Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Laura Kor, Mauricio Diazgranados
Summary: By using the Important Plant Areas (IPA) approach, 10 priority sites for plant conservation were identified in Colombia. These sites represent six of the country's 13 bioregions and cover only 0.27% of its land area. Targeted fieldwork, stakeholder engagement, and consultation with local resource users are necessary to confirm these IPAs.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Jorge Antonio Gomez . Diaz, Andres Lira-Noriega, Fabricio Villalobos
Summary: This study assessed the effectiveness of the current protected area system and identified priority conservation areas for expanding the network in central Veracruz, Mexico. Using distribution models and conservation planning tools, the study proposed declaring new protected areas that would double the existing protected surface. These priority areas have higher species richness, carbon stock values, natural vegetation cover, and lower human impact.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND WORLD ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Juan A. Encina-Dominguez, Eduardo Estrada-Castillon, Miguel Mellado, Cristina Gonzalez-Montelongo, Jose Ramon Arevalo
Summary: "Disturbances in the pine forests of Mexico, primarily caused by cattle, horses, goat, and sheep grazing, have resulted in low tree recruitment, establishment of invasive shrubs, changes in species composition, and invasion of weeds primarily spread by livestock. This study compared a grazing-excluded pine forest stand with a nearby area subjected to livestock grazing in the Sierra de Zapaliname natural protected area in northeast Mexico. The results showed that grazing has altered the understory species composition and reduced evenness in the control plots. To maintain species diversity and forest structure, it is recommended to restrict extensive grazing or reduce the number of animals in areas of high ecological value."
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Thomas Fartmann, Marco Drung, Ole Henning, Franz Loeffler, Jonas Brueggeshemke
Summary: Common juniper plays a significant role as a keystone species in both calcareous grasslands and heathlands, positively affecting the species richness and abundance of breeding birds.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yixin Diao, Junjun Wang, Feiling Yang, Wei Wu, Jian Zhou, Ruidong Wu
Summary: Threatened species are not adequately protected within protected areas globally, but using public species data can improve conservation planning, as shown in the case study of the Three Parallel Rivers Region in China. Systematic conservation planning identified optimized portfolios of priority conservation areas, which could complement existing datasets by covering more areas in developed landscapes and integrating species targets for China's national park system.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Maren Pauly, Will Crosse, Joshua Tosteson
Summary: This study analyzed the economic drivers of deforestation in Cambodia and the effectiveness of REDD+ projects compared to protected areas. The findings indicate that Economic Land Concessions were the main driver of deforestation in Cambodia, and REDD+ projects offered greater protection against deforestation than adjacent protected areas, likely due to increased funding for targeted community activities and rigorous monitoring and enforcement.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Andrey S. Erst, Shukherdorj Baasanmunkh, Zagarjav Tsegmed, Khurelpurev Oyundelger, Mathew T. Sharples, Batlai Oyuntsetseg, Denis A. Krivenko, Irina I. Gureyeva, Roman R. Romanets, Alexander A. Kuznetsov, Alexey A. Kechaykin, Alexander I. Shmakov, Svetlana Yu. Maltseva, Tatiana Erst, Wei Wang, Hee-Young Gil, Hyeok Jae Choi
Summary: The Altai Mountains in Central and North Asia are home to a diverse range of endemic vascular plants. This study assessed the conservation status of these plants, analyzed their distribution patterns, and identified areas in need of protection. The results showed that a significant number of endemic species are potentially threatened, with hotspots of endemism found in high elevations of the Russian Altai and Kazakh Altai.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Kamran Almasieh, Mitra Cheraghi
Summary: Habitat loss and fragmentation due to human activities require conservation of biodiversity hotspots. This study predicted core habitats and identified mustelid diversity hotspots in Iran, highlighting the need for conservation actions beyond protected areas.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Christopher L. Crawford, Lyndon D. Estes, Timothy D. Searchinger, David S. Wilcove
Summary: The representation of biodiversity in land-use planning tools faces challenges due to variation in different biodiversity approaches, resulting in very low spatial agreement regarding which areas to convert to agriculture. Differences in taxonomic groups, species richness metrics, combination methods, and spatial resolutions all play a role in determining conservation priorities. This highlights the need for a more consistent and transparent framework for designing biodiversity indices used in land-use planning.
ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biology
Lucas Sire, Paul Schmidt Yanez, Cai Wang, Annie Bezier, Beatrice Courtial, Jeremy Cours, Diego Fontaneto, Laurent Larrieu, Christophe Bouget, Simon Thorn, Joerg Mueller, Douglas W. Yu, Michael T. Monaghan, Elisabeth A. Herniou, Carlos Lopez-Vaamonde
Summary: This study examines the effects of climate-induced forest dieback and salvage logging on insect diversity in silver fir Pyrenean forests using metabarcoding. While there were no consistent changes in species richness, forest dieback resulted in significant changes in community composition, particularly affecting rare species. The study suggests that forest dieback drives changes in species assemblages that mimic natural forest succession and increases the risk of catastrophic loss of rare species.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Daniel Goncalves-Souza, Bruno Vilela, Ben Phalan, Ricardo Dobrovolski
Summary: Research shows that protected areas and indigenous lands in Brazil have had a positive impact in avoiding ecosystem destruction, with this effect extending to buffer zones around protected areas. The most effective protected areas are older, larger, located in the Amazon region, and indigenous lands. Despite recent setbacks, the benefits of strengthened protected areas for biodiversity and climate are highlighted.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Marine Robuchon, Sandrine Pavoine, Simon Veron, Giacomo Delli, Daniel P. Faith, Andrea Mandrici, Roseli Pellens, Gregoire Dubois, Boris Leroy
Summary: This study identifies priority species/areas for conserving global mammalian phylogenetic diversity based on targeting net positive outcomes in future projected biodiversity. The research highlights the difference between priority species/areas and loss-significant species/areas, while also emphasizing the lack of protection for these newly-identified species/areas.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Anooshe Kafash, Sohrab Ashrafi, Masoud Yousefi
Summary: This study used the maximum entropy approach to model habitat suitability of bat species in Iran and identified important variables for their distribution. Forest distance was found to be the most important ecological driver of bat distribution in Iran. The Zagros Mountains were highlighted as a hotspot for bat species.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Peter B. Reich, Javier G. P. Gamarra, Tom Crowther, Cang Hui, Albert Morera, Jean-Francois Bastin, Sergio de-Miguel, Gert-Jan Nabuurs, Jens-Christian Svenning, Josep M. Serra-Diaz, Cory Merow, Brian Enquist, Maria Kamenetsky, Junho Lee, Jun Zhu, Jinyun Fang, Douglass F. Jacobs, Bryan Pijanowski, Arindam Banerjee, Robert A. Giaquinto, Giorgio Alberti, Angelica Maria Almeyda Zambrano, Esteban Alvarez-Davila, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, Valerio Avitabile, Gerardo A. Aymard, Radomir Balazy, Chris Baraloto, Jorcely G. Barroso, Meredith L. Bastian, Philippe Birnbaum, Robert Bitariho, Jan Bogaert, Frans Bongers, Olivier Bouriaud, Pedro H. S. Brancalion, Francis Q. Brearley, Eben North Broadbent, Filippo Bussotti, Wendeson Castro da Silva, Ricardo Gomes Cesar, Goran Cesljar, Victor Chama Moscoso, Han Y. H. Chen, Emil Cienciala, Connie J. Clark, David A. Coomes, Selvadurai Dayanandan, Mathieu Decuyper, Laura E. Dee, Jhon Del Aguila Pasquel, Geraldine Derroire, Marie Noel Kamdem Djuikouo, Tran Van Do, Jiri Dolezal, Ilija D. Dordevic, Julien Engel, Tom M. Fayle, Ted R. Feldpausch, Jonas K. Fridman, David J. Harris, Andreas Hemp, Geerten Hengeveld, Bruno Herault, Martin Herold, Thomas Ibanez, Andrzej M. Jagodzinski, Bogdan Jaroszewicz, Kathryn J. Jeffery, Vivian Kvist Johannsen, Tommaso Jucker, Ahto Kangur, Victor N. Karminov, Kuswata Kartawinata, Deborah K. Kennard, Sebastian Kepfer-Rojas, Gunnar Keppel, Mohammed Latif Khan, Pramod Kumar Khare, Timothy J. Kileen, Hyun Seok Kim, Henn Korjus, Amit Kumar, Ashwani Kumar, Diana Laarmann, Nicolas Labriere, Mait Lang, Simon L. Lewis, Natalia Lukina, Brian S. Maitner, Yadvinder Malhi, Andrew R. Marshall, Olga V. Martynenko, Abel L. Monteagudo Mendoza, Petr V. Ontikov, Edgar Ortiz-Malavasi, Nadir C. Pallqui Camacho, Alain Paquette, Minjee Park, Narayanaswamy Parthasarathy, Pablo Luis Peri, Pascal Petronelli, Sebastian Pfautsch, Oliver L. Phillips, Nicolas Picard, Daniel Piotto, Lourens Poorter, John R. Poulsen, Hans Pretzsch, Hirma Ramirez-Angulo, Zorayda Restrepo Correa, Mirco Rodeghiero, Rocio Del Pilar Rojas Gonzales, Samir G. Rolim, Francesco Rovero, Ervan Rutishauser, Purabi Saikia, Christian Salas-Eljatib, Dmitry Schepaschenko, Michael Scherer-Lorenzen, Vladimir Seben, Marcos Silveira, Ferry Slik, Bonaventure Sonke, Alexandre F. Souza, Krzysztof Jan Sterenczak, Miroslav Svoboda, Hermann Taedoumg, Nadja Tchebakova, John Terborgh, Elena Tikhonova, Armando Torres-Lezama, Fons van der Plas, Rodolfo Vasquez, Helder Viana, Alexander C. Vibrans, Emilio Vilanova, Vincent A. Vos, Hua-Feng Wang, Bertil Westerlund, Lee J. T. White, Susan K. Wiser, Tomasz Zawila-Niedzwiecki, Lise Zemagho, Zhi-Xin Zhu, Irie C. Zo-Bi, Jingjing Liang
