Article
Ecology
Darrel Chin Fung Tiang, Andrew Morris, Mathew Bell, Christopher N. Gibbins, Badrul Azhar, Alex M. Lechner
Summary: This study utilized least-cost path analysis and a graph-theoretic approach to characterize connectivity within the Karuah-Myall catchments, a typical woodland ecosystem fragmented by agriculture, focusing on the support of connectivity by scattered trees. Results indicated that excluding scattered trees led to least-cost paths that did not reflect typical movement patterns observed in the field, suggesting that excluding fine-scale landscape features may misrepresent connectivity patterns.
ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xiangqian Zhou, Seifeddine Jomaa, Xiaoqiang Yang, Ralf Merz, Yanping Wang, Michael Rode
Summary: The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) highlights altered stream/river morphology and diffuse pollution as major pressures on European water bodies. The study investigated the impact of restoring natural stream morphology on nitrate retention in the well-monitored Bode catchment. Results showed that increasing sinuosity of streams could significantly increase net nitrate retention and decrease nitrate concentrations. This suggests that restoration strategies should focus on increasing stream sinuosity to enhance nitrate retention at the catchment scale.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Elisabeth Simelton, Jeremy Carew-Reid, Miguel Coulier, Beau Damen, John Howell, Chloe Pottinger-Glass, Hung Viet Tran, Marlies Van der Meiren
Summary: NBS in the agricultural sector involves using natural processes or elements to improve ecosystem functions in environments and landscapes affected by agricultural practices, enhancing livelihoods and other social and cultural functions.
FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Janet Hooke, Jonas Souza, Miguel Marchamalo
Summary: Connectivity analysis is valuable in understanding runoff and sediment fluxes in catchments, and different versions of Connectivity Index have been developed. This study tested the effects of various Index versions in an agricultural-terraced catchment in the semi-arid Mediterranean region, with UAV imagery providing detailed topography and vegetation cover. Models showed similarities in flow patterns, with the vegetation-inclusive model closer to field conditions. However, all models lacked in accurately modeling ponding and sedimentation created by terraces.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Liqun Lin, Shuwei Qin, Zhengxiang Wang, Tingting Li, Yangyan Deng, Longxiang Zhen
Summary: This study aims to improve habitat connectivity and protect the population expansion and genetic diversity of the Rhinopithecus roxellana in the Shennongjia region of Hubei Province, China, by identifying the causes of habitat degradation and the location of recoverable habitat patches. The study used the MaxEnt model, change detection, and connectivity analysis to determine degraded areas and prioritize restoration patches.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jakub Horak, Patrik Rada, Ludwig Lettenmaier, Michal Andreas, Petr Bogusch, Tomasz Jaworski
Summary: Weather has a significant impact on the abundance of butterflies, with vegetation temperature and light intensity having positive effects. Marginal woody vegetation cover also positively influences butterfly abundance.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Annie Guiller, Guillaume Decocq, Thomas Kichey, Pedro Poli, Katrien Vandepitte, Francoise Dubois, Olivier Honnay, Deborah Closset-Kopp
Summary: It is found that genetic diversity, spatial genetic structure, and gene flow of forest plant populations are influenced by the permeability of agricultural matrix in fragmented landscapes. Forest specialist plants are more vulnerable to fragmentation and require higher habitat quality for population maintenance. Therefore, it is important to conserve ancient forest fragments and restore functional connectivity among forest patches within agricultural landscapes.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Annie Guiller, Guillaume Decocq, Thomas Kichey, Pedro Poli, Katrien Vandepitte, Francoise Dubois, Olivier Honnay, Deborah Closset-Kopp
Summary: In rural landscapes, the composition and management intensity of agricultural areas affect genetic diversity, spatial genetic structure, and gene flow in forest plant populations. This study found that low matrix permeability disrupts gene flow and decreases spatial genetic structure, particularly for forest specialist species.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Joachim Audet, Trine Mariane Olsen, Thomas Elsborg, Annette Baattrup-Pedersen, Tenna Riis
Summary: This study evaluated denitrification rates in different stream habitats in Denmark, finding higher rates in vegetated habitats, especially those with emergent plants. Vegetation may enhance denitrification by providing more carbon and oxygen availability in the habitats.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
James Eggers, Shannon Davis, Crile Doscher, Pablo Gregorini
Summary: This study aimed to identify species of native woody vegetation and propose spatial configurations and site designs to increase multifunctionality on a case study site in New Zealand. Sixty-three suitable species were identified and assigned scores based on objectives and constraints. Design thinking methodology was used to strategically locate these plants on the case study site, resulting in three individual site designs that propose a model of a multifunctional agricultural landscape.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Danelle Agnew, Kirstie Fryirs
Summary: By connecting corridors of river recovery, resilience can be built into river systems to mitigate against future floods and droughts. However, there is a lack of methods to identify where these corridors can be built in river management practice. The Open Access NSW River Styles database provides comprehensive information on geomorphic river condition and recovery potential, which can be used to analyze potential locations for river recovery corridors. The study found significant spatial variability in the types and lengths of connections made across different catchments. These findings provide important guidance for river conservation and rehabilitation activities in practice.
