Forecast the response of forest birds to climate change and forest management: does citizen science data provide accurate predictions?

In this paper we describe eBird, a highly successful citizen science project. With over 150,000 participants worldwide and an accumulation of over 140,000,000 bird observations globally in the last decade, eBird has evolved into a major tool for scientific investigations in diverse fields such as ornithology, computer science, statistics, ecology and climate change. eBird’s impact in scientific research is grounded in careful data curation practices that pay attention to all stages of the data lifecycle, and attend to the needs of stakeholders engaged in that data lifecycle. We describe the important aspects of eBird, paying particular attention to the mechanisms to improve data quality; describe the data products that are available to the global community; investigate some aspects of the downloading community; and demonstrate significant results that derive from the use of openly-available eBird data.

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Northward expansion trends and future potential distribution of a dragonfly Ischnura senegalensis Rambur under climate change using citizen science data in South Korea

Journal of Ecology and Environment ◽

10.1186/s41610-021-00209-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sookyung Shin ◽

Kwang Soo Jung ◽

Hong Gu Kang ◽

Ji-Hee Dang ◽

Doohee Kang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

South Korea ◽

Citizen Science ◽

Baseline Data ◽

Distribution Range ◽

Maximum Temperature ◽

Future Climate Change ◽

Climate Change Scenarios ◽

Science Data ◽

Northward Expansion

Abstract Background Citizen science is becoming a mainstream approach of baseline data collection to monitor biodiversity and climate change. Dragonflies (Odonata) have been ranked as the highest priority group in biodiversity monitoring for global warming. Ischnura senegalensis Rambur has been designated a biological indicator of climate change and is being monitored by the citizen science project “Korean Biodiversity Observation Network.” This study has been performed to understand changes in the distribution range of I. senegalensis in response to climate change using citizen science data in South Korea. Results We constructed a dataset of 397 distribution records for I. senegalensis, ranging from 1980 to 2020. The number of records sharply increased over time and space, and in particular, citizen science monitoring data accounted for the greatest proportion (58.7%) and covered the widest geographical range. This species was only distributed in the southern provinces until 2010 but was recorded in the higher latitudes such as Gangwon-do, Incheon, Seoul, and Gyeonggi-do (max. Paju-si, 37.70° latitude) by 2020. A species distribution model showed that the annual mean temperature (Bio1; 63.2%) and the maximum temperature of the warmest month (Bio5; 16.7%) were the most critical factors influencing its distribution. Future climate change scenarios have predicted an increase in suitable habitats for this species. Conclusions This study is the first to show the northward expansion in the distribution range of I. senegalensis in response to climate warming in South Korea over the past 40 years. In particular, citizen science was crucial in supplying critical baseline data to detect the distribution change toward higher latitudes. Our results provide new insights on the value of citizen science as a tool for detecting the impact of climate change on ecosystems in South Korea.

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Evaluating citizen science data for forecasting species responses to national forest management

Ecology and Evolution ◽

10.1002/ece3.2601 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 368-378 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Louise Mair ◽

Philip J. Harrison ◽

Mari Jönsson ◽

Swantje Löbel ◽

Jenni Nordén ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Forest Management ◽

Citizen Science ◽

National Forest ◽

Science Data ◽

National Forest Management ◽

Species Responses

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Wald und Klimawandel in der inneralpinen Trockenregion Visp

Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen ◽

10.3188/szf.2012.0481 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 163 (12) ◽

pp. 481-492

Author(s):

Andreas Rigling ◽

Ché Elkin ◽

Matthias Dobbertin ◽

Britta Eilmann ◽

Arnaud Giuggiola ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Forest Management ◽

