Vegetation Habitat Research Articles

Tracing offshore marine ecosystem asset changes based on physical accounting: A case of Xiamen Sea Area

Assessing temporal and spatial changes in marine ecosystem assets is critical for the capitalized management of natural resources and their contribution to human well-being. However, quantifying these changes using different inclusion methods in the System National Account is a challenge. Ecosystem accounting has become a popular topic in recent years, particularly after the System of Environmental and Economic Accounting-Ecosystem Accounting was published in 2021. However, few practical studies have been conducted on offshore marine ecosystem accounting, including marine ecosystem assets and services. This study provides a systematic framework to prioritize the assessment of offshore marine ecosystem assets (extent and condition) in physical terms, including the determined indicators of physical accounts and the presentation of accounting results. We then used this framework to assess marine ecosystem assets in the Xiamen Sea Area selected from 2006 to 2020. The results show that: (a) The extent of the marine ecosystem in Xiamen decreased by 8.34% from 349.64 km2 to 320.49 km2, mainly caused by converting intertidal ecosystem into the land due to the demand for urban and industrial use sea. (b) The area of intertidal vegetation habitats (mangroves and salt marshes) increased from 23.22 hm2 to 132.2 hm2, with an increase of 4.7 times. The results also show that the restoration of the marine ecology in Xiamen has achieved remarkable results. (c) The marine ecosystem condition comprehensive index in Xiamen increased by 3.13% from 0.32 to 0.33. This shows that the marine ecosystem conditions in Xiamen remain well and have even slightly improved under the pressure of a rapidly developing economy and increasing population. This study provides practical technical methods for assessing offshore marine ecosystem in physical term to support integrated coastal management in coastal cities, and is important for assessing marine ecosystem services in the future.

Interspecific competition leads to more long‐winged morphs in two sympatric cricket species

Abstract Coexistence mechanisms for species competing for the same resource include resource partitioning, neutrality, microhabitat preference and trade‐off between competitive and dispersal abilities. We explored the coexistence mechanism of two species of trigonidiid crickets (Dianemobius nigrofasciatus (Orthoptera: Trigonidiidae) and Polionemobius taprobanensis (Orthoptera: Trigonidiidae)) that share the same habitat. Dianemobius nigrofasciatus is more common in areas where the ground surface is somewhat open, while P. taprobanensis is more common in more densely vegetated environments. The effects of micro‐environmental differences, similarities in competitive ability and investment in dispersal ability under interspecific competitive conditions on the coexistence of these species were examined using laboratory experiments. Both P. taprobanensis and D. nigrofasciatus performed better in vegetated environments. Although the adult emergence of D. nigrofasciatus were delayed by the presence of P. taprobanensis, the emergence rate of P. taprobanensis was not significantly affected by D. nigrofasciatus. The presence of P. taprobanensis caused a higher frequency of a long‐winged morph (macropterous) of D. nigrofasciatus. The results suggest that D. nigrofasciatus is inferior to P. taprobanensis in interspecific competition, and it, therefore, disperses (as macropterous adults) at greater rates in the presence of P. taprobanensis. Furthermore, it may be that D. nigrofasciatus has been forced to change its preferred microhabitat from vegetative habitats, which are inherently more suitable, to more open environments due to competition. These above mechanisms are thought to allow the two species to coexist in the same habitat.

UAV Quantitative Remote Sensing of Riparian Zone Vegetation for River and Lake Health Assessment: A Review