Summary: One of the fundamental questions in ecology is how many species exist on Earth. This study estimated the total number of tree species globally, using global crowdsourced data. The findings suggest that there are approximately 73,000 tree species globally, with around 9,000 species yet to be discovered. These results highlight the vulnerability of global forest biodiversity to human-induced changes.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jeremy S. P. Froidevaux, Nia Toshkova, Luc Barbaro, Ana Benitez-Lopez, Christian Kerbiriou, Isabelle Le Viol, Michela Pacifici, Luca Santini, Clare Stawski, Danilo Russo, Jasja Dekker, Antton Alberdi, Francisco Amorim, Leonardo Ancillotto, Kevin Barre, Yves Bas, Lisette Cantu-Salazar, Dina K. N. Dechmann, Tiphaine Devaux, Katrine Eldegard, Sasan Fereidouni, Joanna Furmankiewicz, Daniela Hamidovic, Davina L. Hill, Carlos Ibanez, Jean-Francois Julien, Javier Juste, Peter Kanuch, Carmi Korine, Alexis Laforge, Gaelle Legras, Camille Leroux, Grzegorz Lesinski, Lea Mariton, Julie Marmet, Vanessa A. Mata, Clare M. Mifsud, Victoria Nistreanu, Roberto Novella-Fernandez, Hugo Rebelo, Niamh Roche, Charlotte Roemer, Ireneusz Ruczynski, Rune Soras, Marcel Uhrin, Adriana Vella, Christian C. Voigt, Orly Razgour
Summary: Knowledge of species' functional traits is crucial for understanding biodiversity patterns, predicting global environmental changes, and assessing conservation measures. However, there is currently a lack of comprehensive data on the functional traits and ecological attributes of European bat species.
Article
Plant Sciences
Lydia de la Cruz-Amo, Guillermo Banares-de-Dios, Victoria Cala, Inigo Granzow de la Cerda, Carlos I. Espinosa, Alicia Ledo, Norma Salinas, Manuel J. Macia, Luis Cayuela
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2020)
Article
Ecology
Guillermo Banares-de-Dios, Manuel J. Macia, Inigo Granzow-de la Cerda, Itziar Arnelas, Gabriel Martins de Carvalho, Carlos Ivan Espinosa, Norma Salinas, Nathan Swenson, Luis Cayuela
Article
Ornithology
Luis M. Carrascal, Juan Carlos del Moral
Summary: Extensive bird monitoring programmes are crucial for estimating population trends, but caution should be taken when using data from only two surveys per year. Despite the limitations, average bird counts from two surveys per season still provide reliable indications of population trends for abundant and widely distributed species.
ARDEOLA-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
J. A. Hernandez-Agueeroa, V. Polo, M. Garcia, D. Simon, I. Ruiz-Tapiador, L. Cayuela
Article
Agronomy
Ana Rey, Luis M. Carrascal, Carlos Garcia-Gutierrez Baez, Joao Raimundo, Cecilio Oyonarte, Emiliano Pegoraro
Summary: This study found that soil CO2 efflux in two dry semiarid grasslands is influenced by precipitation, temperature, and seasonality, with a more significant impact in degraded grasslands. Soil CO2 efflux in degraded grasslands is mainly affected by moisture, while in natural grasslands it is jointly influenced by seasonality, temperature, and moisture.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jaime Bosch, Luis M. Carrascal, Andrea Manica, Trenton W. J. Garner
Article
Ecology
Jose A. Hodar, Luis Cayuela, Daniel Heras, Antonio J. Perez-Luque, Lucia Torres-Muros
Summary: Gradients in elevation affect the parasitism rate and occurrence probabilities of parasitoid species, with a more severe decline in specialist species as elevation increases. The impact of elevation is more prominent in uplands than in lowlands, and positive North Atlantic Oscillation winter values can reduce parasitism rate and occurrence probabilities as elevation increases, particularly for generalist species. Mitigating elevational and latitudinal expansion of forest pests like the pine processionary moth is crucial in the context of climate warming.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Juan Antonio Hernandez-Aguero, Ildefonso Ruiz-Tapiador, Luis Cayuela
Summary: The study found that 605 species feed on seven different parts of the holm oak, with over 90% lacking a conservation status assessment, and eight being threatened by human activities. Additionally, a significant phylogenetic relationship was observed between taxonomic relatedness and groups of arthropods that feed on the same part of the plant, indicating potential high host dependence.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Luis M. Carrascal, Alejandro Delgado, Victor Suarez, Angel C. Moreno
Summary: The study estimated the population size, spatial variation of abundance, and recent temporal changes in density of the Gran Canaria Blue Chaffinch in Inagua and La Cumbre. The results showed a higher average density of the species in Inagua compared to La Cumbre, with successful translocations contributing to the establishment of a second viable nucleus in La Cumbre within 10 years.
