Prioritizing landscape connectivity of a tropical forest biodiversity hotspot in global change scenario

Junior, Neil Damas de Oliveira; Heringer, Gustavo; Bueno, Marcelo Leandro; Pontara, Vanessa; Meira‐Neto, João Augusto Alves

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118247

Cited by 22 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Our results corroborate other studies in which highly degraded landscapes are more susceptible to biological invasion (Vilà et al ., 2007; Thiele et al ., 2008; Dawson et al ., 2015). Thus, landscape permeability generated by circuit analysis can be applied as a risk‐assessment tool for biological invasion by Acacia species studied here at different scales, as well as to establish corridors or new protected areas (Dickson et al ., 2017; Oliveira‐Junior et al ., 2020). This approach would allow detection of areas under high risk of Acacia invasion (as suggested by Minor and Gardner, 2011), define these areas as a target for preventative and monitoring efforts (Lehmann et al ., 2017), and increase the advantages of a protected area network on native species conservation (Heringer et al ., 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Effective conductance increases with the increase of suitable pathways for dispersal (i.e., with width and number of contiguous corridors of low local resistance; McRae, 2006; Mcrae et al ., 2008; Koen et al ., 2014). This metric has been successfully applied, for instance, to investigate the function of landscape in species dispersal, gene flow, and conservation priorities (Mcrae et al ., 2008; Thiele et al ., 2018; Oliveira‐Junior et al ., 2020).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Acacia invasion is facilitated by landscape permeability: The role of habitat degradation and road networks

Heringer

Thiele

Amaral

et al. 2020

Applied Vegetation Science

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Context: The sandy-savanna ecosystem "Mussununga", a natural ecosystem that occurs as patches throughout the Atlantic Forest domain, is threatened by anthropogenic factors and biological invasions of Australian Acacia species. Habitat degradation in the Atlantic Forest domain and extensive road networks could facilitate Acacia invasion into Mussununga. Objectives: We investigated whether: (a) landscape permeability (measured by effective conductance) facilitates Acacia invasion; (b) forest fragments are barriers, and roads and highways are corridors for invasive spread of Acacia; and (c) size and shape of Mussununga patches play a role in biological invasion. Methods: Acacia invasion was investigated in 32 Mussununga sites within the Atlantic Forest domain. We tested the effect of a set of landscape permeability scenarios based on circuit analysis and nine other metrics of landscape structure on Acacia occurrence using three buffer-zone sizes (0.5, 1, and 2 km). Results: The likelihood of Acacia invasion significantly increased with landscape permeability. The best-fitting landscape permeability scenario designated road networks as corridors, intact forests and water surfaces as barriers, and degraded habitats as non-barriers. We also found that Mussununga areas within a 0.5 km buffer negatively affected the biological invasion by Acacia. Conclusions: Extensive habitat degradation by deforestation and dense road networks facilitate Acacia invasion into sandy-savanna Mussununga ecosystems. Landscape permeability may be used as a risk-assessment tool for biological invasion by Acacia species. Mussununga patches can be protected from Acacia invasion | 599 Applied Vegetation Science HERINGER Et al.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acacia invasion is facilitated by landscape permeability: The role of habitat degradation and road networks

Heringer

Thiele

Amaral

et al. 2020

Applied Vegetation Science

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“…To select the best hypothetical resistance distance model to be used in further analysis, we generated six beta regressions models through the betareg function in 'betareg' package (Cribari-Neto & Zeileis, 2010) to test the effect of pairwise resistance distance among inselbergs from each of the six models of Jaccard dissimilarity (Thiele et al, 2018;Oliveira-Junior et al, 2020). As Jaccard dissimilarity measures how much species are not shared between pairs of inselbergs, we assume as greater the resistance distance between areas greater the isolation and greater the Jaccard dissimilarity (Oliveira-Junior et al, 2020) (Fig. S1).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They represent six models of resistance exerted by the landscape to the plant dispersal among inselbergs. Therefore, the cost of moving through the cells is affected by the value of resistance attributed to pixel (Oliveira-Junior et al, 2020). The values of hypothetical models were generated by Jaccard dissimilarity through species shared between inselbergs and others land use classes (native forest, savannah, grasslands and water + anthropogenic activity) (Fig.…”

Section: Landscape Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among the promising approaches measuring isolation among habitats is to estimate resistance distance among areas. It measures the inverse of connectivity among areas, which can be interpreted ecologically as the successful dispersal of a plant species to reach an available and suitable habitat while crossing the landscape (Heringer et al, 2020;Oliveira-Junior et al, 2020). In short, we can assume resistance distance measures the isolation among areas, whereas its inverse measures the effective conductance (i.e., connectivity).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diversity patterns, ecological niche models and biogeographic isolation in Neotropical inselbergs

