This paper presents assessments of the fragmentation of the temperate and tropical forests in Mexico at the national level for two dates 1993 and 2002.The study was based on land use and vegetation cover data sets sca...This paper presents assessments of the fragmentation of the temperate and tropical forests in Mexico at the national level for two dates 1993 and 2002.The study was based on land use and vegetation cover data sets scale 1：250,000.Two broad forest types（Temperate Forests and Tropical Forests） and five more specific forest types（Broadleaf Forests,and Coniferous Forests;Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests,Tropical Sub-evergreen Forests,and Tropical Evergreen Forests） were defined to conduct the analyses.FragStats 3.3 was used to estimate nine metrics of the spatial pattern of the forests for each forest type and date considered.The results indicate that the land cover transitions that have occurred between 1993 and 2002 have resulted in more isolated forest patches with simpler shapes in both the Temperate and Tropical Forests.The remaining Tropical Forest patches have become smaller and more numerous.In contrast,the remaining Temperate Forest patches are fewer and on average larger.Of the more specific forest types defined in this study,the Broadleaf Forests have the highest indicators of fragmentation.However these forests are usually embedded or adjacent to Coniferous Forests.Of more concern for conservation purposes are the high values of fragmentation metrics found for the Tropical Evergreen Forests and Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests,because these forest types are usually surrounded by non-forest land covers or anthropogenic land uses.展开更多
Owls have the potential to be keystone species for conservation in fragmented landscapes, as the absence of these predators could profoundly change community structure. Yet few studies have examined how whole communit...Owls have the potential to be keystone species for conservation in fragmented landscapes, as the absence of these predators could profoundly change community structure. Yet few studies have examined how whole communities of owls respond to fragmentation, especially in the tropics. When evaluating the effect of factors related to fragmentation, such as fragment area and distance to the edge, on these birds, it is also important in heterogeneous landscapes to ask how ＇location factors＇ such as the topography, vegetation and soil of the fragment predict their persistence. In Xishuangbanna, southwest China, we established 43 transects （200 mx60 m） within 20 forest fragments to sample nocturnal birds, both visually and aurally. We used a multimodel inference approach to identify the factors that influence owl species richness, and generalized linear mixed models to predict the occurrence probabilities of each species. We found that fragmentation factors dominated location factors, with larger fragments having more species, and four of eight species were significantly more likely to occur in large fragments. Given the potential importance of these birds on regulating small mammal and other animal populations, and thus indirectly affecting seed dispersal, we suggest further protection of large f ragments and programs to increase their connectivity to the remaining smaller fragments.展开更多
Natural forces and anthropogenic activities greatly alter land cover,deteriorate or alleviate forest fragmentation and affect biodiversity.Thus land cover and forest fragmentation dynamics have become a focus of conce...Natural forces and anthropogenic activities greatly alter land cover,deteriorate or alleviate forest fragmentation and affect biodiversity.Thus land cover and forest fragmentation dynamics have become a focus of concern for natural resource management agencies and biodiversity conservation communities.However,there are few land cover datasets and forest fragmentation information available for the Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve(DHR)of Nepal to develop targeted biodiversity conservation plans.In this study,these gaps were filled by characterizing land cover and forest fragmentation trends in the DHR.Using five Landsat images between 1993 and 2018,a support vector machine algorithm was applied to classify six land cover classes:forest,grasslands,barren lands,agricultural and built-up areas,water bodies,and snow and glaciers.Subsequently,two landscape process models and four landscape metrics were used to depict the forest fragmentation situations.Results showed that forest cover increased from 39.4%in 1993 to 39.8%in 2018.Conversely,grasslands decreased from 38.2%in 1993 to 36.9%in 2018.The forest shrinkage was responsible for forest loss during the period,suggesting that the loss of forest cover reduced the connectivity between forest and nonforested areas.Expansion was the dominant component of the forest restoration process,implying that it avoided the occurrence of isolated forests.The maximum value of edge density and perimeter area fractal dimension metrics and the minimum value of aggregation index were observed in 2011,revealing that forests in this year were most fragmented.These specific observations from the current analysis can help local authorities and local communities,who are highly dependent on forest resources,to better develop local forest management and biodiversity conservation plans.展开更多
Tropical forest cover change along with increasing fragmentation has detrimental effects on the global biodiversity.In the current study change in both forest cover and fragmentation of Koraput district have been asse...Tropical forest cover change along with increasing fragmentation has detrimental effects on the global biodiversity.In the current study change in both forest cover and fragmentation of Koraput district have been assessed in the past three decades(1987-2017)and future decade(2017-2027),which has been modelled using logistic regression showing a gradual decrease in the forest cover and increase in fragmentation.The long term deforestation rates from 1987 to 2017(current period)and from 1987 to 2027(predicted period)were found to be-0.018 and-0.012,respectively.Out of the total geographical area,2027 number of grids(1 km^(2))out of 8856 grids were found to have shown extinction of forest in the study period.The conversion of forested lands into other land uses has been one of the major causes of deforestation in Koraput,especially because of the increasing mining activities and establishment of three major industries namely National Aluminium Company(NALCO),Damanjodi,Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL),Sunabeda and Ballarpur Industries Limited(BILT).The forest fragmentation reveals a negative trend,recording highest conversion from large core fragments to edge(191.33 km2)and the predicted period has also shown the same trend of negative change,which poses serious danger to the structure of the forests.Out of all the landscape matrices calculated,number of patches will increase to 214 in 2027 from 93 in 1987.In the test between geographically weighted regression(GWR)and ordinary least square regression(OLS),GWR was the better fit model for drawing a spatial relationship between forest cover and fragmentation changes.The study confirmed that the forest cover change has impacted the forest fragmentation in the study area.The programmes like REDD+should be implemented along with the experiences of Community Forest Management and the joint forest management should be intensified at community level in order to develop better management practices to conserve habitats in biodiversity rich areas.展开更多
Forest fragmentation is an integral part of global change.Understanding forest fragmentation patterns and dynamics are of great significance for maintaining ecosystem stability.There are great differences in the inter...Forest fragmentation is an integral part of global change.Understanding forest fragmentation patterns and dynamics are of great significance for maintaining ecosystem stability.There are great differences in the interference of natural and human factors on forests in different towns of mountainous cities,and the characteristics of forest fragmentation are also obviously different.Forest fragmentation has been broadly studied,yet,it remains poorly understood at the township-scale within mountainous cities.In this study,the spatial form of forest landscape and forest fragmentation modes of towns were examined in Qujing City,Yunnan Province,China for the years of 2006 and 2016,relying heavily on the morphological spatial pattern analysis(MSPA)and K-means clustering algorithm.Results in 2016 showed that the forest landscape morphology of Qujing could be divided into seven classes:core,perforation,islet,bridge,edge,branch and ring;with landscape areas of 41.94%,1.22%,7.04%,11.12%,23.26%,11.74%and 3.68%respectively.Compared with 2006,the changes of landscape area were 1.71%,0.02%,0.30%,1.65%,0.20%,0.19%and 0.05%respectively.The townships in Qujing varied significantly in their landscape fragmentation patterns,and these patterns were spatially dependent.Different forest landscape forms have positive spatial correlations and differences.The forest fragmentation modes of towns can be divided into four types:Low anthropogenic towns,high anthropogenic towns,complex terrain towns and gentle terrain towns.Different ways of human activities play a decisive role in forest landscape fragmentation.The expansion of construction land and agricultural land intensifies forest fragmentation;however,man-made orderly and planned ecological restoration will greatly improve the forest coverage and improve the spatial form of urban forest landscape.展开更多
