High Deforestation Rates Research Articles

Wild Bee Diversity and Bee-Plant Interactions in Tropical and Temperate Forest Clearings in a Natural Protected Area in Central West Mexico.

Bees rely on plants for nutrition and reproduction, making the preservation of natural areas crucial as pollinator reservoirs. Seasonal tropical dry forests are among the richest habitats for bees, but only 27% of their original extent remains in Mexico. In contrast, temperate forests harbor fewer bee species and face high deforestation rates, with 40% of their area converted to other land uses. This study aimed to estimate the α and β diversities of wild bees and compare bee-plant interaction networks between these two vegetation types. Wild bees and their interactions with plants were monitored for one year in four sites within the Área de Protección de Flora y Fauna Sierra de Quila. Two sites corresponded to seasonal tropical dry forest and two to temperate forest. α and β diversity, connectance, nestedness, web asymmetry, and niche overlap were analyzed. Sierra de Quila harbors high bee diversity, with 155 species in tropical dry forest and 103 in temperate forest. Species turnover between vegetation types was high, although nine species used floral resources in both forests, connecting the interaction networks. Sierra de Quila diverse habitats promote high bee diversity, with niche partitioning and low connectance facilitating coexistence across different vegetation types.

EFEITO DA SOBREPOSIÇÃO TERRITORIAL COM O ARCO DO DESMATAMENTO SOBRE O DESMATAMENTO EM UNIDADES DE CONSERVAÇÃO NA AMAZÔNIA

The arc of deforestation in the Amazon biome overlaps with regions of expansion of the agricultural and livestock frontier and presents high rates of deforestation and grabbing of public lands. The present work aimed to evaluate whether deforestation occurring within the Federal Conservation Units (UCFs) located in the Amazon biome was influenced by the overlap with the Deforestation Arc. The data used were the PRODES deforestation alerts issued in the Amazon biome between 2008 and 2023. Three types of non-parametric statistical tests for group comparison were carried out: a.) Wilcoxon; b.) Median; and c.) Savage Exponential. The results of the three tests were highly significant (P<0.0001) and demonstrated that the Arc of Deforestation influenced the Size of Deforestation (area, hectares) that occurred within the UCFs studied.

Potential of local wisdom as an effort to prevent damage to forest resources

Deforestation is a problem that often occurs in forest resources and has an impact on human life. This study aims to analyze the potential of local wisdom of indigenous peoples in efforts to prevent deforestation. Forest resources that have an important role in supporting the lives of living things are threatened by the very high rate of deforestation. Government efforts to reduce the rate of deforestation are still less than optimal, as evidenced by the very dynamic rate of deforestation. Therefore, efforts need to be made to reduce the rate of deforestation by involving indigenous peoples through their local wisdom. The method used in this study uses a qualitative research with a library research method to contain the research results. The results of the analysis show that deforestation is influenced by the ease of obtaining concession permits to utilize forest resources without management. Local wisdom of indigenous peoples has great potential in reducing the rate of deforestation based on perspectives, rules, and sustainable use of forest resources.

Medium and large mammals from a locality in the Cerrado of northwest Minas Gerais, Brazil

The Brazilian Cerrado is the second largest biome in the country, covering around 200 million hectares. The combination of a high taxonomic richness, elevated species endemism, and high degree of threat makes the Cerrado one of the world's hotspots for biodiversity conservation. Cerrado is home to a high mammal species richness, with 251 species, of which 22 are considered endemic. However, the biome is at the center of the expansion of Brazilian agriculture, concentrating the largest portion of national grain production, which has led to high rates of deforestation due to the conversion of native habitats into pastures and agricultural land. In this context, I present data from monitoring medium and large-sized mammals on a private property formed by a mosaic of native vegetation and anthropogenic areas in the northwest of Minas Gerais, southeast of Brazil. Sampling was carried out between June 2021 and November 2022, totaling 42 days of sampling, using different non-invasive methodologies. A total of 24 species of mammals were recorded, including top predators, such as Puma concolor and Leopardus pardalis, which play critical roles in regulating ecosystems and food web dynamics. We have also recorded species vulnerable to extinction, such as Chrysocyon brachyurus and Tapirus terrestris. Moreover, no differences were found in the species composition recorded between the dry and rainy seasons. The study area covers a great diversity of natural and anthropogenic habitats that provide shelter and food for fauna, supporting a rich assemblage of medium and large-sized mammals.