River and lake health assessment (RLHA) is an important approach to alleviating the conflict between protecting river and lake ecosystems and fostering socioeconomic development, aiming for comprehensive protection, governance, and management. Vegetation, a key component of the riparian zone, supports and maintains river and lake health (RLH) by providing a range of ecological functions. While research on riparian zone vegetation is ongoing, these studies have not yet been synthesized from the perspective of integrating RLHA with the ecological functions of riparian zone vegetation. In this paper, based on the bibliometric method, the relevant literature studies on the topics of RLHA and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) remote sensing of vegetation were screened and counted, and the keywords were highlighted, respectively. Based on the connotation of RLH, this paper categorizes the indicators of RLHA into five aspects: water space: the critical area from the river and lake water body to the land in the riparian zone; water resources: the amount of water in the river and lake; water environment: the quality of water in the river and lake; water ecology:aquatic organisms in the river and lake; and water services:the function of ecosystem services in the river and lake. Based on these five aspects, this paper analyzes the key role of riparian zone vegetation in RLHA. In this paper, the key roles of riparian zone vegetation in RLHA are summarized as follows: stabilizing riverbanks, purifying water quality, regulating water temperature, providing food, replenishing groundwater, providing biological habitats, and beautifying human habitats. This paper analyzes the application of riparian zone vegetation ecological functions in RLH, summarizing the correlation between RLHA indicators and these ecological functions. Moreover, this paper analyzes the advantages of UAV remote sensing technology in the quantitative monitoring of riparian zone vegetation. This analysis is based on the high spatial and temporal resolution characteristics of UAV remote sensing technology and focuses on monitoring the ecological functions of riparian zone vegetation. On this basis, this paper summarizes the content and indicators of UAV quantitative remote sensing monitoring of riparian zone vegetation for RLHA. It covers several aspects: delineation of riparian zone extent, identification of vegetation types and distribution, the influence of vegetation on changes in the river floodplain, vegetation cover, plant diversity, and the impact of vegetation distribution on biological habitat. This paper summarizes the monitoring objects involved in monitoring riparian zones, riparian zone vegetation, river floodplains, and biological habitats, and summarizes the monitoring indicators for each category. Finally, this paper analyzes the challenges of UAV quantitative remote sensing for riparian zone vegetation at the current stage, including the limitations of UAV platforms and sensors, and the complexity of UAV remote sensing data information. This paper envisages the future application prospects of UAV quantitative remote sensing for riparian zone vegetation, including the development of hardware and software such as UAV platforms, sensors, and data technologies, as well as the development of integrated air-to-ground monitoring systems and the construction of UAV quantitative remote sensing platforms tailored to actual management applications.

Riparian plant community structure and assembly processes differed by variations in riverbank curvatures: implications for restoring habitats along the Three Gorges Reservoir

Abstract A meandering riverbank plays a vital role in maintaining natural river ecosystems, providing habitats for riparian vegetation. However, dams have significantly altered riverbank shapes. To restore the riparian ecosystems, it is imperative to understand how different riverbank curvatures influence them. This study aims to uncover the ecological impacts of riverbank curvature on the structure and assembly process of plant communities in the riparian zone of the Yangtze River, regulated by the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) in China. We categorized the riparian zones into four types: cove, lobe, wavy, and linear shapes. We documented the composition and diversity of riparian plant communities. Our findings revealed that wavy and cove riverbanks exhibited greater species diversity (with Shannon-Wiener diversity index values 1.5 times higher) compared to communities along linear riverbanks. Furthermore, the analysis of functional traits indicated that wavy riverbanks promoted the differentiation of plant functional traits, thus enhancing ecosystem functions, with functional dispersion index (FDis) values 1.3 times higher than those of linear riverbanks. Significant variations in the assembly of riparian communities were also observed among different riverbanks, with standardized effect size (SES) values indicating a higher degree of niche differentiation in cove riverbanks (SES = 0.4) compared to linear riverbanks (SES = -0.6). These results highlight the ecological importance of diverse riverbank curvatures in influencing the diversity, structure, and assembly of riparian communities along waterway. In conclusion, this study underscores the necessity of maintaining or restoring various natural morphological curvatures when rehabilitating riparian communities along rivers impacted by human activities.

Characteristics of Vegetation and Soil of Degraded Grasslands and Their Relationships in Xizang