This study comprehensively assessed long-term vegetation changes and forest fragmentation dynamics in the Himalayan temperate region of Pakistan from 1989 to 2019.Four satellite images,including Landsat-5 TM and Lands...This study comprehensively assessed long-term vegetation changes and forest fragmentation dynamics in the Himalayan temperate region of Pakistan from 1989 to 2019.Four satellite images,including Landsat-5 TM and Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager(OLI),were chosen for subsequent assessments in October 1989,2001,2011 and 2019.The classified maps of 1989,2001,2011 and 2019 were created using the maximum likelihood classifier.Post-classification comparison showed an overall accuracy of 82.5%and a Kappa coefficient of 0.79 for the 2019 map.Results revealed a drastic decrease in closed-canopy and open-canopy forests by 117.4 and 271.6 km^(2),respectively,and an increase in agriculture/farm cultivation by 1512.8 km^(2).The two-way ANOVA test showed statistically significant differences in the area of various cover classes.Forest fragmentation was evaluated using the Landscape Fragmentation Tool(LFT v2.0)between 1989 and 2019.The large forest core(>2.00 km^(2))decreased from 149.4 to 296.7 km^(2),and a similar pattern was observed in medium forest core(1.00-2.00 km^(2))forests.On the contrary,the small core(<1.00 km^(2))forest increased from 124.8 to 145.3 km^(2) in 2019.The perforation area increased by 296.9 km^(2),and the edge effect decreased from 458.9 to 431.7 km^(2).The frequency of patches also increased by 119.1 km^(2).The closed and open canopy classes showed a decreasing trend with an annual rate of 0.58%and 1.35%,respectively.The broad implications of these findings can be seen in the studied region as well as other global ecological areas.They serve as an imperative baseline for afforestation and reforestation operations,highlighting the urgent need for efficient management,conservation,and restoration efforts.Based on these findings,sustainable land-use policies may be put into place that support local livelihoods,protect ecosystem services,and conserve biodiversity.展开更多
Forest managers and policy makers increasingly demand to have access to estimates of forest fragmentation, human accessibility to forest areas and levels of anthropogenic pressure on the remaining forests to integrate...Forest managers and policy makers increasingly demand to have access to estimates of forest fragmentation, human accessibility to forest areas and levels of anthropogenic pressure on the remaining forests to integrate them into monitoring systems, management and conservation plans. Forest fragmentation is defined as the breaking up of a forest unit, where the number of patches and the amount of expose edge increase while the amount of core area decreases. Forest fragmentation studies in Mexico have been limited to local or regional levels and have concen- trated only on specific forest types. This paper presents an assessment of the fragmentation of all forest types at the national level, their effective proximity to anthropogenic influences, and the development of an indica- tor of anthropogenic pressure on the forests areas. Broadleaf forests, tropical evergreen forests and tropical dry deciduous forests show the greatest fragmentation. Almost half （47%） of the tropical forests are in close effective proximity to anthropogenic influences and only 12% of their area can be considered isolated from anthropogenic influences. The values for the temperate forests are 23% and 29% respectively. Anthro- pogenic pressure in the immediate vicinity of anthropogenic activities is much higher in the tropical forests （75 in a scale 0-100） than in the tem- perate forests （30）. When considering these results jointly, the tropical forests, and more specifically, the tropical evergreen forests and tropical dry deciduous forests are under the greatest pressure and risks of degra- dation.展开更多
Geospatial patterns of forest fragmentation over the three traditional giant forested areas of China （Northeastern, southwestern and Southern China） were analyzed comparatively and reported based on a 250-m resoluti...Geospatial patterns of forest fragmentation over the three traditional giant forested areas of China （Northeastern, southwestern and Southern China） were analyzed comparatively and reported based on a 250-m resolution land cover dataset. Specifically, the spatial patterns of forest fragmentation were characterized by combining geospatial metrics and forest fragmentation models. The driving forces resulting in the differences of the forest spatial patterns were also investigated. Results suggested that forests in southwest China had the highest severity of forest fragmentation, followed by south region and northeast region. The driving forces of forest fragmentation in China were primarily the giant population and improper exploitation of forests. In conclusion, the generated information in the study provided valuable insights and implications as to the fragmentation patterns and the conservation of hiodiversity or genes, and the use of the chosen geospatial metrics and forest fragmentation models was quite useful for depicting forest fragmentation patterns.展开更多
Seed long-distance dispersal(LDD) events are typically rare, but are important in the population processes that determine large-scale forest changes and the persistence of species in fragmented landscapes. However, pr...Seed long-distance dispersal(LDD) events are typically rare, but are important in the population processes that determine large-scale forest changes and the persistence of species in fragmented landscapes. However, previous studies focused on species dispersed via animal-mediated LDD, and ignored those dispersed by wind. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of canopy openness, edge, seed source, and patch tree density on the LDD of seeds by wind in forest. We collected birch seeds, a typical wind-dispersed species, throughout a larch plantation. We then assessed the relationship between birch LDD and each factor that may influence LDD of seeds by wind including distance to edge, canopy openness size, distance to mature forest, and the tree density of the larch plantation. We used univariate linear regression analysis to assess the influence of those factors on birch LDD, and partial correlations to calculate the contribution of each factor to LDD. The results showed that both canopy openness and edge had significant influences on birch LDD. Specifically, a negative relationship was observed between distance to edge and birch LDD, whereas there was a positive correlation between canopy openness size and LDD. In contrast, the distance to the mature forest was not correlated with birch LDD. Our results suggest that patch tree density could potently affect the probability of LDD by wind vectors, which provides novel and revealing insights regarding the effect of fragmentation on wind dynamics. The data also provide compelling evidence for the previously undocumented effect of habitat fragmentation on wind-dispersed organisms. As such, these observations will facilitate reasonable conservation planning, which requires a detailed understanding of the mechanisms by which patch properties hamper the delivery of seeds of wind-dispersed plants to fragmented areas.展开更多
Landscape conversion becomes a continuous process in a natural landscape for any strategic development.In a forest landscape mosaic,the conversion from non-forest land to forest land implies a constructive approach.Va...Landscape conversion becomes a continuous process in a natural landscape for any strategic development.In a forest landscape mosaic,the conversion from non-forest land to forest land implies a constructive approach.Various bio-geographic processes are enriched and developed when the land was converted to forest land in a given landscape matrix.The present study evaluated how the increased forest cover improves the ecological quality of forest in Jhargram District of West Bengal State,India,from 1985 to 2015.The quality of forests includes dominance,fragmentation and connectivity,which are the basis ecological indicators of habitat structure.To address this issue,we extracted forest cover maps of 1985 and 2015 from land use/land cover classification.A grid framework was overlaid on these forest cover maps for patch-matrix model analysis.Reliable landscape ecological indices were used for the measurements of forest landscape quality in 1985 and 2015.Then a simple linear regression model was used to compare the results.Temporally,forest cover increased in Jhargram District from 1985 to 2015.The comparison of measurement indices depicts that although only a small amount of land was changed into forest land in the study area,this small change has greatly improved the structural compositional quality of the forest land.Compared with 1985,the forest land area increased by about 6930.56 hm^(2) in 2015.This increased forest cover improved the basic landscape ecological characters,such as inter patch connectivity,forest core area,forest habitat dependence,forest habitat dominance and forest edge effect.As a result,the ecosystem function in Jhargram District has been improved,which again attracts wildlife and enriches biodiversity.展开更多
The forest ecosystems of the Lacs 2 commune (South-East, Togo) are undergoing severe degradation, which has not yet been documented. This study is carried out in order to assess and quantify the spatio-temporal dynami...The forest ecosystems of the Lacs 2 commune (South-East, Togo) are undergoing severe degradation, which has not yet been documented. This study is carried out in order to assess and quantify the spatio-temporal dynamics of residual forests and to identify the determinants of deforestation in South East Togo. The methodological approach is based on the use of historical aerial photographs from 1976 and drone images from 2019 in addition to field investigations. Several spatial structure indices were also calculated in order to quantify the fragmentation of classes and of the forest landscape. The results show that the forest landscape is changing. The classes of forests, plantations and palm groves show an annual rate of decline of 7.5%, 0.8% and 9.4% respectively while the classes of savannahs, agglomerations, surface water and swamps increased by 16.4%, 0.4%, 0.7% and 0.1%. The results also reveal a high fragmentation within the forest, plantation, surface water and swamp class and moderate fragmentation for the savannah and palm trees classes. At the landscape level, the savannah class is dominant by more than 70%, thus making the landscape little diversified from an ecological point of view. The main driver of deforestation in the study area remains shifting slash-and-burn agriculture. It is accentuated by the establishment of perennial oil palm crops, which has influenced the annual deforestation rate by 0.72%.展开更多