Characterization of the Elemental Composition of Aerosols Emitted in the Dry Season of the Pantanal Wetland, Brazil

The Brazilian Pantanal region experiences intense biomass burning during the dry season, releasing large quantities of gasses and particles into the atmosphere, which have serious implications on both the climate system and public health. Understanding the dynamics of these emissions is crucial for mitigating the impact on the ecosystem, its functioning, and potential anthropogenic disturbances. This study focused on analyzing emissions in the northern Pantanal during the 2022 drought. Concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), black carbon (BC), and 25 chemical elements were measured using gravimetry, reflectance analysis, and X-Ray fluorescence, respectively, from samples collected between August and October 2022. The average concentrations of PM2.5 and BC increased approximately 4-fold and 2.5-fold, respectively, compared to averages from a decade ago. Significant increases were also observed in elements such as sulfur (S), potassium (K), iron (Fe), and silicon (Si). The maximum concentrations were comparable to values typical of the southern Amazon, a region known for high deforestation rates and land use changes. Elemental analysis revealed substantial shifts in concentrations, primarily associated with biomass burning (BB) and soil suspension. Additionally, enrichment factor (Ef) analysis showed that lead (Pb) levels, correlated with human activities, were 200 times higher than those found under clean atmospheric conditions.

Accelerating Promotional Media on Social Media for Brand Awareness Forest Smoothie

With high deforestation rates, reforestation is important to restore the ecosystem. Forest Smoothie, an international beverage company with the concept of "buying a smoothie equals planting a tree", faced the problem of lack of brand awareness on Instagram. Observation shows that their Instagram feed is monotonous and inconsistent in design, typography, and colour. This research aims to redesign Forest Smoothie's social media promotion with a modern and attractive design, using bright colours, consistent typography, and illustrations that reflect the brand's character. Using the design sprint method, this research went through the understand, diverge, decide, prototype, and validate stages. The result is an Instagram feed template that effectively attracts audience engagement. Validation through questionnaires showed positive responses regarding the recognizable concept, colour, typography readability, consistency, and interaction.

Co-Management Effects on Forest Restoration in Protected Areas of Bangladesh: A Remote Sensing and GIS-Based Analysis

Co-management is a promising forest governance strategy that integrates local communities’ traditional rights and forest dependencies while aiming to improve forest cover and ecosystem health. Bangladesh, facing high deforestation rates and limited per capita forest area, has implemented co-management initiatives since 2003 to restore forest cover and support the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities. While the socio-economic impacts of co-management are well studied, its effects on forest cover remain underexplored. This study addresses that gap by using three common spectral vegetation indices (NDVI, EVI, and MSAVI), calculated from Landsat 7 data, to analyze forest cover changes in five major protected areas under co-management. The results indicated that dense forest cover (41–71%) was initially prevalent in these areas, but a significant decline occurred between 2004 and 2015, with slope values ranging from −3.7 to −0.96. In contrast, the non-co-managed control site exhibited a much smaller decline (slope: −0.48 to −0.62) across all indices. Notable increases in agricultural land and forest–agriculture mosaics were also observed in the protected areas under co-management. Global Forest Watch data further confirmed substantial forest cover loss, particularly in CWS (158.77 ha) and SNP (0.49 ha). These findings highlight the need to reassess co-management strategies to address ongoing forest degradation.

All Deforestation Matters: Deforestation Alert System for the Caatinga Biome in South America’s Tropical Dry Forest

This study provides a comprehensive overview of Phase I of the deforestation dryland alert system. It focuses on its operation and outcomes from 2020 to 2022 in the Caatinga biome, a unique Brazilian dryland ecosystem. The primary objectives were to analyze deforestation dynamics, identify areas with highest deforestation rates, and determine regions that require prioritization for anti-deforestation efforts and conservation actions. The research methodology involved utilizing remote sensing data, including Landsat imagery, processed through the Google Earth Engine platform. The data were analyzed using spectral unmixing, adjusted Normalized Difference Fraction Index, and harmonic time series models to generate monthly deforestation alerts. The findings reveal a significant increase in deforestation alerts and deforested areas over the study period, with a 148% rise in alerts from 2020 to 2022. The Caatinga biome was identified as the second highest in detected deforestation alerts in Brazil in 2022, accounting for 18.4% of total alerts. Hexagonal assessments illustrate diverse vegetation cover and alert distribution, enabling targeted conservation efforts. The Bivariate Choropleth Map demonstrates the nuanced relationship between alert and vegetation cover, guiding prioritization for deforestation control and native vegetation restoration. The analysis also highlighted the spatial heterogeneity of deforestation, with most deforestation events occurring in small patches, averaging 10.9 ha. The study concludes that while the dryland alert system (SAD-Caatinga—Phase I) has effectively detected deforestation, ongoing challenges such as cloud cover, seasonality, and more frequent and precise monitoring persist. The implementation of DDAS plays a critical role in sustainable forestry by enabling the prompt detection of deforestation, which supports targeted interventions, helps contain the process, and provides decision makers with early insights to distinguish between legal and illegal practices. These capabilities inform decision-making processes and promote sustainable forest management in dryland ecosystems. Future improvements, including using higher-resolution imagery and artificial intelligence for validation, are essential to detect smaller deforestation alerts, reduce manual efforts, and support sustainable dryland management in the Caatinga biome.

