Coastal Strip Research Articles

Indigenous Peoples as resources and resource makers in Peruvian Amazonia

ABSTRACT Environmentalist organizations promote co-management arrangements as a means of protecting forests and moving away from predatory forms of Indigenous-settler interactions. In Peru, the state and Indigenous Peoples co-manage territories under three regimes: Native Communities, Communal Reserves, and Reserves for Isolated Indigenous Peoples. Through the case of the Purús-Manu Conservation Corridor, we show how in co-management arrangements Indigenous Peoples play dual roles as resource managers (and makers) and as resources themselves, and how in this process indigeneity emerges as a resource. As a result, Indigenous Peoples find that paradoxically, co-management schemes reproduce many of the power asymmetries of previous interventions.

Landscape genetics of spruce grouse at the trailing edge of the boreal forest

Populations on the periphery of a species range generally occupy marginal or less continuous habitat and can have greater extinction risk than populations in the range‐center. For climate‐sensitive populations on the trailing edge of a species' distribution (i.e. low latitude or low elevation), the effects of climate change are expected to compound these threats, increasing the vulnerability of these populations. The spruce grouse Canachites canadensis is a boreal forest specialist that is expected to experience range contraction at the trailing edge of its range due to climate change. In this study, we investigated the genetic structure, genetic diversity, and connectivity of spruce grouse in Minnesota, along the southeastern range limit in the United States. Clustering algorithms and genetic diversity indices suggested a single continuous population occurred throughout northern Minnesota. We detected no signatures of recent inbreeding or population bottlenecks. We used maximum likelihood population effects modeling and identified coniferous forest land cover and lower average spring temperatures as predictors of gene flow. We used two approaches based on circuit theory to map the potential for gene flow and identified regions of consistently high gene flow in the northwest and northeast of the study area. Omniscape, which incorporated additional parameters representing the likely origins of dispersers and the maximum dispersal distance, suggested a more continuous gene flow landscape than did Circuitscape. Our work highlights the current genetic integrity of one of the largest populations of the eastern subspecies of spruce grouse C. c. canadensis in the United States, identifies key landscape attributes for functional connectivity, and demonstrates complementary approaches of Circuitscape and Omniscape for gene flow mapping.

Integrating supply and benefits of ecosystem services into ecological security pattern: A spatial flow perspective

Ecological security pattern (ESP) is an effective way to alleviate the conflict between social development and ecological conservation. Previous studies on ESP mostly identified ecological sources derived from local supply and demand of diverse ecosystem services (ESs), overlooking the spatial flow of ESs and thus limiting its significance in both local and regional scales. This study proposed a framework integrating ESs supply and benefit from a spatial flow perspective for ecological sources identification. After modifying resistance surface by nighttime light data and extracting ecological corridors by MCR model, the ESP was finally constructed and optimized for sustainable land use management in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) in 2020. The findings indicated that ecological sources were predominantly concentrated in the southwestern forestland and central Taihu Lake region, accounting for 18.47 % of the total area in the YRD. Totally 1035 ecological corridors were extracted, including 45 main corridors with a distance of 4284.47 km, overall exhibiting a “one vertical and three horizontals” shape distribution. Finally, an ESP of “four areas and four lines” was constructed after optimization, and targeted suggestions were proposed for regional sustainability. This study introduced spatial flow perspective and ESs benefit into ESP construction, which provides a scientific basis for sustainable land use management in a regional integration perspective.

Urban Green Infrastructure Connectivity: The Role of Private Semi-Natural Areas

Green spaces and blue spaces in cities provide a wealth of benefits to the urban social–ecological system. Unfortunately, urban development fragments natural habitats, reducing connectivity and biodiversity. Urban green–blue infrastructure (UGI) networks can mitigate these effects by providing ecological corridors that enhance habitat connectivity. This study examined UGI connectivity for two indicator species in a rapidly developing city in the southern United States. We mapped and analyzed UGI at a high resolution (0.6 m) across the entire city, with a focus on semi-natural areas in private land and residential neighborhoods. Integrating graph theory and a gravity model, we assessed structural UGI networks and ranked them based on their ability to support functional connectivity. Most of the potential habitat corridors we mapped in this project traversed private lands, including 58% of the priority habitat for the Golden-cheeked Warbler and 69% of the priority habitat for the Rio Grande Wild Turkey. Riparian zones and other areas with dense tree cover were critical linkages in these habitat corridors. Our findings illustrate the important role that private semi-natural areas play in UGI, habitat connectivity, and essential ecosystem services.

