Landscape Structure Research Articles

8.D. Scientific session: Equitable Immunization: Leveraging Prisons for Vaccination Equity in Europe

Abstract Addressing low vaccine coverage is a pressing public health concern in Europe, where pockets of unvaccinated individuals persist despite ongoing efforts. The European region sees an estimated 1.4 million individuals detained on any given day, with a significantly higher number passing through prisons annually due to high turnover rates. Those experiencing incarceration often come from socially marginalized and disadvantaged groups, facing a multitude of health challenges including non-communicable diseases, infectious diseases, mental illness, cognitive disabilities, and substance dependence. Despite their elevated health needs, individuals in prison frequently encounter barriers to accessing healthcare services, including preventive measures such as vaccination. Available but limited data suggest that individuals entering the prison system are often under-immunized, particularly against Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), influenza, measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), and pneumococci. Unfortunately, vaccination services within prisons are often insufficient, typically being provided according to national schedules or in response to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs). It’s crucial to distinguish between the availability of vaccination services and actual coverage, as the modalities of vaccination offerings vary across the region. While individuals in prison are recognized as a target group for HBV vaccination, the methods of offering vaccines may differ based on factors such as age or risk group. Nevertheless, systematic implementation of HBV vaccination in prisons has shown clear benefits for both incarcerated individuals and the wider community. Given the significance of vaccinations in preventing diseases like HBV and human papillomavirus (HPV), which are linked to cancer, initiatives like the Europe Beating Cancer Plan and the European Council Recommendation on vaccine-preventable cancer emphasize their importance. Prisons can serve as a strategic point for delivering comprehensive healthcare and vaccination services to incarcerated individuals, yet routine data on vaccination coverage at entry and uptake during incarceration are often lacking, hindering effective health planning. To address this public health challenge, the ‘Reaching the hard-to-reach: Increasing access and vaccine uptake among prison population in Europe’ (RISE-Vac) project consortium has been formed. This collaborative effort brings together diverse expertise and established networks in the field of prison health, reflecting the varied epidemiological and structural landscapes across Europe. The objective of this workshop is to showcase recent research findings, evidence-based practices, and policy recommendations aimed at enhancing vaccination equity in the European region. By sharing insights and best practices, we aim to bolster efforts to improve vaccine access and uptake among incarcerated populations, ultimately contributing to broader public health goals. Key messages • Prison health is public health: vaccination services in prison are essential to achieve immunization targets in Europe. • Maximizing inter-sectoral collaboration is crucial for bridging the gap in vaccination access and uptake among people living in prison in Europe.

Structural and free energy landscape analysis for the discovery of antiviral compounds targeting the cap-binding domain of influenza polymerase PB2

Influenza poses a significant threat to global health, with the ability to cause severe epidemics and pandemics. The polymerase basic protein 2 (PB2) of the influenza virus plays a crucial role in the viral replication process, making the CAP-binding domain of PB2 an attractive target for antiviral drug development. This study aimed to identify and evaluate potential inhibitors of the influenza polymerase PB2 CAP-binding domain using computational drug discovery methods. We employed a comprehensive computational approach involving virtual screening, molecular docking, and 500 ns molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Compounds were selected from the Diverse lib database and assessed for their binding affinity and stability in interaction with the PB2 CAP-binding domain. The study utilized the generalized amber force field (GAFF) for MD simulations to further evaluate the dynamic behaviour and stability of the interactions. Among the screened compounds, compounds 1, 3, and 4 showed promising binding affinities. Compound 4 demonstrated the highest binding stability and the most favourable free energy profile, indicating strong and consistent interaction with the target domain. Compound 3 displayed moderate stability with dynamic conformational changes, while Compound 1 maintained robust interactions throughout the simulations. Comparative analyses of these compounds against a control compound highlighted their potential efficacy. Compound 4 emerged as the most promising inhibitor, with substantial stability and strong binding affinity to the PB2 CAP-binding domain. These findings suggest that compound 4, along with compounds 1 and 3, holds the potential for further development into effective antiviral agents against influenza. Future studies should focus on experimental validation of these compounds and exploration of resistance mechanisms to enhance their therapeutic utility.

