while Anagrus atomus was collected by sweeping.

The study used specimen morphology, diagnostic images and DNA sequences for selected females. The checklist reveals that knowledge of Korean fairyflies developed through scattered revisions and rearing studies rather than a sustained national survey. Jong Cheol Paik’s first 1974 report listed five genera, but the authors could not locate the voucher specimens.

Paik’s 1978 list included three identified and three unidentified species, and many records from the 1980s and 1990s concerned fairyflies reared from rice-feeding leafhoppers or planthoppers. Voucher material associated with the 1984 examination of Anagrus and Gonatocerus collected in the 1970s and early 1980s is also missing. These gaps matter because an observation cannot be reassessed securely when its physical basis is unavailable, and several historical identifications were later shown to conflict with the known distributions of the named species.

One South Korean record of Anagrus nigriventris was treated as a misidentification because the species is restricted to the New World, and another record of A. flaveolus was also excluded for the same biogeographic reason. The specimens formerly identified as A. nigriventris most likely belonged to A. incarnatus, although that replacement was not certain. The Korean identification of Anaphes gauthieri requires confirmation, and a later taxonomic review raised concerns about South Korean specimens identified as A. regulus, including a possible confusion with A. flavipes.

Elsewhere in the checklist, some Anaphes regulus distribution records may also require confirmation or represent misidentifications. The authors note that the true identity of that nominal species cannot be settled conclusively without molecular analysis of the dry-mounted lectotype, if DNA can be recovered from it at all. The study adds South Korean records for Mymar ermak, M. maritimum and M. pulchellum, all members of a genus that had previously been recorded in the country through the species Mymar taprobanicum.

DNA was extracted non-destructively from females of the three Mymar species, and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, or COI, sequences were generated. The reported GenBank accessions were PZ377445, PZ377446 and PZ377447 for M. ermak, PZ377448 for M. pulchellum and PZ377449 for M. maritimum. The authors also cautioned that records of M. pulchellum outside the Palearctic region need confirmation through molecular methods.

A female of Dicopomorpha koreana collected in Xitou Forest, Nantou County, Taiwan, in 2017 constitutes a new record for Taiwan and for the genus Dicopomorpha. The species was described from South Korea in 2003 and had also been reported from India. The Taiwanese specimen was deposited in the National Museum of Natural Science in Taichung.

This range extension was based on a single female, so it adds a confirmed locality rather than a comprehensive account of the species’ distribution in Taiwan. Together with the three Mymar records, the finding expands the country-level checklist from the 31 species previously recognized to 36 species in 15 genera. The slide-mounted holotype came from a deciduous forest at Yawata, Asahi, Aichi Prefecture, on Honshu Island, Japan, where it was collected in 1998.

A Japanese paratype was collected at Katabira, Kani, Gifu Prefecture, in 2004, and two South Korean paratypes came from Gwangneung Forest in Gyeonggi-do. The species is distinguished by body coloration, antenna proportions, the number and arrangement of multiporous plate sensilla on the antennal segments, forewing microtrichia and the proportions of the ovipositor and metatibia. The dry-mounted holotype measured 1,750 micrometres in body length and 2,005 micrometres after slide mounting, while the dry-mounted paratypes ranged from 1,340 to 1,420 micrometres.

The male remains unknown. Zeyanus sunayez had the larger specimen series. Its South Korean holotype was collected at Gwangneung Forest in 2015 and is deposited at the National Institute of Biological Resources in Incheon.

Additional female specimens were collected in Gangwon-do, Gyeonggi-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do and Gyeongsangnam-do, while a male paratype came from Mount Yui on Amami Oshima in the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. Dry-mounted females measured 1,540 to 1,907 micrometres in body length, and ethanol-preserved females measured 1,683 to 1,997 micrometres. The holotype measured 1,866 micrometres before slide mounting and 2,091 micrometres afterward.

A COI sequence from a female paratype was deposited as PZ653912, and the species name is a reversed spelling of the genus name. Triapitsyn and colleagues updated their identification key for female Zeyanus to include all recognized species and both newly described taxa. Z. knuz was separated from Z. kweishuilini, a species known from southern Taiwan, partly through antennal sensilla, the dimensions of the antennal club and the number and position of forewing microtrichia.

Z. sunayez was distinguished from the Oriental species Z. asulcifrons by relatively longer funicular segments, different numbers of multiporous plate sensilla, a complete cubital row of forewing microtrichia and differences in body coloration. The molecular work was limited to a female paratype of Z. sunayez, and no COI data were reported for Z. knuz. Host information was unavailable for both new species, and the authors did not establish their hosts or ecological effects in South Korea or Japan.

Zeyanus is known from the Afrotropical, Oriental and eastern Palearctic regions, but its documented biology remains sparse. The only host association reported for the genus involved an unidentified Zeyanus species reared in Chonburi Province, Thailand, from an unidentified Ledra leafhopper attacking chili. The large body size observed in many Zeyanus species has been associated with the comparatively large leafhoppers of Ledrinae, but the authors explicitly describe this as a correlation and note that further rearings from Ledrinae would be needed to confirm the relationship.

Because the two new species were not recovered from hosts, the study provides no evidence that either is an effective biological control agent.

Subject of Research: Taxonomic inventory of South Korean fairyflies and descriptions of two new Zeyanus species

Article Title: Checklist of Korean Mymaridae ( Hymenoptera , Chalcidoidea ) with new records and descriptions of two new species of Zeyanus from South Korea and Japan

Article References: Triapitsyn, S. V., Kim, S., & Kang, I. (2026). Checklist of Korean Mymaridae (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea) with new records and descriptions of two new species of Zeyanus from South Korea and Japan. ZooKeys, 1295, 129-159. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1295.200780

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1295.200780

Keywords: fairyflies, Mymaridae, Zeyanus knuz, Zeyanus sunayez, South Korea, Japan, taxonomy, biodiversity, COI sequencing, parasitoid wasps, Checklist, Korean

Their vivid green backs, reddish markings and distinctive combination of external features distinguish the Motuo population from other megophryine lineages. DNA analyses consistently recovered the three specimens as an independent lineage, although the exact relationship between that lineage and neighboring groups remains unresolved. The type locality lies at 2,750 metres above sea level in a region where the southern foothills of the Himalayas meet the lower Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon.

