Linking Spatial Pattern and Ecological Responses in Human‐Modified Landscapes: The Effects of Deforestation and Forest Fragmentation on Biodiversity

Abstract

Studies of forest loss and fragmentation provide clear examples of the linkages between ecological pattern and process. Reductions in forest area lead to higher within‐patch extinction rates, the eventual loss of area‐sensitive species, and declines in species richness and diversity. Forest loss also results in increased isolation of remnants, lower among‐patch immigration rates, and less ‘rescue’ from surrounding populations. Specific responses, however, are sometimes counterintuitive because they depend on life‐history tradeoffs that influence population dynamics and species co‐existence in heterogeneous landscapes, not just forest remnants. Thus, while fragmentation generally favours r‐selected, generalist strategies, such as high dispersal and a wide niche breadth, ecological outcomes may be confounded by species‐specific responses to conditions in the human‐dominated matrix and the ways in which forest edges shape cross‐landscape movements. Given that pressures on global forestlands continue to intensify due to growing population sizes, economic pressures, and needs for space and resources, successfully maintaining or restoring species will necessitate a combination of short‐ and long‐term actions that address both habitat protection and restoration. Doing so will require an interdisciplinary approach that gives adequate attention to the manners by which forest loss and fragmentation affect population dynamics through changes in forest area, isolation, habitat quality, matrix properties, and edge effects as well as the synergistic interactions of fragmentation with climate change, human‐altered disturbance regimes, species interactions and other drivers of species population declines.

Effects of crowding due to habitat loss on species assemblage patterns

“…Planned faunal refuges allow for reconstitution of lost habitat and thus the return of animals to their original geographic areas. In such a case, increased density is transitory (Hagan et al 1996) and refuge buffering of impacts is responsible for the lag effect detected after habitat loss (Debinski & Holt 2000;Kupfer & Franklin 2009). When habitat loss is permanent, refuges constitute the only remaining habitat in the landscape, and animals cannot disperse back into their original areas, which increases population density (Collinge & Forman 1998).…”

Short- and mid-wavelength artificial light influences the flash signals of Aquatica ficta fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)

“…Urbanization is a severe form of ecosystem disturbance, and one of the leading causes of species endangerment [ 2 ]. The impacts of deforestation, habitat fragmentation, and chemical pollution on species endemic to affected habitats have been widely recorded [ 3 – 6 ]. However, many species manage to survive and even thrive in urban centers, despite these myriad threats [ 7 – 10 ].…”

Analysis of a Landscape Intensely Modified by Agriculture in the Tietê–Jacaré Watershed, Brazil

“…The development and variation of machine learning (ML) techniques and visual classification could increase the speed and accuracy for classifying land use and land cover changes in natural and anthropic landscapes. Additionally, such approach could support government agencies' efforts to avoid deforestation and to develop action plans so as to mitigate the impacts of these processes on the landscapes, thus increasing sustainability in the different biomes worldwide [74][75][76]. An example is the work conducted by Ximenes et al [77], who provided a map of the terrestrial ecoregions of the Purus-Madeira interfluve in the Brazilian Amazon region using the random forest technique.…”