Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Chen Xu, Xianliang Zhang, Rocio Hernandez-Clemente, Wei Lu, Ruben D. Manzanedo
Summary: This study aims to improve the distribution of forest types to be more realistic and useful by considering the actual forest attributes and linking them with climate. Forest types were classified using unsupervised cluster analysis method, combining climate variables with NDVI data. The resulting forest type distribution can provide valuable information for forest managers, conservationists, and forest ecologists.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Kelsey E. Roberts, Carly N. Cook, Jutta Beher, Eric A. Treml
Summary: Research indicates that Australia's MPA system is not a single network but rather numerous smaller networks delineated by natural breaks outside the Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo Reef. Depending on the dispersal capacity of the taxa of interest, there may be between 25 and 47 individual ecological networks distributed across the Australian marine environment.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Solomon Z. Dobrowski, Caitlin E. Littlefield, Drew S. Lyons, Clark Hollenberg, Carlos Carroll, Sean A. Parks, John T. Abatzoglou, Katherine Hegewisch, Josh Gage
Summary: The study found that over half of the global land area could experience climate-driven dissociations between ecoregions or biomes, posing challenges to expanding the protected area network for biodiversity preservation.
COMMUNICATIONS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
J. Gonzalo N. Irisarri, Marcos Texeira, Martin Oesterheld, Santiago R. Veron, Facundo Della Nave, Jose M. Paruelo
Summary: The study aimed to quantify long-term changes in aboveground net primary production (ANPP) in Patagonia between 1981 and 2012, revealing that ANPP interannual variation is mainly influenced by El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and precipitation, with the human impact being predominantly negative.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Lynda Donaldson, Jonathan J. Bennie, Robert J. Wilson, Ilya M. D. Maclean
Summary: Research suggests that prioritizing protected area networks is an effective way to conserve multiple species. Prioritizing habitat quality achieves the highest levels of persistence and population size for individual species, while considering habitat connectivity is the most effective strategy to conserve multiple species in the same network.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Azadeh Karimi, Hossein Yazdandad, April E. Reside
Summary: In order to achieve Iran's goal of increasing the protected area coverage from 11% to 20%, we used a systematic conservation planning approach to identify areas that complement existing protected areas. Through the use of distribution maps and four different methods of weighting species and locations, we found that certain regions in Iran consistently ranked as important for conservation. Protecting 20% of the country's land area, as constrained by existing protected areas, would effectively conserve biodiversity in the majority of their distribution.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Environmental Studies
Zhicong Zhao, Pei Wang, Xiaoshan Wang, Fangyi Wang, Tz-Hsuan Tseng, Yue Cao, Shuyu Hou, Jiayuan Peng, Rui Yang
Summary: Maintaining and improving the connectivity of protected areas is crucial for biodiversity conservation. However, there is a significant gap between China's existing protected areas and the global target for connectivity. We proposed a framework and strategies to evaluate and improve connectivity, identifying priority areas for restoration, ecological corridors, and expansion of protected areas in China.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Haiyang Shi, Qun Pan, Geping Luo, Olaf Hellwich, Chunbo Chen, Tim Van de Voorde, Alishir Kurban, Philippe De Maeyer, Shixin Wu
Summary: Investigation in the Xinjiang region revealed that elevation and vegetation conditions play important roles in impacting rodent distribution and damage. Variations in these environmental factors can lead to differences in driving mechanisms and grazing dynamics affecting rodent populations.
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Beatriz Bellon, Dominic A. W. Henry, Pierre-Cyril Renaud, Fabio de O. Roque, Cyntia Cavalcante Santos, Isabel Melo, Damien Arvor, Alta de Vos
Summary: Protected areas' effectiveness relies on the support from surrounding agricultural areas. Monitoring multi-use landscapes is crucial to identify characteristics that support wildlife communities. The study found that most species exist in both natural forest areas and croplands surrounding protected areas. Vegetation productivity and heterogeneity strongly influence habitat use patterns.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Leonardo B. Custode, Richard Pither, Faisal Moola, D. Ryan Norris
Summary: Protected areas are crucial for preserving biodiversity, and their connectivity with other viable habitats plays a significant role. This study found that government protected areas have higher connectivity, while Indigenous managed lands have lower connectivity. Additionally, conservation agreements in private protected areas have higher connectivity compared to fee simple properties.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2023)
Correction
Environmental Studies
Jennifer Sletten, Mimi D'Iorio, Mary G. Gleason, Alex Driedger, Timothe Vincent, Claire Colegrove, Dawn Wright, Virgil Zetterlind