The road effect on small rodent population is investigated at 8 fragmented forest areas in the Baekdudaegan mountain range, South Korea in September 2001. We especially focused on the distribution and body condition o...The road effect on small rodent population is investigated at 8 fragmented forest areas in the Baekdudaegan mountain range, South Korea in September 2001. We especially focused on the distribution and body condition of small rodents near the roads. Korean field mouse (Apodemus peninsulae) seems to be more sensitive to the existence of a road than striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius). Korean field mouse prefers interior forest area to around road. Striped field mouse is a habitat generalist and has wide distributional range around road, but Korean field mouse is forest-inhabiting species and their distribution is limited in forest area. These results suggest the effect of road is different on each small rodent species and their habitat preferences.展开更多
We examined the effects of forest patch size on woody tree species richness and abundance in tropical montane evergreen forest patches of the Nilgiri region,south India. We sampled woody trees(>1 cm dbh) from 21 fo...We examined the effects of forest patch size on woody tree species richness and abundance in tropical montane evergreen forest patches of the Nilgiri region,south India. We sampled woody trees(>1 cm dbh) from 21 forest patches in the upper Nilgiri hills(> 2000 m elevation) and recorded a total of 35,146 individuals of 61 species, 45 genera and 30 families. Species richness and abundance of sapling/shrubs(≥ 1 to < 10 cm dbh)increased significantly with increasing patch size, but the species richness and abundance of small, medium and larger trees(≥ 10 to < 30, ≥ 30 to < 60 and ≥ 60 cm dbh,respectively) did not. Overall, forest interior species richness and abundance increased significantly with increasing patch size but edge species richness did not. Species richness and abundance of shade-tolerant and shade-demanding tree species also increased with increasing patch size. The abundance of zoochory dispersed tree species was significantly related to increasing patch size, but those dispersed by autochory did not display any clear relationship between patch size and species richness or abundance.Our findings suggest that with increasing forest patch area,tree compositional patterns may be driven by species specific shade-tolerance adaptations and dispersal patterns.Differential responses in these traits by the plant community within the individual habitat zones of forest edge and interiors likely plays a major role in determining the inherent plant community and thus the subsequent ecological processes of forest patches, including their responses to increasing patch area.展开更多
Background:Remnant microhabitats are important for bird habitat selection and plant regeneration in the fragmented habitat.However,empirical information on the consequences of how microhabitat use by birds affects the...Background:Remnant microhabitats are important for bird habitat selection and plant regeneration in the fragmented habitat.However,empirical information on the consequences of how microhabitat use by birds affects the early recruitment of plants is lacking.Methods:In this study,we evaluated whether microhabitat selection by the Black Bulbul(Hypsipetes leucocephalus)(J.F.Gmelin,1789)impacts the early recruitment of the endangered tree species,the Chinese Yew(Taxus chinensis(Pilger)Rehd),in a fragmented forest over a 4-year period(2011–2012,2018–2019).Results:Our results showed the main factors affecting H.leucocephalus microhabitat selection were distance to the nearest T.chinensis mature tree,herb cover and density,leaf litter cover,and vegetation type.Moreover,the results of logistic regression also highlighted the importance of elevation,distance to light gap and roads,tree cover in bird microhabitat selection.Furthermore,the seed emergence rate in microhabitats used by birds did not differ from the natural forest,which was related to five factors of bird microhabitat.The Random Forest model showed that seedling emergence rate was increased with leaf litter cover and distance to fallen dead trees,but decreased in relation to herb cover,slope,and elevation.Conclusion:Our results highlight the importance of remnant microhabitats in fragmented forests for sustaining forest ecology and optimal management.The contribution of microhabitats used by birds to plant recruitment provides insights into how frugivore species contribute to plant regeneration,which should be incorporated in future conservation and management practices of fragmented forests.展开更多
Biodiversity assessment for tree species was conducted in three forest fragments ofthe Taita Hills, southeastern Kenya to compare species diversity between and within three exotic forest plantations of pine, eucalyptu...Biodiversity assessment for tree species was conducted in three forest fragments ofthe Taita Hills, southeastern Kenya to compare species diversity between and within three exotic forest plantations of pine, eucalyptus, cypress and the indigenous forests. The study sites were： Ngangao （120 ha）, Chawia （86 ha）, and Mbololo （185 ha）. A Y-plot design was used to sample 32 plots comprising of 65 subplots. At each subplot, all juvenile trees of 5 cm and above in diameter at breast height （DBH） were enumerated and recorded by species. Tree regeneration （seedlings and saplings） was tallied by species. The Shannon-Weiner Index was used to calculate species diversity and evenness. The derived Shannon’s indices were further converted into effective numbers to show the magnitude of differences in species biodiversities. To evaluate dif-ferences in species diversities, a one way ANOVA was conducted and to separate the means, Tukey＇s HSD and Duncan’s tests were used for even and uneven number of samples respectively. Jaccard’s similarity index was used to assess species similarities. There were more than 58 species whose stem densities varied between 10 and 2 000 trees per hectare.There were significant differences in species diversities between forest types and sites; the indigenous forests showed higher diversities than the exotic forests. Similarly, Chawia sites had higher species diversity than both Ngangao and Mbololo. Chawia also had a higher number of regen-erated species than the two other sites, including species such as Xymalos monospora, Rapanea melanophloeos, and Syzygium guineense, which are associated with low levels of disturbance. These findings indicate that the indigenous forest is more diverse in species as would be expected in the tropics. The high species diversity in Chawia could be accounted for by the higher levels of disturbance it underwent, unlike the two other sites. The regeneration of species associated with low levels of disturbance found in the exotic plots of Chawia show the likelihood of presence of long-term soil seed banks. The low regeneration in the exotics plots observed in Ngangao and Mbololo are likely due to the absence of seed banks since some of the plantations were established on bare land （in Ngango）, or the inherent physiology （allelopathy） of some of species repelling the regeneration of others.展开更多
Natural disturbances have significantly intensified across European forests,with bark beetle outbreaks being the most rapidly escalating disturbance type.Since 2018,the Czech Republic(Central Europe)has become a Europ...Natural disturbances have significantly intensified across European forests,with bark beetle outbreaks being the most rapidly escalating disturbance type.Since 2018,the Czech Republic(Central Europe)has become a Europe's disturbance epicentre due to the unprecedented outbreak of spruce bark beetle Ips typographus in the forests dominated by Norway spruce Picea abies.Here we provide novel insights into the impacts and dynamics of this disturbance from 2016 to 2022.The investigation is based on annual forest change maps developed by the classification of optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite imagery.We identified seven major outbreak foci across the country,where the outbreaks culminated between 2018 and 2021.Most of the outbreak waves exhibited a symmetric shape,characterized by a three-year build-up phase,a single culmination year,and the subsequent decline.The substantial proportion of spruce remaining in the outbreak areas after the culmination point implies that resource depletion is an improbable cause for the outbreak's retreat.In the year of retreat,the proportion of spruce in the forest ranged between 26%and 36%in most of the outbreak areas.The disturbance dynamics manifested a transition from the emergence of new tree mortality spots in the early outbreak phase to their short-range expansion,suggesting density-dependent changes in bark beetle dispersal during the studied period.The core disturbance zone,pinpointed in 2022,covered an area of 9,000 km^(2) and experienced a 38%loss in forest cover.Within this area,forest fragmentation increased significantly,leading to a greater forest patch complexity and reduced connectivity among the patches.The presented findings can serve as a glimpse into the future for other European regions,revealing the potential impacts of natural disturbances amplified by climate change.展开更多
