Global Island Monitoring Scheme (GIMS): a proposal for the long‐term coordinated survey and monitoring of native island forest biota

Islands harbour evolutionary and ecologically unique biota, which are currently
disproportionately threatened by a multitude of anthropogenic factors, including habitat loss, invasive species and climate change. Native forests on oceanic islands are important refu-
gia for endemic species, many of which are rare and highly threatened. Long-term monitor-
ing schemes for those biota and ecosystems are urgently needed: (i) to provide quantitative
baselines for detecting changes within island ecosystems, (ii) to evaluate the effectiveness of
conservation and management actions, and (iii) to identify general ecological patterns and processes using multiple island systems as repeated ‘natural experiments’. In this contribu-
tion, we call for a Global Island Monitoring Scheme (GIMS) for monitoring the remaining
native island forests, using bryophytes, vascular plants, selected groups of arthropods and
vertebrates as model taxa. As a basis for the GIMS, we also present new, optimized monitor-
ing protocols for bryophytes and arthropods that were developed based on former standard-
ized inventory protocols. Effective inventorying and monitoring of native island forests will
require: (i) permanent plots covering diverse ecological gradients (e.g. elevation, age of ter-
rain, anthropogenic disturbance); (ii) a multiple-taxa approach that is based on standardized
and replicable protocols; (iii) a common set of indicator taxa and community properties that
are indicative of native island forests’ welfare, building on, and harmonized with existing
sampling and monitoring efforts; (iv) capacity building and training of local researchers, col-
laboration and continuous dialogue with local stakeholders; and (v) long-term commitment
by funding agencies to maintain a global network of native island forest monitoring plots.