Summary: Comprehensive and spatially explicit data, along with regulatory information, are crucial for evaluating and planning the level of protection in marine protected areas (MPAs) and other marine managed areas (MMAs). Recent analysis reveals that approximately 98% of the U.S. waters are located within managed areas that restrict living resource extraction, with 65% having a low level of protection and 3% designated as highly protected no-take areas. Hawaii, California, and Oregon have the highest coverage of no-take MPAs. Most highly protected areas are found in sparsely populated regions of the Pacific. California has around 40% of its state waters in some type of MPA.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zhimin Ma, Chunyu Dong, Kairong Lin, Yu Yan, Jianfeng Luo, Dingshen Jiang, Xiaohong Chen
Summary: By developing a simple and new data downscaling approach, we successfully created a high-resolution NDVI database on a global scale for monitoring the changes in vegetation ecosystems. Evaluation of the downscaled data showed similarities to the MODIS NDVI product in terms of accuracy. We also utilized the downscaled data to monitor NDVI changes in different plant types and locations with vegetation heterogeneity, as well as to study global vegetation trends over the past four decades.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yiwen Zeng, Rebecca A. Senior, Christopher L. Crawford, David S. Wilcove
Summary: Protected areas play a crucial role in biodiversity conservation. While creating new parks can protect a greater number of species, strengthening existing parks, especially those vulnerable to human activities, is an important but often overlooked step for safeguarding at-risk species. Our study models the habitat area of terrestrial mammals, amphibians, and birds within park networks and their vulnerability to current and future threats. We find that a significant proportion of species have limited representation in parks, or are in parks that are affected by changes in legal protections or increased human pressures. Moreover, expanding and enhancing park networks on just 1% of the world's land area could protect the irreplaceable habitats of 1191 species that are particularly vulnerable to extinction.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Christopher Blackford, Martin Krkosek, Marie-Josee Fortin
Summary: This study presents a modeling approach to determine the optimal MPA network configuration for species with different dispersal abilities at varying depths, focusing on a case study in Pacific Canada. The research highlights the significant impact of dispersal abilities on the optimal MPA network configuration. By identifying the most important sites for conservation to maintain connectivity for a multi-species MPA network, it demonstrates the feasibility of this model with limited data for application to other regions and ecosystems.
Article
Geography, Physical
Andry Rustanto, Martijn J. Booij
Summary: This study evaluates two image blending methods and nine input data configurations to select the most suitable one. The results show that FSDAF outperforms STARFM in generating synthetic NDVI when using unsupervised and supervised classification images, along with MODIS NDVI 250 m v.005. When generating synthetic NDVI using AVHRR NDVI, both algorithms perform similarly. The selection of image blending algorithm with a single pair base reference image should consider input data configuration and temporal over spatial variance ratio.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DIGITAL EARTH
(2022)
Article
Agronomy
Dan Kanmegne Tamga, Hooman Latifi, Tobias Ullmann, Roland Baumhauer, Michael Thiel, Jules Bayala
Summary: The study in Cote d'Ivoire conducted a spatial distribution model of cocoa agroforestry, and obtained producer accuracy and user accuracy through multi-step analysis. The optimal classification error threshold value was found to be between 0.3 and 0.4, effectively distinguishing cocoa plantations from other landcover.
AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Fatemeh Saba, Hooman Latifi, Mohammad Javad Valadan Zoej, Rohollah Esmaili
Summary: The Hyrcanian Forests in Iran are important vegetation regions known for their high density, canopy cover, and species diversity. The box tree, an evergreen species in these forests, is facing serious threats from diseases and outbreaks. To monitor recovery, control treatment, and manage the situation, it is essential to have information on the spatial distribution of intact and infested box trees. In this study, a genetic algorithm and support vector machine ensemble classification were used to map the distribution of box tree mortality using satellite data. The results showed that the suggested workflow outperformed a simple SVM, and the addition of radar data marginally improved the model's performance.
Article
Ecology
Martina Scacco, Eneko Arrondo, J. Antonio Donazar, Andrea Flack, J. Antonio Sanchez-Zapata, Olivier Duriez, Martin Wikelski, Kamran Safi
Summary: This study examines the transferability of predictive models of flight behavior across species boundaries. Using movement data from white storks and griffon vultures, the study finds that topographic features can accurately predict soaring behavior for storks, but less efficiently for vultures. The study emphasizes the need for more research to accurately predict the behavior of highly specialized soaring species.