Unlike most brood parasites, several species of cowbird (Molothrus) are generalists that parasitize multiple host species across their range and within the same communities; likewise, there is little evidence that ind...Unlike most brood parasites, several species of cowbird (Molothrus) are generalists that parasitize multiple host species across their range and within the same communities; likewise, there is little evidence that individuals within a population specialize on host species. This situation has variously been attributed to the recency of cowbird evolution (the 'evolutionary lag' hypothesis) or to hidden costs of rejection by hosts (the 'equilibrium' hypothesis). Both hypotheses have some support as cowbirds are indeed a relatively young clade compared with more specialized cuckoos and cowbirds are capable of sophisticated behaviors such as retaliation against rejection ('mafia' behaviors) that would select for acceptance of cowbird eggs. Nevertheless, many species in the Americas have evolved specialized defenses against cowbird parasitism, almost all of which live in more open habitats (e. g., grasslands, shrublands, riparian strips), which indicates that coevolutionary processes can operate in ways that select for host defenses in spite of cowbird counterdefenses. We propose that the structure of landscapes in North America may explain why forest-nesting birds lack defenses against parasitism and reinforce the long-term maintenance of generalized brood parasitism in cowbirds. Because cowbirds require open habitats in which to feed, they are rare or absent in large forest tracts, which dominate much of the forest cover of the Americas. These tracts act as 'source habitats' that produce surplus young that recolonize populations in smaller, fragmented forest patches in which rates of both cowbird parasitism and nest predation are very high ('sink' habitats). Evolution of antiparasite adaptations would be very slow in this situation because most hosts are produced in areas where there is little or no cowbird parasitism. In addition, the interplay of host breeding dispersal, source-sink metapopulation dynamics, and fragmented forest habitat could further deter the evolution of host defenses against parasitism. Therefore, as long as large forest tracts remain widespread in North America, most forest birds will likely continue to lack defenses against cowbird parasitism, guaranteeing a steady supply of na ve hosts in forest habitats, even in fragmented landscapes. This situation will, in turn, favor host generalist cowbirds that actively avoid more open habitats in favor of parasitizing forest bird communities. These forest communities may also act as source populations for cowbirds, which might pump surplus generalist cowbirds into more open habitats further slowing the coevolutionary process. As long as large forest tracts are a common part of the landscape, generalist parasitism may persist indefinitely.展开更多
Aims It is known that taxonomic diversity can be predicted by the spatial configuration of the habitat,in particular by its area and degree of iso-lation.However,taxonomic diversity is a poor predictor of ecosystem fu...Aims It is known that taxonomic diversity can be predicted by the spatial configuration of the habitat,in particular by its area and degree of iso-lation.However,taxonomic diversity is a poor predictor of ecosystem functioning.While functional diversity is strongly linked to the func-tionality and stability of ecosystems,little is known about how changes in the spatial configuration of the habitat affect functional diversity.In this study,we evaluated whether the spatial configuration of forest patches predicts the functional diversity of plants in a fragmented forest.Methods Five functional leaf traits(leaf dry matter content,leaf punch force,specific leaf area,leaf size and leaf thickness)were measured for 23 dominant plant species in 20 forest patches in a naturally fragmented forest on the yucatan Peninsula.Abundance-weighted multivariate and individual trait metrics of functional diversity were calculated and cor-related with size,degree of isolation and the shape of forest patches.Important Findings Patch shape was negatively correlated with multivariate and individ-ual trait(leaf dry matter content and leaf size)metrics of functional diversity.Patch isolation measures were also negatively correlated with individual trait(leaf dry matter content,leaf punch force and leaf size)metrics of functional diversity.In other words,greater patch shape irregularity and isolation degree impoverish plant func-tional variability.This is the first report of the negative effects of patch shape irregularity and isolation on the functional diversity of plant communities in a forest that has been fragmented for a long time.展开更多
Fragmentation influences the population dynamics and community composition of vertebrate animals.Fragmentation effects on rodent species in forests may,in turn,affect seed predation and dispersal of many plant s...Fragmentation influences the population dynamics and community composition of vertebrate animals.Fragmentation effects on rodent species in forests may,in turn,affect seed predation and dispersal of many plant species.Previous studies have usually addressed this question by monitoring a single species,and their results are contradictory.Very few studies have discussed the fragmentation effect on rodent-seed interaction among tree species with different seed sizes,which can significantly influence rodent foraging preference and seed fate.Given that fruiting periods for many coexisting plant species overlap,the changing foraging preference of rodents may substantially alter plant communities.In this study,we monitored the dispersal and predation by rodents of 9600 seeds,belonging to 4 Fagaceae species with great variation in seed size,in both the edge and interior areas of 12 tropical forest fragments ranging in area from 6.3 to 13872.9 ha in Southwest China.The results showed that forest fragmentation altered the seed fates of all the species,but the intensity and even the direction of fragmentation effect differed between species with large versus small seeds.For the seeds harvested,fragment size showed negative effects in forest interiors but positive effects at edges for the 2 large-seeded species,but showed little effect for the 2 small-seeded species.For the seeds removed,negative effects of fragment size only existed among the small-seeded species.The different fragmentation effect on seed dispersal and predation among plant species may,in turn,translate into the composition differences of the regeneration of the whole fragmented forest.展开更多
Aims Many pine populations in Canada have fragmented distributions resulting from the effects of glaciations,overharvesting and white pine blister rust infections.Forest fragmentation can modify gene flow and reduce g...Aims Many pine populations in Canada have fragmented distributions resulting from the effects of glaciations,overharvesting and white pine blister rust infections.Forest fragmentation can modify gene flow and reduce genetic diversity.Selective logging can reduce the density of trees,thereby altering mating patterns and increasing inbreeding.The hypothesis of the present study is that forest fragmentation will not increase inbreeding and will have no effect on genetic diversity parameters in the Canadian Pinus moniticola and P.strobus populations targeted because of(i)the long life span of the pine species,(ii)outbreeding and self-incompatibility of P.monticola and P.strobus and(iii)wind pollination resulting in high gene flow among populations.We studied the genetic diversity of P.strobus across its range in Canada,and we completed a detailed analysis of the genetic structure of P.monticola populations from western Canada using microsatellites genetic markers.Methods Seed samples from 10 P.monticola populations and 10 P.strobus populations were collected from western and eastern Canada,respectively.The mother trees included in seed lots were representative of each stand.Genomic DNA extracted from each sample was amplified with microsatellite primers.The intra-and interpopulation genetic diversity parameters were assessed using Popgene and Genepop softwares and the genetic distances among populations within each species using the PowerMarker software.展开更多
文摘This paper presents assessments of the fragmentation of the temperate and tropical forests in Mexico at the national level for two dates 1993 and 2002.The study was based on land use and vegetation cover data sets scale 1：250,000.Two broad forest types（Temperate Forests and Tropical Forests） and five more specific forest types（Broadleaf Forests,and Coniferous Forests;Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests,Tropical Sub-evergreen Forests,and Tropical Evergreen Forests） were defined to conduct the analyses.FragStats 3.3 was used to estimate nine metrics of the spatial pattern of the forests for each forest type and date considered.The results indicate that the land cover transitions that have occurred between 1993 and 2002 have resulted in more isolated forest patches with simpler shapes in both the Temperate and Tropical Forests.The remaining Tropical Forest patches have become smaller and more numerous.In contrast,the remaining Temperate Forest patches are fewer and on average larger.Of the more specific forest types defined in this study,the Broadleaf Forests have the highest indicators of fragmentation.However these forests are usually embedded or adjacent to Coniferous Forests.Of more concern for conservation purposes are the high values of fragmentation metrics found for the Tropical Evergreen Forests and Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests,because these forest types are usually surrounded by non-forest land covers or anthropogenic land uses.
