Bird diversity and selection of protected areas in a large neotropical forest tract

Biodiversity gap analysis of the protected area system in poorly-documented Chad

In Asian Region, quite a few, only five countries had introduced National Parks and protected areas system before World War II including Japan, whose first National Parks, Kirishima, Setonaikai and Unzen were designated on March 16th 1934 as the first National Parks in Asian Region as well. Indonesia followed with the designation of Berbak National Park (Sumatra) in 1935, then India’s Corbett National Park (Uttar Pradesh) in 1936, Sri Lanka’s Ruhuna and Wilpattu National Parks in 1938, and Malaysia’s world famous Taman Negara National Park in 1939. These were all 14-18 years prior to gaining independent state-hold from former suzerain states of the Netherlands or the United Kingdom. The National Parks Act, enforced in 1933, prescribed that the Director of the Forestry Service would be appointed to the authority of National Parks management in the Philippines, and the Government of Japan nominally designated National Parks in Taiwan prior to and during the period of World War II, however according to the present official records the Philippines established five Natural (not National) Parks in 1996-97 and Taiwan designated its first park, Kenting National Park, in 1982 followed by its second park, Yushan National Park, in 1985. In terms of the first designation/establishment of National Parks, South-East Asian (ASEAN) countries can be divided into four groups excluding Singapore as a city-state: i.e. 1) prior to World War II; Indonesia and Malaysia, 2) in response to the 1st World Conference on National Parks in 1962; Thailand and Vietnam, 3) in response to the global trends of environmental issues during 1980s; Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Myanmar and the Philippines, and 4) still no designation/establishment; Lao PDR, with the exception of National Biodiversity Conservation Areas in response to the World Summit in Rio de Janeiro. In relation to the ASEAN member countries with their earliest designation/establishment of National Parks and protected areas, this article attempts to analyze mainly the present state and perspectives on National Parks and protected areas in this particular sub-region, putting special emphasis on tropical natural and remaining forests using data on natural forest areas from 1995, and annual deforestation rates from 1981-1990 and from 1990-1995 by IUCN, among others. Deforestation has continued steadily within ASEAN countries, except in Thailand. There might exist correlations among National Parks areas and all categories of Protected Areas in ASEAN countries. It should be pointed out that Thailand has remarkably high percentages of both National Parks area per natural forest area (47%), and of all categories of Protected Areas per natural forest area (76%). Particular emphasis on international cooperation should be considered and assistance should be given to Lao PDR and Myanmar (in quantity; establishment of protected areas), and Cambodia & Vietnam (in quality; management of protected areas).

ABSTRACTAim To understand cross‐taxon spatial congruence patterns of bird and woody plant species richness. In particular, to test the relative roles of functional relationships between birds and woody plants, and the direct and indirect environmental effects on broad‐scale species richness of both groups.Location Kenya.Methods Based on comprehensive range maps of all birds and woody plants (native species > 2.5 m in height) in Kenya, we mapped species richness of both groups. We distinguished species richness of four different avian frugivore guilds (obligate, partial, opportunistic and non‐frugivores) and fleshy‐fruited and non‐fleshy‐fruited woody plants. We used structural equation modelling and spatial regressions to test for effects of functional relationships (resource–consumer interactions and vegetation structural complexity) and environment (climate and habitat heterogeneity) on the richness patterns.Results Path analyses suggested that bird and woody plant species richness are linked via functional relationships, probably driven by vegetation structural complexity rather than trophic interactions. Bird species richness was determined in our models by both environmental variables and the functional relationships with woody plants. Direct environmental effects on woody plant richness differed from those on bird richness, and different avian consumer guilds showed distinct responses to climatic factors when woody plant species richness was included in path models.Main conclusions Our results imply that bird and woody plant diversity are linked at this scale via vegetation structural complexity, and that environmental factors differ in their direct effects on plants and avian trophic guilds. We conclude that climatic factors influence broad‐scale tropical bird species richness in large part indirectly, via effects on plants, rather than only directly as often assumed. This could have important implications for future predictions of animal species richness in response to climate change.

