Urban forest fragmentation impoverishes native mammalian biodiversity in the tropics

The family Psychodidae has a cosmopolitan distribution with members that occur in many habitats, mainly in humid environments, and is most diverse in the tropics. Subfamilies Sycoracinae and Phlebotominae have females with hematophagous habits and the latter studied more due to medical and veterinary interest, since it includes species that can transmit diseases to animals and humans. The knowledge about the sand fly fauna in a region is extremely important for adequate monitoring and control measures for leishmaniasis. Thus, the objective of this study was to characterize Psychodidae fauna in relation to richness, abundance and molecular identification of Leishmania spp. in sand flies in southern Santa Catarina, Brazil. The ollections were carried out between 2015 and 2016 in three cities in Santa Catarina, Brazil. Samples were taken near feeding places for domestic animals, urban forest and peridomicile areas. The insects were identified and female sand flies were submitted to molecular analysis to detect the presence of Leishmania spp.. A total of 4,200 insects were collected, 4,193 from the Sycoracinae subfamily and 7 Phlebotominae from the Nyssomyia neivai and Pintomyia fisheri species. Of the studied municipalities, sandflies were registered in Tubarão and Imaruí and the most frequent habitat was the peridomicile areas. No samples were positive for Leishmania spp. In conclusion, the work highlights the presence of two species of sandflies, which were recorded for the first time in southern Santa Catarina.

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Persistent collapse of biomass in Amazonian forest edges following deforestation leads to unaccounted carbon losses

Science Advances ◽

10.1126/sciadv.aaz8360 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (40) ◽

pp. eaaz8360 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Celso H. L. Silva Junior ◽

Luiz E. O. C. Aragão ◽

Liana O. Anderson ◽

Marisa G. Fonseca ◽

Yosio E. Shimabukuro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Tropical Forests ◽

Forest Fragmentation ◽

Edge Effect ◽

Carbon Emissions ◽

Forest Edges ◽

Amazonian Forest ◽

Primary Driver ◽

The Tropics ◽

Carbon Losses

Deforestation is the primary driver of carbon losses in tropical forests, but it does not operate alone. Forest fragmentation, a resulting feature of the deforestation process, promotes indirect carbon losses induced by edge effect. This process is not implicitly considered by policies for reducing carbon emissions in the tropics. Here, we used a remote sensing approach to estimate carbon losses driven by edge effect in Amazonia over the 2001 to 2015 period. We found that carbon losses associated with edge effect (947 Tg C) corresponded to one-third of losses from deforestation (2592 Tg C). Despite a notable negative trend of 7 Tg C year−1 in carbon losses from deforestation, the carbon losses from edge effect remained unchanged, with an average of 63 ± 8 Tg C year−1. Carbon losses caused by edge effect is thus an additional unquantified flux that can counteract carbon emissions avoided by reducing deforestation, compromising the Paris Agreement’s bold targets.

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Monitoring of Urban Landscape Ecology Dynamics of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Pakistan, Over Four Decades (1976–2016)

Land ◽

10.3390/land9040123 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 123 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Hammad Gilani ◽

Sohail Ahmad ◽

Waqas Ahmed Qazi ◽

Syed Muhammad Abubakar ◽

Murtaza Khalid

Keyword(s):

Forest Fragmentation ◽

Urban Landscape ◽

Urban Forest ◽

Rate Of Change ◽

Rapid Expansion ◽

Annual Rate ◽

Tree Cover ◽

Spatiotemporal Analyses ◽

Urban Landscape Ecology ◽

Landsat Satellite

In the late 1960s, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s capital shifted from Karachi to Islamabad, officially named Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). In this aspect, the ICT is a young city, but undergoing rapid expansion and urbanization, especially in the last two decades. This study reports the measurement and characterization of ICT land cover change dynamics using Landsat satellite imagery for the years 1976, 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2016. Annual rate of change, landscape metrics, and urban forest fragmentation spatiotemporal analyses have been carried out, along with the calculation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 11.3.1 Land Consumption Rate to the Population Growth Rate (LCRPGR). The results show consistent increase in the settlement class, with highest annual rate of 8.79% during 2000–2010. Tree cover >40% and <40% canopy decreased at an annual rate of 0.81% and 0.77% between 1976 to 2016, respectively. Forest fragmentation analysis reveals that ‘core forests of >500 acres’ class decreased from 392 km2 (65.41%) to 241 km2 (55%), and ‘patch forest’ class increased from 15 km2 (2.46%) to 20 km2 (4.54%), from 1976 to 2016. The LCRPGR ratio was 0.62 from 1976 to 2000, increasing to 1.36 from 2000 to 2016.

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Fitossociologia e aspectos ecológicos da comunidade arbórea do Bosque Rodrigues Alves - Jardim Botânico Amazônia, Belém, Pará, Brasil

Revista Brasileira de Geografia Física ◽

10.26848/rbgf.v13.2.p510-526 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 510

Author(s):

Arthur Viana Lau ◽

Gracialda Costa Ferreira ◽

Mário Augusto Jardim

Keyword(s):

Forest Fragmentation ◽

Urban Forest ◽

Botanical Garden ◽

Forest Tree ◽

Species Level ◽

Diameter Distribution ◽

Ecological Groups ◽

Tree Community ◽

Ecological Aspects ◽

Number Of Individuals

Este estudo teve como objetivo analisar a fitossociologia e os aspectos ecológicos da comunidade arbórea do Bosque Rodrigues Alves localizado no município de Belém, Pará. Foram amostradas todas as espécies arbóreas com DAP ≥ 5 cm e estimada a altura. O material botânico foi identificado em nível de família, gênero e espécie no Herbário Felizberto Camargo (FC) da UFRA e calculado os parâmetros fitossociológicos, estratificadas as classes de diâmetro e da altura e determinado os grupos ecológicos e a síndrome de dispersão para cada espécie. Os resultados registraram 9.683 indivíduos em 54 famílias, 191 gêneros e 336 espécies. Fabaceae (66 spp.), Sapotaceae (22 spp.), Malvaceae (16 spp.) e Burseraceae (15 spp.) obtiveram o maior número de espéies e Nectandra cuspidata Nees o maior número de indivíduos (474). Aproximadamente 77% dos indivíduos ocuparam as três primeiras classes de altura e a distribuição diamétrica em J-invertido características de florestas tropicais. Phytosociology and ecological aspects of forest tree community of Bosque Rodrigues Alves - Amazon Botanical Garden, Belém, Pará, Brazil A B S T R A C TThis study aimed to analyze the phytosociology and ecological aspects of the tree community of Bosque Rodrigues Alves located in the municipality of Belém, Pará. All tree species with DBH ≥ 5 cm were sampled and the height estimated. The botanical material was identified at family, genus and species level in UFRA Herbarium Felizberto Camargo (FC) and calculated the phytosociological parameters, stratified the diameter and height classes and determined the ecological groups and dispersion syndrome for each species. Results recorded 9,683 individuals in 54 families, 191 genera and 336 species. Fabaceae (66 spp.), Sapotaceae (22 spp.), Malvaceae (16 spp.) and Burseraceae (15 spp.) obtained the largest number of species and Nectandra cuspidata Nees the largest number of individuals (474). Approximately 77% of individuals occupied the first three classes of height and diameter distribution in J-inverted rainforest characteristics.Keywords: Fitogeografy, urban forest, forest fragmentation.

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