Article
Forestry
Shubo Huang, Lixiang Wen, Shuai Yin, Meng Guo, Fangbing Yu
Summary: This study analyzed the characteristics of coarse woody debris decomposition in Larix gmelinii forests over 33 years after a fire, revealing a positive correlation between decay rate and decay class. Factors such as nutrient content, density, and water content explained the variance in decay rate, and the decomposition process was mainly influenced by the structural component of the debris and its nitrogen and water contents. This paper quantified indicators affecting CWD decay to explain the decomposition process.
JOURNAL OF FORESTRY RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zhaohua Dai, Carl C. Trettin, Andrew J. Burton, Martin F. Jurgensen, Deborah S. Page-Dumroese, Brian T. Forschler, Jonathan S. Schilling, Daniel L. Lindner
Summary: A process-based model, CWDDAT, accurately predicts the decomposition of Coarse Woody Debris (CWD) in forests under varying conditions. The model was validated using data from nine Experimental Forests in the USA, demonstrating its applicability for large-scale assessments of CWD dynamics and fine-scale considerations regarding CWD carbon fate.
Article
Forestry
Jianwei Zhang, Deborah S. Page-Dumroese, Martin F. Jurgensen, Matt Busse, Kim G. Mattson
Summary: The long-term effects of harvesting on carbon pools in a dry pine forest were assessed, revealing significant impacts on coarse woody debris and soil carbon pools, while live tree carbon pool showed little change. This highlights a tradeoff between harvesting and environmental conservation.
Article
Ecology
K. C. Cushman, Matteo Detto, Milton Garcia, Helene C. Muller-Landau
Summary: This study used drone photogrammetry to measure spatial variation in canopy disturbance rates in a 1500 ha forest in Central Panama. The results showed that soil type, forest age, and topography were the main predictors of disturbance rate variation.
Article
Remote Sensing
Shukhrat Shokirov, Michael Schaefer, Shaun R. Levick, Tommaso Jucker, Justin Borevitz, Ilhom Abdurahmanov, Kara Youngentob
Summary: The study used LiDAR technology to assess CWD in a grassy woodland ecosystem, finding that model performance varied with different sensor types, vegetation types, and ground cover biomass. Ground cover density had a negative impact on accuracy for TLS and FLS data.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF REMOTE SENSING
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Daniel Scherrer, Fabien Hiltebrand, Jurgen Dengler, Thomas Wohlgemuth
Summary: This study compared Tree Regeneration (TR) in representative plots of the Swiss National Forest Inventory with an opportunistic "gap sampling" strategy, revealing higher TR densities and species richness in the gap sampling. The gap sampling provided more consistent results and showed both general and species-specific patterns in TR composition. This suggests that an opportunistic gap-based monitoring of TR may be more effective in identifying the best forest management strategies in forests adapting to environmental change.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Soil Science
Apolline Benoist, Daniel Houle, Robert L. Bradley, Jean-Philippe Bellenger
Summary: The contribution of Coarse Woody Debris (CWD) to N inputs in boreal ecosystems has been reported, but data from Eastern Canadian forests is scarce. This study evaluated the contribution of CWD to total biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) in two forest sites and tested factors that can affect the conversion ratio for N-2-fixation estimates. The results showed that N-2-fixation by CWD in balsam fir and black spruce from eastern boreal forest is low compared to other estimates, and moss-covered CWD can significantly contribute to CWD N-2-fixation.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Marion Renner, Katja Rembold, Andreas Hemp, Markus Fischer
Summary: The continuous decline and degradation of tropical rainforests are mainly driven by land-use change, and climate change will exacerbate the situation. This study investigated the regeneration of woody species in different habitat types along an elevational gradient in Tanzania. It found that natural regeneration of woody species occurs in all disturbed habitat types, indicating the powerful tool of natural regeneration for forest diversity recovery after disturbances.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Zhihui Wang, Mingzhen Xu, Fei Li, Yi Bai, Jianfeng Hou, Xuqing Li, Rui Cao, Yuyue Deng, Yurui Jiang, Huaibin Wang, Wanqin Yang
Summary: This study investigated the composition and diversity of the soil bacterial community beneath debris with varying decay classes and diameters in six different successional forests. The results showed that the composition and functional groups of the soil bacterial communities varied greatly with forest succession, decay classes, and debris diameters. The structure of the bacterial communities varied significantly among different forest successions and diameters, but not decay classes. The presence of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in highly decayed wood debris indicated that the existence of coarse woody debris in forest ecosystems could stimulate nitrogen fixation.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Olivier Clovis Kengne, Samuel Severin Kenfack Feukeng, Eric Tchatchouang Ngansop, Raissa Gwladys Daghela Meyan-ya, Louis Zapfack
Summary: Cameroon's rural forests, maintained by local communities, play a crucial role in preserving plant biodiversity. However, these forests are threatened by endangered species and human activities.
ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Jingjing Xi, Yizhen Shao, Zihao Li, Pengfei Zhao, Yongzhong Ye, Wang Li, Yun Chen, Zhiliang Yuan
Summary: The study revealed that the distribution of woody plants among forests with different disturbance regimes is specialized rather than random; shrubs show higher specialization than trees and have more distinct preferences for forests in different disturbance regimes.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Zhuang Wang, Wanqin Yang, Bo Tan, Qin Wang, Lifeng Wang, Chenhui Chang, Rui Cao, Yurui Jiang, Jorg Muller
Summary: Forest canopy density and epixylic vegetation significantly affect nutrient concentrations in decaying logs. Under open canopy conditions, epixylic vegetation accelerates nutrient cycling between the vegetation and logs in subalpine forests.
Article
Forestry
Pejman Parhizkar, Khosro Sagheb-Talebi, Eric K. Zenner, Majid Hassani, Mohammad Hosein Sadeghzadeh Hallaj
Summary: This study compared gap characteristics and gapmakers between a managed and an unmanaged old-growth Oriental beech compartment in northern Iran. The managed compartment had more gaps but lower gap fraction, with larger trees being more commonly cut as gapmakers, while the unmanaged compartment had larger trees more commonly snapped and left as snags. These differences suggest that even a single-tree selection harvest can lead to short-term divergence in stand structure, with implications for forest management strategies.
Article
Plant Sciences
Ole R. Vetaas, Krishna B. Shrestha, Lila N. Sharma
Summary: A study on a mountain evergreen oak forest in the Himalaya, Nepal, revealed that the exploitation of canopy foliage led to a decrease in herbaceous species richness, an increase in woody and vine species, and a dominance of vines in plots that were intensively harvested. The study suggests that management should aim to prevent overexploitation and only allow low-intensity canopy disturbance to enhance species richness and habitat diversity.
APPLIED VEGETATION SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Remote Sensing
Zihan Du, Guang Zheng, Guochun Shen, L. Monika Moskal
Summary: This study introduced two new concepts, PCG and POCG, to describe the effects of forest canopy gaps on forest three-dimensional structure and direct incoming solar radiation. The ALS-based methods developed for extraction and validation provide a solid foundation for forest dynamic monitoring and management.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED EARTH OBSERVATION AND GEOINFORMATION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Damien A. Fordham, Stuart C. Brown, H. Resit Akcakaya, Barry W. Brook, Sean Haythorne, Andrea Manica, Kevin T. Shoemaker, Jeremy J. Austin, Benjamin Blonder, Julia Pilowsky, Carsten Rahbek, David Nogues-Bravo
Summary: Research shows that the extinction process of the woolly mammoth involved complex ecological mechanisms and factors such as climate change, with human impact playing a significant role in its demise. Humans began influencing the extinction of woolly mammoths well before the Holocene, exerting lasting effects on their population size and range.
