Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Calum Maney, Marieke Sassen, Samantha L. L. Hill
Summary: Interest in economically and ecologically sustainable cocoa has grown in recent years. Cocoa-based agroforestry systems are seen as a potential win-win solution for long-term yields, multiple benefits, and biodiversity preservation. This study found that biodiversity intactness (BII) in cocoa-based agroforestry systems can be sustained by retaining natural shade, but land-use history significantly influences the biodiversity intactness. Retaining natural shade can maintain high levels of BII, while incentivizing planted shade can enhance biodiversity intactness in degraded areas.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(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
Environmental Sciences
Xiangxin Sun, Jun Zhao, Liyan Zhang, Xue Zhou, Weiwei Xia, Yuguo Zhao, Zhongjun Jia
Summary: The community patterns of ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) differ significantly between croplands and some natural ecosystems in China. Factors such as ecosystem type, pH, organic matter (OM), total phosphorus (TP), mean annual temperature (MAT), and mean annual precipitation (MAP) are primary drivers of nitrifier community and functional shifts.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Nidia Elizabeth Ramirez-Contreras, Carlos A. Fontanilla-Diaz, Lain E. Pardo, Tulia Delgado, David Munar-Florez, Birka Wicke, Jonathan Ruiz-Delgado, Floor van der Hilst, Jesus Alberto Garcia-Nunez, Mauricio Mosquera-Montoya, Andre P. C. Faaij
Summary: Agricultural intensification is a key strategy to meet growing demand for food and bioenergy, as it can reduce land use change and associated environmental impacts while improving economic performance. In the Orinoquia region, different intensification scenarios show varying impacts on natural land conversion, biodiversity loss, water consumption, and economic benefits. Sustainable agricultural practices and productivity improvements are crucial for reducing pressure on natural areas and achieving sustainable agricultural development.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Studies
Qianyu Zhao, Helen X. H. Bao, Zhanlu Zhang
Summary: The non-agricultural employment transfer of rural labor force has significantly changed labor input in China in recent decades. Studies have found a U-shaped relationship between off-farm employment of rural laborers and agricultural land use efficiency, with policy implications for household registration and rural land use system reform. Content analysis of rural land use policies from 2014 to 2020 revealed a focus on rural-urban mobility, rural land rights market development, and rural land rights protection, aiming to improve rural land use efficiency. Despite the lack of synergy among these areas, the central government has implemented policies to support coordinated actions. Lessons learned from China also provide valuable insights for addressing rural labor loss in other developing countries.
Article
Environmental Studies
Rainer Maurer
Summary: This article develops a calculation method to compare the total effect of different agricultural land-use systems on biodiversity. The results show that conventional agriculture can provide more biodiversity while producing agricultural goods because its higher productivity saves more land, which can serve as natural habitats.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
David R. Williams, Michael Clark, Graeme M. Buchanan, G. Francesco Ficetola, Carlo Rondinini, David Tilman
Summary: The projected loss of natural ecosystems for agricultural expansion will greatly threaten biodiversity, with almost 90% of terrestrial vertebrate species losing habitat. Proactive food policies could help reduce these threats and promote healthier human diets.
NATURE SUSTAINABILITY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Andrea Montero, Joan Marull, Enric Tello, Claudio Cattaneo, Francesc Coll, Manel Pons, Juan Infante-Amate, Alexander Urrego-Mesa, Alfredo Fernandez-Landa, Manuel Vargas
Summary: The study reveals that deforestation has been reversed in Costa Rica, but the expansion of export monocultures and urban sprawl has fragmented and isolated tropical forests, leading to a decrease in ecological connectivity. Changes in land use have negatively impacted the distribution of plants and birds, and urban expansion has had a detrimental effect on coffee agroforestry.
REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Maxime Eeraerts, Sanne Van den Berge, Willem Proesmans, Kris Verheyen, Guy Smagghe, Ivan Meeus
Summary: Our study found that fruit orchards and woody semi-natural habitat provide different but complementary resources for pollinating insects during the flight season. Woody semi-natural habitats offer higher diversity and abundance of resources, emphasizing the importance of their conservation for supporting pollinators in agricultural landscapes.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jakub D. Wieczorkowski, Caroline E. R. Lehmann
Summary: Woody encroachment is widespread in grassy ecosystems worldwide and negatively impacts the diversity of herbaceous plants. The extent of encroachment is a key factor affecting plant diversity, with continued encroachment resulting in substantial loss of herbaceous diversity that cannot be replaced.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Xiaoyu Guo, Zhenxing Bian, Jun Zhou, Shuai Wang, Wei Zhou
Summary: Semi-natural habitats have a significant impact on the diversity and activity-density of epigaeic arthropods. This study found differences in epigaeic arthropod communities among different types of semi-natural habitats, with isolate habitats and linear herbaceous habitats having higher activity-density and diversity.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Rocio Tarjuelo, Pedro Aragon
Summary: Habitat degradation and climate change pose significant threats to reptile populations, but their impact on primary productivity instability remains unclear. This study assesses the vulnerability of reptile diversity hotspots in the Iberian Peninsula to global change using satellite imagery. The findings indicate that increasing temperatures and land-cover changes are associated with the increment of primary productivity. The Natura 2000 network provides moderate protection to reptile hotspots, but the representation of vegetation types is relatively low.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Joana Viana Canelas, Henrique Miguel Pereira
Summary: Land-use intensity has negative impacts on ecological stability and ecosystem productivity. More biodiverse agricultural systems and homogeneous harvest distributions can reduce the impacts of land-use intensity, increase total yields, and reduce yield uncertainty.
ECOLOGICAL MODELLING
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Ashish N. Nerlekar, Avishkar Munje, Pranav Mhaisalkar, Ankila J. Hiremath, Joseph W. Veldman
Summary: The consequences of land-use change in western Maharashtra, India, result in declines in old-growth savannas and changes in plant communities, with decreased native species richness and cover, as well as increased cover of invasive species. Among the different land-use types, tillage agriculture has the greatest dissimilarity to old-growth savannas.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Ukrit Jaroenkietkajorn, Shabbir H. Gheewala, Laura Scherer
Summary: The study evaluates the impacts of oil palm plantations on bird and insect species richness in Thailand, showing that animals have a higher possibility of survival in former mangrove forests.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Pieter Sanczuk, Emiel De Lombaerde, Stef Haesen, Koenraad Van Meerbeek, Miska Luoto, Bas Van der Veken, Eric Van Beek, Martin Hermy, Kris Verheyen, Pieter Vangansbeke, Pieter De Frenne
Summary: This study combines experimental and modeling approaches to investigate the effects of climate change and biotic interactions on plant species range shifts. The results show that biotic interactions have a significant impact on population performance, and species distribution is not only influenced by climate factors but also regulated by biotic interactions.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Kai Yue, Pieter De Frenne, Koenraad Van Meerbeek, Veronica Ferreira, Dario A. Fornara, Qiqian Wu, Xiangyin Ni, Yan Peng, Dingyi Wang, Petr Hedenec, Yusheng Yang, Fuzhong Wu, Josep Penuelas
Summary: Invertebrates contribute significantly to stream litter decomposition, with their effects influenced by initial litter quality and stream water physicochemical properties. Climate region, mesh size, and mycorrhizal association have minimal impact on invertebrate effects. Invertebrate contribution is highest during the early stages of litter mass loss.
BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Johanna Van Passel, Wanda de Keersmaecker, Paulo N. Bernardino, Xin Jing, Nikolaus Umlauf, Koenraad Van Meerbeek, Ben Somers
Summary: Extreme precipitation and drought events are expected to increase in frequency and intensity in the Amazon rainforest. This study found that the forest has resistance and resilience to drought, but previous climatic events have lasting effects on the forest's response to drought.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Soil Science
Zemin Zhao, Pieter De Frenne, Josep Penuelas, Koenraad Van Meerbeek, Dario A. Fornara, Yan Peng, Qiqian Wu, Xiangyin Ni, Fuzhong Wu, Kai Yue
Summary: The continuing warming of the climate system is reducing snow cover depth and duration worldwide. Changes in snow cover can significantly affect the soil microclimate and the functioning of many terrestrial ecosystems. Snow removal reduces soil temperature in both winter and growing season, while snow addition increases soil temperature in winter. Snow removal has limited effects on soil properties in winter, but significantly affects soil moisture, pH, and carbon and nitrogen dynamics in the growing season. Snow addition has significant effects on soil properties in both winter and growing season, including soil moisture, carbon and nitrogen dynamics, phosphorus availability, and microbial biomass. The effects of snow manipulation on soil properties are regulated by ecosystem type, snow depth, latitude, elevation, climate, and experimental duration.
