Land‐use Change Dynamics, Soil Type and Species Forming Mono‐dominant Patches: the Case of Pteridium aquilinum in a Neotropical Rain Forest Region

Abstract

Deforestation and agricultural land degradation in tropical regions can create conditions for growth of perennial plant species forming mono-dominated patches (MDP). Such species might limit forest regeneration, and their proliferation forces the abandonment of fields and subsequent deforestation to establish new fields. Therefore, identifying factors fostering MDP species is critical for biodiversity conservation in human-modified landscapes. Here, we propose a conceptual framework to identify such factors and apply it to the case of Pteridium aquilinum (bracken fern), a light-demanding species, tolerant of low soil fertility and fire. We hypothesize that bracken proliferation is promoted by land-use changes that increase light availability, especially in sites with low soil fertility and land uses involving fire. We assessed this idea using agricultural fields in southeastern Mexico with different land-use change histories and quantifying prevalence and cover of bracken. Five different land-use change histories resulted from transitions among forest, crop, pasture, and fallow field stages. Of the 133 fields sampled, 71 percent had P. aquilinum; regression tree analysis indicated that 65 percent of inter-field variation in prevalence and 90 percent in cover was explained by land-use change history and soil type. Maximum prevalence, cover, and rates of increase in bracken were found on fields with low fertility sandy/clay soils, which had been used for crops and pasture, were frequently burned, and had high levels of light. Fields on fertile alluvial soil never used for pasture were bracken-free. Agriculture promoting high light environments on less fertile soils is a major cause of bracken proliferation and likely that of other MDP species.Abstract in Spanish is available in the online version of this article.

Multiple successional pathways in human-modified tropical landscapes: new insights from forest succession, forest fragmentation and landscape ecology research

“…Letcher & Chazdon, 2009;Norden et al, 2009;Lebrija-Trejos et al, 2010a), other forests experience arrested regeneration (e.g. Schnitzer, Dalling & Carson, 2000;Mesquita et al, 2001;Suazo-Orduño et al, 2015) and retain impoverished assemblages (Corlett, 1992;Turner et al, 1994;Clark, 1996;Slocum et al, 2004;Tabarelli, Lopes & Peres, 2008). Understanding the factors that promote or arrest SS is therefore urgently needed to evaluate properly the potential conservation importance of secondary forests in HMTLs and to identify areas where restoration interventions are required.…”

Characterizing Spatiotemporal Pattern of Land Use Change and Its Driving Force Based on GIS and Landscape Analysis Techniques in Tianjin during 2000–2015

“…In-depth studies of land use/cover change (LUCC) have been conducted on various scales and achieved extensive valuable results [4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. These results mainly include findings regarding spatiotemporal changes in land use [11][12][13][14], the relation between land use change and its driving forces [15,16], the simulation of land use change [17][18][19], and the impact of land use change [19][20][21][22][23]. Over the previous 30 years, the globe has experienced rapid urbanization.…”

Recovery of Amphibian and Reptile Assemblages During Old‐Field Succession of Tropical Rain Forests

“…Fourth, fields undergoing frequent, extensive, and intensive farming are prone to invasion by weeds that can arrest succession (Cohen et al 1995, Cramer et al 2008, creating inhabitable conditions for many animals. In Marqu es de Comillas, bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum) in degraded pastures forms thick carpets that inhibit forest regeneration (Suazo-Ortuño et al 2015).…”