Review
Ecology
Ivan Jaric, Uri Roll, Marino Bonaiuto, Barry W. Brook, Franck Courchamp, Josh A. Firth, Kevin J. Gaston, Tina Heger, Jonathan M. Jeschke, Richard J. Ladle, Yves Meinard, David L. Roberts, Kate Sherren, Masashi Soga, Andrea Soriano-Redondo, Diogo Verissimo, Ricardo A. Correia
Summary: The ongoing global biodiversity crisis not only leads to biological extinctions, but also results in the loss of cultural knowledge and collective memory of species, known as 'societal extinction of species'. This phenomenon is cognitively challenging, but it has significant consequences for conservation policy and management, affecting societal perceptions, support for conservation efforts, and causing the loss of cultural heritage.
TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Elise M. Ringwaldt, Barry W. Brook, Scott Carver, Jessie C. Buettel
Summary: We report the physical characteristics of rumpwear in the Australian common ringtail possum, Pseudocheirus peregrinus, which is characterized by varying grades of hair breakage and dermatitis on the lumbosacral region. This condition has been previously reported in other Trichosurus spp. (brushtail possums), but never in P. peregrinus. The etiology of rumpwear remains poorly understood.
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Vishesh L. Diengdoh, Stefania Ondei, Rahil J. Amin, Mark Hunt, Barry W. Brook
Summary: Functional connectivity between protected areas in Australia, important for butterfly species, is predicted to decrease in future scenarios of land use, land cover, and climate change. Changes are expected to occur along the edges of species' current distribution. Results can be used for comparisons with other studies and to identify priority areas for conservation.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Luke A. Yates, Zach Aandahl, Shane A. Richards, Barry W. Brook
Summary: Specifying, assessing, and selecting statistical models are crucial for ecological research. We provide a comprehensive and accessible review on the technical aspects of cross validation for model selection, including bias correction, estimation uncertainty, score choice, and overfitting mitigation. Our recommendations include using leave-one-out cross validation or k-fold with bias correction for minimizing bias and using calibrated selection to mitigate overfitting.
ECOLOGICAL MONOGRAPHS
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Tristan Derham, Christopher Johnson, Brianna Martin, Julia Ryeland, Stefania Ondei, Matthew Fielding, Barry W. Brook
Summary: The Tasmanian emu coexisted with Aboriginal people for thousands of years, but rapidly went extinct soon after European colonization. Research suggests that hunting activities played a major role in their extinction, and reintroducing them to Tasmania would require community support.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Matthew C. McDowell, Shane D. Morris, Christopher N. Johnson, Brianna Martin, Barry W. Brook
Summary: This study models the changes in the range of the Broad-toothed rat, Mastacomys fuscus, by using fossil, sub-fossil, and contemporary records. It reveals that Mastacomys fuscus had a wider range and occupied more diverse environmental conditions in the recent past compared to its current distribution. The contraction of the species' distribution on mainland Australia to high-elevation areas occurred rapidly and recently. The research emphasizes the importance of utilizing sub-fossil data in understanding the changes in distribution and habitat occupation of threatened species for conservation planning.
