Abstract
Riparian Ecological Infrastructures are networks of natural and semi-natural riparian areas located in human-dominated landscapes, crucial in supporting processes that directly or indirectly benefit humans or enhance social welfare. In this study, we developed a novel multimetric index, termed Habitat Ecological Infrastructure’s Diversity Index (HEIDI), to quantify the potential of Riparian Ecological Infrastructures in supporting biodiversity, and related ecosystem services, in three managed landscapes: Intensive Agriculture, Extensive Agriculture, and Forest Production. Metrics describing the structure, composition, and management of riparian vegetation and associated habitats were used to derive the potential of Riparian Ecological Infrastructures in supporting three distinct biological dispersal groups: short-range dispersers (ants), medium-range dispersers (pollinators), and long-range dispersers (birds, bats, and non-flying small mammals). The composition of floristic resources, assessed by identifying trees and shrubs at the species and genus level, and herbaceous plants at the family level, was used as a proxy to evaluate the potential of Riparian Ecological Infrastructures in promoting seed dispersal and pollination ecosystem services provided by the three biological communities. Our research evidenced that Riparian Ecological Infrastructures located in the Forest Production and Intensive Agriculture landscapes exhibited the highest and lowest potential for biodiversity-related ecosystem services, respectively. The Forest Production landscape revealed higher suitability of forage resources for short- and medium-range dispersers and a higher landscape coverage by Riparian Ecological Infrastructures, resulting in more potential to create ecological corridors and to provide ecosystem services. The Riparian Ecological Infrastructures located in the Extensive Agriculture landscape seemed to be particularly relevant for supporting long-ranges dispersers, despite providing less habitat for the biological communities. Land-use systems in the proximity of Riparian Ecological Infrastructures should be sustainably managed to promote riparian vegetation composition and structural quality, as well as the riparian width, safeguarding biodiversity, and the sustainable provision of biodiversity-related ecosystem services.
Highlights
The studied area is embedded in three distinct humandominated landscapes: (i) Intensive Agriculture (IA), composed of two separated areas occupying 139.29 km2 and placed in alluvial zones dominated by rice paddies and irrigated maize crops (Figure 1a,b); (ii) Extensive Agriculture (EA), covering 44.27 km2 and consisting in a “montado”, i.e., an agrosilvopastoral system composed by sparse cork oak stands (Quercus suber L.), livestock in low densities and long rotation cereal crops (Figure 1c); and (iii) Forest Production (FP), covering 42.04 km2 and composed of blue gum eucalyptus plantations intertwined with occasional maritime pine stands and near-natural cork oak forest remnants (Figure 1d)
A total of 538, 592, and 820 Riparian Ecological Infrastructures (REIs) patches were identified in the Intensive Agriculture (IA), Extensive Agriculture (EA), and Forest Production (FP) landscapes, covering a total of 441.55, 142.80, and 462.45 ha, respectively (Supplementary Materials Figures S5–S8)
Was the smallest study area, REI patches were more numerous and covered a larger portion of the landscape when compared to the IA and EA landscapes
Summary
Human beings have exploited natural landscapes causing biodiversity losses and depleting crucial Ecosystem Services (ES), essential for current and future generations. Floodplains and their associated riparian habitats are amongst the most biologically diverse on Earth [1,2,3] and have inestimable ecological, economic, and cultural values [4,5]. Sustainability 2021, 13, 10508 soils to hold water [6] For this reason, floodplains and their associated riparian habitats are among the most human-exploited ecosystems in Mediterranean regions, due to the high productivity resulting from the frequent floods and the subsequent highly dynamic geomorphologic processes [7,8]. New research is recently emerging, reflecting concerns about the need to promote integrative and sustainable management of landscapes that reconciles human land-use with the improvement of biodiversity and biodiversity-related
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