基金financially supported by the 1000 Plan Recruitment Program of Global Experts of China to EG
文摘Owls have the potential to be keystone species for conservation in fragmented landscapes, as the absence of these predators could profoundly change community structure. Yet few studies have examined how whole communities of owls respond to fragmentation, especially in the tropics. When evaluating the effect of factors related to fragmentation, such as fragment area and distance to the edge, on these birds, it is also important in heterogeneous landscapes to ask how ＇location factors＇ such as the topography, vegetation and soil of the fragment predict their persistence. In Xishuangbanna, southwest China, we established 43 transects （200 mx60 m） within 20 forest fragments to sample nocturnal birds, both visually and aurally. We used a multimodel inference approach to identify the factors that influence owl species richness, and generalized linear mixed models to predict the occurrence probabilities of each species. We found that fragmentation factors dominated location factors, with larger fragments having more species, and four of eight species were significantly more likely to occur in large fragments. Given the potential importance of these birds on regulating small mammal and other animal populations, and thus indirectly affecting seed dispersal, we suggest further protection of large f ragments and programs to increase their connectivity to the remaining smaller fragments.
基金jointly funded by the Natural Science Foundation of China,grant number 31971577the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions(PAPD)。
文摘Natural forces and anthropogenic activities greatly alter land cover,deteriorate or alleviate forest fragmentation and affect biodiversity.Thus land cover and forest fragmentation dynamics have become a focus of concern for natural resource management agencies and biodiversity conservation communities.However,there are few land cover datasets and forest fragmentation information available for the Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve(DHR)of Nepal to develop targeted biodiversity conservation plans.In this study,these gaps were filled by characterizing land cover and forest fragmentation trends in the DHR.Using five Landsat images between 1993 and 2018,a support vector machine algorithm was applied to classify six land cover classes:forest,grasslands,barren lands,agricultural and built-up areas,water bodies,and snow and glaciers.Subsequently,two landscape process models and four landscape metrics were used to depict the forest fragmentation situations.Results showed that forest cover increased from 39.4%in 1993 to 39.8%in 2018.Conversely,grasslands decreased from 38.2%in 1993 to 36.9%in 2018.The forest shrinkage was responsible for forest loss during the period,suggesting that the loss of forest cover reduced the connectivity between forest and nonforested areas.Expansion was the dominant component of the forest restoration process,implying that it avoided the occurrence of isolated forests.The maximum value of edge density and perimeter area fractal dimension metrics and the minimum value of aggregation index were observed in 2011,revealing that forests in this year were most fragmented.These specific observations from the current analysis can help local authorities and local communities,who are highly dependent on forest resources,to better develop local forest management and biodiversity conservation plans.
基金the Department of Science and Technology,Govt.of India,DST-INSPIRE for providing fellowship(Sanction No.DST/INSPIRE Fellowship/2015/IF150127 dated 10.04.2015)during the tenure of the research work。
文摘Tropical forest cover change along with increasing fragmentation has detrimental effects on the global biodiversity.In the current study change in both forest cover and fragmentation of Koraput district have been assessed in the past three decades(1987-2017)and future decade(2017-2027),which has been modelled using logistic regression showing a gradual decrease in the forest cover and increase in fragmentation.The long term deforestation rates from 1987 to 2017(current period)and from 1987 to 2027(predicted period)were found to be-0.018 and-0.012,respectively.Out of the total geographical area,2027 number of grids(1 km^(2))out of 8856 grids were found to have shown extinction of forest in the study period.The conversion of forested lands into other land uses has been one of the major causes of deforestation in Koraput,especially because of the increasing mining activities and establishment of three major industries namely National Aluminium Company(NALCO),Damanjodi,Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL),Sunabeda and Ballarpur Industries Limited(BILT).The forest fragmentation reveals a negative trend,recording highest conversion from large core fragments to edge(191.33 km2)and the predicted period has also shown the same trend of negative change,which poses serious danger to the structure of the forests.Out of all the landscape matrices calculated,number of patches will increase to 214 in 2027 from 93 in 1987.In the test between geographically weighted regression(GWR)and ordinary least square regression(OLS),GWR was the better fit model for drawing a spatial relationship between forest cover and fragmentation changes.The study confirmed that the forest cover change has impacted the forest fragmentation in the study area.The programmes like REDD+should be implemented along with the experiences of Community Forest Management and the joint forest management should be intensified at community level in order to develop better management practices to conserve habitats in biodiversity rich areas.
基金The research reported in this manuscript is funded by the Joint Special Project on Agricultural Basic Research of Yunnan Province,China[Grant No.18YJAZH032]Humanities and Social Sciences Research Program of the Ministry of Education of China[Grant No.2018FG001-065]National Natural Science Foundation of China[Grant No.31760212].
