Semi-natural Ecosystems Research Articles

Adapted RCP 4.5 and 8.5 climate change scenarios for invasive Sus scrofa in Mexico

Climate change is a common factor that contributes to the growth or decline of animal populations. The present study, conducted using the Species Distribution Model, highlights the fact that despite the recognized negative impact of wild boar (Sus scrofa) on semi-natural areas and agricultural systems worldwide, the species remains poorly studied. According to projections for Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5, increased clusters of wild boar abundance are expected to emerge around fragmented species assemblages by 2070. Sus scrofa is an extremely destructive and rapidly spreading invasive species whose movement appears to be facilitated by humans. As a consequence, many endemic plants are threatened with extinction. Biological corridors between fragments with poor conservation status should be linked to priority areas for adequate protection. The creation of preserved landscapes in territories separated from semi-natural ecosystems is recommended. Additionally, these measures can help mitigate the negative impact of S. scrofa on local biodiversity. Continuous monitoring and adaptive management strategies will be crucial for long-term conservation of the affected areas. Environmental protection efforts must prioritize the restoration of natural habitats and the implementation of strict regulations to control the spread of this invasive species. Collaborations between conservation organizations, governments, farmers, and local communities are essential to ensure effective wild boar management and the preservation of arable land and forests. Moreover, public awareness campaigns about the environmental impact of wild boar and the importance of conservation efforts are critical for garnering broader support.

Agricultural land around river confluences could strongly suppress floods occurrences

Flooding poses a significant threat to socioeconomic systems, with risks expected to escalate in the future due to factors such as climate change and urbanization. Ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR) emphasizes the role of natural and seminatural ecosystems, particularly agricultural ecosystems, in disaster impact mitigation such as by flood prevention benefits. This study evaluates the effectiveness of Eco-DRR in agricultural land around river confluences across Japan, where frequent flooding occurs. Using flood occurrence data from 2010 to 2018 in 1,917 municipalities across Japan, statistical models were established incorporating agricultural land, urbanized areas, and the number of dams as explanatory variables to predict flood frequency. Previous studies have demonstrated that agricultural land located in the water storage zone contributes to flood suppression, whereas high land in urbanized areas is associated with increased flooding risk. Therefore, this condition was incorporated into the models. Two patterns were tested: one using all agricultural land and another focusing on agricultural land within a 1-km buffer around river confluences. The results demonstrate that agricultural land near river confluences significantly enhances flood suppression compared to all agricultural land. In contrast, urbanized areas within water storage zones were associated with increased flood risks. The findings suggest that conserving agricultural land in flood-prone confluence areas offers substantial flood mitigation benefits, whereas urban expansion in these areas heightens flood risks. Therefore, prioritizing the preservation of agricultural land around river confluences is crucial for flood risk reduction.

The resilience of heathland ecosystems: A working hypothesis

Ecosystem stability and resilience are vital characteristics for understanding key ecosystem dynamics, conservation management and restoration issues. However, for heathlands and other semi-natural ecosystems investigating stability and resilience demands a different approach from that of more stable ecosystems closer to a successional climax state, since we need to distinguish between 1) disturbances that are needed to maintain the ecosystem in a habitat-characteristic state, and 2) pressures that may perturb the ecosystem away from a characteristic state. Here, we suggest methods to measure and predict resilience in Atlantic dry heathland ecosystems. This will be achieved by outlining a working hypothesis of the most important factors that regulate the stability and resilience of semi-natural heathland ecosystems. At the center of the proposed hypothesis is the amount of nitrogen in the soil that is available for plant growth and how the nitrogen-cycling pathway is formed by dominant species of heathland ecosystems. Furthermore, we will discuss possible ways to quantify semi-natural ecosystem resilience and suggest a research program that would allow us to test the outlined working hypothesis in semi-natural ecosystems and provide quantitative information for making ecological predictions on heathland stability and resilience. This investigation has direct consequences for how heathland conservation may be planned in a way that protects both resilience, structure, function and the characteristic species of heathlands. It could also form an ecological basis for investigating anthropogenic practices and ways to protect its associated culture-historical values.