Supramolecular Systems Chemistry Based on the Interplay between Peptides and Porphyrins

The functions of living organisms are emergent from networks of biomolecules. In this review, we discuss the creation of synthetic life‐like systems based on the interplay of peptides and porphyrins in the supramolecular chemical systems. In particular, we focus on the spatiotemporal control of self‐assembly processes, which allows for the development of hierarchical structures for biomimetic catalysis and adaptive dynamics for stimulus‐responsive structural transformations. Notably, when operating in a nonequilibrium regime—characterized by kinetic traps, feedback loops, and dissipative conditions—the structural landscape expands and system‐level properties emerge, including transient catalysis, metabolic self‐replication, and Darwinian‐like evolution. Controlling these systems at the biointerface would facilitate intelligent therapeutic interventions in the anti‐tumor phototherapy. Supramolecular systems chemistry provides a valuable framework for exploring new physicochemical spaces of peptides and porphyrins, and may offer distinct advantages and extensive applications across diverse fields.

Landscape and environmental heterogeneity support coexistence in competitive metacommunities

Metapopulation models have been instrumental in quantifying the ecological impact of landscape structure on the survival of a focal species. However, extensions to multiple species with arbitrary dispersal networks often rely on phenomenological assumptions that inevitably limit their scope. Here, we propose a multilayer network model of competitive dispersing metacommunities to investigate how spatially structured environments impact species coexistence and ecosystem stability. We introduce the concept of landscape-mediated fitness, quantifying how fit a species is in a given environment in terms of colonization and extinction. We show that, when all environments are equivalent, one species excludes all the others-except the marginal case where species fitnesses are in exact trade-off. However, we prove that stable coexistence becomes possible in sufficiently heterogeneous environments by introducing spatial disorder in the model and solving it exactly in the mean-field limit. Crucially, coexistence is supported by the spontaneous localization of species through the emergence of ecological niches. We show that our results remain qualitatively valid in arbitrary dispersal networks, where topological features can improve species coexistence by buffering competition. Finally, we employ our model to study how correlated heterogeneity promotes spatial ecological patterns in realistic terrestrial and riverine landscapes. Our work provides a framework to understand how landscape structure enables coexistence in metacommunities by acting as the substrate for ecological interactions.

The impact of landscape structure on pesticide exposure to honey bees

Pesticides may have serious negative impacts on bee populations. The pesticide exposure of bees could depend on the surrounding landscapes in which they forage. In this study, we assess pesticide exposure across various land-use categories, while targeting the Japanese honey bee, Apis cerana japonica, a native subspecies of the eastern honey bee. In a project involving public participation, we measured the concentrations of major pesticides in honey and beeswax collected from 175 Japanese honey bee colonies across Japan and quantitatively analyzed the relationships between pesticide presence/absence or pesticide concentration and land-use categories around the colonies. Our findings revealed that the surrounding environment in which bees live strongly influences pesticide residues in beehive materials, whether the pesticides are systemic or not, with a clear trend for each land-use category. Agricultural lands, particularly paddy fields and orchards, and urban areas resulted in higher pesticide exposure, whereas forests presented a lower risk of exposure. To effectively control pesticide exposure levels in bees, it is essential to understand pesticide usage patterns and to develop appropriate regulatory systems in non-agricultural lands, similar to those in agricultural lands.

