Conservation of small and medium-sized mammals following native woodland regrowth: A case study in a long-term UNESCO Biosphere Reserve,Argentina

Land uses such as cattle ranching require important decisions concerning the protection of habitats and species. This is especially true in arid lands and typically involves habitat regrowth as well as the establishment of protected areas. However, the manner in which species respond to the protected area or to the surrounding matrix may vary depending on their ecology, particularly habitat requirements. The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of one such protected dryland area (MaB Reserve of Ñacuñán) and adjacent rangelands in the central Monte Desert of Argentina. More specifically, how effective it is in ensuring the conservation of small and medium-sized mammals. Mammal richness and abundance estimated from both trapping and indirect signs were compared in different habitats inside and outside the Reserve. After over 50 years of livestock exclusion in Ñacuñán, our results showed significant changes in habitat structure and mammal diversity between protected and unprotected areas. Species associated with high plant cover were found inside the Reserve, while the surrounding areas were occupied by those adapted to open habitats. The presence of the endangered Dolichotis patagonum in rangelands outside the Reserve demonstrates that unprotected areas play a major role in conserving species diversity.     

Comparing biodiversity between protected savanna and adjacent non-protected farmland in the southern Kalahari

In this study we investigated the effect of different land use options (wildlife versus livestock) on species richness of plants and reptiles in the protected Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (KTP) versus adjacent non-protected farmland within the same savanna habitat type (Aoub dune veld) in the southern Kalahari, South Africa. Our results show that both plant and reptile species richness as well as plant cover and reptile abundance was significantly higher in the protected KTP than in the non-protected farmland. The higher proportion of shrub but lower proportions of perennial grass cover, herb cover, and herb species richness in the farmland can be explained by higher stocking rates and the differences in feeding behaviour between native wild ungulates (e.g. Antidorcas marsupialis, Oryx gazella) and livestock (mainly sheep). The reptile’s prey availability and microhabitats (perennial grass tussocks and rodent burrows) for thermoregulation and protection against predators were significantly lower in the farmland. To conclude, our results clearly show that long term effects of different land use options (wildlife in protected KTP versus extensive livestock production in the non-protected farmland) even within the same habitat type have led to significant changes in vegetation composition, availability of microhabitat structures and in the reptile community.     

中国水禽的保护生物学研究进展

自1971年《湿地公约》签署以来,水禽的生态与保护问题得到了科研工作者和管理人员前所未有的关注,进而使水禽的保护生物学研究快速发展。依据已有的资料,并结合近几年的研究工作,从保护生物学的角度论述中国水禽的研究进展情况,包括中国水禽的保护种群现状、栖息地研究、目前面临的危胁、保护方式及有关保护的理论、方法等,分析了保护中存在的问题及对策,提出了目前和将来一段时间中国水禽保护生物学的研究趋势。     

Piospheres in the dry Chaco. Contrasting effects of livestock puestos on forest vegetation and bird communities

In arid and semiarid ecosystems, the congregation of livestock around water sources gives rise to a utilization gradient termed the “piosphere pattern”. We evaluated piospheres surrounding the puestos livestock management system in the Chaco dry forests of Argentina. We sampled vegetation and bird communities around eighteen puestos and we fitted curves to describe the responses of vegetation and bird community variables to the distance from the puestos. We used Partial Canonical Correspondence Analysis to evaluate the organization of bird guilds constrained by vegetation variables and the distance from the puestos. Vegetation structure increased with the distance from the puestos. In contrast, the abundance of most bird's guilds decreased with distance from the puestos, likely in response to the gradient in resources associated to the water source, food and changes in vegetation. Rare or low abundance bird species peaked at intermediate or long distances from the puestos. Our results concur with studies characterizing the puestos as a focus of vegetation degradation, but the analysis of the avian community shows that the nature of this piosphere is more complex, as is a favorable habitat for some ecological groups.     

