Forest condition in the Congo Basin for the assessment of ecosystem conservation status

AbstractMeasuring forest degradation is important for understanding and designing measures to protect biodiversity and the capacity of forests to deliver ecosystem services. Conservation planning, particularly the prioritization of management interventions for forests, is often lacking spatial data on ecological condition, and it is often overlooked within decision-making processes. Existing methods for assessing forest degradation via proxies or binary measures (i.e. intact or not) cannot adequately consider the important variations of ecological condition. Direct methods to measure degradation (e.g. through remote sensing) require extensive training data, calibration and validation, and may be too sensitive to small-scale or short-term changes which may not be related to degradation. We developed a metric termed Forest Condition (FC) which aims to measure the degree of forest degradation, incorporating temporal history of forest change over a large spatial extent. We parameterized this metric based on estimated changes in above ground biomass in the context of forest fragmentation over time to estimate a continuous measure of forest degradation for Congo Basin countries. We estimate that just less than 70% of Congo Basin forests remain fully intact. FC was validated by direct remote sensing measurements from Landsat imagery for DRC. Results showed that FC was significantly positively correlated with forest canopy cover, gap area per hectare, and magnitude of temporal change in Normalized Burn Ratio. We tested the ability of FC to distinguish primary and secondary degradation and deforestation and found significant differences in gap area and spectral anomalies to validate our theoretical model. We used the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems criteria to demonstrate the value of applying forest degradation to assess the risk of ecosystem collapse. Based on this assessment, we found that without including FC in the assessment of biotic disruption, 12 ecosystems could not have a threat status assigned, and a further 9 ecosystems would have a lower threat status. Our overall assessment of ecosystems found approximately half of forest of Congo Basin ecosystem types which cover over 20% of all forest area are threatened including 4 ecosystems (<1% of total area) which are critically engendered. FC is a transferrable and scalable assessment to support forest monitoring, planning, and management.

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Conservation status of the gelada

Theropithecus ◽

10.1017/cbo9780511565540.022 ◽

1993 ◽

pp. 527-532

Keyword(s):

Conservation Status

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First records of bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) from Muong Phang cultural and historical site, Dien Bien province, Northwestern Vietnam

TAP CHI SINH HOC ◽

10.15625/0866-7160/v39n3.10641 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 39 (3) ◽

pp. 296-302

Author(s):

Dao Nhan Loi ◽

Vu Dinh Thong

Keyword(s):

Conservation Status ◽

Forest Area ◽

Sound Recordings ◽

The Public ◽

The Family ◽

Biological Taxa

The internationally renowned Muong Phang Cultural and Historical Site is located in the Dien Bien Phu region, northwestern Vietnam, and has received special attention from the public because of its great biodiversity. This site has a large forest area and other habitats including lakes, streams, rivers and paddyfield. These habitats would be ideal homes for bats and other biological taxa. However, in general, the wildlife of the Muong Phang Cultural and Historical Site receives little attention from scientists and authorities. Between 2014 and 2016, we conducted series of surveys for bats in Muong Phang. Bat capture and sound recordings were the main procedure to obtain materials and data necessary for the assessment of diversity and conservation status. The results of the surveys this time revealed that there are 19 species of bats belonging to 7 genera, 5 families in the study area. Of these, a Myotis sp. is different from all the previously recorded Myotis bats from Vietnam, and, a Rhinolophus sp. is different from every described species of the family Rhinolophidae. This paper provides the first records of bats from Muong Phang with remarks on their taxonomy and conservation status. Citation: Dao Nhan Loi, Vu Dinh Thong, 2017. First records of bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) from Muong Phang cultural and historical site, Dien Bien province, Northwestern Vietnam. Tap chi Sinh hoc, 39(3): 296-302. DOI: 10.15625/0866-7160/v39n3.10641. *Corresponding author: [email protected]. Received 29 August 2017, accepted 10 September 2017

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A New Species of Eugenia subg. Pseudeugenia (Myrtaceae, Myrteae) from Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Systematic Botany ◽

10.1600/036364420x15935294613518 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 45 (3) ◽

pp. 537-543

Author(s):

Karinne Sampaio Valdemarin ◽

Jair Eustáquio Quintino Faria ◽

Fiorella Fernanda Mazine ◽

Vinicius Castro Souza

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Atlantic Forest ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Forest Vegetation ◽

Vegetation Types ◽

Flower Buds ◽

Diagnostic Features ◽

Closely Related Species ◽

Lowland Forests ◽

A New Species

Abstract—A new species of Eugenia from the Atlantic forest of Brazil is described and illustrated. Eugenia flavicarpa is restricted to the Floresta de Tabuleiro (lowland forests) of Espírito Santo state and is nested in Eugenia subg. Pseudeugenia. Considering all other species of the subgenus that occur in forest vegetation types of the Atlantic forest phytogeographic domain, Eugenia flavicarpa can be distinguished mainly by the combination of smooth leaves with indumentum on both surfaces, with two marginal veins, usually ramiflorous inflorescences, pedicels 4.5‐9.7 mm long, flower buds 3.5‐4 mm in diameter, and by the calyx lobes that are 2‐3 mm long with rounded to obtuse apices. Morphological analyses were performed to explore the significance of quantitative diagnostic features between the new species and the closely related species, Eugenia farneyi. Notes on the habitat, distribution, phenology, and conservation status of Eugenia flavicarpa are provided, as well as a key for all species of Eugenia subg. Pseudeugenia from forest vegetation of the Atlantic forest phytogeographic domain.

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Dwindling status of Epimedium Elatum (Morren & Decne) and its geographical distribution in Kashmir Himalaya, India

Current Botany ◽

10.25081/cb.2018.v9.20180106 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 47-52

Keyword(s):

Medicinal Plant ◽

Biological Activities ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Culture Techniques ◽

Kashmir Himalayas ◽

Near Future ◽

First Time ◽

Tissue Culture Techniques

Epimedium elatum (Morren & Decne) of family Berberidaceace is a rare perennial medicinal plant, endemic to high altitude forests of Northwestern Himalayas in India. Ethnobotanically, it has been used as an ingredient for treatment of bone-joint disorders, impotence and kidney disorders in Kashmir Himalayas. Phytochemically, it is rich in Epimedin ABC and Icariin; all of these have been demonstrated to possess remarkable biological activities like PDE-5 inhibition (treatment of erectile dysfunction), anticancer, antiosteoporosis antioxidant and antiviral properties. The present investigation reports its traditional usage, comprehensive distribution and conservation status from twenty ecogeographical regions in Kashmir Himalayas, India. The species was reported from Gurez valley for the first time. Numerous threats like excessive grazing, deforestration, habitat fragmentation, tourism encroachment, landslides and excessive exploitation have decreased its natural populations in most of the surveyed habitats. Consequently, its existence may become threatened in near future if timely conservation steps are not taken immediately by concerned stakeholders involved in medicinal plant research. Moreover, use of plant tissue culture techniques is recommended for development of its in vitro propagation protocols. Therefore, introduction of this medicinal plant in botanical gardens, protected sites and development of monitoring programmes are needed for its immediate conservation in Northwestern Himalayas, India.

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