BIRD CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Virginia Moraleda, Julia Gomez-Catasus, Claudia Schuster, Luis M. Carrascal
Summary: The study evaluates factors influencing the decomposition stages of bird carcasses through two experiments and proposes an alternative protocol to estimate the post-mortem interval in wild birds.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Amado Insfran Ortiz, Jose Maria Rey Benayas, Luis Cayuela
Summary: This study evaluated the establishment and natural regeneration of six native tree species in two agricultural systems in the Atlantic Forest in Paraguay. The results showed that species had a greater impact on survival, growth, and natural regeneration in agroforestry systems than agronomic system or plantation type.
Article
Biology
Jaime Madrigal-Gonzalez, Joaquin Calatayud, Juan A. Ballesteros-Canovas, Adrian Escudero, Luis Cayuela, Laura Marques, Marta Rueda, Paloma Ruiz-Benito, Asier Herrero, Cristina Aponte, Rodrigo Sagardia, Andrew J. Plumptre, Sylvain Dupire, Carlos I. Espinosa, Olga V. Tutubalina, Moe Myint, Luciano Pataro, Jerome Lopez-Saez, Manuel J. Macia, Meinrad Abegg, Miguel A. Zavala, Adolfo Quesada-Roman, Mauricio Vega-Araya, Elena Golubeva, Yuliya Timokhina, Guillermo Banares de Dios, Inigo Granzow-de la Cerda, Markus Stoffel
Summary: Global tree abundance is influenced by latitudinal variables, tree size, and self-thinning strategies. Previous studies have overlooked the role of local competition in regulating climate and soil effects on tree density. By analyzing forest inventories from 23 well-conserved areas worldwide, we found that the productivity patterns of tree density are evident as large trees become dominant. To ensure accurate estimates and understand the implications, global assessments of tree abundance should consider the interaction between latitudinal sources of variability and local biotic influences.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Studies
Fabio Suzart de Albuquerque, Heather L. Bateman, Cameron Boehme, Daniel C. Allen, Luis Cayuela
Summary: This study further investigates the decline in avian diversity in urban desert ecosystems, focusing on the effects of land-use and land-cover types, vegetation greenness, climate factors, and their interactions on avian seasonal variation abundance and richness. Results show that land-use types are the most important predictor of avian abundance and richness, with vegetation greenness and climate factors also playing significant roles in influencing avian distribution patterns. Temperature and precipitation have moderate effects on avian abundance and richness, highlighting the sensitivity of birds to changes in land cover and climate.
Article
Ornithology
Julia Gomez-Catasus, Luis M. Carrascal, Virginia Moraleda, Jose Colsa, Fernando Garces, Claudia Sclluster
Summary: Carcass counts underestimate avian collision rates due to imperfect detection, scavenger removal, and carcass dispersion. Factors influencing these bias sources were quantified on two Canary Islands. The study found that carcass disappearance rates varied between islands, likely due to differences in scavenger abundance, and decreased with time elapsed and bird size.
ARDEOLA-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jaime Madrigal-Gonzalez, Joaquin Calatayud, Juan A. Ballesteros-Canovas, Adrian Escudero, Luis Cayuela, Marta Rueda, Paloma Ruiz-Benito, Asier Herrero, Cristina Aponte, Rodrigo Sagardia, Andrew J. Plumptre, Sylvain Dupire, Carlos Espinosa, Olga Tutubalina, Moe Myint, Luciano Pataro, Jerome Lopez-Saez, Manuel J. Macia, Meinrad Abegg, Miguel A. Zavala, Adolfo Quesada-Roman, Mauricio Vega-Araya, Elena Golubeva, Yuliya Timokhina, Markus Stoffel
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2020)