Sedimentary macrofossil records reveal ecological change in English lakes: implications for conservation

Aquatic macrophytes play a key role in providing habitat, refuge and food for a range of biota in shallow lakes. However, many shallow lakes have experienced declines in macrophyte vegetation in recent decades, principally due to eutrophication. As changes in macrophyte composition and abundance can affect overall ecological structure and function of a lake, an assessment of the timing and nature of such changes is crucial to our understanding of the wider lake ecosystem. In the typical absence of historical plant records, the macro-remains of macrophytes preserved in lake sediments can be used to assess long-term changes in aquatic vegetation. We generated recent (150–200 years) plant macrofossil records for six English lakes subject to conservation protection to define past macrophyte communities, assess trajectories of ecological change and consider the implications of our findings for conservation targets and strategies. The data for all six lakes reveal a diverse submerged macrophyte community, with charophytes as a key component, in the early part of the sedimentary records. The stratigraphies indicate considerable change to the aquatic vegetation over the last two centuries with a general shift towards species more typically associated with eutrophic conditions. A common feature is the decline in abundance of low-growing charophytes and an increase in tall canopy-forming angiosperms such as fine-leaved Potamogeton species, Zannichellia palustris and Callitriche species. We hypothesise, based on findings from long-term datasets and palaeoecological records from enriched shallow lakes where plants are now absent, that the observed shifts provide a warning to managers that the lakes are on a pathway to complete macrophyte loss such that nutrient load reduction is urgently needed. It is the sound understanding of present-day plant ecology that affords such reliable interpretation of the fossil data which, in turn, provide valuable context for current conservation decisions.     

Effects of habitat degradation on the lizard assemblage in the Arid Chaco,central Argentina

Habitat degradation in the Chaco has been intense and widespread since European settlement. Detailed knowledge about its effects on the Chaco fauna is scarce despite the critical importance of such information for biodiversity conservation. The effects of habitat degradation on the Arid Chaco lizard assemblage were evaluated by comparing species richness and abundance in four sites along a gradient of increasing vegetation degradation. Two undisturbed sites (primary forest and grassland), and two sites with different degrees of forest degradation (moderate and severe) were selected. Ten lizard species were recorded (nine were trapped and one was sighted), totaling 1122 captures. Abundance of Homonota fasciata, Leiosaurus paronae, Liolaemus chacoensis and Stenocercus doellojuradoi was highest in the primary forest, with significantly lower values in the remaining three sites. Teius teyou and Tropidurus etheridgei were more abundant in the moderately and severely degraded forests than in the primary forest. Management implications of our results in terms of lizard biodiversity in the Chaco are analyzed.     

Using MaxEnt Model to Predict Suitable Habitat Changes for Key Protected Species in Koshi Basin,Central Himalayas

Because of its landscape heterogeneity, Koshi Basin (KB) is home to one of the world’s most abundant, diverse group of species. Habitat change evaluations for key protected species are very important for biodiversity protection in this region. Based on current and future world climate and land cover data, MaxEnt model was used to simulate potential habitat changes for key protected species. The results shows that the overall accuracy of the model is high (AUC > 0.9), suggesting that the MaxEnt-derived distributions are a close approximation of real-world distribution probabilities. The valley around Chentang Town and Dram Town in China, and Lamabagar and the northern part of Landtang National Park in Nepal are the most important regions for the protection of the habitat in KB. The habitat area of Grus nigricollis, Panax pseudoginseng, and Presbytis entellus is expected to decrease in future climate and land cover scenarios. More focus should be placed on protecting forests and wetlands since these are the main habitats for these species.     

Community succession along a chronosequence of vegetation restoration on sand dunes in Horqin Sandy Land

Species diversity influences plant community structure and function. This paper examines the patterns and dynamics of species diversity along a chronosequence of vegetation recovery on sand dunes in a semi-arid region to assess the probability of vegetation recovery via succession, and provides some implications for revegetation practices in this region. Species richness and diversity indices gradually increased with succession, except for a decline in the community of 18 years, which is attributed to the strong dominance of Artemisia halodendron. In each stage of the restoration process, there was a dominant species with particular life history traits which contribute to the dominance of this species. Species replacement and habitat changes were the main drivers of succession, while plant species and community succession drove the process of vegetation recovery. Results showed that restoration via succession holds promise for vegetation recovery and desertification control within protected, fenced enclosures.     

