Article
Ecology
Daniel T. Nugent, David J. Baker-Gabb, Steve W. J. Leonard, John W. Morgan
Summary: Livestock grazing is an important management tool for biodiversity conservation in native grasslands. In semiarid grasslands of Australia, different grazing species have varying effects on the habitat and breeding activity of the plains-wanderer. Therefore, sheep and cattle grazing can be substitutable as a habitat management tool, but their effectiveness may depend on climate conditions.
ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Nicholas A. McMillan, Samuel D. Fuhlendorf, Craig A. Davis, Robert G. Hamilton, Landon. K. Neumann, Samantha M. Cady
Summary: Invasive species may have scale-dependent effects on biodiversity, being positively related to biodiversity at large spatial scales. This study found that the invasive legume, Lespedeza cuneata, had negative effects on grassland plant diversity at small spatial scales, but neutral or positive effects at large spatial scales. Control and eradication strategies for invasive species may not be warranted or effective if the negative relationship between abundance of the invasive species and biodiversity is not clearly supported by data and if invasion is spatially limited across large landscapes.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Talia Humphries, Singarayer K. Florentine, Kim Dowling, Chris Turville, Steve Sinclair
Summary: Temperate grasslands globally are facing degradation due to urbanisation, grazing, and agriculture. Successful restoration efforts involve a combination of techniques and ongoing weed management, with target plant transfer enhancing success. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to restoration, as success depends on site-specific conditions and project goals. Long-term monitoring of restoration projects is needed to make more informed decisions.
LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Catherine Fahey, Stephen Luke Flory
Summary: The study found that invasive plants and simulated drought did not have significant soil legacy effects on plant growth and competition, but soil microbes played a significant role in plant competition. In competitions, soil microbes created a competitive hierarchy where pine was more competitive than wiregrass and cogongrass.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Christophe V. W. Seppey, Enrique Lara, Olivier Broennimann, Antoine Guisan, Lucie Malard, David Singer, Erika Yashiro, Bertrand Fournier
Summary: This study evaluated the relationship between soil protist diversity in meadows in the western Swiss Alps and the surrounding landscape structure. The results showed that landscape structure had a significant influence on protist diversity, comparable to environmental conditions and spatial variables, and increased with the size of the considered neighborhood window. This suggests that dispersal from neighboring habitats is a key driver of protist diversity, highlighting the importance of landscape-scale assembly mechanisms for microbial diversity.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Kiara C. Cushway, Nathan S. Ring, David K. Patton, Daelyn A. Woolnough
Summary: This study investigated the impacts of landscape variables on the distribution and density of native freshwater mussels and invasive Corbicula spp. The results showed that land use, geology, and longitudinal position in the watershed influence the densities of both unionids and corbiculids. Furthermore, the density of corbiculids was found to be important in determining the density and distribution of unionids. The study highlights the importance of considering landscape variables in understanding the relationships between organisms and their environments.
Article
Ecology
Rui Machado, Liliana Neto Duarte, Artur Gil, Nuno Sousa-Neves, Janez Pirnat, Pedro Santos
Summary: This study focuses on the invasive species Acacia dealbata in a Natura 2000 site in Portugal, proposing different strategies to combat the invasion based on species dispersal traits and landscape dynamics. Results show that targeting patches with higher perimeter-area ratio may be more impactful, while a sequential removal of patches guided by landscape dynamics and connectivity assessment can support better decision-making.
RESTORATION ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Studies
Shawn Ingram, Ken Belcher, Hayley Hesseln
Summary: Grasslands provide valuable environmental benefits, but are facing irreversible alterations. To protect grassland ecosystems, policies should incentivize private ranchers and landowners to adopt conservation practices. A survey of Saskatchewan ranchers revealed their positive perceptions of ecosystem services, but highlighted the need for economic compensation for production loss. Additionally, ranchers showed a preference for water quality and wildlife/habitat conservation policies.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Caroline Stolter, David F. Joubert, Nekulilo Uunona, Elise Nghalipo, Vistorina Amputu, Annika M. Felton
Summary: Fire and herbivores are two important factors that drive changes in vegetation. However, little is known about the actual changes in plant chemistry following a fire. This study found that woody species have a consistent response to fire, while grass species show greater variability. Woody plants also maintain higher nutritional value after burning, which may attract herbivores.