Integrating an urban fire model into an operational wildland fire model to simulate one dimensional wildland–urban interface fires: a parametric study

Background Wildland fires that occur near communities, in the wildland–urban interface (WUI), can inflict significant damage to urban structures. Although computational models are vital in wildfires, they often focus solely on wildland landscapes. Aim We conducted a computational study to investigate WUI fire spread, encompassing both urban and wildland landscapes. Methods We developed a 1D landscape-scale semi-physical model by integrating a semi-physical urban fire spread model into an Eulerian level set model of wildfire. The model includes ignition and spread through radiation, direct flame contact and ember deposition. Key results Through a parametric study, we compare the relative change of spread rate from various structural properties and landscape layouts represented by model parameters, highlighting the significant impact of fire-resistant structure materials over surface treatments. Layout configurations play a pivotal role in fire spread, with isolated islands of combustibles effective in reducing spread rate, aligning with existing mitigation strategies. Conclusion Despite using a 1D domain and limitations on spatial and temporal variability, our model provides insights into underlying phenomena observed in WUI fires and their mitigation. It offers early-stage development of strategies for managing structure materials and landscape layouts. Implications Our model and findings provide insights into WUI fire dynamics, paving the way for advanced mitigation strategies.

What can optimized cost distances based on genetic distances offer? A simulation study on the use and misuse of ResistanceGA.

Modelling population connectivity is central to biodiversity conservation and often relies on resistance surfaces reflecting multi-generational gene flow. ResistanceGA (RGA) is a common optimization framework for parameterizing these surfaces by maximizing the fit between genetic distances and cost distances using maximum likelihood population effect models. As the reliability of this framework has rarely been studied, we investigated the conditions maximizing its accuracy for both prediction and interpretation of landscape features' permeability. We ran demo-genetic simulations in contrasted landscapes for species with distinct dispersal capacities and specialization levels, using corresponding reference cost scenarios. We then optimized resistance surfaces from the simulated genetic distances using RGA. First, we evaluated whether RGA identified the drivers of the genetic patterns, that is, distinguished Isolation-by-Resistance (IBR) patterns from either Isolation-by-Distance or patterns unrelated to ecological distances. We then assessed RGA predictive performance using a cross-validation method, and its ability to recover the reference cost scenarios shaping genetic structure in simulations. IBR patterns were well detected and genetic distances were predicted with great accuracy. This performance depended on the strength of the genetic structuring, sampling design and landscape structure. Matching the scale of the genetic pattern by focusing on population pairs connected through gene flow and limiting overfitting through cross-validation further enhanced inference reliability. Yet, the optimized cost values often departed from the reference values, making their interpretation and extrapolation potentially dubious. While demonstrating the value of RGA for predictive modelling, we call for caution and provide additional guidance for its optimal use.

Crystallography Reveals Metal-Triggered Restructuring of β-Hairpins.

Metal binding to β-sheets occurs in many metalloproteins and is also implicated in the pathology of Alzheimer's disease. De novo designed metallo-β-sheets have been pursued as models and mimics of these proteins. However, no crystal structures of canonical β-sheet metallopeptides have yet been obtained, in stark contrast to many examples for ɑ-helical metallopeptides, leading to a poor understanding for their chemistry. To address this, we have engineered tryptophan zippers, stable 12-residue β-sheet peptides, to bind Cu(II) ions and obtained crystal structures through single crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD). We find that metal binding triggers several unexpected supramolecular assemblies that demonstrate the range of higher-order structures available to metallo-β-sheets. Overall, these findings underscore the importance of crystallography in elucidating the rich structural landscape of metallo-β-sheet peptides.

The Effects of Spatial Structure and Development Intensity of the Urban Landscape on Bird Biodiversity in Anhui Province

