Article
Environmental Sciences
Jingyi Ding, David J. Eldridge
Summary: This study compares the ecological functions of roadside verges and adjacent agricultural land, showing that roadside verges have greater impact on carbon stocks, vegetation coverage, plant diversity, and habitat complexity. The study also identifies management practices and roadside verge width as major regulators of roadside functions, and highlights the negative effects of site modification on tree recruitment and soil organic carbon pools.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Marek Marciniak, Daniel Gebler, Mateusz Grygoruk, Joanna Zalewska-Galosz, Krzysztof Szoszkiewicz
Summary: The study aimed to assess the influence of filtration stream and hydraulic gradient on water crowfoot distribution in European rivers. The study found that the hyporheic zones covered with Ranunculus vegetation were mainly influenced by groundwater drainage. The intensity of groundwater filtration varied significantly, and the non-vegetated riverbed had a higher filtration rate compared to the zones with Ranunculus. The study provides evidence for the importance of water exchange in the hyporheic zone for the growth and conservation of Ranunculus vegetation.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
S. Koethe, N. Bakanov, C. A. Bruehl, B. Gemeinholzer, T. Hoerren, R. Muehlethaler, M. Sorg, H. Sumser, S. J. Swenson, G. U. C. Lehmann
Summary: Nature reserves are crucial for biodiversity protection, but their effectiveness can be compromised by environmental influences from surrounding areas, such as agrochemical inputs. A study in Germany analyzed vegetation data from protected areas to assess the impact of these stressors. The results showed negative effects on plant communities near agricultural fields, indicating the need for effective buffer zones and reduced use of fertilizer and herbicides through organic farming and targeted subsidies.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Carlos E. Gonzalez-Orozco, Raul Alejandro Diaz-Giraldo, Catalina Rodriguez-Castaneda
Summary: This study analyzes the spatial patterns of biodiversity and its relationship with agricultural expansion in Colombia's Orinoco region. Results show that areas closer to the Andes are more susceptible to ecological degradation, while Santa Rosalia and Puerto Lopez have the highest species diversity. La Primavera municipality has the most endemic species. The findings can serve as a baseline and guideline for land-use planning and regional development in the eastern plains region of Colombia.
FRONTIERS IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tommaso Jucker, Carl R. Gosper, Georg Wiehl, Paul B. Yeoh, Nat Raisbeck-Brown, Fabian Jorg Fischer, Jason Graham, Helen Langley, William Newchurch, Alison J. O'Donnell, Gerald F. M. Page, Katherine Zdunic, Suzanne M. Prober
Summary: Australia's Great Western Woodlands are the largest intact temperate woodland ecosystem on Earth, facing threats from climate change and wildfires that have destroyed a significant portion of these woodlands. To develop conservation strategies, a unique dataset was used to generate high-resolution maps of woodland tree size and age structure. The study found that a large percentage of the woodland habitat remains intact, but is not adequately protected by current conservation efforts.
REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Esther Ekua Amoakoid, James Gambiza
Summary: Understanding people’s practices, knowledge, and perceptions of fire and fire regimes can contribute to savanna conservation and sustainable management. A study in the Guinea savanna of Ghana investigated the frequency, control, and perceptions of fire use for various socio-cultural activities. The majority of respondents used fire for activities such as land preparation, pest control, and bush clearing, with the highest frequency of fire use for land preparation for cropping. Understanding traditional fire use practices and people’s knowledge of fire regimes is important for mitigating bushfires in West African savannas.
Review
Engineering, Aerospace
Huihui Sun, Hao Yan, Mostafa Hassanalian, Junguo Zhang, Abdessattar Abdelkefi
Summary: Unmanned air vehicle (UAV) systems have shown great economic benefits in forestry applications compared to traditional platforms. This paper provides an overview of the state-of-the-art UAV systems in the forestry field, focusing on their applications in wood production, tree quantification, disease control, wildfire management, wildlife conservation, species classification, etc. It also discusses practical applications in various forestry environments and analyzes the challenges of UAV systems deployment from environmental characterization, maneuverability and mobility improvement, and global regulatory interpretation.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Richard E. Lizotte, Peter C. Smiley, Robert B. Gillespie, Scott S. Knight
Summary: Conservation agriculture practices (CAs) have been promoted internationally for soil health and mitigation of soil loss, with additional benefits including reducing agricultural runoff impacts on aquatic ecosystems. Recent studies have focused on demonstrating ecological improvements in aquatic ecosystems with CAs, but there are research gaps in understanding the biogeochemistry of CAs, quantitative links between different CAs and ecological responses, and the connections of CAs with aquatic ecosystem structure and function.