黄河流域具有重要的生物多样性保护意义，通过研究珍稀濒危物种分布热点区可为生物多样性保护提供依据。选取70种濒危维管植物和陆生脊椎动物，综合多来源的分布数据，运用物种分布模型Maxent模拟物种分布区，结合自然地理区划，计算保护价值，进行热点区分析，并结合国家级自然保护区和国家公园体制试点区的分布情况进行空缺分析。研究结果显示，黄河流域濒危物种分布主要呈现出南高北低、集中于山地的特征，热点区包括秦岭区域、太行山区域、子午岭-六盘山区域、陇中高原至松潘高原、祁连山、贺兰山和沿黄湿地等。在区分自然地理区后，现有的国家级自然保护区和国家公园体制试点区覆盖了热点区面积的13.89%，保护空缺主要出现于子午岭南部、六盘山南部、松潘高原南部和拉脊山等。建议在推进黄河流域生态保护和高质量发展中将濒危物种热点区考虑在内，对黄河流域自然保护地体系进行优化，并针对黄河流域的三个自然地理分区提出了相应的保护建议。此外，研究发现，在进行热点区分析时，考虑自然地理区域划分，并综合多类群叠加和单一生物类群的分析结果进行统筹考虑，可能会更好满足生物多样性就地保护需求。;The Yellow River Basin has important biodiversity protection significance. Research on the distribution hotspots of rare and endangered species can provide a basis for biodiversity protection and establishing protected area system. In this study, 70 endangered species were selected, including 26 vascular plants and 44 terrestrial vertebrates. Distribution data from multiple sources of these species were integrated to provide distribution point samples for modeling. The species distribution model Maxent was used to simulate distribution areas. All the Maxent simulation results were superimposed according to different taxa and physical geographical regions, and we calculated the biodiversity conservation value for analyzing hot spots. the conservation gaps were analyzed by integrating the distribution layer of national nature reserves and national parks (pilot area). Results show that the distribution of endangered species in the Yellow River Basin is mainly high in the south, and is concentrated in the mountain areas. The hot spots include Qinling Mountains, Taihang Mountains, Ziwuling-Liupan Mountains, Longzhong Plateau to Songpan Plateau, Qilian Mountains, Helan Mountains, and wetlands along the Yellow River. After distinguishing the geographical regions, the existing national nature reserves and national parks (pilot area) cover 13.89% of the hot spots' area, and the protection gaps are mainly found in the southern Ziwuling Mountains, the southern Liupanshan Mountains, the southern Songpan Plateau and the Laki Mountains. It is suggested that the threatened species hotspots should be taken into account in ecological conservation and high-quality development planning of the Yellow River Basin, and the natural protected area system of the Yellow River Basin should be optimized. For three different physical geographical regions in Yellow River Basin, specific suggestions are put forward:in Qinghai-Tibet Alpine Region, the protected areas should be optimized and biodiversity survey should be strengthened; in Northwest Arid and Semi-arid Region, lakes in Ordos Plateau are worthy of the enhanced protection; in Eastern Monsoon Region, the leopard, great bustard and Baer's pochard should be considered as key species and put more efforts on their habitat protection. In addition, this study also shows that, when analyzing biodiversity hotspots, considering the division of physically geographic regions and combining the hot spot analysis results of multiple taxa and single taxa for overall consideration may be better for meeting the needs of biodiversity in-situ conservation.

Identification of biodiversity priority conservation areas in China by integrating genetic, species and ecosystem diversity

Forest management modified the original structure of most European forests, and in the most extreme cases, genuinely natural and semi-natural forests were turned into plantations through clear felling and replanting, often using non-native species. We compared the bird community structure of native oak woods of northern Italy with that of their anthropogenic counter-parts: black locust and sweet chestnut woods. The three stand types were compared in terms of vegetation structure, bird species richness, diversity and abundance of foraging guilds. We analysed both the overwintering and the breeding community, to assess whether management had specific seasonal effects on bird diversity. Forestry-imposed disturbances affected bird diversity more consistently in winter than in breeding time: bird species richness and diversity were significantly greater in oak and chestnut stands, which were the preferred habitat for bark foragers and foliage gleaners. In the breeding period, bird diversity of black locust woodlands increased, and inter-stand differences were not significant. At this time of year, understorey gleaners were more abundant in black locust stands (where shrubs were denser). In winter, species richness, diversity and the abundance of several guilds were positively correlated with stand age, whereas in the breeding period canopy gleaners preferred younger woodlots. Despite the lack of inter-stand differences in breeding bird diversity, young-managed woods benefited generalist birds that need no particular conservation efforts. Conversely, priority species for forest conservation such as specialised bark foragers positively selected native and mature stands throughout the year. We suggest that detailed year-round studies on diversity and community composition could sharpen the precision with which it is possible to prescribe conservation measures in forested areas.