Motuo County has recorded more than 40 amphibian species from 20 genera and six families, but the authors say extensive exploration has not exhausted its biological diversity. Improved road access enabled the May 2025 survey to reach areas that had previously been unexplored. The three toads were found at night between 01:40 and 02:50 on 11 May, perched on mossy substrates approximately one to three metres from a small stream less than one metre wide and dominated by large boulders.

The surrounding habitat was a mixed broadleaf and coniferous forest. The formal description combined field observations, measurements of preserved specimens, comparisons with published species accounts and molecular phylogenetic analyses. Megophryinae, the subfamily that contains the Asian horned toads, has 155 species and occurs across tropical and subtropical Asia, from northern India and southern China through the Sundas to the Philippines.

Its classification at the genus level remains disputed. Some studies divide the group into multiple genera, while others retain a broadly defined Megophrys containing several subgenera. The Motuo lineage was named at subgeneric and species level under the conservative framework of Mahony and colleagues because the available evidence did not establish a stable sister-group relationship or a single unmistakable external feature that would justify recognizing a separate genus.

For the molecular work, the researchers sequenced four mitochondrial genes—16S rDNA, 12S rDNA, cytochrome b and COI—and three nuclear genes—RAG-1, BDNF and RHOD. Existing sequences expanded the sample to 124 terminals representing 122 species: 119 ingroup species, two outgroups and the three newly sequenced specimens. Four datasets were subjected to maximum-likelihood and Bayesian analyses.

These comprised a 540-base-pair 16S matrix, a combined 4,529-base-pair mitochondrial and nuclear matrix, a 2,683-base-pair mitochondrial matrix and a 1,846-base-pair nuclear matrix. Nodes were considered well supported when Bayesian posterior probabilities were at least 0.95 and maximum-likelihood bootstrap values were at least 95%. The investigators also calculated minimum pairwise uncorrected 16S p-distances as supplementary information and used an exploratory principal component analysis to visualize morphometric variation.

Every molecular dataset recovered the three Motuo specimens as a distinct lineage, but the analyses did not agree on its closest relative. In the combined analysis, the new lineage, Brachytarsophrys and Atympanophrys formed a well-supported clade. Within that group, Atympanophrys was placed as sister to the clade containing the Motuo lineage and Brachytarsophrys, while the Motuo lineage was sister to Brachytarsophrys with a Bayesian posterior probability above 0.95.

The mitochondrial-only analysis also recovered the new lineage as sister to Brachytarsophrys, with maximum-likelihood bootstrap support above 95% and Bayesian posterior probability above 0.95. In contrast, the nuclear analysis gave only moderate support for the three-lineage cluster in the maximum-likelihood analysis, with a bootstrap value of 80%, and no support in the Bayesian analysis. The authors therefore treated the precise sister-group relationship as unresolved.

Genetic distances provided additional context but were not used alone to diagnose the taxon. Minimum pairwise uncorrected 16S p-distances between the Motuo lineage and representatives of other major megophryine lineages ranged from 6.13% to 13.82%. The smallest distance was to Atympanophrys, and the largest was to Grillitschia.

The distance to Brachytarsophrys was 6.83%. The 16S analysis itself did not strongly support the deeper node connecting the Motuo lineage to the other major lineages, underscoring the distinction between support for the sampled specimens as a monophyletic group and uncertainty about the group’s position within Megophryinae. The three adult females had snout–vent lengths of 46.5 to 48.6 millimetres, with a mean of 47.8 millimetres.

Mean head length was 16.7 millimetres and mean head width was 17.2 millimetres, consistent with the species’ broad head. The snout is obtusely rounded, without a rostral appendage, and the temporal region is short. The tympanum is large, rounded and fully exposed, while a broad, thick supratympanic fold curves over it and continues downward behind the tympanum.

Maxillary teeth are present, but vomerine teeth and vomerine ridges are absent. Rather than the prominent fleshy or horn-shaped eyelid structures found in many Asian horned toads, the Motuo frogs have minute tubercles along the outer edges of their upper eyelids. A combination of additional morphological characters helps separate Viridophrys from established subgeneric lineages.

The dorsal skin is rough and bears a vivid green ground colour, irregular vermilion mottling and scattered white spots. A reddish-brown triangle is present between the eyes. The throat and chest are light green or bluish green with irregular dark red or gray patterns, while the abdomen is pale grayish white to cream with irregular brown or reddish-brown markings.

A V-shaped parietoscapular ridge and an arcuate central dorsal ridge are present, but neither an occipital fold nor a dorsolateral fold occurs. Scattered white-tipped tubercles mark the flanks. The lower jaw is smooth, finger subarticular tubercles are absent, and the toes have neither webbing nor a lateral fringe.

These characters distinguish the Motuo frogs from Brachytarsophrys and Atympanophrys, which generally possess toe webbing and differ in eyelid and tympanum structure. The subgenus name Viridophrys combines the Latin viridis, meaning green, with the Greek ophrys, meaning eyebrow, referring to the animal’s extensive green dorsal markings. The species name motuoensis derives from Motuo County.

The proposed common names are the green horned toad subgenus and the Motuo green horned toad. In the exploratory principal component analysis, the first two components accounted for 88.2% and 9.3% of the total variation. The Motuo specimens formed a compact cluster separated from available Brachytarsophrys samples and closer to Atympanophrys along the first component.

Because the analysis included only three newly examined individuals and literature-derived measurements collected under potentially different protocols, the researchers used it only as a supplementary visualization rather than as primary evidence for diagnosing the new taxon. Current knowledge of the species is limited to its type locality and the three collected females. Their well-developed, convoluted oviducts and ovaries containing immature oocytes indicated sexual maturity, but no males, calls, amplexus or mature eggs were observed.

The breeding season therefore remains unknown. The site was revisited on 2 June, 28 June and 27 August 2025, but no additional animals were found, and no males were detected during subsequent surveys. The species’ population size, geographic range and trend are likewise unknown.

