Clusius Index

Clusius* Index Proposal

Fungi play a crucial role in ecosystems and provide essential ecosystem services, as well as plants and animals. Fungi differ fundamentally from plants and animals. In 1969, it was recognized that fungi constitute a separate kingdom of living organisms. In terms of species numbers, the fungal kingdom is much larger than the plant kingdom but smaller than the animal kingdom. 

Nothing is more important to us than fungi and their protection. We can accept slight differences in emphasis, but it is a legitimate expectation to keep the balance. In conservation, fungi should be at the same level as plants and animals. The Clusius Index aims to draw attention to this.

It is an easy, objective evaluation method with a practical guide for evaluating conservation content in regard to balance. The Clusius Index is a general-purpose tool for evaluating conservation content of any kind, regardless of genre or medium, a scientific publication, government policy document, speech, or nature film.

*Carolus Clusius (19 February 1526 – 4 April 1609) was an influential botanist and a pioneering mycologist.

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Clusius Index Guide

Use the Clusius Index Evaluation Form to evaluate the overall balance of the content. There are five points on the form to measure how the content is balanced between plants, animals, and fungi.

1. Calculation

Perform calculations point by point. (if the denominator is 0, it is invalid and is ignored)

fi/(pi+ai) | i:1-5

fi : fungi result calculated at i.

pi: plants result calculated at i.

ai: animals result calculated at i.

Summarize results, multiply by two, and divide by the number of valid points to get the average, aka the numeric Clusius Index.

C=2/n⋅Σ fi/(pi+ai) | i:1-n; n= number of valid points, max 5

Determine the ordinal category from the numeric value by using the following table.

C≥0.9 (90%) : excellent/grade A

0.9 (90%)>C≥0.8 (80%) : good/grade B

0.8 (80%)>C≥0.7 (70%) : adequate/grade C

0.7 (70%)>C≥0.6 (60%) : poor/grade D

C< 0.6 (60%) :  failed/grade F

2. Peer review

Ask a peer to evaluate independently. Peers should agree on the unit of measurement for the first point.

3. Publication

Share the content evaluation with the creator/author, draw their attention to fungi and highlight the importance of the conservation of fungi. Do it politely, respectfully to gain allies in the conservation of fungi.

Clusius Index Evaluation Form

Conservation content (document, movie, sound) overall balance evaluation.

Title: ________________________________________________________

Clusius Index: ___% ordinal category: ________

1. The ratio of content dedicated to each group of living organisms.

Plants content ratio1 : ___%

Animals content ratio: ___%

Fungi content ratio: ___%

1As a percentage of total content. The content can be measured on the basis of chapters,  paragraphs, sentences, or even cuts depending on the genre, extent, and type of media. The total content ratio of plants, animals, and fungi is not necessarily 100%.

2. Conservation related topics in the content2.

For plants (total):__

❑ conservation measures

❑ legally protected species

❑ special habitats, habitats important for conservation

❑ diversity

❑ ecological roles fulfilled

❑ ecosystem services provided

❑ red list

❑ international trade regulation

For animals (total):__

❑ conservation measures

❑ legally protected species

❑ special habitats, habitats important for conservation

❑ diversity

❑ ecological roles fulfilled

❑ ecosystem services provided

❑ red list

❑ international trade regulation

For fungi (total):__

❑ conservation measures

❑ legally protected species

❑ special habitats, habitats important for conservation

❑ diversity

❑ ecological roles fulfilled

❑ ecosystem services provided

❑ red list

❑ international trade regulation

2Mention of a topic (one or more) is worth one point, so that each group can have a maximum of 9 points.

3. Number of illustrations3

Plants:__

Animals:__

Fungi:__

3Image, drawing, figure. If an illustration displays more than one group of organisms, add it to each of them.

4. Number of taxons4

Plants:__

Animals:__

Fungi:__

4Species, genera, or higher taxa with scientific or common names in the body of the text, in the caption of an illustration, or anywhere in the content.

5. Number of protected5 species

Plants:__

Animals:__

Fungi:__

5Protected by state/national law or international treaty.