南京新济洲湿地生态恢复研究

以新济洲湿地为例,研究了长江洲滩湿地生态恢复的内涵,提出了生态恢复工程方案。新济洲湿地位于长江下游南京市江宁区段,由于自然因素和人为因素的影响,该湿地结构和功能发生了明显的变化。通过对新济洲湿地的野外研究,分析了退化湿地生态系统的特征,从湿地生境、生物、结构与功能方面阐述了生态恢复的总体构想,研究了湿地恢复的工程手段与可持续利用模式。新济洲湿地生境恢复包括栖息地、基底、水体和土壤的恢复;湿地生物恢复途径有提高植被覆盖率、控制外来物种和保护野生动植物;湿地结构与功能恢复内容包括生态序列重建,生态系统、湿地景观与生物多样性恢复。湿地恢复的工程手段有景观建设、功能区建设、生态定位站、血吸虫防治、植被移植、防护林和河道整治等;湿地可持续利用模式包括桑基鱼塘、生态农业与生态旅游。     

Effects of climate change and urban development on the distribution and conservation of vegetation in a Mediterranean type ecosystem

Climate and land-use changes are projected to threaten biodiversity over this century. However, few studies have considered the spatial and temporal overlap of these threats to evaluate how ongoing land-use change could affect species ranges projected to shift outside conservation areas. We evaluated climate change and urban development effects on vegetation distribution in the Southwest ecoregion, California Floristic Province, USA. We also evaluated how well a conservation network protects suitable habitat for rare plant species under these change projections and identified primary sources of uncertainty. We used consensus-based maps from three species distribution models (SDMs) to project current and future suitable habitat for 19 species representing different functional types (defined by fire-response – obligate seeders, resprouting shrubs – and life forms – herbs, subshrubs), and range sizes (large/common, small/rare). We used one spatially explicit urban growth projection; two climate models, emission scenarios, and probability thresholds applied to SDMs; and high-resolution (90 m) environmental data. We projected that suitable habitat could disappear for 4 species and decrease for 15 by 2080. Averaged centroids of suitable habitat (all species) were projected to shift tens (up to hundreds) of kilometers. Herbs showed a small-projected response to climate change, while obligate seeders could suffer the greatest losses. Several rare species could lose suitable habitat inside conservation areas while increasing area outside. We concluded that (i) climate change is more important than urban development for vegetation habitat loss in this ecoregion through 2080 due to diminishing amounts of undeveloped private land in this region; (ii) the existing conservation plan, while extensive, may be inadequate to protect plant diversity under projected patterns of climate change and urban development, (iii) regional assessments of the dynamics of the drivers of biodiversity change based on high-resolution environmental data and consensus predictive mapping, such as this study, are necessary to identify the species expected to be the most vulnerable and to meaningfully inform regional-scale conservation.     

Conflation and aggregation of spatial data improve predictive models for species with limited habitats: A case of the threatened yellow-billed cuckoo in Arizona,USA

Riparian vegetation provides important wildlife habitat in the southwestern United States, but limited distributions and spatial complexity often leads to inaccurate representation in maps used to guide conservation. We test the use of data conflation and aggregation on multiple vegetation/land-cover maps to improve the accuracy of habitat models for the threatened western yellow-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus occidentalis). We used species observations (n = 479) from a state-wide survey to develop habitat models from 1) three vegetation/land-cover maps produced at different geographic scales ranging from state to national, and 2) new aggregate maps defined by the spatial agreement of cover types, which were defined as high (agreement = all data sets), moderate (agreement ≥ 2), and low (no agreement required). Model accuracies, predicted habitat locations, and total area of predicted habitat varied considerably, illustrating the effects of input data quality on habitat predictions and resulting potential impacts on conservation planning. Habitat models based on aggregated and conflated data were more accurate and had higher model sensitivity than original vegetation/land-cover, but this accuracy came at the cost of reduced geographic extent of predicted habitat. Using the highest performing models, we assessed cuckoo habitat preference and distribution in Arizona and found that major watersheds containing high-probably habitat are fragmented by a wide swath of low-probability habitat. Focus on riparian restoration in these areas could provide more breeding habitat for the threatened cuckoo, offset potential future habitat losses in adjacent watershed, and increase regional connectivity for other threatened vertebrates that also use riparian corridors.     