文摘Forest fragmentation is an integral part of global change.Understanding forest fragmentation patterns and dynamics are of great significance for maintaining ecosystem stability.There are great differences in the interference of natural and human factors on forests in different towns of mountainous cities,and the characteristics of forest fragmentation are also obviously different.Forest fragmentation has been broadly studied,yet,it remains poorly understood at the township-scale within mountainous cities.In this study,the spatial form of forest landscape and forest fragmentation modes of towns were examined in Qujing City,Yunnan Province,China for the years of 2006 and 2016,relying heavily on the morphological spatial pattern analysis(MSPA)and K-means clustering algorithm.Results in 2016 showed that the forest landscape morphology of Qujing could be divided into seven classes:core,perforation,islet,bridge,edge,branch and ring;with landscape areas of 41.94%,1.22%,7.04%,11.12%,23.26%,11.74%and 3.68%respectively.Compared with 2006,the changes of landscape area were 1.71%,0.02%,0.30%,1.65%,0.20%,0.19%and 0.05%respectively.The townships in Qujing varied significantly in their landscape fragmentation patterns,and these patterns were spatially dependent.Different forest landscape forms have positive spatial correlations and differences.The forest fragmentation modes of towns can be divided into four types:Low anthropogenic towns,high anthropogenic towns,complex terrain towns and gentle terrain towns.Different ways of human activities play a decisive role in forest landscape fragmentation.The expansion of construction land and agricultural land intensifies forest fragmentation;however,man-made orderly and planned ecological restoration will greatly improve the forest coverage and improve the spatial form of urban forest landscape.
基金This research was supported by project number(RSP2024R384)King Saud University,Riyadh,Saudi Arabia.
文摘This study comprehensively assessed long-term vegetation changes and forest fragmentation dynamics in the Himalayan temperate region of Pakistan from 1989 to 2019.Four satellite images,including Landsat-5 TM and Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager(OLI),were chosen for subsequent assessments in October 1989,2001,2011 and 2019.The classified maps of 1989,2001,2011 and 2019 were created using the maximum likelihood classifier.Post-classification comparison showed an overall accuracy of 82.5%and a Kappa coefficient of 0.79 for the 2019 map.Results revealed a drastic decrease in closed-canopy and open-canopy forests by 117.4 and 271.6 km^(2),respectively,and an increase in agriculture/farm cultivation by 1512.8 km^(2).The two-way ANOVA test showed statistically significant differences in the area of various cover classes.Forest fragmentation was evaluated using the Landscape Fragmentation Tool(LFT v2.0)between 1989 and 2019.The large forest core(>2.00 km^(2))decreased from 149.4 to 296.7 km^(2),and a similar pattern was observed in medium forest core(1.00-2.00 km^(2))forests.On the contrary,the small core(<1.00 km^(2))forest increased from 124.8 to 145.3 km^(2) in 2019.The perforation area increased by 296.9 km^(2),and the edge effect decreased from 458.9 to 431.7 km^(2).The frequency of patches also increased by 119.1 km^(2).The closed and open canopy classes showed a decreasing trend with an annual rate of 0.58%and 1.35%,respectively.The broad implications of these findings can be seen in the studied region as well as other global ecological areas.They serve as an imperative baseline for afforestation and reforestation operations,highlighting the urgent need for efficient management,conservation,and restoration efforts.Based on these findings,sustainable land-use policies may be put into place that support local livelihoods,protect ecosystem services,and conserve biodiversity.
文摘Forest managers and policy makers increasingly demand to have access to estimates of forest fragmentation, human accessibility to forest areas and levels of anthropogenic pressure on the remaining forests to integrate them into monitoring systems, management and conservation plans. Forest fragmentation is defined as the breaking up of a forest unit, where the number of patches and the amount of expose edge increase while the amount of core area decreases. Forest fragmentation studies in Mexico have been limited to local or regional levels and have concen- trated only on specific forest types. This paper presents an assessment of the fragmentation of all forest types at the national level, their effective proximity to anthropogenic influences, and the development of an indica- tor of anthropogenic pressure on the forests areas. Broadleaf forests, tropical evergreen forests and tropical dry deciduous forests show the greatest fragmentation. Almost half （47%） of the tropical forests are in close effective proximity to anthropogenic influences and only 12% of their area can be considered isolated from anthropogenic influences. The values for the temperate forests are 23% and 29% respectively. Anthro- pogenic pressure in the immediate vicinity of anthropogenic activities is much higher in the tropical forests （75 in a scale 0-100） than in the tem- perate forests （30）. When considering these results jointly, the tropical forests, and more specifically, the tropical evergreen forests and tropical dry deciduous forests are under the greatest pressure and risks of degra- dation.
基金This research was performed while the lead author held a National Research Council (NRC) Research Associateship Program Award a postdoctoral program sponsored by the NRC in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey
文摘Geospatial patterns of forest fragmentation over the three traditional giant forested areas of China （Northeastern, southwestern and Southern China） were analyzed comparatively and reported based on a 250-m resolution land cover dataset. Specifically, the spatial patterns of forest fragmentation were characterized by combining geospatial metrics and forest fragmentation models. The driving forces resulting in the differences of the forest spatial patterns were also investigated. Results suggested that forests in southwest China had the highest severity of forest fragmentation, followed by south region and northeast region. The driving forces of forest fragmentation in China were primarily the giant population and improper exploitation of forests. In conclusion, the generated information in the study provided valuable insights and implications as to the fragmentation patterns and the conservation of hiodiversity or genes, and the use of the chosen geospatial metrics and forest fragmentation models was quite useful for depicting forest fragmentation patterns.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.31300526)National Key Technologies R&D Program of China(No.2012BAD22B04)Chinese Forest Ecosystem Research Network&GENE Award Funds on Ecological Paper
文摘Seed long-distance dispersal(LDD) events are typically rare, but are important in the population processes that determine large-scale forest changes and the persistence of species in fragmented landscapes. However, previous studies focused on species dispersed via animal-mediated LDD, and ignored those dispersed by wind. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of canopy openness, edge, seed source, and patch tree density on the LDD of seeds by wind in forest. We collected birch seeds, a typical wind-dispersed species, throughout a larch plantation. We then assessed the relationship between birch LDD and each factor that may influence LDD of seeds by wind including distance to edge, canopy openness size, distance to mature forest, and the tree density of the larch plantation. We used univariate linear regression analysis to assess the influence of those factors on birch LDD, and partial correlations to calculate the contribution of each factor to LDD. The results showed that both canopy openness and edge had significant influences on birch LDD. Specifically, a negative relationship was observed between distance to edge and birch LDD, whereas there was a positive correlation between canopy openness size and LDD. In contrast, the distance to the mature forest was not correlated with birch LDD. Our results suggest that patch tree density could potently affect the probability of LDD by wind vectors, which provides novel and revealing insights regarding the effect of fragmentation on wind dynamics. The data also provide compelling evidence for the previously undocumented effect of habitat fragmentation on wind-dispersed organisms. As such, these observations will facilitate reasonable conservation planning, which requires a detailed understanding of the mechanisms by which patch properties hamper the delivery of seeds of wind-dispersed plants to fragmented areas.
文摘Landscape conversion becomes a continuous process in a natural landscape for any strategic development.In a forest landscape mosaic,the conversion from non-forest land to forest land implies a constructive approach.Various bio-geographic processes are enriched and developed when the land was converted to forest land in a given landscape matrix.The present study evaluated how the increased forest cover improves the ecological quality of forest in Jhargram District of West Bengal State,India,from 1985 to 2015.The quality of forests includes dominance,fragmentation and connectivity,which are the basis ecological indicators of habitat structure.To address this issue,we extracted forest cover maps of 1985 and 2015 from land use/land cover classification.A grid framework was overlaid on these forest cover maps for patch-matrix model analysis.Reliable landscape ecological indices were used for the measurements of forest landscape quality in 1985 and 2015.Then a simple linear regression model was used to compare the results.Temporally,forest cover increased in Jhargram District from 1985 to 2015.The comparison of measurement indices depicts that although only a small amount of land was changed into forest land in the study area,this small change has greatly improved the structural compositional quality of the forest land.Compared with 1985,the forest land area increased by about 6930.56 hm^(2) in 2015.This increased forest cover improved the basic landscape ecological characters,such as inter patch connectivity,forest core area,forest habitat dependence,forest habitat dominance and forest edge effect.As a result,the ecosystem function in Jhargram District has been improved,which again attracts wildlife and enriches biodiversity.
