Publication
Geodiversity inclusiveness in biodiversity assessment
Publisher:
SAGE Publications
Date:
03-09-2023
DOI:
10.1177/03091333221122292
Abstract: Bio ersity assessment is constitutive in establishing conservation priorities and outcomes, and geo ersity complements species richness as a surrogate in the absence of species data, improves statistical modelling and can facilitate prediction of species distribution and abundance. Yet, geo ersity is frequently excluded, and bio ersity prioritised in conservation endeavours such as ecosystem-based management. Therefore, combined geo ersity and bio ersity assessment approaches present practical benefits to conservation such as improved collaboration between biologists and geoscientists, efficacious indicators of conservation value, and abatement of bio ersity partialities and wider inclusion of geo ersity in conservation literature. This study scientometrically analysed 240 bio ersity assessment publications to investigate geo ersity inclusiveness, methodological trends, geographic trends, environment-type trends and future directions in bio ersity assessment methods. Results showed these species richness articles frequently included geo ersity-relevant terms such as hydrological, soil, geological and geomorphological components, but the all-encompassing ‘geo ersity’ term was absent entirely. Geographic trends showed many potential economic, social, cultural and political factors influencing geo ersity inclusiveness in bio ersity assessment. For ex le, Australia’s relatively resource exploitative approach to geology and early involvement in the inception of the geo ersity concept could explain the high frequency of geological-related terms in Australian bio ersity assessments. Methodological trends showed dominance by field-based bio ersity assessments such as trapping methods, followed transects, quadrats, net methods and observations. Given the specific s le size of literature analysed, inferences from this study relate only to bio ersity assessment methods and not bio ersity discourse in its entirety. Subsequent research could investigate specific factors, such as social, economic or political, and their influence on geo ersity inclusiveness in bio ersity assessment methods.