Article
Soil Science
Tarquinio Mateus Magalhaes
Summary: This study provides a comprehensive assessment of the impact of shifting cultivation on soil carbon content in miombo woodlands, highlighting the importance of maintaining or introducing the arboreal component to mitigate soil carbon loss.
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Karl S. Zimmerer, Yolanda Jimenez Olivencia, Laura Porcel Rodriguez, Nieves Lopez-Estebanez, Fernando Allende Alvarez, Rafael Mata Olmo, Carolina Yacaman Ochoa, Angel Raul Ruiz Pulpon, Oscar Jerez Garcia
Summary: Accelerated intensification/disintensification and urbanization are changing agricultural systems and calling for spatial approaches to understand sustainability-enhancing resilience. The study aims to identify broad-scale types of agricultural landscapes in Spain associated with these changes and assess cross-landscape connectivity through case studies. The findings emphasize the importance of socio-ecological connectivity in strengthening the sustainability-enhancing resilience of agricultural landscapes amid global agri-food changes.
AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Martin Palt, Daniel Hering, Jochem Kail
Summary: Woody riparian vegetation (WRV) provides significant benefits to benthic macroinvertebrates in both rural agricultural and urban landscapes, improving ecological status. However, the effects of WRV are context-specific, being more pronounced in rural agricultural catchments and in urban areas with moderate agricultural land use. WRV's beneficial effects are limited in purely urban catchments and in a multiple stressor context.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Cinnamon M. Dixon, Kevin M. Robertson, Michael D. Ulyshen, Benjamin A. Sikes
Summary: Restoring pine savannas through frequent fire can greatly improve ecosystem services, such as increasing plant species richness and carbon storage, reducing erosion and soil pathogens, and promoting water yield and bee pollinator abundance. However, the rate of improvement varies among different services, ranging from a few years to several decades.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Ecology
N. Sweaney, D. B. Lindenmayer, D. A. Driscoll
Summary: The study found that butterflies exhibit avoidance behavior at the edges of plantations, with low perceptual range in these areas, leading them to quickly depart. Butterflies often cross from farmland into woodland and stay, but hardly any cross from woodland or plantations into farmland and stay. The distance butterflies move away from plantation edges in woodland is greater than in farmland, indicating that the edge-effects of one land-cover type depend on the animals' response to the alternative land-cover.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Martino E. Malerba, David B. Lindenmayer, Ben C. Scheele, Pawel Waryszak, I. Noyan Yilmaz, Lukas Schuster, Peter I. Macreadie
Summary: Agricultural practices have created numerous artificial water bodies for the provision of water to livestock. Farm dams, among other freshwater ecosystems, have high greenhouse gas emissions due to fertilizer and manure run-off. This study conducted a large-scale experiment in Australia to investigate the effects of installing fences to exclude livestock on water quality and greenhouse gas emissions. The results showed that fenced farm dams had lower nutrient content, improved water quality, and reduced methane emissions compared to unfenced dams. Dissolved oxygen was found to be the most important factor influencing carbon fluxes.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Letter
Multidisciplinary Sciences
David Lindenmayer, Philip Zylstra, Marta Yebra
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
Biodiversity Conservation
Renee Hartley, Wade Blanchard, Mellesa Schroder, David B. Lindenmayer, Chloe Sato, Ben C. Scheele
Summary: The study in the Australian highlands showed that the activity of exotic herbivores primarily affects vegetation height, foliage density, forb cover, and soil compaction in these grasslands. Through investigation of native and exotic herbivore activity, it was revealed that exotic herbivores dominate mammalian herbivory in these ecosystems.
CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE
(2022)