The genetics of plant-plant interactions and their cascading effects on agroecosystem - from model plants to application.

Plants are typically surrounded by neighboring individuals in agricultural fields or natural environments. In such circumstances, plant-plant interactions (PPI) are ubiquitous and represent not only important evolutionary forces but also have consequences on (agro-)ecosystem functioning, such as increased productivity and resistance. However, many mechanisms underlying these PPIs remain poorly understood. Recently, new genomic technologies and tools, such as genome-wide association studies, have facilitated genetic approaches to study PPIs, particularly among conspecific individuals. Here, we highlight emerging issues and advances in the field by focusing on three different aspects. First, we overview the current status of genetic mapping studies on PPIs and pinpoint that these studies open a new opportunity that is relevant to agriculture and breeding. Second, we introduce two proof-of-concept studies in Arabidopsis thaliana, in which genetic differences among plants improved the functioning of genotype mixtures. Both studies were able to predict effective mixtures with different experimental designs applied to different outcomes (productivity increase vs. herbivory mitigation). Third, we discuss implications from these case studies about how PPIs have cascading effects that propagate to higher levels of biological organization, such as populations or communities. At the population level, plant yield or resistance can be optimized through breeding that achieves reduced competition or push-pull protection systems, respectively. At the community level, these population-level changes may have further beneficial effects on plant-associated organisms. Overall, we suggest that the increasing availability of genomic resources will improve our understanding of PPIs and thereby contribute to the management of crops or semi-natural ecosystems.

Effect of mowing versus abandonment of mesic grasslands in Central Europe on biomass use for biogas production: Implications for semi-natural ecosystem conservation

The economic management of lignocellulosic biomass from semi-natural grasslands is now a challenge across Europe. The abandonment of mowing these grasslands leads to the gradual degradation of these ecosystems. This study investigates how chemical and biological factors affect the suitability of biomass from abandoned grasslands for biogas production. We sampled 30 mown and 30 abandoned grassland sites in the Sudetes Mountains (Poland and Czechia). The cover contribution of short herbs was found to be significantly higher in mown grasslands (p < 0.001), while that of tall herbs was more prevalent in abandoned grasslands (p < 0.01). The specific biogas yield (SBY, NL kg−1 volatile solids) is negatively affected by an increased percentage of herbs in the biomass of mown and abandoned grasslands. This is due to the inhibitory effect of herbs on biodegradation, the increase in lignin content and the decrease in cellulose. This study highlights the importance of individual plant species in assessing grassland biomass for area biogas yield (ABY, m3 ha−1) and provides new insights into a field that has not yet been extensively investigated. In mown grasslands, ABY was most positively correlated with grass species (Arrhenatherum elatius, Trisetum flavescens and Festuca pratensis). In abandoned grasslands, the ABY was most correlated with herbaceous species (Galium aparine, Urtica dioica and Chaerophyllum aromaticum) and grasses (A. elatius and Elymus repens). Mown grasslands had significantly higher species richness (p < 0.001) compared to abandoned grasslands, but the number of species sampled did not correlate with SBY and ABY. This study contributes to the development of a sustainable bio-economy by highlighting the need for efficient use of grassland biomass. This approach helps protect semi-natural ecosystems and facilitates sustainable management of renewable resources.

Beyond Urban Forests: The Multiple Functions and the Overlooked Role of Semi-Natural Ecosystems in Mediterranean Cities

Beyond Urban Forests: The Multiple Functions and the Overlooked Role of Semi-Natural Ecosystems in Mediterranean Cities

Limited function of road verges as habitat for species connecting plant-bee networks in remnant semi-natural grasslands.