To investigate the characteristics of grassland degradation on a regional scale in Xizang, data on grassland degradation from the second grassland survey of Xizang and 12 vegetation and soil indicators from the National Tibetan Plateau Data Center were collected. Using ArcMap, 10 000 random sample points were selected on raster data （excluding non-grassland, desertification, and salinization data, leaving 7 949 valid sample points）. The multi-value extraction to-point method was applied to extract degradation and indicator data for each sample point. The characteristics of degraded grassland vegetation and soil and their relationships were analyzed in Xizang. Moreover, random forest modeling was conducted to predict the trend of grassland ecosystem changes. The results indicated that： ① The grasslands in Xizang were primarily composed of alpine steppe and alpine meadow types, accounting for 45.83% and 41.15% of the valid sample points, respectively. ② With the intensification of grassland degradation, the number of steppe-type species among the 17 grassland types gradually decreased, and the proportion of steppe dominated by species such as Stipa purpurea and Carex moorcroftii decreased, whereas the proportion of miscellaneous grasses and Dasiphora fruticosa increased. ③ As the degree of degradation increased, vegetation indicators generally showed a declining trend, with soil total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total potassium, and organic carbon decreasing, whereas soil pH and bulk density increased, and soil moisture content was not significant. ④ A positive correlation exists between soil moisture content, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total potassium, organic carbon, vegetation cover, net primary productivity of vegetation, normalized difference vegetation index, aboveground biomass, and habitat quality. However, there was a negative correlation between pH and soil bulk density, and the correlation coefficients among various indicators decreased with the intensification of degradation. ⑤ The random forest simulation results showed that during the degradation process, the contribution rates of soil bulk density and habitat quality both exceeded 12%, with the model prediction accuracy reaching 78%. The study revealed that grassland degradation in Xizang was closely related to soil bulk density and habitat quality, indicating that higher soil bulk density or lower habitat quality may correspond to more severe grassland degradation. This provides a scientific basis for future grassland conservation and management.

Effects of the comprehensive elimination of Spartina alterniflora along China's coast on blue carbon and scenario prediction after ecological restoration

Salt marshes cover the largest area among the three types of traditional blue carbon ecosystems in China's coastal zone, with the introduced smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora Loisel.) being dominant in these marshes. The effects of eradicating S. alterniflora nationwide and the subsequent ecological restoration on blue carbon are unclear. This paper evaluates the variation in blue carbon during the national S. alterniflora eradication campaign, which involves mechanical tillage from 2022 to 2025, and proposes three scenarios for blue carbon changes after native vegetation is reestablished by 2050. The results show that, in 2025, plant carbon stock and soil carbon stock will decrease by 1.38 Tg C and 1.21 Tg C, respectively, in the areas where S. alterniflora has been removed and managed. Although blue carbon is reduced in coastal wetlands in 2025, carbon stock is expected to increase in restored native vegetated wetlands by 2050. S. alterniflora is resilient and competitive, posing a high risk in secondary invasion. Scenario Ⅰ suggests that S. alterniflora marshes could almost recover to their original state from 2022, with 7.70 Tg C stored in plant and soil carbon stocks. Scenario Ⅱ involves native vegetated wetlands coexisting with invasive S. alterniflora marshlands, with a total carbon stock estimated at 7.15 Tg C, reflecting a decrease of 0.39 Tg C in soil carbon stock and by 0.16 Tg C in plant carbon stock. In Scenario Ⅲ, mudflats dominant and native vegetated habitats are reestablished only in suitable sites, with the total carbon stock estimated at 5.63 Tg C, a 26.9% decrease compared to 2022 levels. While eradicating invasive S. alterniflora and restoring native vegetation in China's coast enhance the ecosystem services, it reduces blue carbon stocks. Therefore, developing additional strategies to increase carbon storage in coastal wetlands is necessary.

KEANEKARAGAMAN JENIS BURUNG DI TAMAN HUTAN RAYA PANCORAN MAS – DEPOK

Species richness of birds was influenced by vegetation structure, canopy cover, and the ability of the land to support bird life. Data on bird species diversity is needed as a basis for management planning in the area. As a Conservation area and life support area, the Pancoran Mas Great Forest Park (Taman Hutan Raya) must be supported by various scientific data and information for management purposes. One is the richness of bird species found in the Tahura Pancoran Mas area. This research aims to identify and inventory bird diversity and determine the composition of their habitat vegetation. This activity will be carried out in June - August 2022. Bird data collection uses the transect route method, while habitat data uses the census method. The birds found consisted of 13 species of birds. The diversity index value is 2.178 (medium) and the evenness index is 0.98 (stable). The species of birds identified are insect and fruit eaters, there is only 1 type that eats fish. There are 86 species of trees, with the dominance of each phase being fruit producers. Trees function as providers of food for birds in the form of fruit, insects, and seeds