Exploring the factors that drive changes in biodiversity is a hot and critically important topic in landscape ecology and biogeography. In this study, semi-structured citizen science data and bird distribution maps were employed to gather data from 2015 to 2020 for the calculation of bird species richness, the Shannon index, and the Pielou index in Anhui Province. These metrics were utilized to assess avian biodiversity and to elucidate the spatial patterns of biodiversity distribution across the region. In this research, a structural equation model (SEM) was utilized to investigate the relationships between the three dimensions of landscape spatial structure, urban development intensity, and environmental factors on bird biodiversity, and a conceptual framework was established to identify the key driving factors. The validity, reliability, and fit of the hypothesized model were substantiated through rigorous testing, demonstrating its reasonableness. The results indicate the following: (1) In landscape spatial structure, landscape composition and configuration play crucial roles in influencing bird diversity. An increased proportion of cultivated land negatively impacts bird diversity, whereas the expansion of forested areas promotes it. At the configuration level, the Largest Patch Index (LPI) significantly enhances bird diversity, serving as the primary driving force. Landscape spatial structure affects bird diversity both directly, through its composition, and indirectly, through its configuration. (2) The dimension of urban development intensity generally shows significant negative impacts; among these, GDP has the greatest comprehensive impact and shows a significant negative impact. (3) Topography has the greatest overall impact on bird diversity among the environmental factors, with a predominantly direct positive effect. (4) Overall, urban landscape spatial structure and urban development intensity are the main driving forces of bird diversity in Anhui Province, the greatest of which is the direct effect of the urban development intensity. These results provide an important scientific basis for landscape planning and ecological protection and provide inspiration for assessing the driving factors of animal and plant diversity in other regions.

A landscape-based approach to design flower blocks may reduce mammalian predator activity and protect ground-nesting farmland birds

AbstractHigh predation rates threaten many ground-nesting farmland birds and are difficult to address through conventional measures such as lethal predator control or fencing. Landscape-based approaches for conservation measures promise an alternative by reducing predator - bird encounters, but require detailed knowledge of landscape effects on predation risk. Different habitat elements attractive to predators could have opposing effects on neighbouring nesting habitats, with implications for conservation: Increased predation risk due to higher predator activity (A) or reduced predation risk by distracting predators (B). Here we focus on the placement of conservation measures using flower blocks targeted at Grey Partridges in a Central European Farmland. Based on a three-year camera trap dataset, we investigated effects of landscape structure and composition on mammalian predator activity within flower blocks at two scales (100 m and 500 m radius around the camera) with generalized linear mixed models. Length of linear edge structures, i.e., field block borders, was most important, with a greater availability of linear edge structures leading to a decrease in predator activity at both scales (hypothesis B). Conversely, predator captures at both scales increased with increasing extensive vegetation area (i.e., permanent grassland, flower blocks and fallows) and in proximity to roads, indicating that these may attract predators and increase predator densities (hypothesis A). Our results suggest that a landscape-based approach can mitigate predation risk for ground-nesting birds in flower blocks and analogous conservation measures. Highly structured, small-scale agricultural landscapes seem to be particularly important for reducing mammalian predator activity in flower blocks.

Rivers and spatial distance are drivers of genetic diversity in the south American dwarf caiman (Paleosuchus palpebrosus)

AbstractThe distribution of species and the way that lineages are structured are the result of intrinsic historical processes of the species and their relationships with landscape features. Paleosuchus palpebrosus is one of the smallest crocodilians in the world and has a wide geographic distribution in South America, occurring in different habitats. Here, we analyzed mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences of 227 individuals, investigated how elements of landscape heterogeneity impact genetic differentiation, and evaluated the evolutionary and phylogeographic history of the species. Thus, we hypothesized that landscape structures, such as aridity and slope, should act as resistance surfaces to population connectivity, while rivers could mediate the dispersion of the species as a conductor of the gene flow. The analyses recovered three main lineages of P. palpebrosus. While most of the observed genetic variation was explained by geographic resistance distance, river connectivity had a smaller contribution for the observed variation. We also found a recent history with limited genetic divergence throughout the wide distribution of the species. Our findings highlight the main drivers for the evolutionary history of the species and how landscape features can shape the diversification, especially if we consider rivers as a facilitator of gene flow.

Comparative Analysis of the Intrinsic Disorder Within the Layers of the Human Cornea.