Evaluating the barriers to adoption of improved biomass cookstoves in Benue state, Nigeria

The prevalent use of inefficient traditional stoves for biomass cooking energy in Nigeria contributes to high rates of biomass consumption, deforestation, and harmful pollutant emissions. This study aimed to assess the constraints hindering the adoption of improved biomass cookstoves (IBCS) in Benue State, Nigeria. Data were randomly collected from 135 households and analyzed using descriptive (frequency, mean and percentage) as well as inferential statistics (binary probit regression). Findings revealed that 88% of households rely on fuelwood for cooking, with approximately 35% still using traditional stoves. However, 46% of households have adopted IBCS and recognized its advantages, including improved cooking speed, fuel economy, time savings in fuelwood collection, cost savings, and reduced smoke emissions. Additionally, various factors such as age, household size, access to credit, location, distance to market, membership of women's associations, fuelwood collection distance, and fuelwood sources were identified as constraints to IBCS adoption. To promote IBCS adoption, we recommend that development planners and extension officers raise awareness among households and provide them credit incentives through government and NGO support. This research significantly contributes to pertinent knowledge by shedding light on the challenges and opportunities associated with IBCS adoption in Nigeria, thereby informing policy and development initiatives in the country.

Revisiting the Narrative of Deforestation in Central and Southern Mainland Early Modern Portugal as a ‘Ruined Landscape’: The Case of Shipbuilding in Lisbon

AbstractScholars have largely blamed shipbuilding for maritime expansion for being the main driver of deforestation in early modern Portugal. This article sets out to revisit the origins and reproduction of this narrative by analysing three interconnected elements in a case study of Lisbon's shipyards. Firstly, it studies the claims of forestry policies from the 1400s to the mid‐1600s. Secondly, it addresses Portuguese writers and foresters of the nineteenth century. Thirdly, it surveys the calculations of deforestation rates provided by Portuguese and foreign authors and foresters. Three main conclusions can be drawn: (1) scholars’ arguments that shipbuilding was chiefly responsible for deforestation are based on the claims set out in Portuguese forestry policies, (2) nineteenth‐century authors and writers stated multiple causes to explain the significant deforestation in early modern Portugal, and (3) it is very likely that the high deforestation rates that nineteenth‐ and early twentieth‐century authors reported are partially due to shifts in the meaning of ‘woodland’.

Conservation and Avoided Deforestation: Evidence from Protected Areas of Tanzania

Tanzania dedicates a substantial proportion (38%) of its territory to conservation, with a large number of Protected Areas (PAs) managed under various regimes. Nevertheless, the country still experiences high rates of deforestation, which threaten the ecological integrity and socio-economic benefits of its forests. We utilized the Global Forest Change Dataset (2012–2022) and implemented a Propensity Score Matching (PSM) approach followed by a series of binomial logit regression modeling. Our objectives were to evaluate (1) the likelihood of PAs in avoiding deforestation compared with unprotected forest landscapes, (2) the variability in effectiveness among the different PA management regimes in avoiding deforestation, (3) evidence of leakage, defined here as the displacement of deforestation beyond PA boundaries as a result of protection inside PAs. Our findings reveal that, despite ongoing deforestation within and outside of PAs, conservation efforts are, on average, three times more likely to avoid deforestation compared with unprotected landscapes. However, the effectiveness of avoiding deforestation significantly varies among the different management regimes. National Parks and Game Reserves are nearly ten times more successful in avoiding deforestation, likely because of the stringent set of regulations and availability of resources for implementation. Conversely, Nature Forest Reserves, Game Controlled Areas, and Forest Reserves are, on average, only twice as likely to avoid deforestation, indicating substantial room for improvement. We found little evidence of the overall leakage as a consequence of protection. These results highlight the mixed success of Tanzania’s conservation efforts, suggesting opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of many less protected PAs. We conclude by proposing potential strategic pathways to enhance further the climate and ecosystem benefits of conservation in Tanzania.