Evolution of riparian vegetation in response to anthropogenic effects: The Taleqan River, Iran

AbstractDuring the last decades, human interventions, such as dam construction and land‐use change, have caused changes in geomorphic patterns and riparian zones in many rivers in Iran. This study aimed to assess the spatio‐temporal evolution of riparian vegetation and the spatial area of biogeomorphic feedback windows (BFWs) located in the riparian Salicaceae vegetation patches and their traits responding to human interventions in the Taleqan River during 1990–2022. The river was divided into five reaches using the geomorphic unit system (GUS) method, and the river sensitivity index (SI), location of BFWs, vegetation typology and main cover typology were investigated in the reaches using aerial photographs and satellite images from 1990 to 2022. For this purpose, the main cover typology was classified into grassland, woody vegetation, bank‐attached bars, islands, vegetated islands, river channels and urban areas. The stem diameter and density, degradation level and longitudinal/latitudinal alluvial bars in each of the BFWs were investigated using the field survey. Based on the findings, the lowest values of the SI (braiding index [BI], channel activity [CA] and channel width [CW]) and the highest expansion of BFWs were observed in the upstream reaches of the Taleqan River. Human disturbances in these reaches were less than in the reaches downstream, allowing the expansion of vegetation habitats. The vegetation patches were unstable and scattered in the midstream and downstream, and the width decrease of the river channel was created by land‐use change and channelization. A significant direct relationship was observed between BFW establishment, stem diameter and density, and vegetation height. The BFWs create an opportunity for engineer vegetation to prevent erosion and expand new habitats by creating biogeomorphic accumulation landforms and trapping alluvial bars on the lee side of engineer woody vegetation. This study highlights the interactions between riparian areas and hydrogeomorphic processes within riparian corridors exposed to human disturbances to help better define a comprehensive plan for river management.

Prediction of Adaptability of Typical Vegetation Species in Flood Storage Areas under Future Climate Change: A Case in Hongze Lake FDZ, China

China experiences frequent heavy rainfall and flooding events, which have particularly increased in recent years. As flood storage zones (FDZs) play an important role in reducing disaster losses, their ecological restoration has been receiving widespread attention. Hongze Lake is an important flood discharge area in the Huaihe River Basin of China. Previous studies have preliminarily analyzed the protection of vegetation zones in the FDZ of this lake, but the future growth trend of typical vegetation in the area has not been considered as a basis for the precise protection of vegetation diversity and introductory cultivation of suitable species in the area. Taking the FDZ of Hongze Lake as an example, this study investigated the change trend of the suitability of typical vegetation species in the Hongze Lake FDZ based on future climate change and the distribution pattern of the suitable areas. To this end, the distribution of potentially suitable habitats of 20 typical vegetation species in the 2040s was predicted under the SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, and SSP5-8.5 climate scenarios using the latest Coupled Model Intercomparison Project CMIP6. The predicted distribution was compared with the current distribution of potentially suitable habitats. The results showed that the model integrating high-performance random forest, generalized linear model, boosted tree model, flexible discriminant analysis model, and generalized additive model had significantly higher TSS and AUC values than the individual models, and could effectively improve model accuracy. The high sensitivity of these 20 typical vegetation species to temperature and rainfall related factors reflects the climatic characteristics of the study area at the junction of subtropical monsoon climate and temperate monsoon climate. Under future climate scenarios, with reference to the current scenario of the 20 typical species, the suitability for Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn decreased, that for Iris pseudacorus L. increased in the western part of the study area but decreased in the eastern wetland and floodplain, and the suitability of the remaining 18 species increased. This study identified the trend of potential suitable habitat distribution and the shift in the suitability of various typical vegetation species in the floodplain of Hongze Lake. The findings are important for the future enhancement of vegetation habitat conservation and suitable planting in the study area, and have implications for the restoration and conservation of vegetation diversity in most typical floodplain areas.

The LTAR Grazing Land Common Experiment at the Central Plains Experimental Range: Collaborative adaptive rangeland management.