Factors influencing fish migration in one of the world's largest inland fisheries

Fish from Cambodia's Tonle Sap Lake are economically, culturally, and nutritionally significant for people in the Lower Mekong Basin, providing income, livelihoods, and protein. Fish in this system generally migrate toward upstream Mekong River in dry season and return in early wet season. However, drivers of fish migration from Tonle Sap Lake to the Mekong River are not well-understood. In this paper, we utilized Mixed Effects Random Forest to predict the catch weight of six fish species migrating from the Tonle Sap Lake to the Mekong River using precipitation, lunar cycle, and hydrologic conditions like river stage, streamflow, flow magnitude, and timing as predictors. As a surrogate for fish migration, we used daily fish catch weight from 2002 through 2008 at the bagnet, or Dai, fisheries along Tonle Sap River, a migration corridor connecting Tonle Sap Lake to the Mekong River. We found that migration of large fish was mainly cued by streamflow and flow magnitude, while smaller fish migrate depending on the combination of streamflow and flow timing. Streamflow less than average cumulative flow was the most important driver for migration of Pangasianodon hypophthalmus, and Cirrhinus microlepis. Migration of Cyclocheilichthys enoplos and Osteochilus melanopleurus was highly dependent on the number of low- and minimum-flow days. Cumulative flows, period of high flow and water level were the main predictors of the small mud-carp Henicorhynchus entmema's migration, while individuals of Labiobarbus leptocheilus migrated out of the Tonle Sap Lake depending on the number of days after 7-, 30-, and 90-day minimum flows. These results suggest that flow characteristics can be used to aid conservation and adaptive management of Cambodia's Dai fisheries.

Identification of landscape features structuring movement connectivity for Namibian elephants

ContextHuman modification of landscapes poses a significant threat to wildlife, particularly in Africa where population growth and land conversion are expected to increase. Habitat loss and fragmentation have led to declines in wildlife populations, highlighting the need to identify and preserve critical habitats, including core use areas and connectivity between them. Most recently, the identification of habitat corridors has become a key objective.ObjectivesOur study objectives are to (1) empirically quantify connectivity across the Kunene—Etosha landscape in Northwestern Namibia using GPS tracking data on wild African elephants, and (2) assess the landscape features (i.e., geologic, biotic, and human-made) influencing connectivity and corridor types (e.g., fast movement corridors versus slow multi-use movement corridors).MethodsWe used GPS telemetry data from 66 elephants collared in Northwestern Namibia to empirically quantify connectivity using a graph theoretic approach and assess landscape features influencing connectivity. Based on the ‘movescape’ approach, we identify different types of corridors and examined how landscape features differed across these corridors using multiple regression models on locations classified into different types of use categories by machine learning algorithms.ResultsOur results revealed strong variation in connectivity across the landscape, with paths of high connectivity near water sources between the study areas. We found that factors related to water sources and human presence primarily influenced connectivity. Water holes serve as hubs across the ecosystem for both male and female elephants with lower use areas peripheral to areas with water. Connectivity between Kunene and Etosha National Park was relatively rare among the collared elephants, but we highlight the key areas used to move between the two regions.ConclusionWater was the key feature structuring space use, and human presence influenced connectivity between water points, highlighting the importance of landscape planning in relation to limited water sources and human activities. Our results suggest that focusing management efforts on areas where water is limited for both elephants and humans will be important to reduce conflict and maintain ecosystem connectivity.

