One strategy to halt the loss of biodiversity has been to create protected areas in the sea and on land. However, a new study suggests that unless additional measures are taken, particularly those that tackle human population growth and the increased use of natural resources, even the development of new protected areas will be unable to reverse the trend of global biodiversity loss.

Intensive farming methods have simplified landscapes across Europe, leading to a loss of biodiversity. A recent study has investigated the effects of intensive farming on plants, beetles and birds in Western European regions and found that plants and birds are particularly affected.

Transport infrastructure and urban sprawl are increasingly dividing up landscapes in Europe, threatening wildlife. A new report has quantified landscape fragmentation across 28 European countries. To prevent further negative environmental impacts, it recommends protecting unfragmented areas, monitoring fragmentation and applying fragmentation analysis in planning.

A new study exploring the sensitivity of grassland and forest plants to decreasing habitat size and isolation in north-central Europe concludes that an irreversible shift in the most dominant plant species may already be underway in forests and grassland, where forests are more vulnerable than grasslands.

Most species in an ecosystem could help supply essential ecosystem services, according to a recent study. The researchers found that 84% of species in the grassland ecosystems they studied contributed towards at least one ecosystem service. Losing any of these species would therefore degrade the ecosystem services such an environment could provide.

Preserving species and the ecosystems in which they live is highly important to the progress of biomedical research. This is the conclusion made by researchers in an analysis of biodiversity's significance, which highlights the role of animals and microbes in improving our understanding of genetics, the regeneration of tissues and organs, and immunity.

Gardens are good for biodiversity, according to a study of intensively managed farmland in Sweden. The study has found that abundance and species richness of pollinating bees is higher near domestic gardens, with the pollination of a native plant also greater at these sites. Domestic gardens play a role in complementing 'natural' habitats for pollinators in impoverished environments.

Plant biodiversity is crucial to the functioning of natural ecosystems in drylands across the world, according to recent research. Preserving plant diversity will be particularly important for maintaining the quantity and quality of services provided by ecosystems found in drylands that are vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change and desertification.

By 2090, up to 76.7 million more people in Africa could be at risk of infection by the parasite that causes sleeping sickness, according to recent research. The study predicted which areas of Africa would be at greatest risk in future.

A new study has looked at why and how much private sector companies are prepared to invest in Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes for tropical forests. Understanding companies' motivations and expectations can help develop new sources of funding for PES schemes from the private sector, increasing the area of tropical forest conserved worldwide.

High Nature Value (HNV) farmland is agricultural land that supports biodiversity and can be identified by its environmentally sound farming practices. New research on bird biodiversity on French HNV farmland has concluded that conservation of HNV farmland is important as well as conserving areas that were previously HNV and have undergone recent agricultural intensification.

According to new research, several areas of the Antarctic are at considerable risk from the establishment of 'alien' plants accidentally carried by visitors to the region. The findings demonstrate that invasive species pose risks even in remote areas and that these risks are likely to increase as the climate changes.

The way in which agricultural land is managed can cause environmental changes that affect biodiversity and the services provided by ecosystems. A new study suggests agri-environmental schemes that focus on restoring common weeds, such as thistles, buttercups and clover, could have wide-ranging benefits as these plants appear to help stabilise the supportive links between different species found in farmlands.

A new method for mapping long-term changes in habitat over large areas and in fine detail has been developed, which could help inform conservation plans to restore biodiversity to previous states. In a UK case study, researchers have used it to demonstrate the dramatic effects of intensive agriculture and afforestation on rural habitats since the 1930s.

There is a recognised need for a more comprehensive system to observe, track and compare biodiversity across the world. Three years ago a global network was established to help reach this goal. It has identified the necessary characteristics for such an integrated system and possible ways in which integration can occur.

Urban development is changing the composition of the natural landscape. A recent study has highlighted the importance of connecting fragments of green space, such as gardens, with ecological corridors to improve biodiversity and help spiders and beetles disperse within the urban landscape.

Insect communities are permanently changed by the presence of street lighting, according to new research. The authors of the study found that predatory and scavenging insects such as ants and ground beetles were more common under streetlights at all times of day, suggesting that light pollution does not simply attract different types of animals at night.