Charting the future of high forest low deforestation jurisdictions

High forest low deforestation jurisdictions (HFLDs) contain many of the world's last intact forests with historically low deforestation. Since carbon financing typically uses historical deforestation rates as baselines, HFLDs facing the prospect of future threats may receive insufficient incentives to be protected. We found that from 2002 to 2020, HFLDs (n = 310) experienced 44% higher deforestation rates than their historical baselines, and 60 HFLDs underwent periods of high deforestation (deforestation rate > 0.501%) at 0.983 ± 0.649% (mean ± SD)-a rate 7.5 times higher than the 10-y historical baseline of all HFLDs. For HFLDs to receive sufficient carbon finance requires baselines that can better reflect future deforestation trajectories of HFLDs. Using an empirical multifactorial model, we show that most contemporary HFLDs are expected to undergo higher deforestation from 2020 to 2038 than their historical baselines, with 72 HFLDs likely (>66% probability) to undergo high deforestation. Over the next 18 y, HFLDs are expected to lose 2.16 Mha y-1 of forests corresponding to 585 ± 74 MtCO2e y-1 (mean ± SE) of emissions. Efforts to protect HFLD forests from future threats will be crucial. In particular, improving baselining methods is key to ensuring that sufficient financing can flow to HFLDs to prevent deforestation.

Impactos das Atividades Agrícolas em Área de Amazônia Legal: Análise Espaço-Temporal das Mudanças de Cobertura do Solo entre 1985 e 2022

The Brazilian Forest Code stipulates the conservation of 80% of forested areas on rural properties as legal reserves. However, in recent decades, the expansion of agricultural areas has resulted in significant alterations to land use and cover. The objective of this investigation is to analyze the changes and transformations that have occurred in land use and coverage in the city of Sinop-MT, which is derived from the occupation of the Brazilian Legal Amazon. The spatio-temporal change between the years 1985 and 2022 was investigated. The methodology employed to obtain the maps was through the MapBiomas Platform. Socioeconomic reports were collected from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) database. The results indicated that agriculture in the region advanced significantly between 1995 and 2005, corresponding to the economic boom under the Real Plan. This period saw a surge in territorial expansion in the northern region of Mato Grosso, which was encouraged by the federal government. This expansion led to high rates of deforestation. Nevertheless, in 2004, monitoring programs were initiated with the objective of containing deforestation in the Legal Amazon. This resulted in the cessation of agricultural expansion between the years 2005 and 2022.

Vegetation characteristics of the Javan slow loris habitat in Mount Masigit Kareumbi Protected Area, West Java, Indonesia

Abstract. Allasselcida A, Sumarga E, Sofiatin. 2024. Vegetation characteristics of the Javan slow loris habitat in Mount Masigit Kareumbi Protected Area, West Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 25: 2512-2520. Habitat loss and degradation are major threats to the conservation of endemic wildlife in Indonesia, owing to the high rates of deforestation over the past decades. Most of these endemic animals are now at risk of extinction. Javan slow loris (Nycticebus javanicus) is a primate endemic to Java Island and is currently classified as critically endangered by the IUCN. This study analyzes four key aspects of the loris' habitat in Mount Masigit Kareumbi Protected Area (MMKPA), West Java: plant diversity, vegetation community structure and composition, plant species as food sources, and canopy density. A vegetation survey was conducted in three research sites using 41 nested plots measuring 20x20 m for trees, 10x10 m for poles and shrubs, 5x5 m for saplings, and 2x2 m for herbaceous plants. Data on plant species, diameter at breast height (DBH), and abundance (number of individuals) were collected within each plot. Forest Canopy Density (FCD) was mapped using Landsat 8 RAW Imagery and Landsat 8 TOA Reflectance Imagery, involving calculating several indices: Advanced Vegetation Index (AVI), Bare Soil Index (BI), Shadow Index (SI), and Thermal Index (TI). This study identified 104 plant species from 40 families across the three studied sites with dominant tree species were Pinus merkusii, Schima wallichii, Actinodaphne procera, Pinanga coronata, Miconia crenata, and various Setaria species. The diversity index at the three locations ranged from 3.02 to 3.41. This study found 35 species, including the dominant tree species, which served as food sources for slow lorises. The primary food sources available to slow lorises are sap (92.4%), followed by fruit (3.9%) and flowers/nectar (3.7%). The results of FCD analysis indicated that 83% of MMKPA has a "high" category, suggesting the presence of a continuous branch network that facilitates the easy movement of Javan slow loris. This information can be used to develop strategies for improve habitat management in the area, such as enriching fruit-bearing crops to increase food diversity.