Semiarid rangelands throughout the western Great Plains support livestock production and many other ecosystem services. The degree to which adaptive multi-paddock (AMP) grazing management approaches can help achieve desired ecosystem services remains unclear. At the Central Plains Experimental Range in northeastern Colorado, a management-science partnership with a diverse stakeholder group is comparing collaborative adaptive rangeland management (CARM), designed to incorporate AMP principles, to traditional rangeland management (TRM), consisting of season-long grazing during the growing season. Each treatment was implemented on a set of 10, 130-ha pastures paired by soils, topography, and plant communities to evaluate how CARM affects vegetation (composition and production), livestock production (steer weight gain), and wildlife habitat (vegetation structure for grassland birds). For the first 5 years of the experiment, CARM cattle were managed as a single herd using AMP grazing with planned year-long rest in 20% of the pastures. Relative to TRM, CARM enhanced heterogeneity in vegetation structure across the landscape, benefiting two grassland bird species. However, this came at the cost of 12%-16% lower steer weight gains in CARM versus TRM and declining populations of a third bird species of conservation concern in both treatments. Here we discuss how increased understanding of ecological and social processes during the experiment's first 5 years led to changes in the CARM treatment and management objectives during the next 5 years. We also discuss how innovations in remote sensing, environmental sensors, ecosystem modeling, social learning, and economic analyses are being integrated into and supported by the CARM experiment.

Modeling the Potential Habitat Gained by Planting Sagebrush in Burned Landscapes

Many revegetation projects are intended to benefit wildlife species. Yet, there are few a priori evaluations that assess the potential efficiency of restoration actions in recovering wildlife habitats. We developed a spatial vegetation–habitat recovery model to gauge the degree to which field planting strategies could be expected to recover multi-factor habitat conditions for wildlife following wildfires. We simulated a wildfire footprint, multiple sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) planting scenarios, and tracked projected vegetation growth for 15 years post-fire. We used a vegetation transition framework to track and estimate the degree to which revegetation could accelerate habitat restoration for a Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus) population within the Great Basin, western United States. We assessed the amount of habitat 15 years post-fire to estimate the degree to which revegetation could be expected to accelerate habitat restoration. Our results highlight a potential disconnect between the expansive areas required by wide-ranging wildlife such as sage-grouse and the relatively small areas that planting treatments have created. Habitat restorations and planting strategies that are intended to benefit sage-grouse may only speed up localized habitat restoration. This study provides an example of how linked revegetation–habitat modeling approaches can scope the expected return on restoration investment for habitat improvements and support the strategic use of limited restoration resources.

The potential fish provisioning services of vegetated and unvegetated habitat in a lagoon nursery

The potential fish provisioning services of the Ria Formosa lagoon (Portugal) were calculated for single cohorts of 7 commercially fished species, based on densities of juveniles sampled with beach seines on a monthly basis over a 17-month period at 41 locations. The potential maximum yield per recruit (F0.1 criteria) was calculated for vegetated (V) and unvegetated (UV) habitat for low and high natural mortality values. Vegetated habitat enhanced yield (g m−2) of 5 of the 7 species, with the greatest enhancement for the herbivore Sarpa salpa (137 and 150 fold for low and high M). At F0.1, the calculated total potential yield of the 7 cohorts was 463 tons (low M) and 333 tons (high M), worth EUR 5,649,084 and 3,651,881, respectively. Mean annual landings of the 7 species from 1997 to 2017 ranged from 407 to 577 tons, with a mean of 495 tons (s.e. = 11.1), highlighting the importance of the lagoon nursery as a major source of recruits for local small-scale coastal fisheries. The methodology used here is the first to calculate the potential maximum yield and the corresponding fishing mortality (F0.1) for single cohorts and for different habitats within an important fish nursery. It provides more realistic values of potential fish provisioning services and economic contribution to local fisheries than studies that do not consider fishing mortality.

