Monitoring landscape changes in Caucasian black grouse (Tetrao mlokosiewiczi) habitat in Iran during the last two decades

Abstract

Caucasian black grouse (Tetrao mlokosiewiczi) is on the 'red' list of species of high conservation concern as nearest threatened (NT) and also in level (I) of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The black grouse distribution range in Iran is restricted to the Arasbaran region, Northwest of Iran, and the populations and range of this specialist bird species have been declining over the last decades. Management of forest and grassland structures is important for black grouse population survival. The main goals of this study were to monitor and quantify the landscape pattern changes in Caucasian black grouse habitat in the Arasbaran biosphere reserve in two periods of 14 years (1987-2001) and 10 years (2001-2011). For quantifying landscape pattern changes, various landscape metrics were derived by spatial analysis software FRAGSTATS 3.3, including NP (number of habitat patches), LPI (largest patch index) and TE (total edge). The results indicated that the proportion of forest decreased from 39.95 to 31.95% and the proportion of grassland decreased from 44.45 to 38.44% in the 24-year span. NP of forests increased in the first period and decreased in the second period of study. TE of dense forest at altitude above 1800 m decreased. Reduction of forest edge is an indicator of reduction in habitat availability for Caucasian black grouse which use the forest edge for living, lekking and hatching in upland. Our results provided quantitative data on habitat loss and fragmentation in the Arasbaran biosphere reserve and indicated negative impacts of the landscape structure changes on Black grouse habitat.

Forest structural complexity in habitats with presence and absence of the Caucasian grouse (Lyrurus mlokosiewiczi) in the Arasbaran biosphere reserve, Iran

“…The area covers mountains, high alpine meadows, semi-arid steppes, rangelands and forests, rivers and springs. The Arasbaran biosphere reserve provides habitat for more than 200 species of birds, notably the Caucasian grouse, grey partridge, black francolin and common pheasant, as well as 29 species of reptiles, 48 species of mammals, notably wild goat, wild boar, brown bear, wolf, lynx and leopard, and 17 species of sh (Darvishi et al 2015). Arasbaran is also inhabited by several nomadic tribes, who mainly live in the buffer and transition zones.…”

“…The minimum and maximum elevations in the study area are 450 and 2700 m above sea level (asl), respectively. The Caucasian black grouse (Lyrurus mlokosiewiczi) lives in uplands higher than 1800 m asl, mainly on the southern slopes, and it prefer forest edges and timberlines (Darvishi et al 2015). The forest tree species typically include oak (Quercus macranthera), birch (Carpinus orientalis) and maple (Acer campestre), which occur in different proportions across the different elevations.…”

Assessing levels, trade-offs and synergies of landscape services in the Iranian province of Qazvin: towards sustainable landscapes

“…This calls for exploring new approaches, including mapping of landscape services in a concrete spatial planning unit at the regional level, such as the Iranian Qazvin province and its different landscape types. The landscape composition and structure of the Qazvin province has been formed by a long-term interaction between socio-economic, cultural and ecological structures that characterizes the bio-cultural regions in Iran (Darvishi et al 2014a). Previous studies of landscape service in Iran have focused on service supply mapping, and landscape services hotspots have been identified by overlapping different services (Mousalou et al 2020), mostly in urban landscapes (Ramyar 2019;Mousalou et al 2020;Jahani and Barghjelveh 2021).…”

Patchiness of forest landscape can predict species distribution better than abundance: the case of a forest-dwelling passerine, the short-toed treecreeper, in central Italy

“…Also, considering the spatial heterogeneity in the environment has become essential in many studies regarding reproduction, meta-population dynamics, gene flow, dispersal and connectivity ( Bender, Tischendorf & Fahrig, 2003 ; Wang et al, 2008 ; Ryberg et al, 2013 ). Recent studies have addressed this issue to propose alternative conservation strategies ( Nixon et al, 2014 ), to monitor landscape change ( Darvishi, Fakheran & Soffianian, 2015 ) and to give insight into the distribution of native and non-native species ( Kumar, Stohlgren & Chong, 2006 ). Moreover, spatial patterns are considered major drivers of many ecosystem processes ( Uuemaa, Mander & Marja, 2013 ).…”