Fire is associated with forest degradation and economic land concessions, but not land conversion in the rapidly transforming Cambodian landscape

Abstract Cambodia is beset by high deforestation rates and fire frequencies. From 2001–2020, forest cover declined by 34%, and cropland and rubber expanded by 31,401 km2 and 4,530 km2, respectively; meanwhile nearly 8.7 million fires burned 41.6% of the land. Fires may be associated with deliberate land change, stable land management systems, and unplanned forest degradation. We integrated annual land cover and monthly burned area data from 2001–2020 to test three hypotheses. First, if fire is used during land conversion, there would be a detectable pulse in fire activity in the year immediately prior to, and the year of land cover change. Our temporal analysis found statistically elevated burn rates in five of 16 transition tests, however, they were typically <1% outside the predicted range, indicating no practical significance in the association of fire with land cover change. Second, fire prevalence would be lower in land managed for conservation or agricultural production than unclassified or unmanaged land. persistent forest and shrubland burned at significantly higher rates than expected, cropland burned significantly less, burning was almost absent from rubber plantations, and forests in protected areas (PAs) exhibited lower total burn percentages than unclassified land or industrial economic land concessions (ELCs), thus supporting the fire-land management hypothesis. However, total burned area in ELCs was greater than unclassified land for several persistent land cover classes, suggesting that local landowners may prevent fire in commercially valuable private agricultural land, but there may be no such prevention measures in industrial ELCs. Anti-fire policy enforcement in ELCs should be enhanced. Third, forests that converted into (degraded) shrublands would experience increasing fire frequency in the years leading up to transition, a hypothesis we found strong support for through our temporal analysis. Cambodia’s 2013 Law on Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting deputizes the public to enforce its provision, however given that the vast majority of fires occur in persistent forest in state-owned land, collective action problems are likely to hinder its effective implementation.

PRELIMINARY MONITORING OF WATER QUALITY AT BANTURUNG VILLAGE, BUKIT BATU DISTRICT, PALANGKA RAYA CITY

Water is a vital necessity for human and living things in general. It is undeniable that the decline in water quality today is the result of human activities that overexploit the environment. People's lifestyles that pay less attention to environmental aspects such as throwing garbage out of place, disposing of hazardous waste, and changing the function of forest areas that can increase the potential for erosion and often cause sedimentation at the bottom of the waters have a negative impact both directly and indirectly on the natural environment, especially water sources. High rate of forest degradation and deforestation has a significant impact on changes and decreases in water quality. In this study, water quality monitoring was conducted using several parameters as an initial step to understand the condition at the Dam and Clean Water Facility in Banturung Village, Bukit Batu District, Palangka Raya City. The results obtained from the analyzed parameters include odorless, pH 5.9, turbidity 1.0 NTU, temperature 28.1 °C, color 3.63 TCU, total dissolved solids (TDS) 10.2 mg/L, nitrate (NO3-) 0.608 mg/L, nitrite (NO2-) 0.002 mg/L, iron (Fe) 0.038 mg/L, and manganese (Mn) 0.006 mg/L.

Deforestation drivers in northern Morocco: an exploratory spatial data analysis

Formulating effective policies to address or mitigate deforestation requires a comprehensive understanding of the contributing factors. This study examines the drivers of deforestation from 2001 to 2020 in the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima (TTA) region, a northern Moroccan area distinguished by the country’s highest deforestation rate. Through an extensive review of existing literature and employing Geist and Lambin’s deforestation framework, we identified five key causes: infrastructure extension, agricultural expansion, logging, wildfires as direct causes, and demographic factors as an indirect cause. Data on deforestation and its contributing factors were sourced from diverse databases, including Global Forest Change (GFC), Global Land Analysis and Discovery (GLAD), Burned Area Product (MODIS Fire_CCI51), World Population, Forest Proximate People (FPP), and National Forest Inventory (NFI) datasets. Pixel-level analysis of GFC data indicated that wildfires are the primary driver of deforestation in the region, accounting for 35.2%, followed by agricultural expansion (30.6%), logging (13.2%), and infrastructure extension (10.1%). The remaining 10.9% of losses were attributed to other disturbances, such as illegal extraction, pests, and dieback. Spatial patterns were further analyzed through Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) methods at a 1 km2 gridded scale, revealing strong clustering for all studied factors. Spatial relationships were explored using the bivariate local Moran’s index, which highlighted the highest spatial dependence between deforestation and fires (I = 0.21). Correlations between deforestation and other factors, including agricultural expansion, logging, infrastructure extension, and demographic pressure, were assessed at 0.18, 0.17, 0.08, and 0.05, respectively. Landscape pressures (LSP), encompassing deforestation, agricultural expansion, fires, infrastructure extension, and demographic pressure, were analyzed using the local Geary index, revealing a positive correlation in approximately 59% of spatial units. Last, a composite map of LSP clusters and an explanatory diagram illustrating dominant patterns in the TTA region were generated based on the results from local Geary’s multivariate and local Moran’s univariate tests.