Ecotourism helps sustain protected areas (PAs) that in turn conserve Africa's declining fauna. Identifying ecotourist preferences and which species and landscapes benefit from ecotourism could therefore support African biodiversity conservation efforts. Due to historic associations with trophy hunting and subsequent ecotourism marketing efforts, ecotourist preferences have been thought to traditionally center around the ‘Big Five’: elephant, lion, buffalo, leopard, and rhinoceros. But these preferences may be evolving. Here, we ask two questions, one about the drivers and one about the consequences of ecotourism: (1) Which species and landscapes do ecotourists most prefer based on realized visitation data? And (2), differently, which species and landscapes benefit most from ecotourism? We gathered data on average annual tourist visits, the occurrence of nine mammals, bird species richness, forest cover, national wealth, local human population and accessibility for 164 Sub‐Saharan African PAs. To address our first question, we used a Bayesian multivariable model to identify whether bird and megafaunal diversity explain visits to PAs while controlling for other factors. To address our second question, we used Bayesian univariate models to analyze the relationships between park visitation and each species/landscape. We found that tourist preferences extend beyond the Big Five to include bird diversity. We also observed that ecotourism may be well suited to conserve bird diversity, lion, cheetah, black and white rhinoceros, African wild dog and giraffe species. Collectively, our results may help inform how to leverage ecotourism to conserve African fauna.

Habitat loss and degradation are recognized as the major contributors to species decline and extinction, and therefore represent a key conservation challenge for biodiversity conservation. Key to the protection of biodiversity is acquisition of ecological knowledge about how anthropogenic forest disturbances affect species and how species respond to emergent landscape characteristics. Furthermore, it is also important to assess how different management approaches and land tenures influence retention of the biota of particular sites and of landscapes. However, this crucial ecological knowledge is yet to be obtained for the threatened lowland landscapes of Nepal. Protected areas cover only a small proportion of forests in lowland Nepal; the majority of forests outside the protected areas (off-reserve) have been managed by the state government. However, in recent years, community forestry programs have been increasingly popular as attempts to protect biodiversity while permitting consumptive forest use by people. It is therefore important to understand effectiveness of different forest management tenures for avifaunal conservation. I compared species richness, abundance, diversity and community composition of birds among sites in community forests, state forests and protected areas. Although sites in protected areas had the greatest richness of birds, community forests and state managed forests had complementary assemblages, supporting species not represented in protected areas. Vegetation characteristics such as large tree density, tree canopy cover and shrub density were also greater in community forests than in state-managed forests. The findings suggest that the community forestry approach appears to improve habitat quality compared to state-managed forests, and therefore can be an alternative tenure type for conservation of off-reserve forests and avifauna in the region. Subsistence forestry practices such as logging, lopping, and grazing are sources of forest disturbance in lowland Nepal. Such activities do not reduce forest area, but change habitat characteristics, potentially affecting biodiversity directly, and through interactions with landscape characteristics. I examined effects of forest use practices on species richness and abundance of forest birds, and whether landscape context such as the extent of forest cover moderates disturbance effects on birds. I found that extraction of forest products reduced forest structural complexity and altered the avifaunal community of a site. At the site level, large tree density, tree canopy cover and shrub density were important habitat characteristics, while the extent of forest cover in the landscape had the greatest influence on richness of birds. The effects of forest disturbance (livestock grazing and logging) intensity on birds depended on the extent of forest in the surrounding landscape, with strongest effects in sites with less surrounding forest. Thus, although site-level vegetation structure is important, maintenance of forest extent in the landscape is also key for avifaunal conservation in the region. Several recent studies have demonstrated that the extent of forest cover and other landscape characteristics significantly influence bird species richness. However, different foraging guilds are likely to respond to landscape characteristics in different ways. Therefore, I examined the strength and magnitude of the relationships between the extent of forest cover and estimated species richness for overall birds and for each foraging guild separately. I found that landscape-level species richness of birds positively related to the extent of forest cover in the landscape. However, the relationship varied among the foraging guilds, with strong effects for foliage-gleaning insectivores and, to a lesser extent, frugivores, but only weak effects for sallying insectivores. The relationship between estimated species richness and the extent of forest cover in the landscape was nonlinear, with species richness decreasing more steeply below about 20-30% forest cover in the landscape. Importantly, I found that the relationship between richness and forest extent varied among foraging guilds and with landscape characteristics. Therefore, generalizing relationships between species richness and the extent of forest across all species could potentially mask important relationships at the functional level. The findings of this thesis have important implications for the conservation of avifauna in multiple-use forest landscapes. Although both site-and landscape-scale forest characteristics have important influences on bird communities, the extent of forest in the landscape both directly and indirectly affects persistence of birds in these landscapes. The extent of forest in the landscape can moderate the effects of subsistence forest use practices on bird assemblages. Therefore, conservation benefits for avifauna can be maximized by maintaining both site-level habitat structures such as large trees, and the extent of forest cover at the landscape-level. This can be achieved with appropriate protection measures through reducing human pressure on forests, and restoration of degraded forest habitats, particularly those that are heavily exploited such the state-managed forests. Thus, management approaches such as community forestry for management of off-reserve forests can potentially complement protected areas and maximize conservation outcomes in the region. Such measures will improve habitat quality and increase the chance of maintaining viable populations of the full complement of avifaunal species in the lowland landscape of Nepal.