Wildlife corridors in a Southern African conservation landscape: the political ecology of multispecies mobilities along the arteries of anthropogenic conservation

The decline of biodiversity is a key topic in public discussions around the globe. These debates have triggered massive efforts to increase protected areas and to safeguard the corridors connecting them. The wildlife corridors dealt with in this article are mainly thought to facilitate the mobility of elephants and some other large herbivores (for example, zebra and buffalo). Wildlife corridors are not only essential for species connectivity but also an integral part of the booming ecotourism in north-eastern Namibia’s conservation landscapes. Coexistence infrastructure is meant to contribute to economic development and local incomes. Conservancies — community-based conservation organisations in the Namibian context — gazette corridors and market wildlife abundance to ecotourists, potential investors in tourism and commercial hunters. The coexistence of humans and wildlife is challenging, though. Human-wildlife interactions frequently result in damage, and often conservationist environmental infrastructuring runs against the aims of farmers to expand their fields for commercial crop production and to gain pastures for growing cattle herds. It also runs against other governmentally endorsed infrastructuring that brings tarred roads, water pipelines and boreholes. This article analyses contested wildlife corridors as part of a larger conservationist project in the western parts of Namibia’s Zambezi Region.

Identification of composite ecological corridors and spatial planning guidance in built-up areas under the concept of park city: Taking Shenyang City Center as an example.

The concept of park city provides a new model for the integrated utilization of multiple elements in built-up areas. Ecological corridors, as key components of urban ecosystem, play a major role in facilitating information flow and material exchange between various ecological spaces within built-up area. We identified ecological (mixed) spaces in Shenyang using points of interest data on the ArcGIS 10.2 platform and considered them as sources. Using the least-cost model and gravity model, we identified potential ecological corridors with high, medium, and low resistance on the resistance surface, and proposed the spatial planning guidance strategy based on the distribution characteristics of potential corridors. The results showed that the number of ecological (mixed) spaces in the study area significantly increased during 2017-2022. The ecological resistance surface showed an outward expansion trend with continuous accumulation of resistance in the core area. There was an increase of one high-resistance and one medium-resistance potential corridor, and an increase of nine low-resistance potential corridors. However, there were problems, such as a single corridor network structure, the exacerbation of ecological isolation, and continuous accumulation of resistance. Based on the concept of park city and the spatial distribution characteristics of potential corridors, we put forward a spatial planning guidance strategy to strengthen the support system of composite space corridors.

Identification of key areas for ecological restoration of territorial space based on ecological security pattern analysis: A case study of the Taihu Lake city cluster.

The identification of key areas for ecological restoration of national land space based on the ecological security pattern is an important way to balance environmental protection and social development in the new era. With the Taihu Lake city cluster as the study area, we identified the ecological source from both structural and functional aspects, and used the minimum cumulative resistance model to identify the ecological corridors on the basis of constructing the resistance surface. Coupled the landscape ecological risk evaluation, we determined the appropriate width of each ecological corridor in the study area, identified the key restoration zones through the circuit theory. Then, we constructed the ecological security pattern of "six zones and four belts" and controlled by zoning. The results showed that the 32 ecological source areas in the Taihu Lake city cluster presented a spatial pattern of "more in the east and less in the west-mountains and lakes are connected" and 70 ecological corridors were concentrated in the west and the center. The suitable width of most of the ecological corridors was 1500-2000 m. The ecological restoration zones of the national land space were concentrated in the eastern part of the Lake Taihu, Changxing County, and Liyang City. According to the characteristics of the study area and the actual situation of the restoration area, we proposed specific protection and restoration measures, such as protecting the core ecological source, optimizing and restoring the important corridors, and reasonably planning land use of the ecological pinch points and obstacle points.