Article
Plant Sciences
Miroslav Dvorsky, Ondrej Mudrak, Jiri Dolezal, Miloslav Jirku
Summary: Naturalistic grazing is an effective way to manage habitats with conservational value, as it can restore and enhance biodiversity. A study conducted in a former military training area in the Czech Republic found that naturalistic grazing increased species richness and the cover of forbs, while minimally affecting grasses and legumes. It also promoted functional diversity of plant community and increased the occurrence of red-list species.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sean S. Downey, Matthew Walker, Jacob Moschler, Filiberto Penados, William Peterman, Juan Pop, Rongjun Qin, Shane A. Scaggs, Shuang Song
Summary: This study examines the relationship between land use, forest disturbance, and species diversity in two Q'eqchi' Maya villages in southern Belize using multispectral imagery and biodiversity survey data. The findings suggest that species diversity in Maya community forests is maximized when ecological disturbances caused by cutting and burning trees are neither too rare nor too frequent.
COMMUNICATIONS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Dorota Wronska-Pilarek, Sebastian Rymszewicz, Andrzej M. Jagodzinski, Radoslaw Gawrys, Marcin K. Dyderski
Summary: Understanding the response of vegetation composition and diversity to global changes is crucial for ecosystem management and conservation. This study assessed shifts in understory vegetation in a national park in Poland after 40 years of conservation, and found overall homogenization of forest vegetation and specific shift patterns in certain forest associations. The results highlight the importance of ongoing monitoring and management for preserving diversity and functionality in the face of global changes.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
M. Jimena Esquivel, Sergio Vilchez-Mendoza, Celia A. Harvey, Mayra A. Ospina, Eduardo Somarriba, Olivier Deheuvels, Elias de M. Virginio Filho, Jeremy Haggar, Guillermo Detlefsen, Carlos Cerdan, Fernando Casanoves, Jenny C. Ordonez
Summary: Agroforestry systems have the potential to increase tree diversity in agricultural landscapes, but there is limited understanding of shade plant diversity patterns in different agroforestry systems at large scales. This study compiled plant inventory data from four agroforestry systems across six countries in Central America and found that no single system consistently had the highest diversity. Trees on pastures can reach similar species richness to cocoa and coffee systems but require larger sampled areas. Farmers show strong selection pressure for species that provide timber, firewood, and fruit. This study highlights the potential contribution and limitations of different agroforestry systems for tree diversity conservation in agricultural landscapes.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Review
Biodiversity Conservation
Christophe Sauser, Loic Commagnac, Cyril Eraud, Matthieu Guillemain, Sophie Morin, Thibaut Powolny, Alexandre Villers, Herve Lormee
Summary: Changes in agriculture have led to a decline in biodiversity, particularly for farmland birds like the European turtle dove. This study investigates the impact of foraging and nesting habitats on turtle dove abundance in France. The results indicate that fallow lands positively affect turtle dove abundance, whereas fodder crop area has a negative effect. Increasing hedgerows length has a positive effect on the population, while the relationship with forest edges length is bell-shaped. Targeted measures such as increasing fallow lands and hedgerows length could help stabilize or increase the turtle dove population.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Pengpeng Dou, Zhengzhou Miao, Jie Wang, Jing Huang, Qian Gao, Kaili Wang, Kun Wang
Summary: Changes in the composition of species and the diversity-productivity relationships during vegetation succession are important for restoring degraded grasslands. However, current restoration efforts mainly focus on either the ecological (diversity) or production (biomass) function of grasslands, without fully considering their relationship to improve restoration effects. This study explores the changes in species composition, diversity, and diversity-productivity relationships during the restoration of a temperate savanna. The results show shifts in plant types and significant increases in species richness and diversity throughout the restoration process. Latitude is negatively correlated with species diversity. The study emphasizes the need to consider both ecological and productive functions of grasslands in restoration strategies.
FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Ondrej Hornak, Borivoj Sarapatka, Ondrej Machac, Andrej Mock, Ivan Hadrian Tuf
Summary: Fragments of woodland play a crucial role in landscape ecology, providing stability and biodiversity. They protect against soil erosion and provide refuge for animals, contributing to essential ecosystem functions.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Brendan Mackey, William Moomaw, David Lindenmayer, Heather Keith
Summary: Meeting the Paris Agreement target requires rapid and significant reductions of CO2 emissions and carbon removals via forest protection. Developed countries are not giving enough attention to forest protection, despite experiencing emissions from deforestation and logging. Current accounting systems fail to consider the mitigation potential of forest protection, hindering evaluation of mitigation strategies. Net carbon accounting plays a major role in meeting national contributions, with forest land offsetting a significant portion of fossil fuel emissions. Changing forest management to avoid emissions and promote regrowth is an effective mitigation strategy.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Meena S. Sritharan, Ben C. Scheele, Wade Blanchard, Claire N. Foster, Patricia A. Werner, David B. Lindenmayer
Summary: Understanding the responses of rare species to altered fire disturbance regimes is a challenging task for ecologists. This study examined the associations between fire regimes and plant rarity in different vegetation communities. The results showed that rare species classified by Rabinowitz's definition of rarity were most sensitive to fire regimes. However, the limited responses observed suggest that other biotic drivers may play a greater role in influencing species rarity in this fire-prone ecosystem.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
David Lindenmayer, Lachlan McBurney, Wade Blanchard
Summary: Large quantities of dead wood generated by disturbances like wildfires play critical ecological roles in forest ecosystems globally. A 10-year study in southeastern Australia revealed that 23% of measured trees collapsed between 2011 and 2021, with smaller diameter trees and trees in fragmented patches being more prone to collapse. The potential loss of dead trees by 2030 could have major negative effects on biodiversity conservation in ash-type forests.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Stephen G. Kearney, James E. M. Watson, April E. Reside, Diana O. Fisher, Martine Maron, Tim S. Doherty, Sarah M. Legge, John C. Z. Woinarski, Stephen T. Garnett, Brendan A. Wintle, Euan G. Ritchie, Don A. Driscoll, David Lindenmayer, Vanessa M. Adams, Michelle S. Ward, Josie Carwardine
Summary: Earth's extinction crisis is worsening and threat classification schemes are crucial for assessing the drivers and threats causing species declines. However, there is a lack of a complementary framework for evaluating the conservation responses needed to reduce these threats. In this study, an expert-driven threat-abatement framework was developed and applied to 1532 threatened species in Australia, highlighting the importance of retaining and restoring habitat, controlling invasive species and diseases, and improving fire management for species recovery. Integrated management responses are necessary for the survival and recovery of most species.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Forestry
David B. Lindenmayer, Marta Yebra, Geoffrey J. Cary
Summary: Plantations of trees are important for wood supply but also pose fire risks. Greater consideration of fire risks in planning is needed, including the choice of tree species and their placement based on climatic and environmental factors. Other factors like landscape configuration and new technologies for fire detection and suppression should also be considered. Better planning and management of wildfires in plantations is essential due to their significance and potential danger to human safety.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Elle J. Bowd, Lachlan McBurney, David B. Lindenmayer
Summary: Under the current trajectory of accelerated climatic and environmental change, many forests are at risk of regeneration failure and subsequent transition to alternate stable states. Detailed empirical understanding of these alternative states is limited. Using a manipulative experiment, we found that frequent stand-replacing disturbance can result in regeneration failure in ash-type eucalypt forests in Australia. These shifts to alternative stable states can have severe ecological implications and require management interventions to conserve forest integrity.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Biology
David B. Lindenmayer, Elle J. Bowd, Philip Gibbons