A 10-Year Study on Techniques for Vegetation Restoration in a Desertified Salt Lake Area

Vegetation restoration is one of the most common and effective ways to combat desertification and prevent adjacent areas from sand encroachment in many of the desertified regions of the world. However, vegetation restoration in desertified regions is very difficult because of low rainfall, the mobile ground surface, and cost. An effective, low-cost method of afforestation is urgently required. To determine such a method, a 10-year study was carried out in the Jilantai Salt Lake area. Five different afforestation areas were established: a ‘comparison area,’ a ‘land enclosure area,’ a ‘land enclosure + irrigation area,’ a ‘leveled-afforestation area’ (the dune areas were leveled and then planted with seedlings with added irrigation), and a ‘protected afforestation area’ (the dune areas were planted with seedlings, and the surviving natural vegetation was protected as much as possible). Vegetation-related parameters (survival rate, height, trunk diameter, coverage, canopy size, and density) and environment-related factors (relative humidity, wind velocity, and amount of sand encroachment) were measured by standard methods. Results show that the protected afforestation method had the following advantages: (1) the survival rate was higher for seedlings planted in the protected afforestation area than in the leveled afforestation area; (2) vigor (height, trunk diameter, coverage, and canopy size) was better in seedlings planted in the protected afforestation area than in the leveled afforestation area, especially in the beginning period of revegetation; (3) coverage (of individual species, of all planted vegetation, and of all vegetation) was larger in the protected afforestation area than in the leveled afforestation area; (4) density of naturally germinated plant species was higher in the protected afforestation area than in the other areas, showing that the protected afforestation method provided a suitable growing environment not only for planted species but also for naturally growing species; (5) in the protected vegetation area, relative humidity of air increased and wind velocity was greatly reduced; (6) after the establishment of vegetation by the protected afforestation method, sand encroachment into the salt lake area was significantly reduced. These results suggest that protected afforestation is an effective method of vegetation rehabilitation that has the potential not only to be applied to arid lands in China but also to desertified areas throughout the world; (7) cost-effective calculation shows that the leveled afforestation area costs much more than other areas.     

闽江河口湿地的生物多样性及其可持续发展策略

闽江河口湿地共有鸟类118种,其中有冬 候鸟72种,夏候鸟12种,留鸟19种、旅鸟15种。 属于国家重点保护的珍稀鸟类14种,福建省重点 保护的鸟类21种,并有中日或中澳协定保护的鸟 类104种。共有维管束植物109科294属408种(含 亚种、变种)。有红树林、沙生植被、浅水植被、 沼泽植被4种植被类型和18个群系、22个群丛。有 大型底栖无脊椎动物61种,隶属于4门30科50属, 其中,节肢动物甲壳纲的种类最多,有13科23属 31种,其次为软体动物,有14科24属27种,有 浮游生物176种,其中浮游藻类97种,隶属于5门 45属;浮游动物有79种,隶属于6门62属。根据 闽江河口天然湿地类型,生物多样性的丰度、多 度、生态功能,将其分为3个层次进行保护和开发 利用:即重点保护类;保护性开发类;适度开发 类。     

Patterns of lizard species richness within National Parks and Biosphere Reserves across North America's deserts