Uncovering the impacts of LUCC on ecological connectivity in suburban open-pit mining concentration areas: A pattern collection of changing relationships between ecological resistance and ecological network elements

The suburban open-pit mining concentration area couples two human activities, urban sprawl and open-pit mining, while destruction of surface vegetation and ecological restoration coexist. This has also resulted in complex land use shifts that significantly affect regional ecological connectivity. However, the impact of such complex Land use/land cover changes (LUCC) on ecological connectivity in this region is not well understood Therefore, this study takes the suburban open-pit mining concentration area of Jinan City as a case study and uses Land use/land cover (LULC) data from the years 2000, 2010, and 2020 to simulate the spatio-temporal evolution of ecological networks (ENs). Subsequently, a pattern collection of changing relationships was proposed that relate changes in ecological resistance to changes in EN elements, addressing the dynamic transmission process from "spatial field" to "spatial structure entity". Based on this approach, GeoDetector is employed to reveal the response extent of EN elements to LUCC. The results indicate: (1) In the past 20 years, the area of construction land has increased by 100 %, while mining land has increased by 69 %. This significant increase in LUCC has led to a notable enhancement in ecological resistance in the study area, driving the generation of 20 % more ecological pinch points and barriers. Additionally, it has resulted in a twofold increase in both the number and length of level 1 ecological corridors. (2) The dominant status and structure of grassland, agriculture land, and woodland remain relatively stable; however, the interflow among them has caused approximately 25 % of the ecological corridors to undergo changes such as disappearance and path alteration. (3) The implementation of ecological protection and restoration has led to a continuous increase in the area of ecological sources, particularly with the mining rehabilitation increasing by 32.7 times compared to 2000, thereby driving gradual improvement in 25 % of the ecological network elements. (4) Although the quantity and length of ecological corridors in the study area remain relatively stable, evaluation results indicate that its spatial structure is gradually deteriorating, with ecological connectivity decreasing by 7.7 %. This study highlights the importance of restoration of ecological processes in sub-urban open-pit mining concentration areas. The study results can provide a scientific basis for ecological restoration and sustainable development in resource-based cities.

Small towns limit dispersal and reduce genetic diversity in populations of Texas horned lizards.

There is a general expectation that urban populations will be fragmented and the movement of individuals will be restricted leading to low effective population sizes, low genetic diversity, higher inbreeding, and higher differentiation than populations living in more continuous habitat. In this study, we compare the genetic diversity and differentiation of Texas horned lizards that are found in four small towns (Kenedy, Karnes City, Rockdale, and Smithville) in Texas and at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma to populations that occur in 16 natural areas and to an introduced population in South Carolina. We also present more detailed spatial genetic data and home range data for several of the towns. Texas horned lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) living in small towns have lower genetic diversity, higher differentiation, and smaller effective population sizes than populations located in more natural areas. There was evidence for human-mediated movement of lizards into town; however, it has not been enough to counteract the effects of drift. Home range size is smaller in town than in more natural areas. Genetic patterns suggest dispersal occurs over short distances and is inhibited across areas with a high percent of impervious surface and major roads. These data suggest that effective planning to maintain suitable habitat and corridors to facilitate movement is critical to maintaining small terrestrial species like the Texas horned lizard and must be integrated into the early stages of urban development.

Evaluation of ecological network resilience using OWA and attack scenario simulation in the Gansu section of the Yellow River Basin, NW China

Regional ecosystem quality has been rapidly declining as a result of rapid urbanization, which has also fragmented landscapes and reduced ecosystem connectedness. Strengthening ecological network resilience helps improve the ecological environment’s quality, protect biodiversity, and maximize ecological benefits. To quantitatively assess ecological network resilience based on 2020 data, we have selected the Gansu region of the Yellow River Basin as a case study in this study due to its significant ecological condition and sensitive vulnerability. Firstly, based on four ecosystem services (ESs)—water yield, carbon storage, soil conservation, and habitat quality—the ordered weighted averaging (OWA) method is introduced to determine ecological sources by calculating ordered weights under different risk coefficients to weigh multiple ESs. Two node attack simulations—random attack and deliberate attack—are used for quantitatively evaluating ecological network resilience, which can simulate the impact of external interference. The concept of a resilience threshold is introduced into the evaluation process of network resilience to improve the objectivity and accuracy of results. The findings indicate that (1) 156 ecological corridors spanning a total distance of 6,569.3 km and 73 ecological sources totalling 20,840 km2 were found in the study area. These findings generally demonstrate a concentrated and contiguous configuration in the southwestern region and a broken and scattered configuration in other regions. (2) With a mean degree of 4.27, a mean path length of 4.08, and a clustering coefficient of 0.47, an undirected and unweighted complex network with improved connectivity and no discernible clustering characteristics was established. (3) The ecological network is more resilient to perturbations from natural disasters when compared to assault simulations in two scenarios; the resilience threshold is 0.34. Considering the final results of node global features and resilience curves, ecological protection suggestions are proposed.

