The contribution of small shrubby patches to the functional diversity of wood-pastures

Oksuz, Duygu P.; Aguiar, Carlos A. S.; Tapia, Susana; Llop, Esteve; Lopes, Pedro E. M.; Serrano, Artur R. M.; Leal, Ana I.; Correia, Otília; Matos, Paula; Rainho, Ana; Branquinho, Cristina; Correia, Ricardo A.; Palmeirim, Jorge M.

doi:10.1016/j.actao.2020.103626

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…This literature review examines which factors favour the taxonomic diversity of Iberian dehesas; however, a promising field of study is the assessment of functional diversity, which has potential consequences for the provision of ecosystem services such as soil fertility, soil carbon storage, and soil microbial activity [10,112,113]. Studies on the response of functional groups to land use and management will provide a comprehensive understanding of their impact on the functional variability of biological communities [81,[114][115][116].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Which Factors Favour Biodiversity in Iberian Dehesas?

et al. 2022

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Dehesas or montados are man-made systems whose conservation interest as a Mediterranean landscape or agroforestry system has been highlighted in the scientific literature due to their high levels of biodiversity. The understanding of how management practices influence the biodiversity of the dehesa requires a comprehensive approach that considers the broad spectrum of biological components (i.e., fungi, lichens, vascular plants, macroinvertebrates, and vertebrates) that make the dehesa an ecosystem. We have reviewed around seventy publications compiled through Scopus and other specialized bibliographic sources not included in Scopus that study the impact of land use and land cover on the biodiversity of Iberian dehesas. The most significant results have been organized and summarized into a group of factors related to habitat structure and management practices. The conclusion to be drawn from the scientific studies is that not all biological components respond in the same way to land-cover and human practices, and the maintenance of a high overall diversity in dehesas depends on a complex understorey vegetation and habitat heterogeneity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Which Factors Favour Biodiversity in Iberian Dehesas?

et al. 2022

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“…Despite their socio-cultural and biodiversity value and economic relevance [7][8][9], wood pastures in Mediterranean regions have been threatened due to land-use change, including both intensification and abandonment of agriculture [10][11][12][13]. Land-use intensification is associated with simplifying a wood pasture into either pasture without trees or annual croplands, which has occurred over the last half-century as the result of the mechanization of agriculture [14,15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understory Clearing in Open Grazed Mediterranean Oak Forests: Assessing the Impact on Vegetation

Castro

2022

Sustainability

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Over recent years, rural abandonment and climate change have challenged grazed wooded landscapes in Mediterranean mountain regions. Fire hazard management procedures such as grazing, prescribed burning, or mechanical clearing must be adjusted to the new socioeconomic and environmental situation and according to the context and circumstances of each territory. This study contributes to adjusting vegetation management techniques in response to low grazing pressure by evaluating the combined effect of mechanical clearing and grazing on the structural and floristic dynamics of understory vegetation in the open-grazed Mediterranean oak forests of northern Portugal. To this end, three treatments were established: mechanical clearing with grazing, mechanical clearing without grazing, and grazing without clearing (the control). The floristic inventories were carried out using the point quadrat method, and the structure was evaluated using line transects. Herbaceous biomass was determined by destructive methods. This study shows that mechanical vegetation clearing effectively reduces phytovolume and, thus, fire hazards. However, for its effects to endure, it must be combined with subsequent grazing, which does not always occur. No consistent pattern was found in the floristic dynamics of the shrub-grassland mosaic (species richness and diversity) related to shrub-clearing or grazing over the short term (24 months).

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Small shrubby patches increase bird taxonomic and functional richness of wood-pastures

2023

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Wood-pastures are semi-natural systems that combine a grazed grassland with a tree layer. Shrubs are often controlled, mostly to improve grazing potential, resulting in a reduction of the available ecological niches. From a conservation perspective, it is thus important to identify management practices that counter this reduction. Our overall objective was to determine the value of small shrubby patches to increase the richness of wood-pasture bird communities. As study model we used Mediterranean oak wood-pastures in southern Portugal, locally known as montados. Birds and environmental variables were sampled in 50 m radius plots of wood-pasture with and without small shrubby patches (128–3748 m2, covering less than 0.5% of the study area), in winter (n = 54) and spring (n = 65). Species assemblages’ composition changed between seasons, but in both seasons the assemblages in plots with and without patches were statistically different. Seven species were statistically associated to the presence of patches, in winter and spring, increasing the richness of the respective assemblages. A comparison of the functional composition of communities of patches and matrix revealed that patches increased richness of landscapes by boosting the presence of species with functional traits uncommon in the ecologically simplified matrix. Their presence is promoted by resources added by the patches (e.g. nesting sites, protection, food), but the ranges of individual birds in general extended well beyond the patches. This study demonstrated that the presence of few and small shrubby patches can significantly enrich the bird communities of wood-pastures, both taxonomically and functionally, indicating that promoting them is a cost-effective management measure for these valuable systems.

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The contribution of small shrubby patches to the functional diversity of wood-pastures

Cited by 6 publications

References 75 publications

Which Factors Favour Biodiversity in Iberian Dehesas?

Which Factors Favour Biodiversity in Iberian Dehesas?

Understory Clearing in Open Grazed Mediterranean Oak Forests: Assessing the Impact on Vegetation

Small shrubby patches increase bird taxonomic and functional richness of wood-pastures

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