Impacts of climate change in taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity in snakes in largest dry forest ecoregion, the Gran Chaco

The impacts of anthropogenic activities have significantly contributed to recent and future climate changes worldwide. The future effects of climate change on biodiversity have been intensively studied globally over the past two decades. Currently, dry ecoregions are among the most threatened ecosystems in the world. In South America, three such seasonal dry ecoregions stand out: the Cerrado, Caatinga, and the Gran Chaco. Among these, the Chaco has experienced high deforestation rates and landscape degradation over the last decade, making it a top priority for conservation efforts. In this study, we employed ecological niche modeling to estimate the present and future distribution of snakes in the Chaco region. Our goal was to assess how snake diversity will change with projected climate changes across this geographic area. Our findings suggest that snake assemblages in the Chaco will undergo significant changes under future climatic conditions, with a clear trend toward biotic homogenization of the ecoregion and a decrease in species richness. These negative changes will likely extend to the protected areas within the Chaco, resulting in biotic homogenization and a loss of species richness.

Temporal evolution of deforestation in the Xingu River Watershed between 2008 to 2020

Anthropic activities that alter land cover patterns in Watersheds, such as deforestation, affect the food and sanitary security of the population. Thus, the objective of this study was to develop a quantitative analysis of the temporal evolution of deforestation in the Xingu River Watershed between the years 2008 and 2020. To achieve this, the methodology was organized into the following steps: Database construction (Xingu River Watershed boundaries, deforested areas, and Land Use and Land Cover); Data preprocessing; Analysis of the temporal evolution of deforestation; and Quantitative analysis of land cover change in the deforested areas. It became evident that deforestation did not exhibit a standardized behavior, due to the large proportion of deforested areas in 2008 and the abrupt reduction in 2012. Furthermore, the deforestation in 2012, 2016, and 2020 resulted in greater conversion of native forests into pasture than the regeneration of these areas. Therefore, it can be concluded that 2008 had the highest deforestation rate, due to the increase in soybean prices, and that 2012 had the lowest rates due to the implementation of environmental policies, highlighting the relationship between environmental policies and the seasonality of commodity prices with deforestation rates. It was also concluded that the main destination for the deforested areas has been pastureland for livestock, and a viable solution to identify and punish offenders, as well as support small-scale producers and recover areas devastated by deforestation, is land regularization.

Bats and Mayan temples: Bat diversity and the potential for conservation of archeological zones in Yucatan, Mexico

AbstractThe role of archeological zones in biological conservation has been highlighted because of their restrictions over land‐use change, size, and maintenance of upstanding vegetation. The Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico has over 2000 archeological zones amidst biological, ecological, and culturally diverse landscapes. However, due to population centers and tourism growth, the peninsula is experiencing high deforestation and habitat fragmentation rates. To explore the role of archeological zones in biological conservation, we focused on bat species because of their high mobility, use of human structures as refugia, and the ecosystem services they provide. Using mist nets and roost surveys, we compared the bat diversity in four highly visited archeological zones during the dry and wet seasons. In a total effort of 34,560 m2 mist net hours, we found 23 species from six families and seven guilds, representing 53% of all bat species known from the Yucatan state, including two endangered species for Mexico: Mimon cozumelae and Micronycteris schmidtorum. We found between 12 and 19 species in each archeological zone, and the communities were similar between the four sites and between seasons. The Phyllostomidae family was dominant across all sites, accounting for 92% of all the captures. We also recorded 12 species across 52 diurnal and nocturnal roosts, suggesting that Mayan archeological structures could offer several advantages to bats despite the high visitation of tourists. Our results emphasize the need to conduct research beyond natural protected areas to complement conservation policies and incentivize the inclusion of archeological zones in Yucatan's bat conservation plans.Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.