Fragile futures: Evaluating habitat and climate change response of hog badgers (Mustelidae: Arctonyx) in the conservation landscape of mainland Asia.

The small mammalian fauna plays pivotal roles in ecosystem dynamics and as crucial biodiversity indicators. However, recent research has raised concerns about the decline of mammalian species due to climate change. Consequently, significant attention is directed toward studying various big flagship mammalian species for conservation. However, small mammals such as the hog badgers (Mustelidae: Arctonyx) remain understudied regarding the impacts of climate change in Asia. The present study offers a comprehensive analysis of climate change effects on two mainland hog badger species, utilizing ensemble species distribution modeling. Findings reveal concerning outcomes, as only 52% of the IUCN extent is deemed suitable for the Great Hog Badger (Arctonyx collaris) and a mere 17% is ideal for the Northern Hog Badger (Arctonyx albogularis). Notably, projections suggest a potential reduction of over 26% in suitable areas for both species under future climate scenarios, with the most severe decline anticipated in the high-emission scenario of SSP585. These declines translate into evident habitat fragmentation, particularly impacting A. collaris, whose patches shrink substantially, contrasting with the relatively stable patches of A. albogularis. However, despite their differences, niche overlap analysis reveals an intriguing increase in overlap between the two species, indicating potential ecological shifts. The study underscores the importance of integrating climate change and habitat fragmentation considerations into conservation strategies, urging a reassessment of the IUCN status of A. albogularis. The insights gained from this research are crucial for improving protection measures by ensuring adequate legal safeguards and maintaining ecological corridors between viable habitat patches, which are essential for the conservation of hog badgers across mainland Asia. Furthermore, emphasizing the urgency of proactive efforts, particularly in countries with suitable habitats can help safeguard these small mammalian species and their ecosystems from the detrimental impacts of climate change.

Jaguar conservation is caught in the crossfire of America's 'War on Drugs'

International conservation efforts and prohibitionary drug intersect in unexpected ways throughout the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor (MBC). US-led counterdrug interdiction of transnational cocaine trafficking, or ‘narco-trafficking’, is increasingly pushing narco-traffickers and their associated environmental destruction into protected areas (PAs) to establish new smuggling routes. These locations are also where the greatest densities of jaguars (Panthera onca), an iconic and declining species, are found in Central America. Intersecting two geospatial datasets estimating 1) jaguar densities and 2) changes in landscape suitability for drug trafficking following counterdrug interdiction pressure, we estimated that roughly 69 % of the estimated population of jaguars in the MBC were found in areas of increased suitability for narco-traffickers. Moreover, jaguar populations within PAs were 2.5 and 34 times more likely to be in increased narco-trafficking suitability areas than those in jaguar corridors or other area without conservation designations, respectively. These findings illustrate the full costs of continuing current counterdrug interdiction policies alongside conventional conservation strategies and suggest that community-based conservation governance may more effectively discourage narco-trafficking activities and enhance conservation outcomes.

Optimization of multiple ecological infrastructures across the land–sea interface for coordination management: A case study around Laizhou Bay in China