The authors describe Megophrys (Viridophrys) motuoensis as the only known megophryid with a vivid green dorsum, a coloration that may provide camouflage among mossy streamside substrates. Its known habitat is at approximately 2,750 metres, and the authors note that a high-elevation specialist could face threats as warming progressively compresses its suitable climatic niche. The type locality lies within the Xizang Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon National Nature Reserve, which may provide some legal protection.

They caution, however, that protected status does not remove pressures including tourism and habitat disturbance associated with improved road access. Field surveys and taxonomic studies are needed to document the species’ full distribution, population size and trends before a formal conservation assessment can be made. The discovery shows that substantial unresolved amphibian diversity persists even within a country that has one of the world’s richest amphibian faunas.

The Motuo population is genetically distinguishable and morphologically diagnosable, but its closest relative remains uncertain, supporting recognition as a distinct subgenus rather than a separate genus. Its discovery also illustrates the limits of current sampling in the remote mountain landscape of eastern Himalayas. Until males, additional populations and further habitat records are found, the Motuo green horned toad is known only from three adult females collected beside one high-elevation stream, leaving its range, breeding ecology and conservation status unresolved.

Subject of Research: Description of a new subgenus and species of Asian horned toad from Motuo County, Xizang, China

Article Title: A striking new subgenus and species of Asian horned toads ( Anura , Megophryidae , Megophryinae ) from Xizang, China

Article References: Liu, X.-L., Zhang, Y.-P., Wei, P.-F., Ai, R.-D., Lu, W.-Z., Li, X.-Q., Zhou, W.-W., Chen, J.-M., & Yuan, Z.-Y. (2026). A striking new subgenus and species of Asian horned toads (Anura, Megophryidae, Megophryinae) from Xizang, China. Zoosystematics and Evolution, 102(5), 1295-1313. https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.102.183945

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/zse.102.183945

Keywords: Megophrys motuoensis, Viridophrys, Asian horned toads, Megophryinae, amphibian discovery, Xizang, Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, molecular phylogeny, taxonomy, biodiversity, striking, subgenus

The framework addresses a weakness in ecosystem service capacity matrices, which commonly assign one score to each combination of ecosystem type and service. Such matrices can incorporate expert judgment, statistical information and measurements, but often treat a land-cover class as homogeneous. Two forests assigned to the same category may differ in biomass, age structure, species composition or disturbance history, while grasslands at different stages of degradation may differ in their ability to support pollinators or limit erosion. The study defines ecosystem condition as the overall state of an ecosystem’s biophysical characteristics that underpin its capacity to generate services sustainably. Its central premise is that capacity scores should be modified when local condition differs from the typical state represented by the matrix.

To implement the adjustment, the authors separated ecosystem condition into structural and biological components. Structural condition captures physical and biophysical features such as vegetation cover, productivity, biomass and vertical organization. Biological condition encompasses biodiversity, species composition, functional diversity, conservation status and related features. The two axes can diverge: a plantation may have a closed canopy and substantial biomass but low biological condition, whereas a semi-natural grassland can support high floristic diversity with relatively little standing biomass. The framework therefore links each service to a functional group reflecting its combined dependence on structure and composition, rather than treating every service as controlled by a single condition component.

The authors created five functional groups. The first covers services primarily dependent on biomass and productivity, including carbon sequestration, erosion control and storm protection. The second includes services that depend on both ecosystem structure and specific composition, such as pollination, seed dispersal and wild plant resources. The third emphasizes biomass, plant cover and functional diversity, with timber production, flood regulation and agricultural production as examples. The fourth includes services strongly influenced by specific and functional composition, including recreation, aesthetic and habitat-related services. The fifth focuses on conservation status and biodiversity, including pest regulation, disease regulation and soil fertility maintenance. These groups are an internal methodological device, not a replacement for classifications of provisioning, regulating and cultural benefits.

Capacity scores came from a regional expert-elicited matrix for Hauts-de-France, which assigns ordinal values from 0 to 5 to combinations of ecosystem types and services. The medium-capacity matrix used the mean of the expert-score distribution, while the fifth and 95th percentiles were used to construct lower- and higher-capacity matrices. This is an important assumption rather than a direct observation that disagreement among experts represents ecological condition: the distribution of scores was treated as an envelope of plausible capacities for degraded and optimal states. The authors acknowledge that dedicated elicitation under explicitly low, medium and high condition scenarios would be methodologically preferable but substantially more resource-intensive.

Deterministic allocation tables translate condition into an adjusted score. Every 100-metre ecosystem unit is classified as low, medium or high in both structural and biological condition. For each functional group, the corresponding table identifies which capacity matrix to use, with the balance between structural and biological condition reflecting the service group’s ecological dependencies. Services such as carbon sequestration respond primarily to biomass and therefore place strong weight on structural condition. Pollination and wild plant resources require both suitable physical resources, such as flowering vegetation and nesting sites, and appropriate species assemblages. Pest regulation and other services in the fifth group depend more heavily on biological condition, although the allocation rules still consider both axes. The selected matrix supplies the relevant score, preserving the original 0–5 scale.

For the case study, the researchers built structural and biological condition layers at 100-metre resolution for 2020. The structural index combined Landsat tree-canopy cover, the 95th percentile of cloud-free annual Enhanced Vegetation Index observations and GEDI canopy-height data. The biological index combined the modelled Biodiversity Intactness Index, depth-weighted soil organic-carbon predictions from SoilGrids2.0 and the proportion of natural habitat within a 500-metre radius. The component variables were min–max normalized and combined with equal arithmetic weights because the study lacked empirical evidence for differential weighting, and the final indices were rescaled to a 0–1 range. The landscape was divided into aquatic, agricultural, forest and urban strata, with 20th- and 80th-percentile values defining low, medium and high condition within each ecosystem type. These pixel-level condition thresholds are distinct from the expert-score percentiles used to construct the low- and high-capacity matrices.

Threshold choices were evaluated using six reference datasets available across the study area: forest and soil carbon stocks for climate regulation, a habitat-suitability index for natural pest regulation, a model-based pollinator-suitability index for pollination, Strava running and cycling track density for nature-based recreation, a locally designed potential-production model for wild plant food resources, and interpolated standing wood volume for material and fibres. The researchers tested ten lower–upper percentile combinations and applied the adjustment procedure to every 100-metre pixel. For each service, Pearson correlations across pixels were calculated between the corresponding reference-layer values and the adjusted and unadjusted capacity estimates. The 20th–80th percentile scheme for both condition indices was selected for the principal maps, while the full comparison assessed how threshold choices affected performance.

