scholarly journals Forest fragmentation and impacts of intensive agriculture: responses from functional groups of the tree community

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana C. Tenius Ribeiro ◽  
André Felippe Nunes-Freitas ◽  
Mariella Camardelli Uzêda
Keyword(s):  
Functional Groups ◽  
Floristic Composition ◽  
Calcium Content ◽  
Nutrient Content ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Intensive Agriculture ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Intensive Farming ◽  
Tree Community ◽  
Agricultural Areas

AbstractAgricultural landscapes are seen as areas of extreme importance for studying and developing strategies that integrate biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services with food production. The main strategies for intensifying agriculture are based on conventional practices of frequently using agricultural inputs for fertilization and correction of soil pH. Some studies show that these practices generate impacts on nearby forest fragments through soil contamination, causing an increase in nutrient content. The objective of this study was to identify the impacts on the functional groups of sciophilous and heliophilous species of a tree community of 14 forest fragments near agricultural areas under conventional practices, and raised the hypothesis that the higher the fertility of forest fragments adjacent to intensive agriculture modifies the floristic composition of the tree community. The floristic composition of fragments close to agricultural areas are more similar to each other and the General Linear Model (GLM) results show a clear influence of the intensive farming environment on the richness and abundance of the two functional groups in the forest fragments, directly benefiting the abundance of heliophilous species which are also benefited by the greater declivity and smaller fragment area, while the abundance of sciophytes is negatively correlated with these last two variables. The increase of calcium content is beneficial for the richness of heliophilous species, while the increase in phosphorus content influences a reduction in the richness of sciophyte species, which also respond strongly to the isolation between fragments. The results indicate a dominance trend of pioneer species in nutritionally enriched soils, evidencing that the intense adoption of inputs in cultivated areas causes concrete impacts on the diversity of the tree community of forest fragments, being more determinant for the species richness than the size of the fragments.

scholarly journals The effect of fragmentation on spider richness (Arachnida: Araneae) in montane semideciduous seasonal forest

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Flávio Eduardo Vilas Boas Júnior ◽  
Amanda Da Silva Ferreira ◽  
Marcos Magalhães De Souza
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Minas Gerais ◽  
Fragmentation Process ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Spider Species ◽  
Semideciduous Seasonal Forest ◽  
Agricultural Areas ◽  
Environmental Functions

The fragmentation process that has altered natural environments has been widely discussed, as it causes changes in communities and compromises different environmental functions. In this sense, this study was based on the evaluation of fragmentation on araneofauna of semideciduous seasonal forest fragments, phytophysiognomy belonging to the Atlantic Forest. The study was conducted in three fragments in the municipality of Inconfidentes, southern Minas Gerais, from April 2014 to March 2015. The results showed that there is a similarity in the composition of spider species among the sampled fragments and that the size of the fragment is positively correlated with species richness. Our data show that smaller fragments must be preserved and that agricultural areas maintain the integrity of adjacent forest areas to benefit from the predation dynamics that spiders exert on pests that affect plantations.

scholarly journals LITTER CONTRIBUTION ON DIFFERENT GEOMORPHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS IN THE ATLANTIC FOREST – STATE OF RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL

FLORESTA ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 373
Author(s):  
Victória Maria Monteiro Mendonça ◽  
Gilsonley Lopes Santos ◽  
Marcos Gervasio Gervasio Pereira ◽  
Carlos Eduardo Gabriel Menezes
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Rio De Janeiro ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Nutrient Content ◽  
Litter Production ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Small Sites ◽  
Leaf Litter Production

The deposition of leaf litter on the forest floor is influenced by biotic and abiotic factors where forest fragments are inserted, which is a major source of nutrients to the soil. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of the change in relief conditions (landform) in leaf litter contribution and nutrient content in a Submontane Seasonal Semi-deciduous Forest in Pinheiral (state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). It was selected two adjacent landforms with convex and concave relief type and they divided into small sites (SS), obeying the variation of the slope and topographic gradient. Five conic collectors with an area of 0.2834 m² were installed in each SS, totaling 30 collectors. The collections of leaf litter were carried out every 30 days during a year. The material retained in the traps was separated as the fractions; leaves, twigs, reproductive and other material to assess the proportion of each fraction in the leaf litter production and nutrient content of the fraction leaves. The contribution and nutrient content of litter are influenced by the type of landform and seasons of the year. The highest contribution was observed in the dry season, in the lower and middle SS of the landforms, and the highest nutrient levels occurred in the convex landform during the rainy season.

scholarly journals Floristic dissimilarity and indicator species of Araucaria Forest and ecotones.