文摘The forest ecosystems of the Lacs 2 commune (South-East, Togo) are undergoing severe degradation, which has not yet been documented. This study is carried out in order to assess and quantify the spatio-temporal dynamics of residual forests and to identify the determinants of deforestation in South East Togo. The methodological approach is based on the use of historical aerial photographs from 1976 and drone images from 2019 in addition to field investigations. Several spatial structure indices were also calculated in order to quantify the fragmentation of classes and of the forest landscape. The results show that the forest landscape is changing. The classes of forests, plantations and palm groves show an annual rate of decline of 7.5%, 0.8% and 9.4% respectively while the classes of savannahs, agglomerations, surface water and swamps increased by 16.4%, 0.4%, 0.7% and 0.1%. The results also reveal a high fragmentation within the forest, plantation, surface water and swamp class and moderate fragmentation for the savannah and palm trees classes. At the landscape level, the savannah class is dominant by more than 70%, thus making the landscape little diversified from an ecological point of view. The main driver of deforestation in the study area remains shifting slash-and-burn agriculture. It is accentuated by the establishment of perennial oil palm crops, which has influenced the annual deforestation rate by 0.72%.
文摘The road effect on small rodent population is investigated at 8 fragmented forest areas in the Baekdudaegan mountain range, South Korea in September 2001. We especially focused on the distribution and body condition of small rodents near the roads. Korean field mouse (Apodemus peninsulae) seems to be more sensitive to the existence of a road than striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius). Korean field mouse prefers interior forest area to around road. Striped field mouse is a habitat generalist and has wide distributional range around road, but Korean field mouse is forest-inhabiting species and their distribution is limited in forest area. These results suggest the effect of road is different on each small rodent species and their habitat preferences.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)through Young Scientist Grant No.31200173,P.R.ChinaCenter for Tropical Forest Science,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute,Panama
文摘We examined the effects of forest patch size on woody tree species richness and abundance in tropical montane evergreen forest patches of the Nilgiri region,south India. We sampled woody trees(>1 cm dbh) from 21 forest patches in the upper Nilgiri hills(> 2000 m elevation) and recorded a total of 35,146 individuals of 61 species, 45 genera and 30 families. Species richness and abundance of sapling/shrubs(≥ 1 to < 10 cm dbh)increased significantly with increasing patch size, but the species richness and abundance of small, medium and larger trees(≥ 10 to < 30, ≥ 30 to < 60 and ≥ 60 cm dbh,respectively) did not. Overall, forest interior species richness and abundance increased significantly with increasing patch size but edge species richness did not. Species richness and abundance of shade-tolerant and shade-demanding tree species also increased with increasing patch size. The abundance of zoochory dispersed tree species was significantly related to increasing patch size, but those dispersed by autochory did not display any clear relationship between patch size and species richness or abundance.Our findings suggest that with increasing forest patch area,tree compositional patterns may be driven by species specific shade-tolerance adaptations and dispersal patterns.Differential responses in these traits by the plant community within the individual habitat zones of forest edge and interiors likely plays a major role in determining the inherent plant community and thus the subsequent ecological processes of forest patches, including their responses to increasing patch area.
基金This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.31700468)the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province(Grant No.BK2017636).
文摘Background:Remnant microhabitats are important for bird habitat selection and plant regeneration in the fragmented habitat.However,empirical information on the consequences of how microhabitat use by birds affects the early recruitment of plants is lacking.Methods:In this study,we evaluated whether microhabitat selection by the Black Bulbul(Hypsipetes leucocephalus)(J.F.Gmelin,1789)impacts the early recruitment of the endangered tree species,the Chinese Yew(Taxus chinensis(Pilger)Rehd),in a fragmented forest over a 4-year period(2011–2012,2018–2019).Results:Our results showed the main factors affecting H.leucocephalus microhabitat selection were distance to the nearest T.chinensis mature tree,herb cover and density,leaf litter cover,and vegetation type.Moreover,the results of logistic regression also highlighted the importance of elevation,distance to light gap and roads,tree cover in bird microhabitat selection.Furthermore,the seed emergence rate in microhabitats used by birds did not differ from the natural forest,which was related to five factors of bird microhabitat.The Random Forest model showed that seedling emergence rate was increased with leaf litter cover and distance to fallen dead trees,but decreased in relation to herb cover,slope,and elevation.Conclusion:Our results highlight the importance of remnant microhabitats in fragmented forests for sustaining forest ecology and optimal management.The contribution of microhabitats used by birds to plant recruitment provides insights into how frugivore species contribute to plant regeneration,which should be incorporated in future conservation and management practices of fragmented forests.
基金supported by the Academy of Finland for the funding of the TAITATOO project
文摘Biodiversity assessment for tree species was conducted in three forest fragments ofthe Taita Hills, southeastern Kenya to compare species diversity between and within three exotic forest plantations of pine, eucalyptus, cypress and the indigenous forests. The study sites were： Ngangao （120 ha）, Chawia （86 ha）, and Mbololo （185 ha）. A Y-plot design was used to sample 32 plots comprising of 65 subplots. At each subplot, all juvenile trees of 5 cm and above in diameter at breast height （DBH） were enumerated and recorded by species. Tree regeneration （seedlings and saplings） was tallied by species. The Shannon-Weiner Index was used to calculate species diversity and evenness. The derived Shannon’s indices were further converted into effective numbers to show the magnitude of differences in species biodiversities. To evaluate dif-ferences in species diversities, a one way ANOVA was conducted and to separate the means, Tukey＇s HSD and Duncan’s tests were used for even and uneven number of samples respectively. Jaccard’s similarity index was used to assess species similarities. There were more than 58 species whose stem densities varied between 10 and 2 000 trees per hectare.There were significant differences in species diversities between forest types and sites; the indigenous forests showed higher diversities than the exotic forests. Similarly, Chawia sites had higher species diversity than both Ngangao and Mbololo. Chawia also had a higher number of regen-erated species than the two other sites, including species such as Xymalos monospora, Rapanea melanophloeos, and Syzygium guineense, which are associated with low levels of disturbance. These findings indicate that the indigenous forest is more diverse in species as would be expected in the tropics. The high species diversity in Chawia could be accounted for by the higher levels of disturbance it underwent, unlike the two other sites. The regeneration of species associated with low levels of disturbance found in the exotic plots of Chawia show the likelihood of presence of long-term soil seed banks. The low regeneration in the exotics plots observed in Ngangao and Mbololo are likely due to the absence of seed banks since some of the plantations were established on bare land （in Ngango）, or the inherent physiology （allelopathy） of some of species repelling the regeneration of others.
基金supported by the project“EVA4.0”,No.CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000803 financed by OP RDE of the Czech Republicthe project of the National Agency for Agriculture Research of the Czech Republic No.QK23020039lthe Technology Agency of the Czech Republic under grant No.SS02030018.