Before adjustment, correlations ranged from r = 0.324 for pest regulation to r = 0.672 for climate regulation. With the selected ecosystem-specific thresholds, they rose to 0.454 and 0.708, respectively. The largest gain was for pest regulation, for which the correlation increased by 0.130, followed by wild plant resources, with a 0.103 increase. Climate regulation had the smallest improvement, at 0.036; the authors relate this to tree size and basal area already being partly represented by forest land-cover classification. Adjustment also changed the spatial pattern of estimates. Forest climate-regulation capacity ranged from 0.2 to 5.0 after adjustment, compared with 3.5 to 4.2 in the unadjusted matrix. Mean absolute differences were 0.73 for material and fibres, 0.81 for climate regulation and 0.58 for recreation, equivalent to 12–16% of the full 0–5 scale; the largest local difference for climate regulation reached 2.1, or 42% of the scale.

Ecosystem-specific rather than global thresholds prevented natural differences among ecosystem types from being mistaken for degradation. The 20th percentile of structural condition ranged from 0.16 in urban areas to 0.27 in forests, while the 80th percentile ranged from 0.43 to 0.90. A well-managed urban park could therefore receive a high structural-condition classification relative to other urban land even if its absolute canopy cover remained below that of a degraded forest. Adjustments were nevertheless service-specific. For material and fibres, most changes in forests were positive, indicating that the medium matrix underestimated capacity in above-average stands. Across the climate-regulation map, 45% of pixels decreased, 41% increased and 14% remained unchanged, with offsetting changes limiting the overall mean shift. Pairwise spatial concordance among the three mapped services was moderate, with Spearman correlations of 0.51–0.63, consistent with their differing dependence on structural and biological condition.

The study provides an operational method for connecting ecosystem-condition accounts with service-capacity matrices, but its evidence is geographically limited and the authors identify several constraints. The 20th–80th percentile thresholds were selected empirically in one landscape and require testing elsewhere. The deterministic tables do not fully represent interactions or nonlinear response curves between condition and capacity, and equal weighting combines variables operating over markedly different time scales, limiting sensitivity to short-term change. Other limitations include incomplete GEDI canopy-height coverage, the use of modelled rather than direct reference data for several services, and the restriction to biotic condition. The results support further validation against direct service measurements, empirical calibration of service-specific relationships, transferability tests in other regions, and incorporation of abiotic and spatially explicit landscape modifiers. Subject to those limitations, the case study shows that condition data can materially refine coarse ecosystem service maps without replacing them with a fully process-based model.

Subject of Research: Condition-adjusted estimation of ecosystem service capacity using spatial condition data and expert-scored matrices

Article Title: Condition Matters: Fine-Tuning Ecosystem Service Capacity with Ecosystem Condition

Article References: Roche, P., & Campagne, C. S. (2026). Condition Matters: Fine-Tuning Ecosystem Service Capacity with Ecosystem Condition. One Ecosystem, 11, Article e181068. https://doi.org/10.3897/oneeco.11.e181068

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/oneeco.11.e181068

Keywords: ecosystem services, ecosystem condition, capacity matrices, structural condition, biological condition, remote sensing, land cover, biodiversity, Scarpe-Escaut, ecosystem accounting, Condition, Matters

The study examined the thematic structure of existing research rather than directly measuring changes in tribal living conditions. Researchers combined a systematic literature review with bibliometric analysis, using VOSviewer to examine citation patterns and term co-occurrence. They also conducted content analysis, sentiment analysis in RStudio and image analytics in OrangeAI. The analysis focused on literature connecting tribal development with the Sustainable Development Goals that are intended to be achieved by 2030.

The citation analysis organized the field into nine clusters, ranging from forestry to gender roles. Co-occurrence analysis identified forest cover and food security as prominent links in the research literature. Content analysis further emphasized the significance of traditional knowledge in biodiversity protection. The image analysis separated the material into two broad themes: innovation development and electricity, and agriculture. Together, these methods portray tribal development and the Sustainable Development Goals as a diverse research field rather than a single topic.

Sentiment analysis indicated that the reviewed literature generally expressed optimism about the Sustainable Development Goals’ impact on tribal communities. This finding describes the tone of the published material and should not be interpreted as a direct measurement of policy effects or development outcomes. The review likewise presents associations in the literature: its bibliometric and content methods identify patterns among publications, images and cited terms, but they do not establish that any particular goal has produced a specified improvement for a community.

The article’s proposed contribution is an integrated Barriers–Strategies and Opportunities framework designed to connect the mapped research themes with the needs of policymakers, tribal communities and businesses. It also identifies research questions for future scholars. The authors describe the work as advancing a structured overview of the existing scholarly field, which they say had not previously been systematically addressed. Because the study synthesizes existing literature through review, bibliometric, sentiment and image-analytic methods, its conclusions depend on the research corpus analyzed; the supplied abstract does not report field testing of the framework or direct quantification of development outcomes.

Subject of Research: Systematic review of Sustainable Development Goals research concerning tribal development.

Article Title: Sustainable development goals in the context of tribal development: a review and framework

Article References: Bathla, A., Aggarwal, P., Gupta, A., Manaswi, K., & Singh, G. (2026). Sustainable development goals in the context of tribal development: a review and framework. SN Social Sciences, 6(11), Article 567. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-026-01867-x

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s43545-026-01867-x

Keywords: tribal development, Sustainable Development Goals, systematic review, bibliometric analysis, traditional knowledge, biodiversity, food security, gender roles, agriculture, electricity, Sustainable, development

Most organisms do not live under the climatic conditions represented by a weather station or a large-scale climate model. They occupy smaller habitats, including forest interiors, patches of shrubs, shaded slopes and sunlit ground, where temperature and other conditions can differ markedly from the surrounding region. These near-surface environments form a microclimate. The review concludes that a microclimate need not change in the same way as its regional climate: local temperatures may warm more slowly, remain relatively stable or, in some circumstances, rise faster than the broad-scale average. A single regional warming figure can therefore conceal contrasting thermal experiences across very short distances.