Converting grassland to arable land can reduce the diversity of nematodes, predatory mites, earthworms and enchytraeid worms in the soil, according to a study by Dutch researchers. However, they found that restoring arable land to grassland did not fully restore the diversity of these four groups during the course of the four-year study.

A synthesis of 192 studies has provided a quantitative estimate of the impact of the loss of plant biodiversity on ecosystem primary production, showing that this impact could be as great as that of other major environmental changes, such as climate warming, rising ozone levels and ocean acidification. They examined the effects of biodiversity loss on primary plant production of biomass and decomposition of plant litter, both of which underpin the carbon cycle and provision of key ecosystem services.

Intensive agriculture is widely recognised as a major cause of declining farmland bird populations. New research has identified which aspects of agricultural intensification are most damaging to farmland bird numbers, examining bird populations at seven farmland sites across Europe. The researchers found that simplified landscapes created by intensive agriculture reduced bird numbers at the sites.

New research suggests that many Ruffs are changing their migratory route when flying north to their breeding grounds in northern Europe and to Asia from Africa. This is because their food supply has been reduced by the effects of intensive agriculture in the Netherlands, where they commonly stop off, causing them to shift eastwards to stopping-off points in Eastern Europe instead.

Biodiversity experts working in governance and science have called for greater integration of policy sectors, geographical levels and academic disciplines, in a stakeholder workshop. This would help ensure policy decisions realistically reflect complex relationships between ecological and governance processes in order to meet future biodiversity targets.

It is possible to balance agricultural production with improved biodiversity on farmland, according to researchers. A new study suggests using a combination of land sharing techniques, which enhance biodiversity on existing farmland, with land separation techniques, which designate separate areas for conservation and farmland production.

Over the next 30 years, there is a vital need for planners to shape urban expansion to minimise the impact on biodiversity and carbon losses from land-use change, according to a recent study.

Riversides that are unprotected by flood defences are home to more diverse plant communities, according to a new study. According to the researchers of the study, 'soft' approaches to flood management, which work in harmony with natural processes, could help promote biodiversity in flood-prone regions.

A recent study sheds light on why some alien species are more likely to become invasive than others. The research in Switzerland found that the alien Spanish slug is better able to survive under changing environmental conditions than the native Black slug, thanks to its robust 'Jack-of-all-trades' nature.

The decline in numbers of wild bees has caused concern regarding falling levels of pollination for important agricultural crops. Researchers have now demonstrated that the diversity of the pollinator community can significantly affect pollination.

The goals of providing sufficient quantities of food to support the world's growing population, whilst simultaneously protecting its biodiversity, may seem incompatible. However, a recent review of the literature has highlighted how 'alternative' agricultural practices can offer a realistic solution to the problems of achieving both food security and biodiversity conservation.

Careful choice of tree species and sites could transform plantations into refuges for woodland plant diversity, new research from Ireland suggests. Plantations of native species on or near historic woodland and those with adequate light levels below the tree canopy were found to support more plant species.

Falling levels of insect pollination are causing declining yields of important agricultural crops. However, new research from South Africa now indicates that planting small patches of native flowers in agricultural fields can be a profitable and sustainable method of increasing pollination and yield.

New research suggests that Natura 2000 sites are highly effective in minimising the number of endangered species of concern to European conservation. The findings may reduce concerns that poor coordination between Member States in setting up the European network of protected areas has led to inadequate protection of vulnerable species.

The advantages of soft ecosystem-based climate change adaptation over hard infrastructure-based approaches are becoming increasingly recognised. A new analysis highlights these advantages and calls for more effort to improve our understanding of ecosystem-based adaptation's (EbA) effectiveness.

Decreasing biodiversity in an ecosystem can increase the spread of disease, research suggests. Researchers studying amphibian communities in natural wetland ecosystems as well as controlled experiments have shown that as diversity increased, infection rates dropped.

New barriers have been developed to prevent invasive American signal crayfish from moving upstream and colonising important European crayfish habitat. The barriers, designed to stop crayfish but allow fish to pass, have been found to be effective where water flow rates are sufficiently high.