Article
Plant Sciences
Marika Kose, Indrek Melts, Katrin Heinsoo
Summary: Semi-natural grasslands in Estonia have high biodiversity and cultural values. The ratio and frequency of medicinal plant species in these grasslands are influenced by management practices. Alvars have the highest ratio of medicinal plant species, followed by floodplain and wooded meadows. Wooded meadows and alvars have approximately twice the number of medicinal plant species compared to naturally growing broadleaved forests.
Article
Forestry
Amanda R. Williams, Lance T. Vermeire, Richard C. Waterman, Clayton B. Marlow
Summary: There is still considerable uncertainty surrounding post-fire grazing management. This study found that ponderosa pine woodlands are resilient to moderate grazing and timing of defoliation in the first growing season after fire, with limited differences between grazed and nongrazed sites in terms of herbaceous productivity and species composition in 2019.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Yongjie Liu, Mingjie Xu, Guoe Li, Mingxia Wang, Zhenqing Li, Hans J. De Boeck
Summary: Climate change is expected to impact plant growth and biomass allocation, with studies showing that aboveground, belowground, and total biomass increase with growing season precipitation in a water-limited ecosystem. Allocation patterns vary along precipitation gradients, with significant differences between plant species. Isometric partitioning was observed in one species, while rhizome or stolon-forming species showed different allocation strategies. This research provides insights into how changes in biomass allocation can affect ecosystem functioning, especially in the context of environmental change.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Review
Ecology
Stephanie Mansourian
Summary: This article examines the relationship between forest landscape restoration (FLR) and landscape ecology, identifying areas of convergence such as landscape, integration, and connectivity, as well as areas of divergence including process versus analysis, transformative nature, and political nature of FLR. Suggestions for integration between the two disciplines are proposed for future research and practice.
Article
Ecology
Joaquin Aldabe, Ana Ines Sanchez-Iriarte, Mercedes Rivas, Oscar Blumetto
Summary: Success in conserving biodiversity in rangelands depends on effectively managing the systems to achieve positive economic outcomes while preserving biodiversity. This study found that managing grass height can increase forage mass without replacing native vegetation. However, the impact on grassland bird populations remains unclear. The findings suggest that maintaining grassland bird specialists and potentially increasing livestock production is feasible, but longer time frames may be needed to support endangered tall grass specialists.
RANGELAND ECOLOGY & MANAGEMENT
(2024)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Dorota Kotowska, Tomas Part, Michal Zmihorski
Summary: Invasive alien plants are a significant factor in global biodiversity loss. Google Street View imagery has the potential to accurately track the spread of these plants along road networks, providing valuable data for ecological research and management of invasive species.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Yu Wang, Lesley Gibson, Mohamed Beshir, David Rush
Summary: This study utilized a physics-based model to assess the critical fire separation distance between informal settlement dwellings, which showed that the heat flux could decrease to 5 kW/m(2) at a distance of 1.0 m. Both GIS and experimental results agreed, validating the accuracy of predicting fire spread risk at 1.0 m distance.