FloraVeg.EU — An online database of European vegetation, habitats and flora

AbstractThis article describes FloraVeg.EU, a new online database with open‐access information on European vegetation units (phytosociological syntaxa), vegetated habitats, and plant taxa. It consists of three modules. (1) The Vegetation module includes 149 phytosociological classes, 378 orders and 1305 alliances of an updated version of the EuroVegChecklist modified based on the decisions of the European Vegetation Classification Committee. Vegetation units dominated by vascular plants are characterized by country‐based distribution maps and data on the dominant life forms, phenology, soil properties, relationships to vegetation regions, elevational vegetation belts and azonal habitats, successional status, and degree of naturalness. A list of diagnostic taxa is also provided for each class. (2) The Habitats module includes vascular‐plant‐dominated terrestrial, freshwater, and marine habitat types from the first to the third or fourth highest hierarchical levels of the EUNIS classification. Of these, 249 vegetated habitats are characterized by a brief description, a point‐based distribution map, diagnostic, constant, and dominant taxa, and a list of the corresponding alliances. (3) The Species module provides information on 37 characteristics of European vascular plant species and some infrageneric or infraspecific taxa, including functional traits (habitus and growth type, leaf, flower, fruit and seed traits, and trophic mode), taxon origin (native vs alien), and ecological information (environmental relationships, Ellenberg‐type indicator values, disturbance indicator values, and relationships to vegetation units and habitat types). Values for at least three variables are available for 36,404 species. Individual taxa, vegetation units, and habitats in these three modules are illustrated by more than 34,000 photographs. The Download section of FloraVeg.EU provides open‐access data sets in a spreadsheet format that can be used for analyses. FloraVeg.EU is a new resource with easily accessible data that can be used for research in vegetation science, ecology, and biogeography, as well as for education and conservation applications.

Habitat distinctness doesn't influence on the abundance and relative growth of the juveniles Atherinella brasiliensis (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824) in a subtropical estuarine ecosystem

Shallow coastal habitats with and without vegetation may perform nursery function from distinct way for many species, raising questions about the role of vegetation on structuring nursery ground. Unfortunately, degradation and inappropriate human use of these areas associated with the lack of ecological data about fish populations can limit appropriate strategies to protect both species and habitats. In this paper we examine the nursery value of different estuarine habitats by comparing the abundance and relative growth of juveniles Atherinella brasiliensis. Fish were sampled once a month from November 2018 to October 2019 in five habitats: no vegetation close to the ocean, no vegetation close to the river, no vegetation and distant from other sampling points (control), mangrove and saltmarsh. Juveniles are present and abundant in all habitats and specimens had similar relative growth in the salt marsh, mangrove habitats and non vegetated habitats. The results indicate that estuarine habitats offers suitable conditions to A. brasiliensis in early stages of life, indicating that these sites have nursery value for juveniles of this species. Conservation and/or preservation of estuarine shallows habitats along the coast is important for A. brasiliensis and probably for other species, and the identification of priority areas could help to provide subsidies to management policies on conservation of coastal marine environments.

Limited spatial co-occurrence of wildfire and prescribed burning on moorlands in Scotland

Prescribed burning of vegetation is a land management approach that can be used to prevent or reduce the risk of wildfires yet burns can escape and be an ignition source for wildfires. In Scotland, muirburn is a form of prescribed burning used to encourage new growth of heather for grouse and livestock. Future regulation aims to mitigate potential negative impacts of muirburn on biodiversity, peat carbon stocks and wildfire risk. In this study, we assessed the spatial co-occurrence of muirburn and wildfires across Scotland. Evidence of muirburn was quantified using high-resolution aerial imagery from 2018 and wildfire occurrence was a composite of satellite and aerial detection covering 2015 to 2020. Fires were mapped on to dominant vegetation habitat types (acid grasslands, heather grasslands, heather heathlands, and peatbogs) and peat soil. Overall, 96 % of the total wildfire area occurred outside moorlands managed by muirburn, with wildfires covering 1.1 % of total moorland area. Heather grasslands, peatbogs and habitats on peat soils had a greater proportional area of wildfires than other moorland habitats and habitats on non-peat soils. In contrast, heather heathlands with non-peat soils had a greater proportional area of muirburn. We suggest the limited co-occurrence of muirburn and wildfires, may be due to fuel load reduction following muirburns, but may arise due to wildfire prevention strategies on estates and/or lower occurrence of recreational caused wildfires. In addition to muirburn regulation, our findings emphasise the need for policy, management, awareness and education outside of muirburn areas to reduce the risk of wildfires.