Summary: Wildfires pose challenges to forest restoration due to their varied impacts on vegetation and biodiversity. Appropriate management interventions, such as prescribed burning, excluding activities that hinder post-fire recovery, and artificial seeding, should be selected to achieve favorable restoration outcomes in different ecosystems.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biology
Jiajia Liu, Xiaofeng Jin, Shenhao Yao, Yuan Wang, Yifei Lu, Qianyu Chen, Chuping Wu, Ferry Slik, David Lindenmayer
Summary: The discovery rates of new plant species should be accelerated to prevent extinction before formal description. Current studies have focused on the occurrence and characteristics of new species, but limited attention has been given to the taxonomists who discover and describe them. Using China as a case study, we found that recently described species are mostly endemic, and the proportion of species described by resident Chinese taxonomists has increased over time. In contrast, species discoveries by non-resident experts, often non-endemic, have shown signs of leveling off. This study highlights the need for training, support, and collaboration with resident taxonomists in megadiverse countries with high potential for discovering undescribed plant species.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Shilu Zheng, Juntao Hu, Zhijun Ma, David Lindenmayer, Jiajia Liu
Summary: The authors used body size data from mammal and bird museum collections in North America to show that intraspecific variation in body size has increased over time, while mean body size has not changed. Previous studies have mainly focused on the declining average body size of animals, and less is known about long-term changes in intraspecific trait variation, which is crucial for understanding species' ability to cope with environmental challenges.
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2023)
Review
Ecology
Jessica L. L. Williams, David Lindenmayer, Brett Mifsud
Summary: Large old trees in Australia, such as the Mountain Ash, play critical ecological roles. By collating information about the tallest and largest trees in the country, we can identify priority species and areas for conservation. Documenting the size, condition, and location of these trees will enable monitoring and potential preservation efforts.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
D. B. Lindenmayer, W. Blanchard, M. J. Evans, R. Beggs, T. Lavery, D. Florance, C. Crane, D. Smith, A. Siegrist, E. Lang, B. C. Scheele
Summary: This study found that the Noisy Miner bird species in Australia poses a threat to other bird species. The study also revealed that environmental factors such as tree cover and net primary productivity influence the impact of the Noisy Miner. Therefore, protecting refugia characterized by high net primary productivity and tree cover is crucial for the conservation of woodland bird communities in areas with deforestation.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Jackie L. O'Sullivan, Claire N. Foster, Damian R. Michael, Wade Blanchard, David B. Lindenmayer
Summary: Understanding the factors that influence retreat-site selection by fauna is important for habitat management and species conservation. However, there is limited knowledge about the attributes of surface rocks that contribute to their use in agricultural landscapes, especially during the winter months when reptiles are brumating.
Article
Environmental Studies
David B. Lindenmayer
Summary: Tens of thousands of species are at risk of extinction globally, and forest degradation can profoundly affect biodiversity. This study presents a detailed case study of species declines associated with forest degradation in southeastern Australia's montane ash forests. The study highlights the key drivers of declines, including logging, wildfire, habitat loss, climate change, and policy failures. Lessons for better conservation and forest management efforts are discussed, emphasizing the need to address the conflicts between conservation and logging policies.
Article
Ecology
David Lindenmayer, Elle Bowd
Summary: Old growth forest is a critical growth stage in many forest types globally, playing key ecological roles such as biodiversity conservation, carbon storage, and water production. The decline of old growth forest is mainly due to factors such as logging, wildfire, and climate change. Detailed studies and protection measures are necessary to preserve and expand the extent of old growth forest.
FRONTIERS IN FORESTS AND GLOBAL CHANGE
(2022)
Article
Zoology
Tyrone H. Lavery, Christopher R. Dickman, David B. Lindenmayer
Summary: Australia has experienced a higher number of modern mammal extinctions compared to any other country. The study investigates the circumstances surrounding the collection of three specimens of the blue-grey mouse, providing insights into their optimal habitats and climatic conditions. Although the species is likely already extinct, the findings aid in directing future survey efforts.
AUSTRALIAN MAMMALOGY
(2022)