FLORESTA ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 497
Author(s):  
Silvana Manfredi ◽  
Juliano Pereira Gomes ◽  
Paula Iaschitzki Ferreira ◽  
Roseli Lopes da Costa Bortoluzzi ◽  
Adelar Mantovani
Keyword(s):  
Indicator Species ◽  
Forest Succession ◽  
Floristic Composition ◽  
Permanent Plots ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Araucaria Forest ◽  
Native Grassland ◽  
Wetland Succession ◽  
Forest Boundary

A busca do conhecimento sobre a expansão das florestas em relação aos ecossistemas associados (campestre e banhado) aborda a presença de fatores ambientais como o fogo e o pastejo, frequentemente descritos como determinantes dos processos ecológicos favoráveis à dinâmica sucessional. Dessa forma, objetivou-se verificar se existem diferenças na composição florística do interior de fragmentos florestais e entre setores de transição floresta-campo e floresta-banhado, bem como identificar espécies indicadoras para cada um desses ambientes. O estudo foi realizado em fragmentos florestais situados nos municípios de Bom Jardim da Serra e Lages (Coxilha Rica), onde foram instaladas duas parcelas permanentes de 50x50 m, subdivididas em setores de 10x10 m, categorizados em três setores: Floresta Ombrófila Mista, transição floresta x campo e transição floresta x banhado. Há dissimilaridade florística entre os fragmentos florestais dos locais e, também, entre os setores de transição (ecótonos). As espécies indicadoras dos ecótonos estão vinculadas ao estágio inicial da sucessão florestal, apresentando potencial para colonização do campo, podendo atuar no início do processo de expansão da fronteira florestal.AbstractFloristic dissimilarity and indicator species of Araucaria Forest and ecotones. The search for knowledge about the expansion of forests in relation to associated ecosystems (native grassland and wetland) addresses the presence of environmental factors such as fire and grazing, often described as determinants of ecological processes in favor of succession dynamics. The objective here was to verify if there are differences among the floristic composition of the interior of forest fragments and transition sectors of forest-native grassland and forest-wetland, as well as to identify indicator species for each of these environments. The research was conducted in forest fragments located in the municipalities of Bom Jardim da Serra and Lages (Coxilha Rica), SC, where we installed two permanent plots of 50x50 m, subdivided into sectors of 10x10 m categorized into three sectors: Araucaria Forest, forest transition x native grassland and forest x wetland transition. There is floristic dissimilarity between the local forest fragments and also between the transition areas (ecotones). The indicator species of ecotones are linked to early stages of forest succession, with potential for colonization of the field, they can operate in the start of the expansion of the forest boundary process.Keywords: Araucaria Forest; native grassland; wetland; succession.

Dense regeneration of floodplain Eucalyptus coolabah: invasive scrub or passive restoration of an endangered woodland community?

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan K. Good ◽  
Jodi N. Price ◽  
Peter J. Clarke ◽  
Nick Reid
Keyword(s):  
Plant Communities ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Floristic Composition ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Tree Density ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Passive Restoration ◽  
Carbon Nitrogen Ratio ◽  
Degraded Grassland ◽  
And Function

