Biodiversity & Ecosystem Protection Flashcards

When auditing a coastal blue carbon project, which of the following would indicate potential greenwashing of biodiversity claims?

Answer: Reporting increased fish abundance based solely on anecdotal stakeholder interviews without baseline data

Biodiversity claims based only on anecdotal evidence without quantified baselines and rigorous monitoring protocols cannot be independently verified and constitute greenwashing risk.

In the context of CAP certification, 'ecosystem carbon stock' includes carbon stored in which of the following five pools?

Answer: Above-ground biomass, below-ground biomass, deadwood, litter, and soil organic carbon

The IPCC and VCS both define five terrestrial carbon pools: above-ground biomass, below-ground biomass, deadwood, litter, and soil organic carbon (SOC).

An auditor reviewing a savanna fire management project must assess biodiversity impacts because controlled burning:

Answer: Can maintain fire-adapted ecosystems and promote biodiversity when applied at the right frequency and season

Managed burns in fire-adapted savannas replicate natural fire regimes that many native species depend on, often increasing floristic and faunal diversity when conducted appropriately.

What is a 'biodiversity baseline assessment' and why is it mandatory in most carbon project standards?

Answer: A pre-project inventory of species, habitats, and ecological conditions used to measure change over time

Without a pre-project baseline, it is impossible to measure whether a project improved, maintained, or degraded biodiversity, making baseline documentation a cornerstone of credible verification.

Under the Natural Forest Standard (NFS), 'irreversible biodiversity loss' from carbon projects is primarily guarded against through:

Answer: Long-term legal protections such as conservation easements or permanent legal titles over project areas

Permanent legal instruments like conservation easements ensure that biodiversity gains cannot be reversed by future landowners or policy changes, addressing the non-permanence risk.

A carbon auditor is reviewing species monitoring data for a reforestation project. Which finding should raise the most concern about ecosystem quality?

Answer: Dominance of a single pioneer tree species with few associated animal species after 10 years

A restored forest dominated by a single tree species with low associated biodiversity after a decade suggests structural and functional ecosystem poverty, undermining co-benefit claims.

The 'mitigation hierarchy' applied in carbon projects prioritizes actions in which order?

Answer: Avoid → Minimize → Restore → Offset

The mitigation hierarchy requires first avoiding biodiversity impacts, then minimizing unavoidable impacts, restoring residual damage, and only then offsetting remaining losses.