Multi-scale mammal responses to agroforestry landscapes in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest: the conservation value of forest and traditional shade plantations

Aluane Silva Ferreira,Camila Righetto Cassano,Carlos A Peres,Pavel Dodonov

doi:10.1007/s10457-020-00553-y

Abstract

The future of tropical forest biodiversity will largely depend on human-modified landscapes. We investigated how medium- to large-bodied mammals respond to factors at local (habitat type), intermediate (land use heterogeneity, forest cover and human population density) and large spatial scales (overall forest cover) in agroforestry landscapes. We surveyed mammals using camera traps in traditional cacao agroforests (cabrucas), intensified cacao agroforests, and forest remnants within two large Atlantic Forest landscapes of southern Bahia, Brazil, representing both high and low forest cover. At the local scale, habitat types differed in their potential to harbour mammal species, with forest remnants and cabrucas showing high conservation value, mainly under contexts of high forest cover, whereas intensified cacao agroforests contained less diversified species assemblages in both landscapes. At intermediate scales, species richness increased with increasing forest cover around forest remnants and intensified cacao agroforests, but the opposite was observed in cabrucas. The effects of human population density were ubiquitous but species-dependent. At the largest scale, species richness was higher in the most forested landscape, highlighting the imperative of maintaining forest remnants to retain forest-dwelling mammals in human-dominated landscapes. We claim that mammal conservation strategies require a multi-scale approach and that no single strategy is likely to maximize persistence of all species. Some species can routinely use traditional agroforests, and a large fraction of mammal diversity can be maintained even if high canopy-cover agroforestry dominates the landscape. Nevertheless, forest patches and highly forested landscapes are essential to ensure the persistence of forest-dwelling and game species.

Highlights

One-tenth of all largely intact ecosystems have been lost globally since the 1990s (Watson et al 2016), and growing human populations coupled with food and biofuel demands will boost further agricultural expansion and intensification (Laurance et al 2014)
We investigate how mammal assemblages respond to land use change at different spatial scales: local, intermediate, and large scale
Our results indicate that traditional cacao agroforests retains mammal conservation value, even in landscapes that are heavily dominated by this land use, while intensified cacao agroforests, with a low Predicting species persistence in agricultural landscapes requires an understanding of the surrounding habitat patches

Summary

Introduction

One-tenth of all largely intact ecosystems have been lost globally since the 1990s (Watson et al 2016), and growing human populations coupled with food and biofuel demands will boost further agricultural expansion and intensification (Laurance et al 2014). In this critical scenario, the future of biodiversity will largely depend on processes affecting population viability in human-modified landscapes (Gardner et al 2009). Because land uses differ in vegetation structure and composition, human-modified landscapes are usually comprised of environments with varying degrees of habitat suitability for native species (Daily et al 2003; Harvey et al 2006). Structurally simpler than native forests, these croplands play an important role in biodiversity conservation, serving as habitat, connecting reserves, and alleviating pressure on resourceuse in protected areas (Bhagwat et al 2008)

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