Review
Plant Sciences
Nianpeng He, Pu Yan, Congcong Liu, Li Xu, Mingxu Li, Koenraad Van Meerbeek, Guangsheng Zhou, Guoyi Zhou, Shirong Liu, Xuhui Zhou, Shenggong Li, Shuli Niu, Xingguo Han, Thomas N. Buckley, Lawren Sack, Guirui Yu
Summary: With the rapid accumulation of plant trait data, there are major opportunities to integrate these data into predicting ecosystem primary productivity across different spatial extents. However, scaling up to the ecosystem scale has remained challenging. This study demonstrates the need to combine community-level traits and environmental factors to predict ecosystem productivity at landscape or biogeographic scales, and highlights the potential for integrating traits into ecological models to estimate productivity-related ecosystem functions and anticipate the response of terrestrial ecosystems to global change.
TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Lubomir Tichy, Irena Axmanova, Juergen Dengler, Riccardo Guarino, Florian Jansen, Gabriele Midolo, Michael P. P. Nobis, Koenraad Van Meerbeek, Svetlana Acic, Fabio Attorre, Erwin Bergmeier, Idoia Biurrun, Gianmaria Bonari, Helge Bruelheide, Juan Antonio Campos, Andraz Carni, Alessandro Chiarucci, Mirjana Cuk, Renata Custerevska, Yakiv Didukh, Daniel Dite, Zuzana Dite, Tetiana Dziuba, Giuliano Fanelli, Eduardo Fernandez-Pascual, Emmanuel Garbolino, Rosario G. G. Gavilan, Jean-Claude Gegout, Ulrich Graf, Behlul Guler, Michal Hajek, Stephan M. M. Hennekens, Ute Jandt, Anni Jaskova, Borja Jimenez-Alfaro, Philippe Julve, Stephan Kambach, Dirk Nikolaus Karger, Gerhard Karrer, Ali Kavgaci, Ilona Knollova, Anna Kuzemko, Filip Kuzmic, Flavia Landucci, Attila Lengyel, Jonathan Lenoir, Corrado Marceno, Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund, Pavel Novak, Aaron Perez-Haase, Tomas Peterka, Remigiusz Pielech, Alessandro Pignatti, Valerijus Rasomavicius, Solvita Rusina, Arne Saatkamp, Urban Silc, Zeljko Skvorc, Jean-Paul Theurillat, Thomas Wohlgemuth, Milan Chytry
Summary: This study aims to create a harmonized data set of Ellenberg-type indicator values applicable at the European scale by incorporating indicator values from other European regions. The researchers collected and compared data from 13 data sets and provided a new data set of Ellenberg-type indicator values for 8908 European vascular plant species.
JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ellen Desie, Juan Zuo, Kris Verheyen, Ika Djukic, Koenraad Van Meerbeek, Harald Auge, Nadia Barsoum, Christel Baum, Helge Bruelheide, Nico Eisenhauer, Heike Feldhaar, Olga Ferlian, Dominique Gravel, Herve Jactel, Inger Kappel Schmidt, Sebastian Kepfer-Rojas, Celine Meredieu, Simone Mereu, Christian Messier, Lourdes Morillas, Charles Nock, Alain Paquette, Quentin Ponette, Peter B. Reich, Javier Roales, Michael Scherer-Lorenzen, Steffen Seitz, Anja Schmidt, Artur Stefanski, Stefan Trogisch, Inge van Halder, Martin Weih, Laura J. Williams, Bo Yang, Bart Muys
Summary: Tree species diversity has a significant impact on litter decomposition in forests. Our study, conducted in 15 tree diversity experiments across three continents, found that tree identity has a significant effect on decomposition, while tree species richness does not. Additionally, litter quality, stand age, and density also influence decomposition.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gerba Daba, Gezahegn Berecha, Bart Lievens, Kitessa Hundera, Kenny Helsen, Olivier Honnay
Summary: This study assessed the infection of coffee leaf rust (CLR) in Ethiopian coffee agroforestry systems with different management intensities. It found that semi-forest coffee systems (SFC) had significantly higher CLR infection rates. Lower canopy cover and human impact partly explained the higher infection in SFC systems. Reduced wind speed and droplet penetration under closed canopies, as well as reduced human-facilitated spore dispersal, were suggested as the dominant mechanisms behind lower CLR infection in forest coffee (FC) systems.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Stef Haesen, Jonas J. Lembrechts, Pieter De Frenne, Jonathan Lenoir, Juha Aalto, Michael B. Ashcroft, Martin Kopecky, Miska Luoto, Ilya Maclean, Ivan Nijs, Pekka Niittynen, Johan van den Hoogen, Nicola Arriga, Josef Bruna, Nina Buchmann, Marek Ciliak, Alessio Collalti, Emiel De Lombaerde, Patrice Descombes, Mana Gharun, Ignacio Goded, Sanne Govaert, Caroline Greiser, Achim Grelle, Carsten Gruening, Lucia Hederova, Kristoffer Hylander, Juergen Kreyling, Bart Kruijt, Martin Macek, Frantisek Malis, Matej Man, Giovanni Manca, Radim Matula, Camille Meeussen, Sonia Merinero, Stefano Minerbi, Leonardo Montagnani, Lena Muffler, Roma Ogaya, Josep Penuelas, Roman Plichta, Miguel Portillo-Estrada, Jonas Schmeddes, Ankit Shekhar, Fabien Spicher, Mariana Ujhazyova, Pieter Vangansbeke, Robert Weigel, Jan Wild, Florian Zellweger, Koenraad Van Meerbeek