Species-rich natural and semi-natural ecosystems are under threat owing to land use change. To conserve the biodiversity associated with these ecosystems, we must identify and target conservation efforts towards functionally important species and supporting habitats that create connections between remnant patches in the landscape. Here, we use a multi-layer network approach to identify species that connect a metanetwork of plant-bee interactions in remnant semi-natural grasslands which are biodiversity hotspots in European landscapes. We investigate how these landscape connecting species, and their interactions, persist in their proposed supporting habitat, road verges, across a landscape with high human impact. We identify 11 plant taxa and nine bee species that connect semi-natural grassland patches. We find the beta diversity of these connector species to be low across road verges, indicating a poor contribution of these habitats to the landscape-scale diversity in semi-natural grasslands. We also find a significant influence of the surrounding landscape on the beta diversity of connector species and their interactions with implications for landscape-scale management. Conservation actions targeted toward species with key functional roles as connectors of fragmented ecosystems can provide cost-effective management of the diversity and functioning of threatened ecosystems.This article is part of the theme issue 'Connected interactions: enriching food web research by spatial and social interactions'.

Regional invasion history and land use shape the prevalence of non-native species in local assemblages.

The ecological impact of non-native species arises from their establishment in local assemblages. However, the rates of non-native spread in new regions and their determinants have not been comprehensively studied. Here, we combined global databases documenting the occurrence of non-native species and residence of non-native birds, mammals, and vascular plants at regional and local scales to describe how the likelihood of non-native occurrence and their proportion in local assemblages relate with their residence time and levels of human usage in different ecosystems. Our findings reveal that local non-native occurrence generally increases with residence time. Colonization is most rapid in croplands and urban areas, while it is slower and variable in natural or semi-natural ecosystems. Notably, non-native occurrence continues to rise even 200 years after introduction, especially for birds and vascular plants, and in other land-use types rather than croplands and urban areas. The impact of residence time on non-native proportions is significant only for mammals. We conclude that the continental exchange of biotas requires considerable time for effects to manifest at the local scale across taxa and land-use types. The unpredictability of future impacts, implied by the slow spread of non-native species, strengthens the call for stronger regulations on the exchange of non-native species to reduce the long-lasting invasion debt looming on ecosystems' future.

Green infrastructure design for the containment of biological invasions. Insights from a peri-urban case study in Rome, Italy

Secondary shrublands and transitional woodland/shrub formations are recognised to be particularly susceptible to plant invasions, one of the main global threats to biodiversity, especially in dynamic peri-urban landscapes. Urban fringes are in fact often the place for the sprawl of artificial surfaces, fragmentation of habitats, and complex land transitions (including both agriculture intensification and abandonment), which in turn increase propagule pressure of exotic species over residual semi-natural ecosystems. Within this framework, the present study was aimed at analysing i) how landscape composition and configuration affect the richness of woody exotic species in shrubland and transitional woodland/shrub patches, and ii) how this threat can be addressed by means of green infrastructure design in a peri-urban case study (Metropolitan City of Rome, Italy). Accordingly, the occurrence of exotic plants was recorded with field surveys and then integrated with landscape analyses, both at patch level and over a 250 m buffer area around each patch. Thus, the effect of landscape features on exotic plant richness was investigated with Generalised Linear Models, and the best model identified (pseudo R-square = 0.62) for inferring invasibility of shrublands throughout the study area. Finally, a Green Infrastructure (GI) to contain biological invasion was planned, based on inferred priority sites for intervention and respective, site-tailored, actions. The latter included not only the removal of invasive woody alien plants, but also reforestation and planting of native trees for containment of dispersal and subsequent establishment. Even though specifically developed for the study site, and consistent with local government needs, the proposed approach represents a pilot planning process that might be applied to other peri-urban regions for the combined containment of biological invasions and sustainable development of peripheral complex landscapes.

