The IUCN Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) is a global framework for monitoring and documenting the status of ecosystems. It was developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as part of the growing toolkit for biodiversity risk assessment.
The main objective of the RLE is to support conservation, resource use, and management decisions by evaluating the risk of collapse of ecosystems in three realms: terrestrial, freshwater and marine.
The RLE assessment is based on a set of rules, or criteria, for performing evidence-based, scientific assessments of the risk of ecosystem collapse, as measured by reductions in geographical distribution or degradation of the key processes and components of ecosystems.
The IUCN Red List of Ecosystem proposes an assessment protocol for ecosystem based on the definition of risk of collapse.
This collection includes:
Main image credit: | Mechanisms of ecosystem collapse and symptoms of collapse risk. Source: Keith et al. (2013) Scientific Foundations for an IUCN Red List of Ecosystems. PLoS ONE 8(5): e62111 |
Background image credit: | Río Caroní, Wonken, Venezuela. April 28 2017. Foto credit: Izabela Stachowicz (www.izolinia.pl) |
ScienceOpen disciplines: | Remote sensing, Plant science & Botany, Ecology, Animal science & Zoology, Environmental management, Policy & Planning, Environmental engineering |
Keywords: | Ecosystem collapse, IUCN knowledge products, biodiversity indicators, Conservation planning |
DOI: | 10.14293/S2199-1006.1.SOR-EARTH.CL5PTKB.v1 |