The human cornea is essential for vision, providing structural integrity and refractive power to the eye. Recent advancements have deepened our understanding of the corneal molecular composition, yet the role of intrinsically disordered proteins within the cornea is unexplored. We analyzed 3,250 corneal proteins identified by Dyrlund et al, focusing on the epithelium, stroma, and endothelium layers. We performed a bioinformatics analysis to characterize the amino acid composition, the propensity for intrinsic protein disorder, and the distribution of protein types in 3 corneal layer proteome. Our study demonstrates that each corneal layer exhibited unique patterns in amino acid composition related to protein disorder. Order-promoting amino acids were generally depleted except for leucine, whereas disorder-promoting amino acids like arginine and glutamic acid were enriched across all layers. Significant variations were observed in the levels of intrinsic disorder among the different corneal layers, with substantial proportions of highly disordered proteins present in each. Analysis of protein class type in each layers revealed that no significant differences were detected in the distribution of protein classifications across the layers, suggesting a consistent population of the protein types across all corneal layers. Our findings reveal a sophisticated landscape of protein structures where intrinsic disorder varies across layers, suggesting an adaptation of the corneal proteome to the unique physiological demands of each layer. These structural variations may reflect the intricate requirements for corneal transparency, biomechanical stability, and environmental responsiveness.

Response of Water Quality to Land Use and Landscape Pattern in the Ganjiang River Watershed.

Analysing the impact of landscape composition and structure on water quality at different scales is of great significance to water quality protection. The aim of this study was to determine scale-dependent impacts of land use/landscape patterns on water quality. The Ganjiang River, the largest water system in the Poyang Lake watershed, the largest freshwater lake in China. The response of water quality to land use and landscape patterns in the Ganjiang River watershed was explored based on land use and water quality data using redundancy and Spearman correlation analyses. Considering upstream monitoring of the entire Ganjiang River watershed; watersheds at the county level administrative region; and 1, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 km-radius circular buffer zones, a total of nine scales of land use/landscape patterns that influence water quality in the Ganjiang River watershed were analysed. Results indicated that the county-level scale and the land use type of the 20 km-radius buffer zone upstream of the monitoring site were closely linked to water quality (96.28% and 93.23%, respectively). Among the land use types, construction land and cultivated land were the main output sources of pollutants. Regarding landscape pattern index, the greater the fragmentation of the landscape, the heavier was the water pollution load; the more the patches per unit area, the more stable was the ecosystem and the lower was the pollutant concentration. In addition, the eco-hydrological system of the Ganjiang River watershed was revealed to some extent through multi-angle analysis. These conclusions can serve as a reference for government departments to formulate land management and water quality protection measures.

A multivariate approach to assessing landscape structure effects on wildlife crossing structure use

BackgroundComplexity in landscape structure is often assessed using individual metrics related to ecological processes. However, this rarely incorporates important relationships among metrics and may miss landscape structure effects. Multivariate statistics provide techniques for assessing overall landscape structure effects. We assessed how multivariate statistics could be used to connect landscape structure with an ecological process [bobcat (Lynx rufus) wildlife crossing structure (WCS) use]. We tested how landscape structure at WCS sites compared to the surrounding landscape and how structure affected detections at WCS sites. Our study was conducted in Cameron County, Texas, USA where WCSs are in various stages of construction and monitoring. We used a classified land use/land cover map and aerial LiDAR to calculate configuration and density metrics at WCS and random sites. We created indices for configuration and density using principal components analysis to assess landscape structure effects on camera trap detections at WCSs.ResultsLandscape structure at WCSs did not differ from random locations. Wildlife crossing structure use increased with greater woody cover and decreased with increasing vegetation density. Our indices allowed identification of differences in how configuration and density impacted WCS use. Ordination methods helped identify individual contributions of landscape metrics to the overall landscape structure effect.ConclusionsWildlife crossing structures are permanent fixtures on landscapes, so selecting appropriate locations using broad-scale landscape structure likely increases target species use. Using indices of landscape structure provides planners with a more holistic approach to WCS placement and provides a more comprehensive picture of landscape pattern and process relationships.