Vegetation is one of the principal drivers highlighted in the review. As climate change alters forests, shrublands and other plant cover, vegetation can modify both incoming solar energy and the transfer of heat from the ground to the atmosphere. Shrubs and trees are not simply passive indicators of climate change; their presence changes the local energy balance under which organisms live. One model simulation considered the expansion of shrubs and trees into open steppe in Turkey. On the hottest days, shrub encroachment produced near-ground air temperatures up to 16 degrees Celsius lower than in open areas, while the open locations warmed more rapidly under a regional warming scenario. The simulation illustrates how a biological change can create a different local climate trend within the same regional landscape.

Atmospheric changes can compound these contrasts. Cloud cover influences how much solar radiation reaches the surface, so reduced cloudiness can substantially increase heating in exposed locations. Shaded habitats, including forest interiors and pole-facing slopes, may be less affected by the same change. These effects interact with topography, vegetation, soil moisture and other characteristics, producing microclimates that can diverge over small spatial scales. Until recently, researchers faced major difficulties in tracking such variation across broad areas and long periods. New sensor networks, expanded long-term datasets and mechanistic models are beginning to make it possible to connect changes in the atmosphere and vegetation with the conditions organisms actually encounter. The authors emphasize that this work requires collaboration between atmospheric scientists and ecologists because the controlling processes span both physical and biological systems.

For biodiversity research, the implication is that regional climate data alone may provide an incomplete account of climate exposure. An area may show regional warming while particular habitats remain relatively buffered because of local shading, moisture or vegetation; elsewhere, local conditions may change more rapidly. Accurately capturing this variation could strengthen predictions of future species distributions and ecological interactions and help identify where organisms are likely to face greater climatic stress. The review does not establish specific conservation outcomes, but it identifies microclimate information as a necessary component for understanding where species may persist and where they may be vulnerable. Its broader conclusion is that climate change must be understood not only as a change in regional averages, but also as a patchwork of local experiences shaped by interactions among climate, land cover and landscape structure.

Subject of Research: Drivers and mechanisms of microclimate change experienced by organisms under global climate change

Article Title: How life on Earth experiences climate change

Article References: How life on Earth experiences climate change. Original publication (Bibliographic details unavailable.)

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: Not provided

Keywords: microclimates, climate change, biodiversity, vegetation, temperature, regional warming, land cover, species distributions, atmospheric science, life, Earth, experiences

The A. lasenii population at Agro Nero–Illica in Accumoli significantly extends the species’ disjunct Apennine range. Records of A. tirolensis at Agro Nero–Illica and on Monte Cavallo near Picinisco extend its reported range southward. Maiella collections established Carex hartmaniorum as new to Abruzzo and the Apennines.

Specimens previously identified as C. buxbaumii were reassigned to C. hartmaniorum, which was also documented in wetlands around Palena and Ovindoli. The compilation correspondingly proposed excluding C. buxbaumii from the Abruzzo flora. New regional records were reported for Astragalus hypoglottis subsp. gremlii in Puglia and Avena barbata in Valle d’Aosta. Further records concerned Centranthus angustifolius in Toscana and Gagea minima in Abruzzo. Additional regional records concerned Plantago altissima in Umbria and Salix eleagnos in Puglia.

Several entries confirmed earlier regional reports. These included Centaurea dichroantha in Veneto, Filago congesta in Sardegna and Stachys romana in Piemonte. A specimen-based finding of Chenopodiastrum hybridum in Toscana represented the region’s unique recent record supported by herbarium material, while later findings of Lappula squarrosa confirmed that species’ presence after older records had left its status uncertain.

The compilation also proposed exclusions. Aethusa cynapium subsp. cynapium was excluded from Campania, and the Abruzzo record of Seseli annuum subsp. annuum was referred instead to S. pallasii, which was added to the regional flora. Lysimachia monellii was excluded from Sardegna because its red-flowered populations were assigned to the distinct species L. collina following molecular analyses.

Among regional alien plants, Crepis foetida subsp. rhoeadifolia was recorded as a naturalized alien new to Lazio. Nymphoides peltata was likewise reported as a naturalized alien new to Calabria. Its occupied area was described as increasing from approximately 1 square metre when first detected four years earlier to more than 50 square metres, although the pathway of spread remained unresolved.

Onobrychis viciifolia changed from casual to naturalized alien status in Sardegna. Historical records documented cultivation on the island from the eighteenth century, while more recent observations showed substantial spread along major roads in northern Sardegna, including large populations along the SS 729 and adjoining routes. The authors considered these records evidence of naturalization rather than occasional cultivation or subspontaneous occurrence.

The nomenclatural section establishes Valeriana pontecorvi as a new combination based on Centranthus pontecorvi. The authors related this treatment to molecular phylogenetic studies in which Centranthus formed a well-supported monophyletic clade nested within Valeriana. Additional nomenclatural and distribution updates and corrigenda to a 2024 flora are provided in supplementary material.

Subject of Research: Italian native and alien vascular plant distribution records and taxonomic revisions

Article Title: Notulae to the Italian native vascular flora: 20

Article References: Bartolucci, F., Domina, G., Angiolini, C., Argenti, C., Bacchetta, G., Barberis, D., Bertotto, G., Bonari, G., Calvia, G., Candini, F., Coltri, F., Conti, F., Del Guacchio, E., Di Pietro, R., Festi, F., Fois, M., Forte, L., Galasso, G., Gallo Splendore, M., … Lastrucci, L. (2025). Notulae to the Italian native vascular flora: 20. Italian Botanist, 20, 89-107. https://doi.org/10.3897/italianbotanist.20.179511

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/italianbotanist.20.179511

Keywords: floristic records, vascular plants, Italy, plant distribution, alien species, herbarium specimens, taxonomy, nomenclature, biodiversity monitoring, Notulae, Italian, native

The study covered Georgia’s administrative regions and focused on a family with around 1,300 species across large parts of Eurasia, Africa and tropical America. Only two of its seven extant subfamilies occur in the Caucasus. The authors report that 89 of the 92 clausiliid species in the Caucasus ecoregion are endemic to it, while Georgia contains more than 30% of the regional fauna.