Factors driving plant diversity in the spontaneous vegetation of the novel ecosystem of post-coal mining spoil heaps and their relationship with soil respiration

The subject of the paper is the analysis of the relationship between spontaneous vegetation diversity and soil respiration in novel post-coal mine ecosystem. In the natural and semi-natural ecosystems, soil respiration process (Rs) is a crucial ecosystem function regulating terrestrial ecosystems’ carbon cycle. Soil respiration depends on the quality and quantity of the soil organic matter (SOM), the soil microbes’ activity, and root metabolism. The listed factors are directly related to the composition diversity of vegetation plant species (biochemistry). For many years, soil respiration parameters have been studied in natural and seminatural vegetation communities and ecosystems. However, there still need to be a greater understanding of the relationship between vegetation plant species diversity and soil respiration as a crucial ecosystem function. Plant species diversity has to be analysed through both the taxonomic diversity and the functional diversity. These approaches reflect the composition, structure, and function of plant species communities. We hypothesise that the diversity of the spontaneous vegetation species composition shapes the amount of soil respiration in a post-coal mine novel ecosystem. The soil respiration differs significantly along the vegetational types driven by habitat gradients and is significantly higher in highly functional richness and dispersion vegetation patches. Contrary to our expectation, soil respiration was the highest in the less diverse vegetation types – both taxonomical and functional evenness were non-significant factors. Only functional dispersion is weakly negative correlated with soil respiration level (SRL).

Мохоподібні парку-пам’ятки садово-паркового мистецтва місцевого значення «Снопківський» (м. Львів)

The species diversity and substratum preferencies of Bryophytes in the territory of the local park-monument park “Snopkivsky” in the urban ecosystem of Lviv are given in the article. The bryoflora of the Snopkivsky Park includes 61 species of bryophytes from the divisions Marchantiophyta and Bryophyta. The high position of the families Brachytheciaceae, Orthotricaceae, Pottiaceae, Bryaceae in the floristic spectrum reflects the specificity of the park’s local conditions. The percentage of these families in the floristic spectrum is 45.9 % of the total species richness. This distribution is characteristic of aridic natural zones, which indicates the dry condition of the urban microclimate. At the same time, a good representation of the boreal and nemoral forest families such as Mniaceae, Amblystegiaceae, Hypnaceae (21.3 % of the total species richness) reflects the natural features of the territory (the zone of broad-leaved forests), which spontaneously reproduced on part of the Park territory or were created artificially in ornamental gardening. In this part of the Park with spontaneous silvatisation the largest number of bryophyte species is concentrated and the moss cover is the most abundant. Poor representation of Marchantiophytes indicates a significant degree of anthropization of the studied urban ecosystem. There is an increase in the number of anthropogenic ecotopes in the Park, which is reflected in a significant upgrowth in the fraction of epilithic bryophyte species. Ravines and abandoned quarries have the greatest conservation value for mosses on the Park territory. Some anthropophobic species as components of epigeic, epiphytic and epixylic substrates groups, which are not characteristic of intensively urbanized areas, are occur here. No rare bryophyte species were found within the park. However, floating liverwort Riccia fluitans, which is not typical for urban areas in general, was found in the Zelene Oko lake. Calcareous tufa deposited in the bed of hard-water streams at the headwaters of the Snopkivsky stream is a specific habitat for bryophytes. Indicators for hard-water springs with tufa formation of European lowland arias bryophytes species (Apopellia endiviifolia, Cratoneuron filicinum and Platyhypnidium riparoides) were found here. Amphibious (primarily calciphilic tufa-forming) and free-floating bryophyte species are equally not typical for urbanized ecosystems and occur here only sporadically: this fact underlines the conservation value of the researched park for the pre­servation of bryophytes microhabitats within the city boundaries. The conservation of silvatic areas, both spontaneous and artificial, is an important condition for the effective functioning of the park as a semi-natural ecosystem. The diversity of bryophytes, their species composition and cover abundance are indicative of the integrity of urban ecosystems on the territory of the park “Snopkivsky”.

