Assessing the role of invasive weeds in the impact of successional habitats on the bird assemblage in overgrowing agriculture

Agricultural habitats are assumed to be biodiversity refuges. However, some studies treat agricultural land management as a cause of the biodiversity decline, to which habitat loss and heterogeneity may contribute. Between the crops, the successional habitats appear – ruderal plant communities and bush areas. Their influence on farmland biodiversity is unknown. This research assessed the impact of spatial relationships between agricultural areas, semi-natural meadows and successional habitats on the bird species richness, Shannon diversity index, and Faith’s phylogenetic diversity index. An additional habitat variable was the presence of weeds, i.e., invasive Caucasian hogweeds Heracleum sp., treated as crops in the past. The birds and habitats research was on 74 sites set in pairs (invaded vs control) in south-eastern Poland. Results showed that birds assembling in agricultural and semi-natural areas were more diverse and contained protected farmland species, while birds appearing in overgrown habitats (i.e., successional and invaded) were clumped with their habitat requirements. In the presence of plant invaders, ruderal habitats negatively affected the bird phylogenetic diversity index. In invaded sites, bush areas had no positive effects on the Shannon diversity index and species richness of birds, in contrast with control sites. The presented research suggests the need to re-evaluate the importance of successional non-crop habitats considered positive in agricultural landscapes if those habitats develop in areas with plant invasion.     

Biodiversity conservation in cocoa production landscapes: an overview

Cocoa agroforests that retain a floristically diverse and structurally complex shade canopy have the potential to harbour significant levels of biodiversity, yet few studies have documented the plant and animal species occurring within these systems or within landscapes dominated by cocoa production. In this special issue, we bring together nine studies from Latin America, Africa and Asia that document the contribution of cocoa agroforestry systems to biodiversity conservation, and explore how the design, management and location of these systems within the broader landscape influence their value as habitats, resources and biological corridors. Tree diversity within the cocoa production systems is variable, depending on management, cultural differences, location and farm history, among other factors. Animal diversity is typically highest in those cocoa agroforests that have high plant diversity, structurally complex canopies, and abundant surrounding forest cover. In general, both plant and animal diversity within cocoa agroforests is greater than those of other agricultural land uses, but lower than in the original forest habitat. There are several emerging threats to biodiversity conservation within cocoa production landscapes, including the loss of remaining forest cover, the simplification of cocoa shade canopies and the conversion of cocoa agroforestry systems to other agricultural land uses with lower biodiversity value. To counter these threats and conserve biodiversity over the long-term, land management should focus on conserving native forest habitat within cocoa production landscapes, maintaining or restoring floristically diverse and structurally complex shade canopies within cocoa agroforests, and retaining other types of on-farm tree cover to enhance landscape connectivity and habitat availability.     

Measuring biodiversity and sustainable management in forests and agricultural landscapes

Most of the world's biodiversity will continue to exist outside protected areas and there are also managed lands within many protected areas. In the assessment of millennium targets, there is therefore a need for indicators to measure biodiversity and suitability of habitats for biodiversity both across the whole landscape/seascape and in specific managed habitats. The two predominant land uses in many inhabited areas are forestry and agriculture and these are examined. Many national-level criteria and indicator systems already exist that attempt to assess biodiversity in forests and the impacts of forest management, but there is generally less experience in measuring these values in agricultural landscapes. Existing systems are reviewed, both for their usefulness in providing indicators and to assess the extent to which they have been applied. This preliminary gap analysis is used in the development of a set of indicators suitable for measuring progress towards the conservation of biodiversity in managed forests and agriculture. The paper concludes with a draft set of indicators for discussion, with suggestions including proportion of land under sustainable management, amount of produce from such land, area of natural or high quality semi-natural land within landscapes under sustainable management and key indicator species.     