Towards standardised large-scale monitoring of peatland habitats through fine-scale drone-derived vegetation mapping

Northern peatlands provide key climate regulating services by sequestering and storing atmospheric carbon as peat, but also provide habitat for specialised plant and animal species. Ecosystem-wide monitoring of the functions associated with these services is necessary to better inform policy and management and facilitate carbon financing schemes. Mapping peatland vegetation as an ecological indicator of their functions using drones has proven promising herein, yet the absence of standardised methods limits implementation.We developed drone-derived vegetation maps and compared them with two types of field-based ground-reference maps: 1) habitat distribution (ecotopes) and 2) habitat quality (status) for five Irish peatlands (35–124 ha). We also explored spatial transferability of our mapping approach across peatlands. First, orthomosaics and digital terrain models (DTM) were derived from drone imagery, after which plant functional types and microforms were separately classified. Second, ecotope and status maps were classified using the proportions of the fine-scale vegetation and the range in DTM within 20x20m grid cells as input predictor variables.Drone-derived ecotope and status maps captured the overall vegetation zonation of the conventional maps well, with the least mismatches for the peatlands displaying clear concentric zonation. Classification performance ranged between 88% for status and 72% for ecotope maps between peatlands. The lower classification performance for ecotopes was partly an artifact from gridding the conventional polygon-shaped ground-reference maps. Further classification errors resulted from artificial landscape features, variable plant phenology, and inaccuracies in the detrended DTM data at peatland-scale. Spatial transferability of the mapping approach was limited. Particularly, using pooled ground-reference data for classification decreased model performance with 5% for status and 10% for ecotope maps, largely because microform and plant functional type proportions associated with peatland habitat classes in the conventional maps varied between peatlands.Our findings highlight that both fine-scale vegetation patterns and habitats can be classified consistently on the peatland-scale using drone-derived imagery products and machine learning classifications. Yet, status is currently mapped notably more accurately than ecotopes. Also, peatland-specific ground-reference data is required until the conventional vegetation classes are more standardised across a wider variety of peatlands and peatland types.

Evolution and Prospects of Freshwater Fish Species and Aquaculture in Colombia: A Historical Perspective

Since the 1970s Colombia has been aware of the importance of aquaculture and inland fisheries in the future of its economy due to the constant increase of a population that is increasingly in need of protein of animal origin. In 1972, a joint project between the Government of Colombia and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations was approved and aimed at studying inland fishing and developing aquaculture in the country. The work of the project is described, as are the fish culture and fisheries research activities starting with the situation in the 1970s but comparing it with recent findings. A list of the main capture and culture fish species is given. Colombian fishing production has had great variations, but first inland water fishing was more important than marine. For instance, in 1972 total fish catch was 104,390 tons and 79% of that originated from inland waters. After the continental fisheries went down, the marine fisheries accounted in 2019 already 78 per cent of the total catch of the country. Mean standing fish crop estimates in 1975‒76 from the bay, open water and vegetation habitats in four floodplain lakes were 118, 12 and 251 kg/ha indicating clearly that the fish productivity on the Magdalena floodplain was relatively low. The aquaculture sector has been growing rapidly, reflecting global trends, and producing more than capture fisheries. Aquaculture produced 88,000 tons in 2013, which was a three-fold increase from the mid-1990s. Again twofold increase took place before 2020 when the production was almost 180,000 tons. Future development prospects of inland fisheries and aquaculture are discussed and a mention is made of the present situation of ornamental fish cultivation and trade in Colombia.

Seed priming as a promising technique for sustainable restoration of dryland

The success of plant growth and development in dryland restoration relies on seed germination, seedling development, and establishment. The lack of rainfall and extreme temperature variations in arid regions impede germination and seedling establishment, necessitating new approaches and techniques. The present review summarizes the vital role of seed priming techniques for the sustainable restoration of drylands through their effects on enhancing seed germination, seedling growth and development, plants' nutrient use efficiency, soil fertility, essential enzymes, microbial community, and stress adaptation ability, helping to alleviate the effects of abiotic stresses on plants. The importance of seed priming is discussed in both agricultural and ecological restoration contexts. Priming maximizes crop yields, reduces crop failure, and promotes eco‐friendly farming practices. In ecological restoration, seed priming enhances plant establishment and survival, contributing significantly to the restoration of native vegetation and wildlife habitats. The review categorizes seed priming techniques into six subcategories, highlighting their unique advantages for optimizing restoration efforts. The review highlights the underlying mechanisms of seed priming techniques to improve seed germination and plant development in dryland regions, particularly under salinity and drought constraints. While seed priming has proven effective, it also faces several limitations, such as cost, seed longevity, and environmental concerns. Investigating environmentally friendly priming methods and understanding the prolonged effects of priming on seed viability and the environment is crucial. Further research is needed to find cost‐effective, eco‐friendly seed priming methods, and to explore the genetic and molecular bases of stress tolerance in various plant species across diverse environments.