Editorial Material
Ecology
Ivan Jaric, Jessie C. Buettel, Barry W. Brook
Article
Ecology
Ivan Jaric, Ricardo A. Correia, Marino Bonaiuto, Barry W. Brook, Franck Courchamp, Josh A. Firth, Kevin J. Gaston, Tina Heger, Jonathan M. Jeschke, Richard J. Ladle, Yves Meinard, David L. Roberts, Kate Sherren, Masashi Soga, Andrea Soriano-Redondo, Diogo Verissimo, Uri Roll
Summary: Societal awareness and engagement with environmental problems are crucial for effective conservation programs. Research shows that public attention to cultural products decreases over time, which could also limit motivation for conservation efforts. This study addresses the concept of attention transience in conservation, discusses its drivers and mechanisms, and provides an overview of conservation issues for which it is particularly relevant. Attention transience allows conservationists a brief opportunity to focus public awareness and mobilize support, emphasizing the importance of tailored marketing campaigns, targeted communication, and efforts to refocus attention on key issues.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Ecology
E. M. Ringwaldt, B. W. Brook, J. C. Buettel, C. X. Cunningham, C. Fuller, R. Gardiner, R. Hamer, M. Jones, A. M. Martin, S. Carver
Summary: This study investigates the dynamics and drivers of landscape-scale wildlife disease using the case of sarcoptic mange in bare-nosed wombats in Tasmania, Australia. The research finds that the Tasmanian landscape is almost universally suitable for wombats, except in areas with high mean annual precipitation. However, the clinical signs of sarcoptic mange are widespread but heterogeneously distributed. The disease is most likely to occur in areas with high host habitat suitability, low annual precipitation, near freshwater sources, and minimal topographic roughness.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Barry W. Brook, Stephen R. Sleightholme, Cameron R. Campbell, Ivan Jaric, Jessie C. Buettel
Summary: The Thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger, has become a symbol of human-induced extinction. Despite the last captive animal dying in 1936, reports of possible ongoing survival in remote regions of Tasmania capture public interest. Analysis of observational records suggests the Thylacine most likely became extinct in the late 20th century, but there is a small chance of persistence in remote areas.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Thomas Cherico Wanger, Barry W. Brook, Theodore Evans, Teja Tscharntke
Summary: The use of pesticides on tropical crops has increased significantly in recent decades, posing a threat to biodiversity and ecosystem services. While amphibians and reptiles are common in tropical agricultural landscapes, there are few field studies that measure the impacts of pesticides on these species. This study conducted a year-long field experiment in Indonesia and found that pesticide application cannot predict the diversity patterns of amphibians and reptiles in cocoa plantations. However, exposure to herbicides and insecticides in vegetable gardens resulted in the elimination of amphibians, while reptiles were less impacted by insecticides and unaffected by herbicides. The loss of a common amphibian species due to pesticide use suggests a strong indirect negative effect of pesticides on their role as pest-control agents. The authors recommend landscape-based Integrated Pest Management and further ecotoxicological studies on amphibians and reptiles to establish a regulatory framework and ensure the recognition and protection of their ecosystem services.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lucile Leveque, Rahil J. Amin, Jessie Buettel, Scott Carver, Barry Brook
Summary: This study examines the factors influencing the distribution of the Tasmanian native hen and predicts its future distribution changes under climate change. The results show that 37% of Tasmania is currently suitable for the native hens, with low summer precipitation, low elevation, human-modified vegetation, and urban areas being key factors. Urban areas can also serve as "oases" in unsuitable regions, supporting high breeding activity. Under climate change predictions, the native hens are expected to lose only 5% of their occupied range by 2055. Overall, the species is resilient to climate change and benefits from anthropogenic landscape modifications, making it a rare example of a flightless rail adapting to human activity.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Thomas Botterill-James, Calum X. Cunningham, Christopher N. Johnson, Sean Haythorne, Damien A. Fordham, Barry W. Brook, Richard P. Duncan, David M. Forsyth
Summary: Using a validated pattern-oriented model, we demonstrate how the future distribution and abundance of invasive fallow deer in Tasmania can be significantly reduced by targeted increases in harvest and prioritizing removal around high conservation value regions. Our approach can be applied to project the likely effects of management interventions on future distributions and abundances for a range of invasive species.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Matthew C. McDowell, Bruno David, Russell Mullett, Joanna Freslov, Jean-Jacques Delannoy, Jerome Mialanes, Cath Thomas, Jeremy Ash, Joe Crouch, Fiona Petchey, Jessie Buettel, Lee J. Arnold
Summary: This research examines the animal bone deposits in Cloggs Cave in Australia through a research partnership with the local First Nations communities. The study combines excavation, dating, mapping, and geomorphological analysis to understand the temporal trends and formation processes of the bone deposits. The results suggest that the accumulation of the bones was mainly due to large owls, and there is little evidence of human involvement. Additionally, the study finds that the animal remains in Cloggs Cave do not align with known Late Quaternary environmental changes.
