scholarly journals Lichen Responses to Disturbance: Clues for Biomonitoring Land-use Effects on Riparian Andean Ecosystems

Diversity ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leiddy Chuquimarca ◽  
Fernando P. Gaona ◽  
Carlos Iñiguez-Armijos ◽  
Ángel Benítez
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Urban Land Use ◽  
Land Use Intensity ◽  
Riparian Ecosystems ◽  
Natural Ecosystems

The transformation of natural ecosystems due to anthropogenic land use is considered one of the main causes of biodiversity loss. Lichens, due to their poikilohydric nature, are very sensitive to natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Therefore, lichen communities have been widely used as bioindicators of climatic and environmental changes. In this study, we evaluated how the species richness and community composition of epiphytic lichens respond to land-use intensity in riparian ecosystems of the Andes in southern Ecuador. Additionally, we evaluate how the richness of six functional traits (photobiont type, growth form, and reproductive strategy) changed across the different land-use intensity. We selected 10 trees in twelve sites for a total de 120 trees, equally divided into four riparian land-use intensities (forest, forest-pasture, pasture and urban). We recorded a total of 140 lichen species. Species richness was highest in the forest sites and decreased towards more anthropogenic land uses. Lichen community composition responded to land-use intensity, and was explained by microclimate variables (e.g., precipitation, percentage forested area) and distance to the forest. Richness of functional traits of lichens also differed significantly among the four land-use intensity and decreased from forests to urban land-use. Taxonomic diversity and functional traits can be effectively applied as bioindicators to assess and monitor the effects of land-use changes in the riparian ecosystems of tropical montane regions.

scholarly journals Recovery of ecosystem functions after experimental disturbance in 73 grasslands differing in land‐use intensity, plant species richness and community composition

2019 ◽  
Vol 107 (6) ◽  
pp. 2635-2649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Schäfer ◽  
Valentin H. Klaus ◽  
Till Kleinebecker ◽  
Runa S. Boeddinghaus ◽  
Judith Hinderling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Land Use Intensity ◽  
Experimental Disturbance

scholarly journals Correction to: The impacts of agricultural and urban land-use changes on plant and bird biodiversity in Costa Rica (1986–2014)

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Montero ◽  
Joan Marull ◽  
Enric Tello ◽  
Claudio Cattaneo ◽  
Francesc Coll ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Costa Rica ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Urban Land ◽  
Urban Land Use

scholarly journals A research framework for projecting ecosystem change in highly diverse tropical mountain ecosystems

Oecologia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörg Bendix ◽  
Nicolay Aguire ◽  
Erwin Beck ◽  
Achim Bräuning ◽  
Roland Brandl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Biomass Production ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Ecosystem Change ◽  
Mountain Ecosystems ◽  
Abiotic Conditions ◽  
Research Framework ◽  
Tropical Mountain

AbstractTropical mountain ecosystems are threatened by climate and land-use changes. Their diversity and complexity make projections how they respond to environmental changes challenging. A suitable way are trait-based approaches, by distinguishing between response traits that determine the resistance of species to environmental changes and effect traits that are relevant for species' interactions, biotic processes, and ecosystem functions. The combination of those approaches with land surface models (LSM) linking the functional community composition to ecosystem functions provides new ways to project the response of ecosystems to environmental changes. With the interdisciplinary project RESPECT, we propose a research framework that uses a trait-based response-effect-framework (REF) to quantify relationships between abiotic conditions, the diversity of functional traits in communities, and associated biotic processes, informing a biodiversity-LSM. We apply the framework to a megadiverse tropical mountain forest. We use a plot design along an elevation and a land-use gradient to collect data on abiotic drivers, functional traits, and biotic processes. We integrate these data to build the biodiversity-LSM and illustrate how to test the model. REF results show that aboveground biomass production is not directly related to changing climatic conditions, but indirectly through associated changes in functional traits. Herbivory is directly related to changing abiotic conditions. The biodiversity-LSM informed by local functional trait and soil data improved the simulation of biomass production substantially. We conclude that local data, also derived from previous projects (platform Ecuador), are key elements of the research framework. We specify essential datasets to apply this framework to other mountain ecosystems.