Pinto¹

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The inselbergs ecosystem constitutes isolated rocky granite or gneiss outcrops, as terrestrial habitats islands, that emerge abruptly from their surrounding ecosystems, such as savannah and forests. They are characterized by extreme edaphic and microclimatic conditions, such as the scarcity of water and nutrients in the soil, few alternatives for fixing roots, seeds, and propagules, in addition to excessive exposure to wind, light, and abrupt daily thermal variation. Typically, old, climatically buffered, infertile landscapes (OCBILs) as inselbergs are hypothesized to be rich in species and endemics, low dispersability, and high clonality in many plants, as well as reduced extinction, marked palaeoendemism, small isolated populations, and adaptations to low-fertility soils. The combination of all these attributes has been a challenge for the understanding of patterns of taxonomic, ecological, climate, and biogeographical, restoration and conservation biology studies. Despite its importance in biodiversity, inselbergs are one of the more neglected and threatened ecosystems, which raises the urgency for conservation priority plans due to the current fast global climate and land-use change scenario. Thus, this study aims to understand the ecological process related to taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of species at inselberg ecosystems, as well as evaluate the effects of climate change by ecological niche models and estimate the effects of geographic isolation on the phylogenetic diversity of plants through landscape connectivity models, to generate studies that can understand the rupicolous ecosystems associated with Brazilian Neotropical inselbergs and thus contribute to the maintenance and conservation of these ecosystems. Our results indicating differences in plant community structure and diversity among local and regional scale reveal higher taxonomic and functional β-diversity driven by higher taxonomic and functional turnover component, exhibits highly stress-tolerant and conservative functional strategies (CSR) showing the effect of environment on functional traits, extreme loss of suitable area, where all scenarios showed range contraction that can achieve losses up to 86.7% in the next 50 years and greater isolation between the northeastern and southeastern inselbergs core areas reflecting the joint-effect of isolation by resistance and environmental filtering. This pattern can create more isolated communities, composed by less phylogenetic diversity of closer species and functionally adapted to environmental conditions (impoverished soils andbuffered climate), supporting the OCBIL theory. Therefore, the ecological process that shapes the community assembly is linked to the scale effect, the pattern of taxonomic and functional β-diversity could result from a strong niche filtering process, while environmental-trait approach, functional strategies, and habitat suitability are drives by environmental filtering. On a landscape scale, the effect of biogeographical isolation is added to environmental filtering in inselberg ecosystems. We highlighting that the conservation strategies should be directed towards the protection of endemic and/or threatened species and the creation of protected areas with a focus on protecting mainly isolated inselbergs, as well as groups from each of the core areas. Finally, the implementation of mitigating actions through effective restoration strategies that minimize the effect of isolation between the central areas, and that take into account the maintenance of different phylogenetic lineages and the evident specializations of species for microhabitats of inselbergs. Keywords: Rock outcrop. Beta diversity. Functional traits. Landscape resistance. Connectivity. Biodiversity conservation. Atlantic Forest. Caatinga

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The influence of climate and population density on Buxus hyrcana potential distribution and habitat connectivity

Alipour

Walas

2023

J Plant Res

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Changes in environmental factors, human impact, and interactions between them accelerate the extinction of woody species. Therefore, conservation programs are needed to protect endangered taxa. However, the relationship between climate, habitat fragmentation, and anthropogenic activities and their consequences are still not well understood. In this work, we aimed to evaluate the impact of climate change and human population density on the Buxus hyrcana Pojark distribution range, as well as the phenomenon of habitat fragmentation. Based on species occurrence data throughout the Hyrcanian Forests (north of Iran), the MAXENT model was employed to estimate the potential distribution and suitability changes. Morphological-spatial analysis (MSPA) and CIRCUITSCAPE were used to assess habitat fragmentation and its connectivity. According to the main results obtained from future scenarios, the potential range will significantly decrease due to the lack of suitable climatic conditions. Meanwhile, B. hyrcana may not be able to shift in potentially suitable areas because of human influence and geographic barriers. Under RCP scenarios the extent of the core area would be reduced and the edge/core ratio significantly increased. Altogether, we found negative effects of the environmental change and the human population density on the continuity of habitats of B. hyrcana. The results of the presented work may improve our knowledge connected with in situ and ex situ protection strategies.

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Prioritizing landscape connectivity of a tropical forest biodiversity hotspot in global change scenario

Cited by 22 publications

References 29 publications

Acacia invasion is facilitated by landscape permeability: The role of habitat degradation and road networks

Acacia invasion is facilitated by landscape permeability: The role of habitat degradation and road networks

Diversity patterns, ecological niche models and biogeographic isolation in Neotropical inselbergs

The influence of climate and population density on Buxus hyrcana potential distribution and habitat connectivity

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