Higher adaptive tolerance with higher risk for sparrows living in airport environments

Adjustments in flight initiation distance (FID) indicate how birds adapt to external environmental changes, including semi-natural ecosystems such as airports with regular disturbances. This study focused on sparrows (Passer montanus) as the research subject, because it is a dominant species with a high risk of bird strike events at airports. We investigated the FID and its influencing factors both inside and outside an airport compound to determine sparrows' vigilance and their adaptive adjustments to the airport environment. The FID of sparrows showed no significant variation between inside and outside the airport compound. However, a significant reduction of FID was exhibited during the breeding season. Group size showed a significant positive impact on the FID, somewhat supporting the many-eyes hypothesis, in which larger groups with more individuals may detect predators earlier. Additionally, the stimulus type and location influenced the effect of group size on FID, with most birds showing greater tolerance to vehicles than to humans, and being slightly bolder inside the airport than outside it. Overall, sparrows showed a higher tolerance to disturbance inside the airport compound and less vigilance to vehicles than to humans. Nevertheless, these adaptations may inadvertently form an ecological trap for bird populations around airports, exposing them to the dual threats of higher levels of raptor predation and the hazards of bird strikes. Thus multifaceted bird-scaring strategies and measures should be formulated to ensure flight safety and enhance avian survival during airport management.

Contribution of Protected Areas to Mitigate the Effect of Landscape Fragmentation in Slovakia

Abstract The main aim of the research is to identify landscape fragmentation (LF) in Slovakia with special emphasis on the contribution of protected areas (PAs) to mitigate the effect of LF. Results are presented in the final raster output (10 m grid). The raster contains 490,321,151 individual 10 m raster grids, with the LF average value of 59.12 % (where 0 represents fragmented landscape, 100 represents fully connected landscape by natural or semi-natural ecosystems) on the national level. Most of the territory of Slovakia falls within the range of values 55 – 65 %, which confirms the presence of significant continuous unfragmented areas. Based on the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) statistics results, there is a positive correlation of lower LF within the PAs network (p &lt; 0.05, Table 1) in comparison to the unprotected part of Slovakia. The results of geographically weight regression (GWR) proved a medium positive correlation (r2=0.36; r2adj=0.36; n=49,003), thus confirming to a certain extent the role of PAs in the mitigation of the effect of LF. On the other hand, the level of protection does not correlate significantly with fragmentation values, where a higher level of protection is not significantly connected with a lower level of LF. For each category of PA, individual statistics of quality and quantity of LF are estimated and subsequently compared with unprotected parts of Slovakia. The comparison of all PAs with each other resulted in 1,132 unique assessments. The overall average value of LF of unprotected parts is still rather high (56.42 %) and it shows that there are still significant areas existing, which are situated in unprotected parts of the country. Spatial analysis revealed, that these important parts are covering 93,065 hectares, and are variously spread across the whole of Slovakia. The average value of LF for these newly identified areas is 68.5 %. As output, the results of this research present a comprehensive national map of the level of LF and lists of PAs ranked according to the overall assessment of LF.

Determination of suitable agricultural areas and current land use in Isparta Province, Türkiye, through a linear combination technique and geographic information systems

AbstractSustainable land use is vital for the increasing population’s food supply and global food security. The use of the soils in the world for agricultural purposes makes a significant contribution to both national and international food supply, while the remaining plays a crucial role in maintaining forested and semi-natural ecosystems. For this reason, it is important to determine suitable agricultural areas. Soils in the study area are used for agricultural areas at 27.49%, while 63.17% are designated for forest and semi-natural areas. This study’s aim is to locate suitable agricultural areas in the semiarid Isparta province using the linear combination technique (LCT), a multi-criteria analysis method that uses topographic data and national soil data. The weights of the parameters were determined using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The agricultural land suitability map generated by LCT was divided into five categories according to the land suitability classification determined by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It has been determined that 39.52% of the study area is for highly suitable (S1), moderately suitable (S2), and marginally suitable (S3) classes in the map of suitable agricultural areas using LCT. It is determined that 3991.24 ha of land in the S1 class, which shows the highly suitable areas for agriculture in the study area, was used as artificial surfaces. The results showed that the misuse of suitable agricultural lands increased in the study area. It was determined that artificial areas are expanding into agricultural areas, according to the CLC 2018 database. It shows that soil survey and mapping studies should be carried out according to soil classification systems such as Soil Taxonomy 2022, Land Use/Land Cover Area Frame Survey (LUCAS), and World Reference Base (WRB) 2022, for the determination and use of suitable agricultural lands in Türkiye.