Article
Ecology
Mario Trouillier, Katrin M. Meyer, Luca Santini, Guy Pe'er
Summary: We conducted a quantitative comparison of eight viability measures based on the simulated population dynamics of more than 4500 virtual species. The results showed that different viability measures rank species similarly, but the direct correlations between the measures were often weak and could not be generalized. We recommend that PVA studies publish raw simulation data to facilitate meta-analyses.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Giordano Mancini, Ana Benitez-Lopez, Moreno Di Marco, Michela Pacifici, Carlo Rondinini, Luca Santini
Summary: Habitat fragmentation and overexploitation of natural resources are the main threats to biodiversity in tropical forests. This study shows that hunting and fragmentation have a synergistic effect on the extinction risk of neotropical primates, with environmental factors being better predictors than biological traits. The findings suggest the need for simultaneous addressing of multiple threats in conservation efforts.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Elham Nourani, Kamran Safi, Sophie de Grissac, David J. Anderson, Nik C. Cole, Adam Fell, David Gremillet, Emmanouil Lempidakis, Miriam Lerma, Jennifer L. McKee, Lorien Pichegru, Pascal Provost, Niels C. Rattenborg, Peter G. Ryan, Carlos D. Santos, Stefan Schoombie, Vikash Tatayah, Henri Weimerskirch, Martin Wikelski, Emily L. C. Shepard
Summary: Storms can have negative effects on seabirds, causing stranding and wrecking. However, little is known about the wind speeds that birds can tolerate or avoid. By analyzing tracking data from 18 seabird species, researchers found that flight morphology affects wind selectivity. Seabirds show no general preference or avoidance of specific wind speeds, but flight morphology is adapted to wind conditions, with higher wing loading being selected in windier environments.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Marziye Ghasemi, Hooman Latifi, Mehdi Pourhashemi
Summary: Tree decline is a complex process affected by various factors. Using UAV and satellite remote sensing methods, we developed a workflow to assess tree decline severity in Persian oak-dominated forests in western Iran.
ENVIRONMENTAL MODELING & ASSESSMENT
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rikki Gumbs, Claudia L. Gray, Monika Boehm, Ian J. Burfield, Olivia R. Couchman, Daniel P. Faith, Felix Forest, Michael Hoffmann, Nick J. B. Isaac, Walter Jetz, Georgina M. Mace, Arne O. Mooers, Kamran Safi, Oenone Scott, Mike Steel, Caroline M. Tucker, William D. Pearse, Nisha R. Owen, James Rosindell
Summary: The conservation of evolutionary history through phylogenetic diversity (PD) and EDGE metric has been widely studied and recognized. However, the adoption of recent research advances has been limited due to the lack of consensus within the conservation community. In this paper, an improved EDGE2 protocol is presented, incorporating methods for handling uncertainty and accounting for the extinction risk of closely related species. The application of EDGE2 to the world's mammals demonstrates its effectiveness in guiding practical priority-setting for biodiversity conservation.
Editorial Material
Ecology
Falko T. Buschke, James G. Hagan, Luca Santini, Bernard W. T. Coetzee
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Ying Zhang, Karsten Klein, Falk Schreiber, Kamran Safi
Summary: More diverse data in animal ecology are now available, presenting challenges and opportunities for biologists and computer scientists. Immersive analytics is an emerging field that explores the use of immersive technologies to improve data analysis and communication. The collaboration between biologists and computer scientists has the potential to lead to practical guidelines, reduced analysis effort, and improved comparability of results.
VISUAL COMPUTING FOR INDUSTRY BIOMEDICINE AND ART
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Hernan Caceres-Escobar, Luigi Maiorano, Carlo Rondinini, Marta Cimatti, Serge Morand, Carlos Zambrana-Torrelio, Marisa Peyre, Benjamin Roche, Moreno Di Marco
Summary: Human pressure on the environment is increasing the frequency, diversity, and spatial extent of disease outbreaks. Past and current initiatives have overlooked the interconnection between the health of the environment, animals, and humans. To effectively prevent pandemics, global responses should prioritize prevention under the One Health approach and establish measurable targets and indicators, similar to those for biodiversity loss and climate change. Using an established framework, such as the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response framework, can help operationalize pandemic prevention efforts.
Editorial Material
Ecology
Hooman Latifi, Ruben Valbuena, Carlos Alberto Silva
Summary: Remote sensing and geospatial sciences have a long history in fostering research in ecology. However, the use of active remote sensing for ecological and conservation purposes is still in the early stages, with limited understanding of the implications of active sensor data. This special feature includes papers that explore the direct usage of active remote sensing techniques and interpretation of proxies derived from active data to address ecological topics.
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Remote Sensing
Elham Shafeian, Fabian Ewald Fassnacht, Hooman Latifi
Summary: Detecting forest decline using remote sensing in arid and semi-arid regions is crucial for effective forest management. However, current studies face limitations in detecting forest decline in sparse semi-arid forests. In this study, three Landsat time-series-based approaches were used to distinguish non-declining and declining forest patches in the Zagros forests, with random forest being the most accurate approach. The classification results were unaffected by the Landsat acquisition times, indicating that additional environmental variables may be necessary to compensate for the limitations and challenges in identifying declining forest patches in semi-arid regions.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF REMOTE SENSING
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Seyed Arvin Fakhri, Hooman Latifi, Kyumars Mohammadi Samani, Zahed Shakeri, Hamed Naghavi, Fabian Ewald Fassnacht
Summary: This study combines UAV photogrammetry and field inventories to assess the relationship between diameter at breast height (DBH) and tree height (H) in pollarded oak trees. The results show that both linear and nonlinear allometric models can accurately describe this relationship, which is stable across oak species. This finding is important for biomass inventory and DBH estimation in stands dominated by pollarded, multi-stem coppice structures.
Correction
Ecology
Falko T. Buschke, James G. Hagan, Luca Santini, Bernard W. T. Coetzee
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2023)