Clearing of native vegetation and changes to disturbance regimes have resulted in dense regeneration of native trees and shrubs in parts of Australia. The conversion of open vegetation to dense woodlands may result in changes to the composition of plant communities and ecosystem function if structure, composition and function are tightly linked. Widespread clearing of the floodplain tree Eucalyptus coolabah subsp. coolabah (coolibah), in New South Wales, Australia, has led to state and federal listings of coolibah woodland as an endangered ecological community. Dense regeneration of coolibah in the mid 1970s, however, also resulted in its listing as an ‘invasive native species’ in NSW, meaning it can be legally cleared under certain conditions. Dense regeneration could be a novel state dissimilar to the threatened community or it could represent the next generation of coolibah woodlands and may contribute to passive restoration of heavily cleared landscapes. This study investigated if dense stands are distinct from remnant woodland by comparing floristic composition of the ground-storey community and top-soil properties of four coolibah vegetation states: derived grassland, derived degraded grassland, dense regeneration and remnant woodland. Ground-storey composition was found to overlap broadly among states regardless of tree density. Most species were common to all states, although dense regeneration contained characteristic woodland species that were absent from grasslands. The carbon : nitrogen ratio of the soil was significantly higher in dense regeneration and remnant woodland than in either of the grassland states, indicating that the woody states are broadly similar in terms of nutrient cycling. The study demonstrates that structurally different vegetation states (grasslands, woodlands and dense regeneration) are not associated with distinct plant communities. The results also suggest that grazing management has a more pronounced effect on ground-storey composition of plant communities than tree density and that well managed derived grasslands and dense regeneration are floristically similar to remnant woodlands. Since dense regeneration and remnant woodlands are not floristically distinct from one another, dense regeneration could contribute to the conservation of endangered coolibah woodlands in cleared agricultural landscapes.

scholarly journals Effects of environmental conditions and space on species turnover for three plant functional groups in Brazilian savannas

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1047-1058 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hélio Menegat ◽  
Divino Vicente Silvério ◽  
Henrique A Mews ◽  
Guarino R Colli ◽  
Ana Clara Abadia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Groups ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Geographic Distance ◽  
Floristic Composition ◽  
Environmental Variation ◽  
Variance Partitioning ◽  
Plant Functional Groups ◽  
Palm Species

Abstract Aims Different plant functional groups display diverging responses to the same environmental gradients. Here, we assess the effects of environmental and spatial predictors on species turnover of three functional groups of Brazilian savannas (Cerrado) plants—trees, palms and lianas—across the transition zone between the Cerrado and Amazon biomes in central Brazil. Methods We used edaphic, climatic and plant composition data from nine one-hectare plots to assess the effects of the environment and space on species turnover using a Redundancy Analysis and Generalized Dissimilarity Modeling (GDM), associated with variance partitioning. Important Findings We recorded 167 tree species, 5 palms and 4 liana species. Environmental variation was most important in explaining species turnover, relative to geographic distance, but the best predictors differed between functional groups: geographic distance and silt for lianas; silt for palms; geographic distance, temperature and elevation for trees. Geographic distances alone exerted little influence over species turnover for the three functional groups. The pure environmental variation explained most of the liana and palm turnover, while tree turnover was largely explained by the shared spatial and environmental contribution. The effects of geographic distance upon species turnover leveled off at about 300 km for trees, and 200 km for lianas, whereas they were unimportant for palm species turnover. Our results indicate that environmental factors that determine floristic composition and species turnover differ substantially between plant functional groups in savannas. Therefore, we recommend that studies that aim to investigate the role of environmental conditions in determining plant species turnover should examine plant functional groups separately.

scholarly journals Species composition of climbers in seasonal semideciduous forest fragments of Southeastern Brazil

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 175-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin dos Santos ◽  
Luiza Sumiko Kinoshita ◽  
Andréia Alves Rezende
Keyword(s):  
Floristic Composition ◽  
Southeastern Brazil ◽  
Forest Site ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Semideciduous Forest ◽  
Number Of Species ◽  
Forest Sites ◽  
Forest Remnants ◽  
Mean Similarity ◽  
Made In