Most new occurrence data came from georeferenced samples collected by the authors over the past two decades. The researchers combined these records with well-defined localities from five earlier publications when preparing distribution maps. For Georgian endemics and near-endemics whose ranges extend only slightly beyond the country, they estimated extent of occurrence using a minimum convex polygon and calculated area of occupancy by summing occupied 2 × 2 km grid cells. An infinity symbol represented areas exceeding 10,000 km².

The principal taxonomic discovery was M. kartvelica, established from material collected at Kvedi 1 Cave, 2.2 km east-southeast of Kvedi village in the Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti Region at 1,510 m, with additional material from Kvedi 2 Cave at 1,560 m. Its name refers to Sa-kartvelo, a native historic name for Georgia. The holotype and paratypes were collected in 2021, with further material obtained in 2022.

The new species has a slender, brownish, corneous spindle-shaped shell with 12.3–13.5 whorls. Strong, sharp ribs number 25–28 on the last whorl, and the shell measures 12.4–13.9 mm in height, 2.8–3.1 mm in spire width, 2.4–2.6 mm in aperture height and 1.9–2.1 mm in aperture width. Its reduced, diffuse palatal plicae and less elongate shape place it in the subgenus Mucronaria, while its slender, strongly costate shell distinguishes it from other members of that subgenus. Its internal anatomy remains unknown.

Live M. kartvelica were observed on shaded limestone cliffs and among weeds, primarily Hedera helix, growing on the cliffs. They occurred alongside Acrotoma baryshnikovi, Elia derasa, Mentissoidea rupicola and Mucronaria duboisi. The authors also clarified or corrected several distribution and identification records. A shell collected as sea flotsam on Georgia’s Black Sea coast had been reported as the Iranian species Serrulinella senghanensis but was identified as Dobatia goettingi, which does not occur in Georgia. The reported Georgian locality for Armenica griseofusca was considered erroneous because all verified localities are in Trabzon and Rize provinces of Turkey, and a published Adjara record of Inobseratella lindholmi was found to represent Euxinastra hamata.

Of the 30 species recognized in the study area, 23 were classified as forest dwellers and seven as cliff dwellers. Six of the cliff-dwelling species were obligate limestone inhabitants, while Armenica unicristata tolerated other rock types. Twelve species, or 40%, were endemic to Georgia, and 28 of the 30 were endemic to the Caucasus ecoregion; only Mucronaria duboisi and Serrulina serrulata had ranges extending beyond it. The highest species richness occurred in the western regions and decreased toward the east. Sampling was also uneven: Imereti and Kakheti had 95 and 58 georeferenced sampling sites, respectively, compared with 12 in Guria, 13 in Shida Kartli and six in Kvemo Kartli. The correlation between sampling-site numbers and species density across regions was 0.82, indicating that additional targeted sampling could refine distribution estimates.

No Georgian or Caucasian clausiliid had received a formal conservation assessment, and the authors noted that none was protected under a species-specific legal designation. Based on estimated occupied areas, four endemic species had an area of occupancy below 20 km² and might qualify as endangered under International Union for Conservation of Nature criteria; other endemics, except Mucronaria index and Quadriplicata lederi, might qualify as vulnerable. Earlier research cited in the review found that protected areas, covering about 10% of Georgia, could protect at most half of the ranges of endemic clausiliid species. The authors therefore proposed habitat protection, particularly for range-restricted species whose habitats include limestone crevices and forested slopes affected by disturbance, grazing, logging, mining and pollution.

The review has important limitations. Occurrence patterns remain affected by unequal sampling, including the difficulty of searching limestone crevices for subterranean species and accessing steep forest habitats. The report also identified an undescribed Quadriplicata from the upper Alazani River valley in Kakheti, discovered earlier by a Hamburg research team, whose formal description was still expected in a separate publication. These gaps mean that the mapped distributions represent the best current assessment from the available records rather than a complete inventory of every population or habitat in Georgia.

Subject of Research: Taxonomic and geographic assessment of Clausiliidae diversity in Georgia

Article Title: The land snail family Clausiliidae ( Gastropoda , Pulmonata , Stylommatophora ) in Georgia: overview, novel records and a new species

Article References: Mumladze, L., Grego, J., & Szekeres, M. (2023). The land snail family Clausiliidae (Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Stylommatophora) in Georgia: overview, novel records and a new species. Caucasiana, 2, 29-61. https://doi.org/10.3897/caucasiana.2.e101013

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/caucasiana.2.e101013

Keywords: Clausiliidae, land snails, Georgia, Mucronaria kartvelica, taxonomy, Caucasus, biodiversity, species distribution, limestone habitats, conservation, land, snail

The review is a synthesis of published records rather than a new field survey or laboratory experiment. The authors began with larval foodplant lists from major European butterfly references, including Tshikolovets, Tolman and Lewington, and added or updated information for Aporia crataegi, Pieris rapae and the genus Melitaea. They then searched the scientific literature for records concerning the species in the initial list. Where possible, primary sources were preferred, particularly records in which larvae were found using a plant in the wild. Records based only on breeding experiments were generally excluded unless no other information was available, and entries judged to be incorrect were removed.

Plant nomenclature was standardized using version 4 of the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, with additional checks through Plants of the World Online, the World Checklist itself, GBIF, the World Flora Online and consultation with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The procedure addressed accepted names, synonyms, homotypic synonyms, names with differing authorities and suspected typographical errors. A database constraint prevented duplicate relationships when an original source listed both an accepted name and a synonym. The resulting set expanded from an initial 1,977 relationships to 4,080 records.

The checklist records plant species where possible, while plant records that could not be identified beyond a genus are retained at generic level. It treats butterfly subspecies outside Europe as out of scope and otherwise uses species-level treatment; plant subspecies are not separately recorded. Among the 1,506 plant species listed, 86 records were identified only to genus, across 40 genera, mostly grasses. The full scientific names, plant families and orders, and supporting references are provided in the supplementary spreadsheet accompanying the paper.

Poaceae was the most frequently represented plant family, with larval foodplants recorded for 150 butterfly species. Fabaceae followed with 93 species, Rosaceae with 52, Cyperaceae with 45 and Brassicaceae with 31. Among individual plant species, Festuca ovina was recorded for 68 butterfly species, Festuca rubra for 40 and Poa annua for 39. These totals describe the frequency of records in the compiled checklist; they do not measure the quality of the foodplants for larval development.