Little is known about the organisms that live within soil, although they play a vital role in the biological processes that support life on Earth. In a recent study, researchers calculated the relative risk of pressures caused by human activity on soil biodiversity in the EU, showing that intensive land use has the greatest impact.

Conserving genetic diversity is vital to allow populations to adapt in the face of changing conditions. A new study, assessing the conservation of genetic diversity of trees across Europe, has identified areas for improvement that could help maintain the genetic diversity of Europe's forests.

'Bet-hedging' behaviour among farmers, who diversify land use to avoid investing in a single land use that might fail, can boost farmland biodiversity, a new study suggests. However, because historical data show this is not the most frequent strategy used by farmers, balancing environmental and economic concerns in agriculture may still require public policy instruments, such as subsidies or taxes.

Richer countries have more resources for gathering biodiversity information, creating a biased view of the worlds' species and their distribution. However, a new study argues that there are other reasons why some countries are underrepresented in global biodiversity databases, with low numbers of English speakers, large distances from the database host and low security acting as key barriers to data collection.

Woodlands in the grounds of old manor houses or castles can provide high quality habitat for numerous forest species, a recent study from Estonia concludes. The researchers found that, compared to nearby forests, old rural park woodlands appeared to be better at supporting biodiversity.

Biodiversity could play a key role in preventing future outbreaks of malaria in tropical forests, according to a new study. Results indicate that a greater number of mosquito species could increase competition for mosquitoes that spread malarial parasites, whilst more vertebrate species could increase the likelihood that malarial parasites end up in 'dead-end hosts' that are unable to transmit the disease any further.

Using plastic sheeting to encourage early growth of crops reduces the number and diversity of farmland birds, new research from Poland suggests. The study shows that this effect continues even after plastic has been removed.

The litter size of the endangered European mink is less than half of that of its main competitor, the invasive American mink, research shows. The higher fertility of the American mink may allow rapid population growth of this species, threatening European mink with extinction.

Drainage tunnels running under roads can provide small animals with safe road crossings, mitigating habitat fragmentation, a new study has confirmed. The researchers suggest that the tunnel design can be further improved to aid animal movements, for example, by providing dry ledges to ensure the routes are still available in times of high rainfall.

The damaging impacts of the invasive alien plant, the giant hogweed, decline over time, new research from the Czech Republic has concluded. Although this plant initially reduces the native species richness of the grasslands it colonises, the study found that numbers of native species increased again in sites that had been colonised by hogweed for 40 years or longer.

Biodiversity offset schemes do not always fully compensate for loss of habitat due to development, new research suggests. Of 66 development projects in France with offset schemes, it was found that numbers of species in offset sites was on average five times lower than in the land destined for development. Furthermore, even endangered species were not always protected by these offset sites.

Depositing dredged material on the seabed can significantly reduce the functioning of marine habitats, diminishing the amount of food available for fish and other animals further up the food chain, new research suggests. The author of the study calls for inclusion of this effect into environmental impact assessments of dredging.

Connectivity between protected areas is vital for safeguarding many animals and plants. New research has shown that Natura 2000 sites are well connected across provincial borders in Germany, Italy and Spain. This is the result of strong coordination from central governments combined with good regional cooperation, the study???s authors conclude.

The drying of soils under global warming could disrupt the balance of nutrients in large areas of the Earth's land surface, according to new research. The study focused on ‘drylands' – arid areas with low levels of rainfall – which support over 38%% of the world's population. Such nutrient imbalances could diminish the provision of ecosystem services, such as food production and carbon storage, the researchers say.

Cities located in biodiversity hotspots can provide valuable refuges for a wide range of plants, a recent study suggests. Of the 379 plant species and sub-species recorded in the city of Ioannina, Greece, 27 were of conservation interest. Town planners can ensure that cities play an important role in supporting regional biodiversity when designing future urban developments, the researchers say.

Two thirds of natural areas in the Netherlands suffer from at least one of four key environmental pressures including nitrogen pollution, drying, acidification and habitat fragmentation, a new study suggests. Possible solutions to enable the country to meet its commitments under the EU's biodiversity targets include moves towards sustainable farming and reduction of nitrogen outputs, the researchers conclude.