Warm deserts world-wide provide habitats for rich lizard species assemblages; North American deserts are no exception, however the desert regions of the US and Mexico are experiencing increasing habitat changes from multiple anthropogenic sources. Our objective here was to document current lizard species richness patterns across the North American deserts within the existing network of conservation areas. We identified 110 lizard species occurring across one or more of the 19 sites we analyzed. Three species richness hot spots were identified; a northern Baja California faunal extension into southern California in the US, and in Mexico, two sites within the state of Coahuila, as well as high endemism in the Cape Region of Baja California Sur. Species richness was associated with sites where desert ecoregions overlap and with insular isolation. Our uncertainty regarding how species will respond to the multifaceted aspects of global change is such that large protected natural areas with complex topography may be the most effective strategy for protecting desert lizards along with overall biodiversity. The 19 sites we analyzed represent the cores of a more robust conservation network that will be needed for the protection of biodiversity across North American Deserts.     

Endemic avifaunal biodiversity and tropical forest loss in Makira, a mountainous Pacific island

Anthropogenic habitat changes and the introduction of pigs, dogs, cats and rats have caused a catastrophic decline in the terrestrial biodiversity of Pacific archipelagos. At present, economic globalization and an increased demand for timber are promoting industrial logging and plantation expansion. Commercial logging can be sustainable but in practice it more often leads to land degradation, especially on small flat islands. On large and mountainous islands, however, more modest impacts can be expected as the narrowly endemic species tend to inhabit montane forests where logging is difficult. In this study we use ornithological data collected at different elevations to assess the extent to which the avifauna of Makira, a large mountainous island in Melanesia, will be affected by deforestation of the lowlands, most of which are under timber concessions. Our data suggest that a majority of the endemic bird species use lowland forest to some extent and that this may even apply to species hitherto associated with montane forest. If current commercial forestry programmes are continued, the forest habitat may be disturbed or lost over large parts of Makira, potentially undermining the natural resource base for the local subsistence economy, exacerbating climate change and threatening the integrity of one of the most important areas for biodiversity conservation on earth. Our study highlights the importance of understanding the habitat requirements of endemic species and the urgency of establishing and effectively managing community-based protected areas in suitable lowland forests of the Pacific.     

The effects of exclosures in restoring degraded semi-arid vegetation in communal grazing lands in northern Ethiopia

Rangeland degradation is a widespread problem throughout sub Saharan Africa and its restoration is a challenge for the management of many semi-arid areas. This study assessed the effectiveness of exclosures that have been protected from livestock from 5 to 15 years in restoring vegetation in northern Ethiopia. The species composition and diversity of herbaceous and woody plants were higher in the exclosures than in the grazed areas. Species richness responded positively to an increase in herbaceous productivity. The mean aboveground biomass measured inside the exclosures was more than twice that of the adjacent grazed areas and more biomass was produced from the young than the old exclosures. Stem height, canopy height, canopy cover, and browsing capacity of woody species were higher in the exclosures than in the grazed areas. Our study shows that degraded semi-arid vegetation is able to recover in a relatively short time when protected. Extended protection, beyond 8–15 years, reduces herbaceous species diversity and in one of the sites also the herbaceous biomass. Therefore, we suggest a slight shift in management where exclosures protected for longer periods may be moderately used by livestock.     

Assessing the effectiveness of protecting reserves for nature assets in China

Evaluating the effectiveness of protecting nature assets is a vital component of responsive, pro-active management of protected areas. It is important to protect reserves of geological (including fossils) assets as a means to also protect national and natural heritage. At the end of 2013, 2669 protected areas had been established in China and 123 of them are reserves for nature assets. This paper builds an evaluation framework for protection effectiveness of these assets. The current elements and characteristics for effective protection are analyzed, along with an analysis of existing problems so as to construct a scientific approach to protect these assets. The influencing elements and characteristics for effective protection of nature asset reserves are included in an index evaluation system for effective protection in such areas, which contains four parts-target layer, evaluation criteria, evaluation indexes, and evaluation parameters-based on related documents and files. For the target layer, it includes nature asset evaluation and management evaluation. In the end, it is discussed how to build a comprehensive evaluation model and achieve an effective quantitative evaluation.     