Article
Thermodynamics
Yu Wang, Mohamed Beshir, Rory Hadden, Antonio Cicione, Michal Krajcovic, Lesley Gibson, David Rush
Summary: The existence of adjacent informal settlement dwellings delays the flashover of the burning dwelling, while the fire spread between dwellings is hypothetically concerned with wall collapse or large flame ejections.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THERMAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Sylvia Haider, Jonas J. Lembrechts, Keith McDougall, Anibal Pauchard, Jake M. Alexander, Agustina Barros, Lohengrin A. Cavieres, Irfan Rashid, Lisa J. Rew, Alla Aleksanyan, Jose R. Arevalo, Valeria Aschero, Chelsea Chisholm, V. Ralph Clark, Jan Clavel, Curtis Daehler, Pervaiz A. Dar, Hansjorg Dietz, Romina D. Dimarco, Peter Edwards, Franz Essl, Eduardo Fuentes-Lillo, Antoine Guisan, Onalenna Gwate, Anna L. Hargreaves, Gabi Jakobs, Alejandra Jimenez, Paul Kardol, Christoph Kueffer, Christian Larson, Jonathan Lenoir, Bernd Lenzner, Miguel A. Padron Mederos, Maritza Mihoc, Ann Milbau, John W. Morgan, Jana Mullerova, Bridgett J. Naylor, Ivan Nijs, Martin A. Nunez, Rudiger Otto, Niels Preuk, Amanda Ratier Backes, Zafar A. Reshi, Sabine B. Rumpf, Veronica Sandoya, Mellesa Schroder, Karina L. Speziale, Davnah Urbach, Graciela Valencia, Vigdis Vandvik, Michaela Vitkova, Tom Vorstenbosch, Tom W. N. Walker, Neville Walsh, Genevieve Wright, Shengwei Zong, Tim Seipel
Summary: Climate change and human disturbance threaten plant diversity in mountains worldwide. A standardized monitoring strategy is needed to assess distribution changes and community turnover of plant species. The protocol developed by the Mountain Invasion Research Network (MIREN) provides a standardized and intuitive approach to quantify global patterns of native and non-native species distributions along elevation gradients and shifts arising from climate change and human disturbance. Evaluating the protocol in more mountain regions globally would inform conservation policy.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Onalenna Gwate, Hlengiwe Dube, Mbulisi Sibanda, Timothy Dube, Bright Chisadza, Ben Nyikadzino
Summary: This study found that land cover changes have a more significant impact on actual evapotranspiration compared to climate variations, and landscape fragmentation can adversely affect water balance.
GEOCARTO INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Lesley Gibson, Antonio Cicione, Samuel Stevens, David Rush
Summary: This paper analyzes the fire risk in informal settlements in Cape Town by using spatial metrics and wind speed and direction data. Factors like wind speed, flame height, and convective cooling are identified as important in determining fire spread risk. Analyzing fire incident and dwelling data helps to pinpoint specific dwellings at risk of fire spread.
COMPUTERS ENVIRONMENT AND URBAN SYSTEMS
(2022)
Article
Geography
Z. Lidzhegu, W. N. Ellery, S. K. Mantel
Summary: Limited information on the geomorphic origin of wetlands in southern and eastern Africa has hindered our understanding. This study used satellite images, digital elevation models, and geological maps to provide insights into the geomorphic origin of large wetlands in Africa's elevated drylands. The findings demonstrate the contribution of different processes to wetland formation, structure, and evolution.
SOUTH AFRICAN GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Onalenna Gwate, Graham Ndou
Summary: Monitoring carbon and water vapour dynamics over a landscape helps in understanding ecosystem functioning. The study evaluated ecosystem stability and production, finding that Miombo woodland and savannah had higher actual ET and production compared to Vachellia and Teak clusters. Teak had the highest CUE but lowest NPP, indicating sensitivity to disturbance. This monitoring helps to identify the onset of ecosystem change and implement necessary interventions.
JOURNAL OF ARID ENVIRONMENTS
(2022)
Article
Agronomy
Bright Chisadza, Brian-Lee Mashakani, Onalenna Gwate, Phibion Chiwara, Dennis Choruma, Webster Gumindoga
Summary: Groundwater is a crucial natural resource, and this article maps the potential groundwater zones in the Lupane district using GIS, remote sensing, and AHP techniques. The results indicate that the majority of the district has good potential, serving as a useful reference for selecting suitable sites for groundwater exploitation.
IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Sandra MacFadyen, Nicky Allsopp, Res Altwegg, Sally Archibald, Judith Botha, Karen Bradshaw, Jane Carruthers, Helen De Klerk, Alta de Vos, Greg Distiller, Stefan Foord, Stefanie Freitag-Ronaldson, Richard Gibbs, Michelle Hamer, Pietro Landi, Duncan MacFadyen, Jeffrey Manuel, Guy Midgley, Glenn Moncrieff, Zahn Munch, Onisimo Mutanga, Rendani Nenguda, Mzabalazo Ngwenya, Daniel Parker, Mike Peel, John Power, Joachim Pretorius, Syd Ramdhani, Mark Robertson, Ian Rushworth, Andrew Skowno, Jasper Slingsby, Andrew Turner, Vernon Visser, Gerhard Van Wageningen, Cang Hui, Cang Hui
Summary: This article discusses the potential and challenges of biodiversity conservation in South Africa and proposes the establishment of a Biodiversity Informatics Hub. The authors emphasize the importance of cooperation, collaboration, and data sharing, and recommend the development of a stable, free, and user-friendly system to advance scientific research and conservation practices.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Bright Chisadza, Onalenna Gwate, France Ncube, Nkosinathi Moyo, Phibion Chiwara
Summary: This study evaluated the effectiveness of different indices in detecting land surface water changes, with AWEI performing the best in extracting water surface area and effectively eliminating pollution and noise.
AQUA-WATER INFRASTRUCTURE ECOSYSTEMS AND SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tekuamework Fikadu, Ermias Teferi, Berihun Dubale, Bukho Gusha, Sukhmani K. Mantel, Jane Tanner, Carolyn G. (Tally) Palmer, Zerihun Woldu, Tena Alamirew, Gete Zeleke
Summary: This study used simulation experiments to show that watershed management practices in the Aba Gerima watershed contribute to increased soil water availability and surface and bottom fluxes. These findings provide empirical evidence of the positive implications of watershed management on water availability.
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Yu Wang, Hongli Ruan, Ting Xia, Lesley Gibson
Summary: This paper provides an overview of the current research on fire safety in Chinese informal settlements, with a focus on ethnic minority traditional settlements in the southwestern region. Through investigation of 1244 settlements, the characteristics of these settlements were identified, and important parameters for fire spread behavior were analyzed using Geographic Information System (GIS).
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Bright Chisadza, Onalenna Gwate, France Ncube, Nkululeko Mpofu
Summary: This study investigated the frequency and severity of droughts in the Upper Mzingwane sub-catchment using the SPI and RDI. The results showed that the sub-catchment was mainly affected by mild and moderate droughts, with a decreasing trend in long-term hydrological droughts. Both indices behaved similarly, but RDI was more sensitive to climatic conditions.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Natalia Flores Quiroz, Lesley Gibson, Willem Stefaan Conradie, Patrick Ryan, Ryan Heydenrych, Ashton Moran, Armandt van Straten, Richard Walls
Summary: This study analyzes the fire spread mechanisms, firebreak efficiency, the influence of roof and wall types, vegetation, and weather conditions of the 2017 Knysna fires in South Africa. It found that the combination of severe medium-term drought and extreme fire weather conditions led to the destruction of homes up to 1 km inside the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI). The presence of dense, highly flammable alien invasive vegetation contributed to the spread of the fire.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
(2023)
Article
Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary
Sithembelenkosini Mguni, Phibion Chiwara, Onalenna Gwate
Summary: This study aimed to explore the utilization and management of the marula tree in ward 3 of Beitbridge district, Southern Zimbabwe. The findings showed that 95% of the sampled households harvested and utilized marula fruits to produce various products. Marula also made a significant contribution to family income, with 35% of income derived from it during the season. Additionally, the number of households involved in marula fruit trading increased by 27% in 20 years.
COGENT SOCIAL SCIENCES
(2023)