The legacy of millennial-scale land-use practices on landscape composition, diversity and slope erosion in the subalpine areas of Eastern Carpathians, Romania

We conducted multi-proxy analyses in two subalpine lakes, Lake Gropile, in the Rodna Mountains and Lake Vinderelu in the Maramureș Mountains, the Eastern Carpathians, Romania, to investigate the effect of different land-use practices on landscape composition, diversity and slope erosion. In the case of Lake Gropile, results evidenced a more extended tree and shrub cover and high fire activity between 6400 and 2800 cal yr BP, accompanied by reduced soil erosion, which appeared more strongly regulated by climatic conditions. Anthropogenic impact became evident 2800 years ago, when landscape openness, pasturing, and disturbance of soil cover increased and intensified over the last four centuries. In the case of Lake Vinderelu, intensified burning was followed by grazing around 1200–1100 cal yr BP and continued throughout the last millennium. Results also highlight the site-specific effects of land-use on vegetation composition and landscape diversity. For Lake Vinderelu, a combined effect of local burning and grazing in removing shrub cover appear to be the main drivers of changes in landscape diversity and structure. At Lake Gropile, fire was more connected to shrub cover changes while grazing to herbaceous cover diversity. Moderate to low grazing appeared to benefit both subalpine ecosystems, creating rich grassland-shrub mosaic communities, while overgrazing reduced landscape diversity and exacerbated erosion. Our findings document the millennial-scale legacy of land-use practices on the subalpine landscapes in this region. We propose that these semi-natural ecosystems hold important ecological and cultural value, and recommend their maintenance through controlled, low intensity pasturing and/or burning.

Exploring biodiversity patterns at the landscape scale by linking landscape energy and land use/land cover heterogeneity

Agricultural Biodiversity dynamics has been evaluated by social metabolism or by landscape structure-function analysis. In this study, by using ELIA modeling, we used both methods in combination to understand how the interplay between social metabolism and landscape structure-function can affect biodiversity pattern distribution. We used energy reinvestment (E) as an indicator of social metabolism and landscape heterogeneity (Le) as an indicator of landscape structure-function. We propose a research hypothesis to analyze biodiversity patterns considering four different clusters identified based on high or low E or Le. As cluster 1, we defined E as high and Le as low and associated natural ecosystems to it. These ecosystems are expected to contain high species abundance but low richness. As cluster 2, both E and Le were defined as high and semi-natural ecosystems were associated to it, where nature friendly farm system developed. In these ecosystems, high species abundance and richness are expected. Cluster 3 with low E and Le was associated intensive farmland, which is due to the simplification of the landscape. Here, low energy reinvestment and landscape heterogeneity confirm that ecosystem services related to biodiversity have been drastically reduced. Lastly, cluster 4 with low E but high Le refers to intensive mosaics of farmland and pasture. In this cluster, the biodiversity richness index is high due to spatial landscape diversity, but the biodiversity abundance index is low due to the lack of energy reinvestment. We evaluate the proposed hypothesis for biodiversity analysis in the Qazvin province, emphasizing the interplay between energy availability and landscape heterogeneity in shaping ecological communities. This study highlights the importance of understanding biodiversity patterns at spatial scale and emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary research to address conservation and sustainability challenges. Our approach would be very useful where there is lack of biodiversity data.

