Does anthropogenic fragmentation selectively filter avian phylogenetic diversity in a critically endangered forest system?

Summary Documenting phylogenetic diversity for conservation practice allows elucidation of ecosystem functioning and processes by highlighting the commonality and divergence of species’ functional traits within their evolutionary context. Conserving distinct evolutionary histories has intrinsic value, and the conservation of phylogenetically diverse communities is more likely to preserve distinct or relic evolutionary lineages. We explored the potential for anthropogenic forest fragmentation to act as a selective filter of avian phylogenetic diversity within the community of forest-dependent birds of the critically endangered Indian Ocean Coastal Belt Forest (IOCBF), South Africa. We conducted avian point count surveys during the austral breeding season, and calculated fragmentation metrics of forest structural complexity, patch size and isolation. We constructed a maximum likelihood phylogeny using the combined analysis of two mitochondrial genes and three nuclear markers and measured the influence of the fragmentation metrics on six measures of phylogenetic diversity. Our results indicated that the avian community was variously affected by anthropogenic forest fragmentation, with the different metrics of phylogenetic diversity responding with no definitive overall pattern. However, forest structural complexity emerged as an important metric explaining phylogenetic structuring. While the avian community’s phylogenetic diversity displayed resilience to anthropogenic fragmentation, previous research showed a reduction in functional diversity along the fragmentation gradient. Therefore, we recommend studies that especially aim to guide conservation management, incorporate both phylogenetic and functional diversity measures to sufficiently interrogate communities’ resilience to the threats under investigation.

Historical Changes and Future Trajectories of Deforestation in the Ituri-Epulu-Aru Landscape (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

The Ituri-Epulu-Aru landscape (IEAL) is experiencing deforestation and forest degradation. This deforestation is at the root of many environmental disturbances in a region characterized by endemism in biodiversity. The importance of this article is to provide useful information for those who wish to discuss a model that can be replicated for other territories affected by deforestation and changes in natural and anthropogenic forest structure. This article focuses on the triangulation of spatialized prospective scenarios in order to identify future trajectories based on the knowledge of historical dynamics through the diachronic analysis of three satellite images (2003–2010–2014–2016). The scenarios were designed in a supervised model implemented in the DINAMICA EGO platform. The three scenarios: business as-usual (BAU), rapid economic growth (REG) and sustainable management of the environment (SME), extrapolating current trends, show that by 2061 this landscape will always be dominated forests (+84%). Old-growth forests occupy 74.2% of the landscape area in the BAU scenario, 81.4% in the SEM scenario and 61.2% in the REG scenario. The SEM scenario gives hope that restoration and preservation of biodiversity priority habitats is still possible if policy makers become aware of it.

Trends in studies of edge influence on vegetation at human-created and natural forest edges across time and space

Forest edges, or boundaries between adjacent ecosystems, play important ecological roles. Both anthropogenic and natural forest edges affect vegetation while contributing to landscape heterogeneity. The recent proliferation of studies on vegetation at edges suggests that a comprehensive review of global edge studies is timely. We reviewed the literature on forest edges to identify trends in edge studies over time, to determine types and localities of studied edges, and to compare findings on edge influence. We found 446 studies conducted in 55 different countries that considered edge influence on vegetation structure and/or composition. Research on vegetation at anthropogenic edges has increased and expanded geographically, but studies are still scarce in some areas and at natural forest edges. Forest edges were generally characterized by greater species diversity and non-native species abundance than interior forest. Distance of edge influence on vegetation extended furthest at tropical anthropogenic forest edges compared to other edge types and locations. Edge influence on responses caused by indirect effects of edges generally extended further into the forest than on responses related to forest structure. Our findings indicate that vegetation characteristics differ between edge and forest types and should be considered in the sustainable management of heterogeneous forested landscapes.

GEO-ENERGY AND EMERGENCE OF MODERN NATURAL AND ANTHROPOGENIC FOREST ECOSYSTEMS AND LANDSCAPES

The article defines and calculates the geoenergetics of modern natural and anthropogenic forest ecosystems and landscapes. The geoenergetic approach and the developed technique were used for a detailed description and analysis of energy flows of the forest-steppe landscape of Pridnestrovien. On the example of the ecological network of oak tracts in the north of Pridnestrovien, the emergence of the forest is quantified, taking into account the spatial location. The forecast is made, taking into account the scenarios of economic development, quantitative changes in the emergence of forest ecosystems over time. Applying the geoenergetic matrix, the characteristic is given to the qualitative parameters of the forest-steppe landscape, affecting the formation of stability and self-organization of the natural system.

Пространственная структура восстанавливающихся на вырубках лишайниково-зеленомошных сосняков в центральной части Кольского полуострова (Россия)// Journal of Technical and Natural Sciences 2(11), 2019/ OEAPS Inc.(Open European Academy of Public Sciences); Chief Editor Vitaly Yakovlev- Berlin, Germany. 26.02.2019: OEAPS Inc., 2019. - PP.34-39.

Главными нарушениями лесов антропогенного характера в бореальной зоне являются рубки, пожары и аэротехногенное воздействие промышленных выбросов. Данные факторы, наряду с климатическим условиями региона, определяют внешний облик бореальных лесов исследуемого региона. Целью настоящей работы является анализ пространственной структуры древесного яруса и яруса подроста одного из основных лесообразующих видов Кольского полуострова — сосны обыкновенной на разных этапах восстановления, находящихся под воздействием природных и антропогенных факторов. The main anthropogenic forest disturbances in the boreal zone are logging, fires and the aerotechnological impact of industrial emissions. These factors, along with the climatic conditions of the region, determine the appearance of boreal forests in the region under study. The aim of this work is to analyze the spatial structure of the tree layer and the undergrowth layer of one of the main forest — forming species of the Kola Peninsula-Scots pine at different stages of recovery, under the influence of natural and anthropogenic factors.