Ecological infrastructure (EI), providing ecosystem services across the land-sea interface, has been proposed as a key element in sustainable terrestrial-marine ecosystem coordinated governance. Terrestrial and marine ecosystems should be regarded as an integrated unit for guaranteeing coastal ecological security. However, the existing EI construction framework focused on terrestrial ecosystems, and few studies consider the composite characteristics of the terrestrial-marine ecosystem in coastal areas. In the case study of Laizhou Bay, China, this study proposes an optimization method for multiple ecological infrastructures (MEIs) across the land-sea interface. The method is oriented towards achieving trans-regional scale cohesion, enhancing terrestrial-riverine-marine linkages, providing adequate pathways for marine ecological protection, and promoting coordinated conservation of terrestrial and marine ecosystems. The results showed that: (1) The new optimization framework synthetically considering the terrestrial multi-scale EI networks cohesion, hydrological corridors, and marine conservation network is available. (2) The preliminary ecological sources (PESs) are mainly distributed in the eastern mountainous areas, the estuary of the Yellow River, and six marine protected areas. The spatial imbalance of EI resulted in four marine protected areas in the southwest of the Bohai Sea insufficiently connected between sea-to-sea ecological sources. (3) The integrated MEIs includes four newly added ecological sources (two each for land and sea), eight trans-regional ecological corridors, 17 hydrological corridors, and 11 marine ecological corridors. Through optimization, the MEIs avoid fragmentation across multi-scale terrestrial regions, promote river-based connectivity between land and sea, and increase pathways for marine ecological protection, thereby ensuring effective circulation of regional ecological materials. (4) MEIs-conserved priority areas include 12.4 km2 ecological pinch points and 6.39 km2 marine biological protective points. Focusing on these conserved priority areas provides spatial references for the implementation planning of MEIs. Compared with traditional respective ecosystem networks, the MEIs across land-sea interface optimization approach is feasible for terrestrial-marine ecosystem coordinated management.

Effects of thinning and ground cover plants on soil bacterial community composition and diversity in Picea asperata plantations within giant panda habitats

Abstract Forest thinning and ground cover plant management play crucial roles in habitat enhancement, yet their effects on soil microbiota remain poorly understood. This study examines their impact on soil properties and bacterial communities in artificial spruce forests (Picea asperata) within China’s Huangtuliang ecological corridor, a crucial habitat for giant pandas. Thinning significantly alters soil pH and total phosphorus (TP) levels, with minimal changes observed in total nitrogen (TN), microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN). The combined effect of thinning and ground cover presence increases soil organic carbon (SOC) to 65.47 g/kg, contrasting with its absence. Thinning enhances the abundance of Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria and Chloroflexi while reducing Actinobacteria. Conversely, ground cover removal decreases Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes but increases Chloroflexi, Verrucomicrobia and Rokubacteria. These changes lead to reduced bacterial community diversity, as indicated by a lower Shannon diversity index and distinct community composition differences demonstrated through beta-diversity analysis. Soil pH, TP and MBN are crucial in maintaining bacterial community structure, with pH and TP exhibiting the strongest correlations. Network analysis confirms the significant influence of TP and pH on bacterial genera across various phyla. This study reveals the role of stochastic processes in high-elevation, low-temperature ecological corridors (R2 = 0.817), with thinning’s impact varying depending on the ground cover presence, thus enhancing effects post-removal by reducing dispersal limitation (migration rate, m = 0.96). These findings highlight the ecological implications of habitat management in sensitive ecosystems and advance our understanding of microbial dynamics in critical habitats.

Spatio-temporal analysis of meteorological drought return periods in a Mediterranean arid region, the center of Morocco

ABSTRACT Morocco has recently witnessed a surge in drought occurrences, leading to considerable socioeconomic damages. The standardized precipitation index (SPI) at 3- and 12-month timescales was employed to assess spatiotemporal drought characteristics across the Marrakech-Safi arid region. Mann-Kendall and Sen's slope methods were adopted to assess SPI trends. Furthermore, the Gumbel Copula was employed to construct the joint distribution function of three drought variables: duration, severity, and intensity. The spatial distribution of drought return period for different scenarios was carried out. Results revealed notable interannual fluctuations of wet and drought cycles, with the driest years being 1983 and 2005 and a mixture of positive and negative trends of SPI-12 and SPI-3 over the 1972–2018 period. Nevertheless, statistical significance was observed in only 50% of the SPI-12 trends and 27% of the SPI-3 trends. The drought severity in the region was highest in the plain area, with droughts lasting 6–20 months for 75% of all drought events for SPI-12. The coastal strip exhibited the lowest drought recurrences. Furthermore, dry periods exhibited greater temporal variability over shorter timescales. Finally, trivariate return periods of drought events were the longer, averaging 93 months for SPI-12.