Summary: Microclimate research has gained renewed interest in the past decade, and its importance for ecological processes is increasingly recognized. To improve ecological models, there is a growing need for high-resolution microclimatic temperature grids across broad spatial extents. In this study, we present a new set of open-access bioclimatic variables for microclimate temperatures of European forests at a resolution of 25 x 25 m(2).
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Pu Yan, Marcos Fernandez-Martinez, Koenraad Van Meerbeek, Guirui Yu, Mirco Migliavacca, Nianpeng He
Summary: This study systematically explores the role of different biodiversity attributes, including species richness, phylogenetic and functional diversity, and community-weighted mean (CWM) and ecosystem traits, in the key axes of ecosystem functions. The findings emphasize the critical importance of biodiversity conservation in sustaining terrestrial ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) and ensuring human well-being.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Ecology
Xinyu Wei, Koenraad Van Meerbeek, Kai Yue, Xiangyin Ni, Ellen Desie, Petr Hedenec, Jing Yang, Fuzhong Wu
Summary: Global warming and altered precipitation have significant effects on soil carbon pools. A meta-analysis of 657 observations from 34 published articles revealed that combined warming and increased precipitation led to an average increase in soil organic carbon (SOC) and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) by 4.0% and 15.4%, respectively. However, combined warming and decreased precipitation resulted in an average decline in SOC and MBC by 8.2% and 12.3%, respectively. The responses were influenced by the magnitude of altered precipitation.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Pu Yan, Nianpeng He, Kailiang Yu, Li Xu, Koenraad Van Meerbeek
Summary: This study integrates multiple plant traits with the trait-based productivity theory and demonstrates the accuracy of predicting GPP variation in Chinese forest and grassland systems. The results highlight the importance of plant community traits in explaining GPP variability and contribute to the understanding of the trait-productivity relationship.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Stef Haesen, Jonathan Lenoir, Eva Gril, Pieter De Frenne, Jonas J. Lembrechts, Martin Kopecky, Martin Macek, Matej Man, Jan Wild, Koenraad Van Meerbeek
Summary: Species distribution models (SDMs) traditionally use coarse-grained macroclimate data, which may lead to biased predictions due to the presence of most terrestrial species in the shade of trees. In this study, we compared conventional macroclimate-based SDMs with models corrected for forest microclimate buffering, and found that microclimate-based models at high spatial resolution performed better. Macroclimate-based models introduced systematic biases and failed to identify warm and cold refugia, highlighting the critical role of microclimate data in biodiversity conservation under climate change.
Review
Ecology
Sofia Flores, Carmen Van Mechelen, Jose Palacios Vallejo, Koenraad Van Meerbeek
Summary: Urbanization is driving economic development in Latin America, but it is also causing pressure on people and biodiversity in cities. Urban green spaces provide an opportunity to mitigate adverse consequences and improve the urban environment, but research on their functioning and implementation in Latin America is limited.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING
(2022)
Article
Remote Sensing
Sam Ottoy, Nikolaos Tziolas, Koenraad Van Meerbeek, Ilias Aravidis, Servaas Tilkin, Michail Sismanis, Dimitris Stavrakoudis, Ioannis Z. Gitas, George Zalidis, Alain De Vocht
Summary: This study aimed to find the optimal flight parameters and processing options for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) tree detection, and tested the transferability of the developed algorithm. The results showed that processing options had a greater impact on accuracy and precision than flight parameters.