Adjacent land-use affects amphibian community composition and species richness in managed forests in New Brunswick, Canada

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (8) ◽  
pp. 1687-1697 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Jacobs ◽  
Jeff E. Houlahan
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
New Brunswick ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Managed Forests ◽  
Road Density ◽  
Amphibian Species ◽  
Precommercial Thinning ◽  
Amphibian Community ◽  
Land Use Effects

Here, we examine the effects of adjacent land use in a managed forest on pond-breeding amphibian species richness and community composition at 34 New Brunswick, Canada, ponds. Amphibian species richness was negatively correlated with the proportion of roads, precommercial thinning, and hardwood forest and positively correlated with the proportion of wetlands in adjacent lands. These land-use effects peak at 180 m from the ponds. Road density was negatively correlated with Lithobates catesbeiana and Lithobates septentrionalis presence. Precommercial thinning was negatively correlated with Ambystoma spp. presence and positively correlated with Anaxyrus americanus presence. Wetlands were positively correlated with L. septentrionalis and Notopthalamus viridescens presence. Correlations were also found between water table height and A. americanus, Lithobates palustris , and Ambystoma spp. presence. In addition, L. catesbeiana and N. viridescens presence–absence was positively correlated with the proportion of mature and overmature forest on the landscape (at scales of 500 and 1000 m, respectively). Lastly, the proportion of regenerating and sapling forest on the landscape was negatively correlated with L. palustris presence–absence but, by contrast, was positively correlated with A. americanus. These results suggest that the effects of adjacent land use may significantly impact amphibian populations in managed eastern Canadian forests.

Land Planning, Agro-forest Systems, and Implications for Ecosystem Services: Insights from Northern Italy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Tomao ◽  
Barbara Ermini ◽  
Marcela Prokopov ◽  
Adriano Conte
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Temporal Analysis ◽  
Land Use Land Cover ◽  
Development Patterns ◽  
The North ◽  
Multi Temporal ◽  
Potential Impact

Negative environmental changes generally addressed as ‘syndromes’ are evaluated in the context of Soil Degradation (SD) and interpreted by using a ‘Land-Use/Land Cover Changes’ (LULCCs) framework in order to disentangle ‘past trajectories’, ‘present patterns’, and ‘future changes’. This approach allows to discuss the potential impact on SD processes and it represents an informed basis for identifying measurable outcomes of SD. This study focuses on the case of Emilia Romagna, a region located in the North of Italy with high-value added agricultural productions. A multi-temporal analysis of land-use changes between 1954 and 2008 has been proposed, discussing the evolution of associated SD syndromes in Emilia Romagna. The contributing information have been used as a baseline for Sustainable Land Management (SLM) strategies. This framework of analysis provides useful tools to investigate and to monitor the effects of SD in the Mediterranean basin where several regions underwent common development patterns yelding global pathological symptoms of environmental degradation.

Global Natural Hazard and Disaster Vulnerability Management

2018 ◽  
pp. 83-104
Author(s):  
Nkemdilim Maureen Ekpeni ◽  
Amidu Owolabi Ayeni
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Natural Hazard ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Physical Environments ◽  
Vulnerability Management ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Two Sides

This chapter examines both concept of global hazard and disaster and its management in the lights of its vulnerability. It categorized the different types of hazards and disasters and their components. From the research findings, it is observed that hazards and disaster are two sides of a coin. They occur at the interface between human systems and natural events in our physical environments. This chapter highlights that the major environmental changes driving hazards and vulnerability to disasters are climate change, land-use changes, and degradation of natural resources. After presenting a typology of disasters and their magnitude globally, management of disaster has transited from just being a “response and relief”-centric approach to a mitigation and preparedness approach.

Urban land use intensity assessment: The potential of spatio-temporal spectral traits with remote sensing

2018 ◽  
Vol 85 ◽  
pp. 190-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thilo Wellmann ◽  
Dagmar Haase ◽  
Sonja Knapp ◽  
Christoph Salbach ◽  
Peter Selsam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Urban Land ◽  
Urban Land Use ◽  
Land Use Intensity ◽  
Intensity Assessment ◽  
Spatio Temporal
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