Foodplant breadth varied substantially among the 471 species with known diets. More than half, or 255 species, used no more than five recorded foodplant species, and 92 were classified as monophagous, meaning they fed on one plant species throughout their range. Pieris rapae had 82 recorded foodplant species in Europe and Vanessa cardui had 77. For plant-family use, 331 butterfly species were recorded using one family, 84 using two and 29 using three. Celastrina argiolus had the broadest recorded spread, with plants in 19 families.

The review identifies substantial limitations in the underlying evidence. Reference quality varied, and the authors state that many records cannot be verified except when another source provides the same information. Plants may also be difficult to identify accurately from vegetative material alone, sometimes requiring flowers, fruits or seeds. Ambiguous plant names without authorities can prevent inclusion: a record naming Vicia angustifolia for Leptidea sinapis could not be assigned because it might refer to Vicia lathyroides or Vicia sativa, while Vicia setifolia has a South American distribution and was excluded from that possibility.

Taxonomic and geographic complications also limit interpretation. The separation of Polyommatus icarus from P. celina complicates attribution of foodplant records, while sympatric species such as Leptidea juvernica, L. sinapis and L. reali may share, partly share or differ in their foodplants. The authors cite research proposing splits of Muschampia proto, Zegris eupheme and Hyponephele lupina, and provide regional references for the proposed species while those taxonomic changes remain under investigation. For the five endemic Canary Island graylings, the only available foodplant information came from breeding experiments, so the single grass recorded for them is explicitly noted as requiring confirmation of use in the wild.

The authors caution that a list of foodplants does not show where a species uses different plants in different regions, which plants support high larval survival, or whether occasional use represents a preference. A species classified as oligophagous may use one plant in one habitat and several in another, making regional lists important for identifying plants used locally. The authors recommend that future records specify full scientific plant names, verify them against the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, and document the date, location, altitude, abundance, larval stage and methods used to identify larvae and plants. The checklist is therefore a provisional research resource that consolidates current evidence while making its unresolved records and gaps explicit.

Subject of Research: Literature review of European butterfly larval foodplants

Article Title: A provisional checklist of European butterfly larval foodplants

Article References: Clarke, H. E. (2022). A provisional checklist of European butterfly larval foodplants. Nota Lepidopterologica, 45, 139-167. https://doi.org/10.3897/nl.45.72017

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/nl.45.72017

Keywords: butterflies, larval foodplants, European fauna, host plants, taxonomy, conservation, biodiversity, plant nomenclature, literature review, provisional, checklist, European

The study examined the New Guinea region from the northern and central Moluccas across New Guinea to the Bismarck and Solomon archipelagos. Researchers compiled 2,301 mitochondrial DNA sequences from six frog families, representing 1,537 specimens and 226 localities; 1,380 specimens had georeferenced locations. The dataset included 1,767 sequences obtained from public repositories and 534 newly generated sequences from specimens collected in western New Guinea during fieldwork conducted over the previous 20 years.

Because coverage differed among mitochondrial loci, the researchers used the 16Sb region of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene for species delimitation. They applied Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery, Poisson Tree Processes and the Generalised Mixed Yule Coalescent approach. An operational taxonomic unit was defined by majority-rule consensus across the three partitions.

The individual methods delimited between 263 and 386 units, while consensus produced 372. Integration with acoustic evidence reduced the final total to 369. Acoustic data were available for 38 units arranged in 19 pairs.

The researchers compared published and newly acquired recordings using eight call features, including note duration, inter-note duration, repetition rate, notes per call, pulses per note, dominant frequency, amplitude modulation and frequency modulation. They did not treat slight differences in dominant frequency or note timing between allopatric units as diagnostic, but non-overlapping values for notes per call, amplitude modulation and frequency modulation supported the molecular delimitations. Thirty of the 38 units were supported as distinct, comprising 11 recognised species and 19 candidate species.

The 190 candidate species were not all treated as confirmed species. Mitochondrial DNA can cause either oversplitting or lumping, and the study did not include morphological analysis. Available acoustic data nevertheless strengthened the case for 19 candidate species.

Mean 16S genetic distance among units supported as distinct by acoustic evidence was 4.0% for Microhylidae, with a range of 1.0% to 13.0%, and 2.7% for Ceratobatrachidae, with a range of 2.0% to 3.0%. Limited call data prevented comparable acoustic tests in other families. Most candidates, 123 of 190, occurred in western New Guinea, where 215 species are currently recognised, compared with 416 in the eastern half.

The study’s higher extrapolation of 1,176 species was based on the ratio of 190 candidate species to 179 recognised species in the molecular dataset. It assumes that every candidate is valid, that the dataset represents taxonomic diversity evenly and that taxonomic gaps occur evenly across the region. The authors described the estimate as uncertain because mitochondrial oversplitting could inflate it, while missed lineages or overlooked high beta diversity could reduce it.

Sampling was uneven. Among georeferenced mitochondrial sequences available before the study, 81% originated in eastern New Guinea. In the complete compiled dataset, the Papuan Peninsula contained 367 sequences from 32 localities and the eastern central range 274 sequences from 37 localities.

Western New Guinea and its surrounding islands accounted for 963 sequences, including 393 from the Bird’s Neck and 312 from the Bird’s Head. The western central range had no 16Sb sequences, although it was represented by one 12S, two 16Sa and three cytb sequences. Comparisons with International Union for Conservation of Nature distribution data showed that the molecular inventory omitted many recognised species from the Papuan Peninsula and eastern central range, where 151 and 126 recognised species, respectively, were missing from the operational-unit dataset.

Bird’s Head, by contrast, contained 18 units more than the number of taxonomically known species in the IUCN data. Average estimated endemism was 85% for the molecular units, compared with 35% for recognised species in the IUCN dataset, although sparse sampling may inflate the molecular estimate, particularly for families whose members tend to have wider ranges. The study also compared its western New Guinea candidates with roughly 200 candidates identified in an earlier expert-based assessment by Oliver and colleagues.