Defining priority areas for conservation based on multispecies functional connectivity

Simple SummaryLandscape context plays an important role in bird species occurrences and abundance. For local biodiversity conservation and restoration, we examined the effects of landscape context on bird communities at different altitude gradients. The result showed: that (1) species richness and abundance at <300 m altitude were highest among the four altitude gradients, and they showed more significant differences than those at other altitude gradients; (2) the species richness of birds was associated with altitude, season and landscape context, as the season is more significance than other explanatory variables; (3) at the landscape level, habitat configuration is more important. The average canopy height and contagion index positively correlated with the species richness and abundance of birds at all four altitude gradients. In particular, the average canopy height is significant at 300–599 m and 600–899 m altitude gradients. The study results can provide a theoretical basis and guidance for future national park conservation and management and ecological restoration in the subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest regions.Landscape context can reflect the habitat structure and play an important role in bird species occurrences and abundance. For local biodiversity conservation and restoration, we examined the effects of landscape context on bird communities at different altitude gradients. Our study was conducted in four altitude gradients (<300 m, 300–599 m, 600–899 m, 900–1200 m) of subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest in Wuyishan National Park, China. The bird survey was carried out in 115 transects in spring, summer, autumn and winter. We examined the effects of altitude, season and landscape context. The result showed that (1) species richness and abundance at <300 m altitude were highest among the four altitude gradients, and they showed more significant differences than those at other altitude gradients; (2) the species richness of birds was associated with altitude, season and landscape context, as the season is more significant than other explanatory variables; (3) at the landscape level, habitat configuration is more important. The average canopy height and contagion index positively correlated with the species richness and abundance of birds at all four altitude gradients. In particular, the average canopy height is significant at 300–599 m and 600–899 m altitude gradients. The study results can provide a theoretical basis and guidance for future national park conservation and management and ecological restoration in the subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest regions.