Forest Ecosystem ◽

Bark Beetles ◽

Forest Ecosystems ◽

Field Experiments ◽

Forest Monitoring ◽

Management Interventions ◽

Forest Ecosystem Services

Forest and climate change in the inner-Alpine dry region of Visp Over the past decades, observed increases in temperature have been particularly pronounced in mountain regions. If this trend should continue in the 21st Century, frequency and intensity of droughts will increase, and will pose major challenges for forest management. Under current conditions drought-related tree mortality is already an important factor of forest ecosystems in dry inner-Alpine valleys. Here we assess the sensitivity of forest ecosystems to climate change and evaluate alternative forest management strategies in the Visp region. We integrate data from forest monitoring plots, field experiments and dynamic forests models to evaluate how the forest ecosystem services timber production, protection against natural hazards, carbon storage and biodiver-sity will be impacted. Our results suggest that at dry low elevation sites the drought tolerance of native tree species will be exceeded so that in the longer term a transition to more drought-adapted species should be considered. At medium elevations, drought and insect disturbances as by bark beetles are projected to be important for forest development, while at high elevations forests are projected to expand and grow better. All of the ecosystem services that we considered are projected to be impacted by changing forest conditions, with the specific impacts often being elevation-dependent. In the medium term, forest management that aims to increase the resilience of forests to drought can help maintain forest ecosystem services temporarily. However, our results suggest that relatively rigid management interventions are required to achieve significant effects. By using a combination of environmental monitoring, field experiments and modeling, we are able to gain insight into how forest ecosystem, and the services they provide, will respond to future changes.

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Implications of Climate Change Agreements on Forest Management in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.1530910 ◽

2010 ◽

Author(s):

Nophea Sasaki ◽

Tsuneaki Yoshida ◽

Hirokazu Yamamoto

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Forest Management

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The Use of Citizen Science to Achieve Multivariate Management Goals on Public Lands

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d13070293 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (7) ◽

pp. 293

Author(s):

Sara Souther ◽

Vincent Randall ◽

Nanebah Lyndon

Keyword(s):

Citizen Science ◽

Land Management ◽

Ecological Integrity ◽

Public Land ◽

Suitable Habitat ◽

Science Data ◽

Public Land Management ◽

Federal Land ◽

Botanical Research ◽

Federal Land Management

Federal land management agencies in the US are tasked with maintaining the ecological integrity of over 2 million km2 of land for myriad public uses. Citizen science, operating at the nexus of science, education, and outreach, offers unique benefits to address socio-ecological questions and problems, and thus may offer novel opportunities to support the complex mission of public land managers. Here, we use a case study of an iNaturalist program, the Tribal Nations Botanical Research Collaborative (TNBRC), to examine the use of citizen science programs in public land management. The TNBRC collected 2030 observations of 34 plant species across the project area, while offering learning opportunities for participants. Using occurrence data, we examined observational trends through time and identified five species with 50 or fewer digital observations to investigate as species of possible conservation concern. We compared predictive outcomes of habitat suitability models built using citizen science data and Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data. Models exhibited high agreement, identifying the same underlying predictors of species occurrence and, 95% of the time, identifying the same pixels as suitable habitat. Actions such as staff training on data use and interpretation could enhance integration of citizen science in Federal land management.

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Abundant Citizen Science Data Reveal That the Peacock Butterfly Aglais io Recently Became Bivoltine in Belgium

Insects ◽

10.3390/insects12080683 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (8) ◽

pp. 683

Author(s):

Marc Herremans ◽

Karin Gielen ◽

Jos Van Kerckhoven ◽

Pieter Vanormelingen ◽

Wim Veraghtert ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Citizen Science ◽

Western Europe ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Early Summer ◽

Science Data ◽

The Public ◽

Online Portal ◽

Spring Generation ◽

Reproductive Cycles ◽

New Generation

The peacock butterfly is abundant and widespread in Europe. It is generally believed to be univoltine (one generation per year): adults born in summer overwinter and reappear again in spring to reproduce. However, recent flight patterns in western Europe mostly show three peaks during the year: a first one in spring (overwintering butterflies), a second one in early summer (offspring of the spring generation), and a third one in autumn. It was thus far unclear whether this autumn flight peak was a second new generation or consisted of butterflies flying again in autumn after a summer rest (aestivation). The life cycle of one of Europe’s most common butterflies is therefore still surprisingly inadequately understood. We used hundreds of thousands of observations and thousands of pictures submitted by naturalists from the public to the online portal observation.orgin Belgium and analyzed relations between flight patterns, condition (wear), reproductive cycles, peak abundances, and phenology to clarify the current life history. We demonstrate that peacocks have shifted towards two new generations per year in recent decades. Mass citizen science data in online portals has become increasingly important in tracking the response of biodiversity to rapid environmental changes such as climate change.