Unraveling nonlinear and spatial non-stationary effects of urban form on surface urban heat islands using explainable spatial machine learning

Under global warming, surface urban heat islands (SUHI) threaten human health and urban ecosystems. However, scant research focused on exploring the complex associations between urban form factors and SUHI at the county scale, compared with rich studies at the city scale. Therefore, this study simultaneously examined the nonlinear and spatial non-stationary association between SUHI and urban form factors (e.g., landscape structure, built environment, and industrial pattern) across 2321 Chinese counties. An explainable spatial machine learning method, combining the Geographically Weighted Regression, Random Forest, and Shapley Additive Explanation model, was employed to deal with nonlinearity, spatial non-stationary, and interpretability of modeling. The results indicate the remarkable spatial disparities in the relationship between urban form factors and SUHI. Landscape structure contributes the most in southern counties, while the built environment is more important in northeastern counties. The impact of building density and building height increases with the county size and becomes the main driver of urban heat in mega counties. Most urban form factors exhibit nonlinear impacts on SUHI. For example, urban contiguity significantly affects SUHI beyond a threshold of 0.93, while building density does so at 0.17. By comparison, the influence of shape complexity remains stable above a value of 7. Factors such as industrial density and diversity have a varied influence on SUHI between daytime and nighttime. The results of local explanations and nonlinear effects provide targeted regional mitigation strategies for urban heat.

Microbiota of Attine Ants' Gardens: Visualizing a Microbial Landscape by Scanning Electron Microscopy.

In macroscale ecosystems, such as rainforests or coral reefs, the spatial localization of organisms is the basis of our understanding of community ecology. In the microbial world, likewise, microscale ecosystems are far from a random and homogeneous mixture of organisms and habitats. Accessing the spatial distribution of microbes is fundamental for understanding the functioning and ecology of the microbiota, as cohabiting species are more likely to interact and influence each other's physiology. An interkingdom microbial ecosystem is at the core of fungus-growing ant colonies, which cultivate basidiomycete fungi as a nutritional resource. Attine ants forage for diverse substrates (mostly plant-based), metabolized by the cultivated fungus while forming a spongy structure, a "microbial garden" that acts as an external gut. The garden is an intertwined mesh of fungal hyphae growing by metabolizing the substrate, opening niches for a characteristic and adapted microbiota to establish. The microbiota is thought to be a contributor to substrate degradation and fungal growth, though its spatial organization is yet to be determined. Here, we describe how we employ Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to investigate, with unprecedented detail, the microbiota and biofilm spatial organization across different fungiculture systems of fungus-growing ants. SEM imaging has provided a description of the microbiota spatial structure and organization. SEM revealed that microbiota commonly assemble in biofilms, a widespread structure of the microbial landscapes in fungiculture. We present the protocols employed to fix, dehydrate, dry, sputter coating, and image such a complex community. These protocols were optimized to deal with delicate and heterogeneous samples, comprising plant and fungal biomass, as well as the microbiota and the biofilm.

Barriers of adopting sustainable soil management practices for organic and conventional farming systems

There is a general consensus among stakeholders about the benefits of sustainable soil management practices for soil health, yet their implementation lags behind expectations. The aim of this paper is to analyse factors supporting or hindering the implementation of sustainable soil management practices in conventional and organic farming systems. This is achieved using a Logit model, based on penalized maximum likelihood estimation on survey data by 76 farmers from 10 federal states in Germany. Affected factors were categorized in two main groups: agricultural soil management practices, and barriers to their implementation. The measures for soil improving agricultural management included (I) structural landscape elements, (II) organic fertilization, (III) diversified crop rotation, (IV) permanent soil cover (V) conservation tillage, (VI) reduced weight pressure, and (VII) optimized timing of wheeling. Results show differences in preferences between conventional and organic farmers for key sustainable soil management practices, including conservation tillage, optimized wheeling timing, reduced weight pressure, and diversified crop rotation. Economic constraints decrease crop rotation diversification in conventional systems by 14%. Conservation tillage raises the chance of a farm being conventional by 16%, while optimizing wheeling timing reduces it by 60%, highlighting soil compaction concerns among organic farmers. Marginal effects confirm that economic factors, not knowledge, are the main barriers to sustainable soil management. Inconsistent policies, lack of support, and insufficient financial incentives from government institutions can hinder the willingness of farmers to adopt these practices, further exacerbating the barriers to adoption.