Building landscape ecological network with multi-scenario connectivity based on network fault tolerance index and networking technology in graph theory

Existing methods for constructing Landscape Ecological Networks (LEN) either focus on functional attributes or structural attributes and also do not address the dynamic impact of urban development on ecological spaces. To address these limitations, this paper proposed evaluating the maximum connectivity (k) of potential LEN, composed of existing ecological spaces, using a network fault tolerance index. We then used graph-based networking technology to construct the optimal LEN structure based on this index. Specifically speaking, first, we identified the existing LEN with the highest ecosystem service capacity and lowest ecological cost in the study area. Using four landscape pattern metrics, we comprehensively evaluated the fault tolerance index as the maximum connectivity k of potential LEN and determined that k = 7. We then modeled the existing LEN as a weighted graph and transformed the network optimization problem into a k-edge addition problem. This calculation yielded seven LEN schemes, each corresponding to different priority orders of new ecological corridors based on k value. This index captures changes in ecological space patterns and offers diverse LEN optimization solutions. It provides practitioners with flexible spatial strategies to address the dynamic impacts of urbanization.

Fragments maintain similar herpetofauna and small mammal richness and diversity to continuous habitat, but community composition and traits differ

ContextHuman disturbance has transformed ecosystems globally, yet studies of the ecological impact of landscape modification are often confounded. Non-random patterns of land clearing cause differing vegetation types and soil productivity between fragments in modified landscapes and reference areas—like national parks—with which they are compared.ObjectivesWe sought to explore the influence of land modification on herpetofauna and small mammal communities using multiple biodiversity measures—species richness and diversity, individual species abundance, and community composition. We also aimed to investigate the role of traits such as diet, habitat breadth, and litter size in moderating species responses to land modification.MethodsWe established 100 sampling sites to survey herpetofauna and small mammals in 11 fragments in an agricultural landscape compared to 11 ecologically equivalent ‘pseudo-fragments’ in a nearby national park in south-eastern Australia. We selected pairs of fragments and pseudo-fragments of the same size and vegetation type, and used identical survey methods to sample pairs simultaneously, thereby controlling for numerous confounding factors, such as differing vegetation type, weather, and survey effort.ResultsSpecies richness and diversity were similar between fragments and pseudo-fragments. Despite this, we found community composition differed markedly—driven by the varying responses of individual species—indicating a shift in fauna communities associated with land modification. Fossorial habit, omnivorous diet, and broad habitat requirements led to higher abundance in fragments whilst arboreality, carnivorous diet, and narrow habitat requirements led to higher abundance in pseudo-fragments.ConclusionsAlthough fragments hold similar numbers of species to continuous areas, they contain distinct and novel communities, and sustain high abundances of some species. These diverse communities are dominated by native species, including threatened species, and their distinctive composition is shaped by traits conducive to persistence amidst land modification. These novel communities may provide a reservoir of resilience in the face of environmental change and should be viewed as complementary to conservation areas.

Disturbance amplifies sensitivity of dryland productivity to precipitation variability.

Variability of the terrestrial global carbon sink is largely determined by the response of dryland productivity to annual precipitation. Despite extensive disturbance in drylands, how disturbance alters productivity-precipitation relationships remains poorly understood. Using remote-sensing to pair more than 5600 km of natural gas pipeline corridors with neighboring undisturbed areas in North American drylands, we found that disturbance reduced average annual production 6 to 29% and caused up to a fivefold increase in the sensitivity of net primary productivity (NPP) to interannual variation in precipitation. Disturbance impacts were larger and longer-lasting at locations with higher precipitation (>450 mm mean annual precipitation). Disturbance effects on NPP dynamics were mostly explained by shifts from woody to herbaceous vegetation. Severe disturbance will amplify effects of increasing precipitation variability on NPP in drylands.