文摘Natural disturbances have significantly intensified across European forests,with bark beetle outbreaks being the most rapidly escalating disturbance type.Since 2018,the Czech Republic(Central Europe)has become a Europe's disturbance epicentre due to the unprecedented outbreak of spruce bark beetle Ips typographus in the forests dominated by Norway spruce Picea abies.Here we provide novel insights into the impacts and dynamics of this disturbance from 2016 to 2022.The investigation is based on annual forest change maps developed by the classification of optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite imagery.We identified seven major outbreak foci across the country,where the outbreaks culminated between 2018 and 2021.Most of the outbreak waves exhibited a symmetric shape,characterized by a three-year build-up phase,a single culmination year,and the subsequent decline.The substantial proportion of spruce remaining in the outbreak areas after the culmination point implies that resource depletion is an improbable cause for the outbreak's retreat.In the year of retreat,the proportion of spruce in the forest ranged between 26%and 36%in most of the outbreak areas.The disturbance dynamics manifested a transition from the emergence of new tree mortality spots in the early outbreak phase to their short-range expansion,suggesting density-dependent changes in bark beetle dispersal during the studied period.The core disturbance zone,pinpointed in 2022,covered an area of 9,000 km^(2) and experienced a 38%loss in forest cover.Within this area,forest fragmentation increased significantly,leading to a greater forest patch complexity and reduced connectivity among the patches.The presented findings can serve as a glimpse into the future for other European regions,revealing the potential impacts of natural disturbances amplified by climate change.
文摘Unlike most brood parasites, several species of cowbird (Molothrus) are generalists that parasitize multiple host species across their range and within the same communities; likewise, there is little evidence that individuals within a population specialize on host species. This situation has variously been attributed to the recency of cowbird evolution (the 'evolutionary lag' hypothesis) or to hidden costs of rejection by hosts (the 'equilibrium' hypothesis). Both hypotheses have some support as cowbirds are indeed a relatively young clade compared with more specialized cuckoos and cowbirds are capable of sophisticated behaviors such as retaliation against rejection ('mafia' behaviors) that would select for acceptance of cowbird eggs. Nevertheless, many species in the Americas have evolved specialized defenses against cowbird parasitism, almost all of which live in more open habitats (e. g., grasslands, shrublands, riparian strips), which indicates that coevolutionary processes can operate in ways that select for host defenses in spite of cowbird counterdefenses. We propose that the structure of landscapes in North America may explain why forest-nesting birds lack defenses against parasitism and reinforce the long-term maintenance of generalized brood parasitism in cowbirds. Because cowbirds require open habitats in which to feed, they are rare or absent in large forest tracts, which dominate much of the forest cover of the Americas. These tracts act as 'source habitats' that produce surplus young that recolonize populations in smaller, fragmented forest patches in which rates of both cowbird parasitism and nest predation are very high ('sink' habitats). Evolution of antiparasite adaptations would be very slow in this situation because most hosts are produced in areas where there is little or no cowbird parasitism. In addition, the interplay of host breeding dispersal, source-sink metapopulation dynamics, and fragmented forest habitat could further deter the evolution of host defenses against parasitism. Therefore, as long as large forest tracts remain widespread in North America, most forest birds will likely continue to lack defenses against cowbird parasitism, guaranteeing a steady supply of na ve hosts in forest habitats, even in fragmented landscapes. This situation will, in turn, favor host generalist cowbirds that actively avoid more open habitats in favor of parasitizing forest bird communities. These forest communities may also act as source populations for cowbirds, which might pump surplus generalist cowbirds into more open habitats further slowing the coevolutionary process. As long as large forest tracts are a common part of the landscape, generalist parasitism may persist indefinitely.
基金This work was supported by the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología(CONACyT)[grant numbers:CB-2012-177680project CB-2014-243454,INFR-2013-204735]。
文摘Aims It is known that taxonomic diversity can be predicted by the spatial configuration of the habitat,in particular by its area and degree of iso-lation.However,taxonomic diversity is a poor predictor of ecosystem functioning.While functional diversity is strongly linked to the func-tionality and stability of ecosystems,little is known about how changes in the spatial configuration of the habitat affect functional diversity.In this study,we evaluated whether the spatial configuration of forest patches predicts the functional diversity of plants in a fragmented forest.Methods Five functional leaf traits(leaf dry matter content,leaf punch force,specific leaf area,leaf size and leaf thickness)were measured for 23 dominant plant species in 20 forest patches in a naturally fragmented forest on the yucatan Peninsula.Abundance-weighted multivariate and individual trait metrics of functional diversity were calculated and cor-related with size,degree of isolation and the shape of forest patches.Important Findings Patch shape was negatively correlated with multivariate and individ-ual trait(leaf dry matter content and leaf size)metrics of functional diversity.Patch isolation measures were also negatively correlated with individual trait(leaf dry matter content,leaf punch force and leaf size)metrics of functional diversity.In other words,greater patch shape irregularity and isolation degree impoverish plant func-tional variability.This is the first report of the negative effects of patch shape irregularity and isolation on the functional diversity of plant communities in a forest that has been fragmented for a long time.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31770570,31470494)the CAS“Light of West China”Program,and the Youth。
文摘Fragmentation influences the population dynamics and community composition of vertebrate animals.Fragmentation effects on rodent species in forests may,in turn,affect seed predation and dispersal of many plant species.Previous studies have usually addressed this question by monitoring a single species,and their results are contradictory.Very few studies have discussed the fragmentation effect on rodent-seed interaction among tree species with different seed sizes,which can significantly influence rodent foraging preference and seed fate.Given that fruiting periods for many coexisting plant species overlap,the changing foraging preference of rodents may substantially alter plant communities.In this study,we monitored the dispersal and predation by rodents of 9600 seeds,belonging to 4 Fagaceae species with great variation in seed size,in both the edge and interior areas of 12 tropical forest fragments ranging in area from 6.3 to 13872.9 ha in Southwest China.The results showed that forest fragmentation altered the seed fates of all the species,but the intensity and even the direction of fragmentation effect differed between species with large versus small seeds.For the seeds harvested,fragment size showed negative effects in forest interiors but positive effects at edges for the 2 large-seeded species,but showed little effect for the 2 small-seeded species.For the seeds removed,negative effects of fragment size only existed among the small-seeded species.The different fragmentation effect on seed dispersal and predation among plant species may,in turn,translate into the composition differences of the regeneration of the whole fragmented forest.
文摘Aims Many pine populations in Canada have fragmented distributions resulting from the effects of glaciations,overharvesting and white pine blister rust infections.Forest fragmentation can modify gene flow and reduce genetic diversity.Selective logging can reduce the density of trees,thereby altering mating patterns and increasing inbreeding.The hypothesis of the present study is that forest fragmentation will not increase inbreeding and will have no effect on genetic diversity parameters in the Canadian Pinus moniticola and P.strobus populations targeted because of(i)the long life span of the pine species,(ii)outbreeding and self-incompatibility of P.monticola and P.strobus and(iii)wind pollination resulting in high gene flow among populations.We studied the genetic diversity of P.strobus across its range in Canada,and we completed a detailed analysis of the genetic structure of P.monticola populations from western Canada using microsatellites genetic markers.Methods Seed samples from 10 P.monticola populations and 10 P.strobus populations were collected from western and eastern Canada,respectively.The mother trees included in seed lots were representative of each stand.Genomic DNA extracted from each sample was amplified with microsatellite primers.The intra-and interpopulation genetic diversity parameters were assessed using Popgene and Genepop softwares and the genetic distances among populations within each species using the PowerMarker software.