Invasion away from roadsides was not driven by adaptation to grassland habitats in Dittrichia graveolens (stinkwort)

Invasive plants along transportation corridors can significantly threaten ecosystems and biodiversity if they spread beyond anthropogenic environments. Rapid evolution may increase the ability of invading plant populations to establish in resident plant communities over time, posing a challenge to invasion risk assessment. We tested for adaptive differentiation in Dittrichia graveolens (stinkwort), an invasive species of ruderal habitat in California that is increasingly spreading away from roadsides into more established vegetation. We collected seeds from eight pairs of vegetated sites and their nearest (presumed progenitor) roadside population. We assessed differentiation between populations in roadside and vegetated habitat for germination behavior and for response to competition in a greenhouse experiment. We also tested for increased performance in vegetated habitat with a grassland field experiment including a neighbor removal treatment. Germination rates were slightly reduced in seeds from vegetated sites, which may indicate lower seed viability. Otherwise, plants did not show consistent differences between the two habitat types. Competition strongly reduced performance of D. graveolens in both the greenhouse and in the field, but plants originating from vegetated sites did not show enhanced competitive ability. Our findings show no evidence of adaptive differentiation between D. graveolens populations from roadside and vegetated habitats to date, suggesting that invasiveness in grasslands has not been enhanced by rapid evolution in the 40 + years since this species was introduced to California. Evolutionary constraints or potentially high levels of gene flow at this small scale may limit adaptation to novel habitats along roadsides.

Springtime spatio-temporal distribution of bird diversity in urban parks based on acoustic indices

Human-dominated urban ecosystems have encroached on native habitats, positioning urban parks as crucial sanctuaries that support bird diversity conservation. Bird communities tend to act as significant indicators of habitat quality. Birds play a key role in generating soundscapes in urban environments, where a healthy acoustic environment is essential not only for human well-being but also serves as a core focus for environmental monitoring and landscape enhancement. Previous studies have pointed out that acoustic indices have great advantages and strong feasibility for long-term environmental monitoring. However, few studies on the comparative analysis of bird diversity across urban parks subject to varying degrees of urbanization have been published in this field. In this study we recorded the springtime soundscape across 8 urban parks in Nanjing (China) from March to April 2023 for 10 hours each day. Six acoustic indices of Acoustic Complexity Index, Acoustic Diversity Index, Normalized Difference Soundscape Index, Bioacoustic Index, Acoustic Entropy Index and Power Spectral Density were used to quantify the monitoring results. To investigate the influence of vegetation habitats on bird activity, we utilized K-means clustering analysis to categorize the parks based on their developmental gradient, while Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was employed to simplify the dimensions of 12 vegetation factors. The results revealed that the distribution of birds in urban parks is a complex interplay of variables including the gradient of urban development, the functions of park plots, and the characteristics of vegetation habitats, among others. Day-to-day, human and bird activities show similarities, yet birds' responses to urban environments vary by location. The daily movement of visitors exerts a discernible influence on park birds, even those adapted to urban life. In instances of heightened human activity, birds demonstrate a proclivity for seeking refuge in less disturbed areas, and their activity space tends to be concentrated on higher plants. Vegetation communities in areas of high human disturbance are found to provide substantial support to bird habitats. Specifically, vegetation communities featuring tall trees or ground cover that form buffer zones have a significant positive effect on weakening the impact of human activities on bird communities. In terms of monitoring bird diversity with acoustic indices, Bioacoustic Index and Acoustic Diversity Index show more consistent performance, rendering them more reliable than other acoustic indices.