Six of the 123 western New Guinea candidates from this study overlapped with that earlier set. Combining the two incomplete and patchily overlapping datasets produced a minimum estimate of 800 species, including about 240 currently undescribed. The authors considered a twofold increase in species diversity plausible in western New Guinea, where most of the study’s candidates occurred, but stressed that the regional total remains uncertain and that major areas, particularly parts of the central range, remain poorly sampled.

Subject of Research: Integrative assessment of frog diversity and taxonomic gaps across New Guinea and neighbouring islands

Article Title: Molecular and acoustic evidence for large-scale underestimation of frog species diversity on New Guinea

Article References: Ferreira, F., Oliver, P., Kraus, F., Günther, R., Richards, S., Tjaturadi, B., Arida, E., Hamidy, A., Riyanto, A., Trilaksono, W., Thébaud, C., & Fouquet, A. (2025). Molecular and acoustic evidence for large-scale underestimation of frog species diversity on New Guinea. Frontiers of Biogeography, 18, Article e137988. https://doi.org/10.21425/fob.18.137988

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.21425/fob.18.137988

Keywords: frog diversity, New Guinea, mitochondrial DNA, bioacoustics, species delimitation, taxonomic impediment, Microhylidae, biodiversity, candidate species, integrative taxonomy, Molecular, acoustic

The issue draws partly on discussions at the 5th European Conference on Biodiversity and Climate Change, held in Bonn in September 2023, and on subsequent work associated with the BioClim-Wetlands project. It concentrates on coastal and riverine wetlands rather than peatlands, which usually receive more scientific and policy attention. Its scope spans the natural and social sciences and also incorporates practical experience from wetland managers and policymakers.

The editorial introduction identifies a continuing loss of wetlands across Europe alongside pressures from climate change, pollution and habitat loss. It describes wetlands as multifunctional ecosystems that can reduce flood risk, buffer droughts, protect coasts and strengthen water resilience, while many also store significant amounts of carbon. Other reported services include improved water quality, groundwater recharge, food, recreational opportunities and habitat for numerous species. These services are presented as reasons to protect and restore wetlands, although the introduction does not provide a new continent-wide estimate of their economic value or quantify their decline.

The first thematic section examines the vulnerability of coastal and riverine wetlands to a changing climate. A state-of-the-art overview by Kaden and colleagues describes their biodiversity value and pressures under climate change, with an emphasis on treating wetlands as multifunctional landscapes. A separate study by Fink and colleagues uses ecological modelling to consider climate-smart conservation planning for riparian systems and floodplain species. Ibáñez and colleagues assess coastal vulnerability to sea-level rise and coastal squeeze, highlighting sediment dynamics and ecological connectivity as important considerations for long-term resilience. Together, these papers frame regionally varied but connected challenges; they do not constitute a single pan-European assessment with one common effect estimate.

The second section addresses ecosystem services and wetland nature-based solutions for climate mitigation and adaptation. Stammel and colleagues review practical, non-monetary tools for assessing ecosystem services in river floodplains, while Cvijanović and colleagues emphasize robust biodiversity monitoring as a prerequisite for reliable service assessment and management. Zak and colleagues demonstrate that wetland restoration can enhance nutrient retention, a regulating service the introduction describes as often undervalued. Ludewig and colleagues quantify the potential contribution of wetlands to climate mitigation through carbon sequestration. Wantzen and Cao examine links between cultural practices and biodiversity in European riverine landscapes, supporting the inclusion of biocultural values and traditional knowledge in conservation and management.

Practical restoration is the focus of the third section. Kmetova-Biro and colleagues describe how cooperation along the Danube has strengthened transnational governance, allowed protected areas to be linked and improved ecological connectivity. De la Vega-Leinert and colleagues examine managed realignment as a multifaceted nature-based solution for coastal areas, including alternatives to hard coastal defence. Birk and colleagues base their analysis on 18 demonstration cases from the MERLIN project and identify five interdependent building blocks for scaling up freshwater ecosystem restoration: evidence-based planning, resource mobilization, stakeholder collaboration and other elements presented in the paper as mutually reinforcing. Macháč and colleagues address limited awareness of wetlands’ socioeconomic value and show the net benefits to society in the cases they assess.

The fourth section reviews European policy and implementation. Klusmann and colleagues map the EU legal framework relevant to wetlands, identifying provisions that support or undermine conservation and restoration and positioning the EU Nature Restoration Regulation as a central instrument for action across Member States. Rouillard and colleagues analyse national Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plans to assess the allocation of available funds to measures such as reducing drainage, reconnecting wetlands and improving water retention, finding both promising approaches and missed opportunities. Stoffers and colleagues consider free-flowing rivers, restoration objectives and practical approaches in relation to the EU target of restoring at least 25,000 km of rivers by 2030.

The policy papers support a qualified assessment: an enabling legal framework exists at EU level, but implementation barriers, inconsistencies and environmentally harmful incentives remain. The introduction notes that Member States’ implementation choices will shape the transition toward more resilient wetland management. It also states that national measures operate within wider European objectives, including the new restoration regulation and the target for free-flowing rivers, rather than replacing them.

In the concluding chapter, Kaden and colleagues integrate the issue’s findings with recommendations from the European Network of Heads of Nature Conservation Agencies. These recommendations outline steps for accelerating wetland restoration and coordinating action among science, practice and policy. The special issue therefore serves as a research guide and collection of case studies rather than a test of a single intervention. Its principal limitation is the diversity of evidence assembled across 15 papers, which prevents the introduction from reporting one pooled effect, a common set of methods or a definitive measure of restoration success across Europe.

Subject of Research: Conservation and restoration of European coastal and riverine wetlands under climate change

Article Title: Wetlands in a changing climate: restoring coasts and floodplains

Article References: Kaden, U. S., Schmid, S., Wulf, S., Marsden, K., Klusmann, C., Bonn, A., Tockner, K., & Scholz, M. (2026). Wetlands in a changing climate: restoring coasts and floodplains. Nature Conservation, 62, 5-11. https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.62.184556

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/natureconservation.62.184556

Keywords: wetland restoration, riverine wetlands, coastal wetlands, climate adaptation, biodiversity, nature-based solutions, ecosystem services, European Union policy, free-flowing rivers, special issue, Wetlands, changing