In this study we evaluated floristic composition patterns of communities of climbers within ten inventories carried out in semideciduous forest fragments of southeastern Brazil. One of the inventories is original, being carried out for the present study in Ribeirão Cachoeira forest, Campinas, São Paulo State, Southeastern Brazil. This inventory was then pooled together to other nine climbers' inventories made in other forests of Southeastern Brazil to form a data base, which was examined regarding species richness, similarity, species distribution and climbing methods. The total number of species obtained was 355, belonging to 145 genera and 43 families. The ten most diverse families Bignoniaceae (45 species), Fabaceae (42), Malpighiaceae (36), Asteraceae (31), Apocynaceae (29), Sapindaceae (28), Convolvulaceae (21), Cucurbitaceae (14), Passifloraceae (10), and Euphorbiaceae (8) contributed to 74.4% of the total number of species recorded. The commonest climbing method in the studied sites was main stem or branch twining, accounting for 178 species or 50.1% of the total, the second commonest was tendril climbing (121 species, 34.1%), and the least, scrambling (56 species, 15.8%). We found a high percentage of exclusive species i.e., those occurring in only one forest site, which accounted for 49.3% of the total recorded. The mean similarity among forest sites (30%) may be considered low. The climbing species contribution to the total wood plant richness recorded on the forests sites was very high in some of the sites (up to 52.5%). These results indicated the importance of climber communities to plant diversity for semideciduous forests in Southeastern Brazil, enhancing the regional diversity and the conservation value of these forest remnants.

scholarly journals Floristic and structure of the arboreal community of an Ombrophilous Dense Forest at 800 m above sea level, in Ubatuba/SP, Brazil

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Cláudia Oliveira de Souza ◽  
Luís Benacci ◽  
Carlos Alfredo Joly
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Diversity Index ◽  
Floristic Composition ◽  
Strong Similarity ◽  
Breast Height ◽  
Palm Trees ◽  
Tree Community ◽  
Dense Forest ◽  
Metadata Generation

Abstract: Undoubtedly, the publication of floristic lists and phytosociological studies are important tools for metadata generation, quantification and characterization of the megadiversity of Brazilian forests. In this sense, this work had the objective of describing the composition and the structure of the tree community of one hectare of Dense Atlantic Rainforest, at an altitude of 800 m. All individuals, including trees, palm trees, arborescent ferns and dead and standing stems, with a diameter at breast height (DBH) of ≥ 4.8 cm were sampled. After the identification of the botanical material, we proceeded to calculate the usual phytosociological parameters, besides the Shannon diversity index (H') and Pielou equability index (J). A total of 1.791 individuals were sampled, of which 1.729 were alive, belonging to 185 species, 100 genera and 46 families. The results obtained showed a strong similarity of structure and floristic composition with plots of both Montana and Sub Montana Ombrophilous Dense Forest studied in the same region. This reinforces the hypothesis that the transition between the phytophysiognomies of the Atlantic Ombrophylous Dense Forest is gradual, and that the boundaries between them cannot be clearly established.

scholarly journals Weed Phytosociological and Floristic Survey in Agricultural Areas of Southwestern Goiás Region

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
SANTOS W.F. ◽  
PROCÓPIO S.O. ◽  
SILVA A.G. ◽  
FERNANDES M.F. ◽  
BARROSO A.L.L.
Keyword(s):  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Floristic Composition ◽  
Sampling Period ◽  
Weed Species ◽  
Floristic Survey ◽  
Commelina Benghalensis ◽  
Number Of Species ◽  
West Region ◽  
Weed Communities ◽  
Agricultural Areas

The use of the Roundup Ready(r) technology and the cultivation of a second crop influence the floristic composition of weed communities in Brazilian Central-West region cropping systems. This study has aimed to diagnose the dominant weed species in southwestern Goiás in areas of genetically-modified and conventional soybeans, using phytosociological and floristic surveys. Weed sampling was obtained by collecting all the plants present within a 0.5 m hollow frame, randomly thrown 20 times in each of thirty-five agricultural areas in the 2012/2013 harvest. Field survey was carried out in three periods: before desiccation for soybean sowing, before postemergence herbicide in soybean first application and before postemergence herbicide application in late harvest. A total of 525 m2 was inventoried and 3,219 weeds were collected, which included 79 species, 58 genera and 28 families. Families Poaceae, Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Amaranthaceae, were the most representative in the survey. Species Cenchrus echinatus, Glycine max, Chamaesyce hirta, Commelina benghalensis, and Alternanthera tenella stood out in importance. The RR+millet soybean treatment had the highest number of species (44), while the conventional soybean + sorghum treatment had the lowest number of species (18). The highest number of species was recorded in first sampling period. Treatments conventional soybean + maize and conventional soybean + millet showed higher similarity (70%), while treatments RR soybean + millet and conventional soybean + sorghum showed the least (51%). Species of difficult control were recorded in all cultivation systems analyzed.

