Towards evidence-based conservation of subterranean ecosystems

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Conservation Biology
• Biodiversity Science

Background:

• Subterranean ecosystems are vast yet understudied, facing unique conservation challenges.
• International Years of Caves and Karst (2021-2022) aimed to raise awareness of these critical environments.
• Despite their importance, subterranean ecosystems are often overlooked in global conservation efforts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantitatively assess the evidence base for conservation interventions in subterranean ecosystems globally.
• To identify research gaps and progress in subterranean ecology and management.
• To inform more effective and evidence-based conservation strategies for subterranean biota.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of 708 peer-reviewed and grey literature publications (1964-2021).
• Analysis of 1,954 conservation interventions across terrestrial, freshwater, and saltwater subterranean systems.
• Quantification of statistically tested intervention effectiveness and research biases.

Main Results:

• A significant increase in studies since the 2000s, but a decrease in quantifying intervention impact.
• Only 31% of conservation interventions had their effectiveness statistically tested.
• Research is concentrated in the Palearctic and Nearctic regions, biased towards indirect measures, arthropods, bats, and terrestrial caves.

Conclusions:

• Most subterranean conservation science lacks rigorous quantitative approaches, leading to sparse evidence of intervention effectiveness.
• There's a critical need to increase statistical testing and standardize reporting for meta-analysis.
• Developing a database of interventions can guide cost-effective and impactful conservation for subterranean species and habitats.