Tree size distribution as the stationary limit of an evolutionary master equation

The diameter distribution of a given species of deciduous trees is well approximated by a Gamma distribution. Here we give new experimental evidence for this conjecture by analyzing deciduous tree size data in mature semi-natural forest and ancient, traditionally managed wood-pasture from Central Europe. These distribution functions collapse on a universal shape if the tree sizes are normalized to the mean value in the considered sample. A new evolutionary master equation is used to model the observed distribution. The model incorporates four ecological processes: tree growth, mortality, recruitment, and diversification. Utilizing simple and realistic kernel functions describing the first three, along with an assumed multiplicative dilution due to diversification, the stationary solution of the master equation yields the experimentally observed Gamma distribution. The model as it is formulated allows an analytically compact solution and has only two fitting parameters whose values are consistent with the experimental data related to these processes. We found that the equilibrium size distribution of tree species with different ecology, originating from two contrastingly different semi-natural ecosystem types can be accurately described by a single dynamical mean-field model.

The number of Estonian black fungus gnats (Diptera, Sciaridae) doubled: the first records of 64 species.

Adult sciarid flies are small to medium-sized, delicate insects, typically black in colour and belonging to the superfamily Sciaroidea within the order Diptera. They exhibit a uniform appearance. Distinguishing them from other families of Sciaroidea is primarily achieved through their typical wing venation. Sciaridae are common in both natural and semi-natural ecosystems, where they play a significant role in decomposition during their larval stage. Prior to the current study, only one specific research project had been conducted on Sciaridae in Estonia. The number of sciarid species identified in Estonia was set at 67. This research, conducted in north-eastern Estonia during 2015 and 2016, presents a comprehensive overview of Sciaridae diversity, shedding light on previously understudied aspects of Estonia's biodiversity. A total of 1038 specimens were identified, representing 91 species, amongst which 64 were previously unknown to Estonia. Notably, Corynopterawinnertzi (Mohrig, 1993) emerged as the most abundant species, followed by Corynopterairmgardis (Lengersdorf, 1930), Corynopteracrassistylata (Frey, 1948) and Bradysiatrivittata (Staeger, 1840). The genus Corynoptera Winnertz, 1867 exhibited the highest diversity, consistent with findings from broader European studies. This study underscores the importance of ongoing surveys for better understanding the distribution and composition of Sciaridae species in Estonia, emphasising the need for further research to delve into the intricate ecology and biology of these insects.

Distribution and invasiveness of four non-native species of plants in ecosystems in the Chorokhi delta (SW Georgia)

Chorokhi Delta is known for its high diversity and many habitats, which however are being threatened by invasive plants. Here, the effects of four invasive species of plants, namely Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Sicyos angulatus, Solidago canadensis and Verbena brasiliensis were studied. These species were recorded in the coastal area of the Black Sea and in particular in Georgia for the first time in the first half of the last century and S. angulatus is a very recent arrival. Currently, these species constitute a significant threat to biodiversity at local, national and global levels. These invasive species were monitored from 2021 to 2022. During this period, sites with high densities of the invasive species were identified. For each species, 5 transects were randomly set, and along each of them, 10 plots (1 × 1 m) were surveyed. The density, frequency, coverage and average height of the invasive plants were measured in each plot. These measurements were recorded twice per year for two years (2021–2022). All this information will be used to develop management plans aimed at preventing their further spread or control their abundance. The results indicate that Ambrosia artemisiifolia is the most invasive and widely distributed. Verbena brasiliensis and Sicyos angulatus are also highly competitive species that can seriously affect semi-natural habitats in the Chorokhi Delta and in agricultural land located close to the Delta. Unlike these species, Solidago canadensis is not widely distributed in the area studied. However, its ability to survive in a wide range of habitats and clonal growth indicate that it is potentially a highly dangerous invasive species, which in the future is expected to expand its range and severely affect the semi-natural ecosystems and agricultural land in the Chorokhi Delta. The results of the present study demonstrate the high adaptability of the species studied and their potential for spreading further in the near future.

Assessment of Ecosystem Services at Different Scales

Natural and semi-natural ecosystems are under large anthropogenic pressure and degrading at an alarming speed [...]