scholarly journals Proportion of Grassland at Landscape Scale Drives Natural Pest Control Services in Agricultural Landscapes

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Perrot ◽  
Adrien Rusch ◽  
Camille Coux ◽  
Sabrina Gaba ◽  
Vincent Bretagnolle
Keyword(s):  
Pest Control ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Spatial Arrangement ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Dispersal Ability ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Arable Fields ◽  
Cereal Fields ◽  
Natural Pest Control

Managing regulating ecosystem services delivered by biodiversity in farmland is a way to maintain crop yields while reducing the use of agrochemicals. Because semi-natural habitats provide shelter and food for pest enemies, a higher proportion of semi-natural habitats in the landscape or their proximity to crops may enhance pest control in arable fields. However, the ways in which the spatial arrangement of these habitats affects the delivery of this beneficial ecosystem service to crops remains poorly known. Here, we investigated the relative effects of the amount of grassland in the landscape versus the distance to the nearest grassland on the predation rates of weed seeds and aphids into 52 cereal fields. We found that both seed and aphid predation levels increased with the proportion of grassland in a 500 m radius buffer while the distance to the nearest grassland displayed no effect. We show that increasing from 0 to 50% the proportion of grasslands in a 500 m radius, respectively, increased seed and aphid predation by 38 and 20%. In addition to the strong effect of the proportion of grassland, we found that seed predation increased with the proportion of forest fragments while aphid predation increased with the proportion of organic farming in the landscape. Overall, our results reveal that natural pest control in cereal crops is not related to the distance to the nearest grassland, suggesting that natural enemies are not limited by their dispersal ability. Our study indicates that maintaining key semi-natural habitats, such as grasslands, is needed to ensure natural pest control and support food production in agricultural landscapes.

scholarly journals Reference Site Influences Perceived Species Loss in Shade Coffee, But Assemblages in Fact Depend on Landscape Context

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Juliana Bedoya ◽  
Harrison H Jones ◽  
Kristen Malone ◽  
Lyn C Branch
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Landscape Context ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Shade Coffee ◽  
Coffee Plantations ◽  
Fragmented Forest ◽  
Continuous Forest ◽  
Species Occupancy

Abstract Context: Shade coffee plantations are purported to maintain forest biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. Understanding their conservation importance is hindered, however, by the limited taxa studied and failure to account for the landscape context of plantations and quality of reference sites.Objectives/Research questions: (1) how occupancy of mammals and birds changed from continuous forest to fragmented forest and coffee plantations while statistically controlling for landscape context, and (2) whether mammal and bird communities responded differently to shade coffee with regard to richness and composition.Methods: We used camera traps to sample ground-dwelling birds and medium- and large-bodied mammals (31 and 29 species, respectively) in shade coffee plantations and two types of reference forest (fragmented and continuous) in Colombia’s Western Andes. We used a multi-species occupancy model to correct for detection and to estimate occupancy, richness, and community composition.Results Shade coffee lacked ~50% of the species found in continuous forest, primarily forest-specialist insectivorous birds and forest-specialist and large-bodied mammals, resulting in different species composition between coffee and forest assemblages. Coffee plantation birds were generally a unique subset of disturbance-adapted specialists, whereas mammals in coffee were mostly generalists encountered across land uses. Forest fragments had species richness more similar to shade coffee than to continuous forest. Species sensitive to shade coffee responded negatively to isolation and disturbance at the landscape scale.Conclusions: Studies comparing coffee with relictual forest fragments may overestimate the conservation value of shade coffee. Conservation of biodiversity in shade coffee landscapes will be ineffective unless these efforts are linked to larger landscape-level conservation initiatives.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document