Identifying complementary conservation and restoration priority areas for plant species

In the last two decades, Brazil has advanced significantly with the expansion and improvement of its national system of protected areas. Until recently most of the expansion was concentrated in the Amazon region (with useful lessons). It also had an uneven ecological representation of coastal and marine ecosystems, concentrated in coastal waters. Despite significant advances, the levels of funding, staff and stakeholders' engagement remain relatively low for such a vast system. Within the past few years, key elements of a new strategy for protection of coastal and marine areas have started to emerge, combined with some participatory processes and a focus on expansion of the total area protected (from &lt;1.5% protection of the country's marine area). These included: a renewed focus on priority areas for conservation; attention to national and international commitments and targets; clarity about the need for partnerships and funding; better engagement of Brazilian society and stakeholders; new, and more collaborative, models of protected areas management and conservation; and openness in the relationships with wider society. Significant results of this effort have started to appear: new large mosaics of oceanic protected areas were created; Amazon mangroves were recognized by the Ramsar Convention; new mangrove protected areas were created, besides other ones proposed; project proposals are under development with partners for better funding and sharing of responsibility; and there is a better engagement with stakeholders. The building of the Brazilian Blue Initiative is underway. The implementation of the proposed 15‐year marine strategy is at its onset: partnerships need to be strengthened and substantial funding is required. It will only be possible to manage the larger system of protected areas if there are more collaborative and innovative models for protected areas and conservation management. These should include partnerships with civil society, local and traditional communities and the private sector, as well as greater engagement of scientists and research institutions, stronger and more qualified tourism, volunteer work, etc. Further innovative funding mechanisms will also be needed along the way.

Impact of agricultural landscape structure on the patterns of bird species diversity at a regional scale

Moist high-altitude grasslands in South Africa are renowned for high avifaunal diversity and are priority areas for conservation. Conservation management of these areas conflicts with management for other uses, such as intensive livestock agriculture, which requires annual burning and leads to heavy grazing. Recently the area has become target for water storage schemes and renewable electricity energy projects. There is therefore an urgent need to investigate environmental factors and habitat factors that affect bird species richness in order to optimise management of those areas set aside for conservation. A particularly good opportunity to study these issues arose at Ingula in the eastern South African high-altitude grasslands. An area that had been subject to intense grazing was bought by the national power utility that constructed a pumped storage scheme on part of the land and set aside the rest for bird conservation. Since the new management took over in 2005 the area has been mostly annually burned with relatively little grazing. The new management seeks scientific advice on how to maintain avian species richness of the study area. We collected bird occurrence and vegetation data along random transects between 2006 and 2010 to monitor the impact of the new management, and to study the effect of the habitat changes on bird species richness. To achieve these, we convert bird transect data to presence only data to investigate how bird species richness were related to key transect vegetation attributes under this new grassland management. First we used generalised linear mixed models, to examine changes in vegetation grass height and cover and between burned and unburned habitats. Secondly, we examined how total bird species richness varied across seasons and years. And finally we investigated which habitat vegetation attributes were correlated with species richness of a group of grassland depended bird species only. Transects that were burned showed a larger decrease in vegetation cover compared to transects that were not burned. Grass height increased over time. Bird species richness was highest in summer compared to other seasons and increased over time. Overall bird species richness increased over the three summer surveys but species richness of birds that prefer heavily grazed habitat showed little change over the three years. Changes in bird species richness were best explained by the model with grass height for combined species richness of grassland depended birds but also for birds that prefer heavy grazing when treated alone. On one hand birds that prefer moderate grazing were best explained by a null model. However, overall bird species richness was better positively correlated to grass height than grass cover or dead grass. We conclude that frequent burning alone with relatively reduced grazing led to higher but less dense grass, which benefited some species and disadvantaged others. We suggest that management of this grassland use combination of fire and grazing and leave some areas unburned to accommodates birds of various habitat needs.

This case study focuses on terrestrial national parks in Canada, where the protected areas system has evolved for over a century since the creation of a national park at Banff in 1885. The role of 'ecological integrity' as a statutory standard following recent legislative renewal of the Canada National Parks Act is a distinctive feature of the Canadian system. While the national parks system has experienced significant recent expansion in conjunction with the resolution of northern aboriginal land claims, there are only limited indications in Canada of either co-management or community-conserved areas. The Canadian framework incorporates a wide range or reporting and accountability mechanisms which contribute importantly to public and non-government participation in the development of parks policy and administration. The national terrestrial parks system, while a keystone of Canada's protected areas framework, does not appear to be fully integrated with other federal protected areas initiatives or with corresponding protected areas regimes operating at the provincial level, although a jointly agreed biodiversity strategy has been developed through federal-provincial-territorial consultation.