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Disentangling the Legacies of Climate and Management on Tree Growth

Ecosystems ◽

10.1007/s10021-021-00650-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Laura Marqués ◽

Drew M. P. Peltier ◽

J. Julio Camarero ◽

Miguel A. Zavala ◽

Jaime Madrigal-González ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Forest Management ◽

Tree Growth ◽

European Beech ◽

Ring Formation ◽

Silver Fir ◽

Past Climate ◽

Climate Conditions ◽

Ecological Memory ◽

Historical Forest

AbstractLegacies of past climate conditions and historical management govern forest productivity and tree growth. Understanding how these processes interact and the timescales over which they influence tree growth is critical to assess forest vulnerability to climate change. Yet, few studies address this issue, likely because integrated long-term records of both growth and forest management are uncommon. We applied the stochastic antecedent modelling (SAM) framework to annual tree-ring widths from mixed forests to recover the ecological memory of tree growth. We quantified the effects of antecedent temperature and precipitation up to 4 years preceding the year of ring formation and integrated management effects with records of harvesting intensity from historical forest management archives. The SAM approach uncovered important time periods most influential to growth, typically the warmer and drier months or seasons, but variation among species and sites emerged. Silver fir responded primarily to past climate conditions (25–50 months prior to the year of ring formation), while European beech and Scots pine responded mostly to climate conditions during the year of ring formation and the previous year, although these responses varied among sites. Past management and climate interacted in such a way that harvesting promoted growth in young silver fir under wet and warm conditions and in old European beech under drier and cooler conditions. Our study shows that the ecological memory associated with climate legacies and historical forest management is species-specific and context-dependent, suggesting that both aspects are needed to properly evaluate forest functioning under climate change.

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A multi-purpose National Forest Inventory in Bangladesh: design, operationalisation and key results

Forest Ecosystems ◽

10.1186/s40663-021-00284-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Matieu Henry ◽

Zaheer Iqbal ◽

Kristofer Johnson ◽

Mariam Akhter ◽

Liam Costello ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Forest Management ◽

Data Collection ◽

Land Cover ◽

Forest Inventory ◽

Sustainable Forest Management ◽

National Forest Inventory ◽

Forest Resources ◽

National Forest ◽

Land Cover Map

Abstract Background National forest inventory and forest monitoring systems are more important than ever considering continued global degradation of trees and forests. These systems are especially important in a country like Bangladesh, which is characterised by a large population density, climate change vulnerability and dependence on natural resources. With the aim of supporting the Government’s actions towards sustainable forest management through reliable information, the Bangladesh Forest Inventory (BFI) was designed and implemented through three components: biophysical inventory, socio-economic survey and remote sensing-based land cover mapping. This article documents the approach undertaken by the Forest Department under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change to establish the BFI as a multipurpose, efficient, accurate and replicable national forest assessment. The design, operationalization and some key results of the process are presented. Methods The BFI takes advantage of the latest and most well-accepted technological and methodological approaches. Importantly, it was designed through a collaborative process which drew from the experience and knowledge of multiple national and international entities. Overall, 1781 field plots were visited, 6400 households were surveyed, and a national land cover map for the year 2015 was produced. Innovative technological enhancements include a semi-automated segmentation approach for developing the wall-to-wall land cover map, an object-based national land characterisation system, consistent estimates between sample-based and mapped land cover areas, use of mobile apps for tree species identification and data collection, and use of differential global positioning system for referencing plot centres. Results Seven criteria, and multiple associated indicators, were developed for monitoring progress towards sustainable forest management goals, informing management decisions, and national and international reporting needs. A wide range of biophysical and socioeconomic data were collected, and in some cases integrated, for estimating the indicators. Conclusions The BFI is a new information source tool for helping guide Bangladesh towards a sustainable future. Reliable information on the status of tree and forest resources, as well as land use, empowers evidence-based decision making across multiple stakeholders and at different levels for protecting natural resources. The integrated socio-economic data collected provides information about the interactions between people and their tree and forest resources, and the valuation of ecosystem services. The BFI is designed to be a permanent assessment of these resources, and future data collection will enable monitoring of trends against the current baseline. However, additional institutional support as well as continuation of collaboration among national partners is crucial for sustaining the BFI process in future.

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