Dehydration as a Preparative Tool in the Crystal Structure Landscape Investigations of Tenofovir

Dehydration as a Preparative Tool in the Crystal Structure Landscape Investigations of Tenofovir

The effects of land cover transition and its patch mosaics on soil erosion using geospatial technology in South Wollo, Ethiopia

Soil erosion has been a significant threat to agricultural productivity, dam sustainability, and ecosystem services in the highlands of Ethiopia. Despite some watershed-specific research on this problem, the spatiotemporal distribution of soil erosion risks is still rarely assessed in South Wollo. This study aims to monitor land cover changes, analyze landscape mosaics, and estimate soil loss in South Wollo from 1990 to 2020. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was utilized to estimate soil loss. Key informant interviews and field observations were conducted to gain further insights into land cover change and soil erosion. The results showed that agricultural land use was dominant, covering 50.75 % of the study area in 1990 and it continued to expand at an annual rate of 1.73 %, primarily on shrubland and grassland. The landscape structure was more heterogeneous in the north compared to the central and southern areas. In 1990, the mean soil loss was 21.13 t ha-1yr−1, totaling 41.53 million tons. By 2020, These figures had increased to 28.97 t ha-1yr−1 and 49.86 million tons, respectively. Areas experiencing very severe soil erosion (>50 t ha-1yr−1) expanded from 10.81 % (1990) to 13.57 % (2020). The magnitude of soil loss also differed among land cover types, with the highest rates observed in bare land (>85 t ha-1yr−1), followed by agricultural land (>30 t ha-1yr−1). Soil loss factors and landscape metrics exhibited a significant correlation with soil loss, though the strength and direction of these interactions varied. Land cover change and its associated soil erosion were primarily exacerbated by policy factors, including tenure insecurity and disregard for farmers’ indigenous conservation knowledge. This study offers valuable insights into the trends of land cover transitions, landscape structure, and soil loss. It will help guide sustainable land management, aimed at increasing green legacy and reducing soil loss.

Linking changes in landscape structure to insect herbivory in forest edges and interiors of Atlantic Forest remnants.

Human activities have triggered profound changes in natural landscapes, resulting in species loss and disruption of pivotal ecological interactions such as insect herbivory. This antagonistic interaction is affected by complex pathways (e.g., abundance of herbivores and predators, plant chemical defenses, and resource availability), but the knowledge regarding how forest loss and fragmentation affect insect herbivory in human-modified tropical landscapes still remains poorly understood. In this context, we assessed multi-pathways by which changes in landscape structure likely influence insect herbivory in 20 Atlantic forest fragments in Brazil. Using path analysis, we estimated the direct effects of forest cover and forest edge density, and the indirect effect via canopy openness, number of understory plants and phenolic compounds, on leaf damage in understory plants located in the edge and interior of forest fragments. In particular, plants located in forest edges experienced greater leaf damage than interior ones. We observed that landscape edge density exerted a positive and direct effect on leaf damage in plants sampled at the edge of forest fragments. Our findings also indicated that forest loss and increase of edge density led to an increase in the canopy opening in the forest interior, which causes a reduction in the number of understory plants and, consequently, an increase in leaf damage. In addition, we detected that phenolic compounds negatively influence leaf damage in forest interior plants. Given the increasing forest loss in tropical regions, in which forest fragments become stranded in highly deforested, edge-dominated and degraded landscapes, our study highlights the pervasive enhancement in insect herbivory in remaining forest fragments-especially along forest edges and canopy gaps in the forest interior. As a result, increased herbivory is likely to affect forest regeneration and accelerate the ecological meltdown processes in these highly deforested and disturbed anthropogenic landscapes.