Effect of sheep grazing on rangeland plant communities: Case study of landscape depressions within Syrian arid steppes

The arid rangelands of Syria cover over half of the nation's landmass. Punctuating this landscape are broad, dry basins, or wadis, and gentle landscape depressions that exhibit localized elevated vegetation productivity and unique edaphic and hydrologic properties. Historically, continuous heavy grazing and aggressive agricultural activities resulted in excessive ecological degradation within these sensitive environments. Information is needed to determine the influence of livestock grazing on plant communities in landscape depressions and the impact that this has on ecosystem resilience. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the effect of short-term sheep grazing on vegetation characteristics and plant community structure within depressions, and to provide recommendations for improved grazing management. Study plots were randomly located within paired topographic depressions located in northwestern Syria. Vegetation samples were collected along transects including plant biomass, plant density, herbaceous cover, and species diversity. In grazed plots, plant biomass was 49 g DM/m² compared to 234.4 g DM/m² in protected plots. Average plant density was 65 plants/m² in grazed plots compared to 1013 plants/m² in protected plots (P = 0.001). Herbaceous cover was 175% higher on protected sites compared to grazed plots. Average diversity (Shannon–Wiener index value) was 0.8 in grazed plots compared to 2.3 in protected plots. These results suggest that plant community structure will be impacted from short-term grazing and that a site's ability to positively respond to disturbance over time may be limited. We conclude that carefully planned grazing management should result in greater plant productivity and diversity.     

Assessment of grazing effect on sheep fescue (Festuca valesiaca) dominated steppe rangelands, in the semi-arid Central Anatolian region of Turkey

In the semi-arid steppe rangelands of Central Turkey, Festuca valesiaca and Thymus sipyleus ssp rosulans have become the dominant species on degraded pastures. We hypothesized that decreases in species richness and abundance are correlated with increasing prevalence of these two species. Therefore, our objectives were to determine whether there are patterns in examined vegetation; how dominant species contribute to these patterns; and how patterns differ between grazed and ungrazed vegetation. We determined that protection from grazing increased species richness. Grazing significantly changed composition through decreasing total plant, forb, grass and F. valesiaca covers, while substantially increasing T. sipyleus cover. Topography, soil and grazing appear to impact the dominance of plant communities where F. valesiaca and T. sipyleus prevail. These two dominant species had a significant effect in shaping vegetation patterns. Based on regression analysis, alterations in species richness with changes in cover of forbs and shrubs were evident, and spatial heterogeneity of F. valesiaca and T. sipyleus indicated unstable vegetative patterns in heavily grazed pastures and successional changes in protected pastures. Our study results identify F. valesiaca and T. sipyleus as indicator species of vegetation suppression in condition assessments of degraded steppe rangelands.     

The impact of African elephants on Acacia tortilis woodland in northern Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe

We investigated the impact of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) on the structure and composition of Acacia tortilis woodland in northern Gonarezhou National Park, southeast Zimbabwe. A. tortilis woodland was stratified into high, medium and low elephant utilisation categories based on evidence of elephant habitat use as determined through dung-count surveys in relation to distance of woodland patches from perennial and natural surface water sources. The following variables were recorded in each study plot: tree height, species name, number of species, plant damage, basal circumference and number of stems per plant. A total of 824 woody plants and 26 woody species were recorded from the sampled A. tortilis woodland patches. Mean tree densities, basal areas, tree heights and species diversity were lower in areas with medium and high elephant utilisation as compared to low elephant utilisation areas. Plants damaged by elephants increased with increasing elephant utilisation. The study findings suggest that A. tortilis woodland is gradually being transformed into an open woodland. We recommended that protected area management in arid and semi-arid areas should consider (i) formulating clear thresholds of potential concern to allow for the conservation of sensitive woodlands such as A. tortilis woodlands and (ii) establishing long-term vegetation monitoring programmes.