Plant functional group composition and large‐scale species richness in European agricultural landscapes

Question: Which are the plant functional groups responding most clearly to agricultural disturbances? Which are the relative roles of habitat availability, landscape configuration and agricultural land use intensity in affecting the functional composition and diversity of vascular plants in agricultural landscapes? Location: 25 agricultural landscape areas in seven European countries. Methods: We examined the plant species richness and abundance in 4 km × 4 km landscape study sites. The plant functional group classification was derived from the BIOLFLOR database. Factorial decomposition of functional groups was applied. Results: Natural habitat availability and low land use intensity supported the abundance and richness of perennials, sedges, pteridophytes and high nature quality indicator species. The abundance of clonal species, C and S strategists was also correlated with habitat area. An increasing density of field edges explained a decrease in richness of high nature quality species and an increase in richness of annual graminoids. Intensive agriculture enhanced the richness of annuals and low nature quality species. Conclusions: Habitat patch availability and habitat quality are the main drivers of functional group composition and plant species richness in European agricultural landscapes. Linear elements do not compensate for the loss of habitats, as they mostly support disturbance tolerant generalist species. In order to conserve vascular plant species diversity in agricultural landscapes, the protection and enlargement of existing patches of (semi‐) natural habitats appears to be more effective than relying on the rescue effect of linear elements. This should be done in combination with appropriate agricultural management techniques to limit the effect of agrochemicals to the fields.     

Rapid redistribution of agricultural land alters avian richness,abundance, and functional diversity

The conversion of natural, or seminatural, habitats to agricultural land and changes in agricultural land use are significant drivers of biodiversity loss. Within the context of land‐sharing versus land‐sparing debates, large‐scale commercial agriculture is known to be detrimental to biodiversity, but the effects of small‐scale subsistence farming on biodiversity are disputed. This poses a problem for sustainable land‐use management in the Global South, where approximately 30% of farmland is small‐scale. Following a rapid land redistribution program in Zimbabwe, we evaluated changes in avian biodiversity by examining richness, abundance, and functional diversity. Rapid land redistribution has, in the near term, resulted in increased avian abundance in newly farmed areas containing miombo woodland and open habitat. Conversion of seminatural ranched land to small‐scale farms had a negative impact on larger‐bodied birds, but species richness increased, and birds in some feeding guilds maintained or increased abundance. We found evidence that land‐use change caused a shift in the functional traits of the communities present. However, functional analyses may not have adequately reflected the trait filtering effect of land redistribution on large species. Whether newly farmed landscapes in Zimbabwe can deliver multiple benefits in terms of food production and habitat for biodiversity in the longer term is an open question. When managing agricultural land transitions, relying on taxonomic measures of diversity, or abundance‐weighted measures of function diversity, may obscure important information. If the value of smallholder‐farmed land for birds is to be maintained or improved, it will be essential to ensure that a wide array of habitat types is retained alongside efforts to reduce hunting and persecution of large bird species.     

Breeding bird species diversity across gradients of land use from forest to agriculture in Europe

Loss, fragmentation and decreasing quality of habitats have been proposed as major threats to biodiversity world‐wide, but relatively little is known about biodiversity responses to multiple pressures, particularly at very large spatial scales. We evaluated the relative contributions of four landscape variables (habitat cover, diversity, fragmentation and productivity) in determining different components of avian diversity across Europe. We sampled breeding birds in multiple 1‐km² landscapes, from high forest cover to intensive agricultural land, in eight countries during 2001?2002. We predicted that the total diversity would peak at intermediate levels of forest cover and fragmentation, and respond positively to increasing habitat diversity and productivity; forest and open‐habitat specialists would show threshold conditions along gradients of forest cover and fragmentation, and respond positively to increasing habitat diversity and productivity; resident species would be more strongly impacted by forest cover and fragmentation than migratory species; and generalists and urban species would show weak responses. Measures of total diversity did not peak at intermediate levels of forest cover or fragmentation. Rarefaction‐standardized species richness decreased marginally and linearly with increasing forest cover and increased non‐linearly with productivity, whereas all measures increased linearly with increasing fragmentation and landscape diversity. Forest and open‐habitat specialists responded approximately linearly to forest cover and also weakly to habitat diversity, fragmentation and productivity. Generalists and urban species responded weakly to the landscape variables, but some groups responded non‐linearly to productivity and marginally to habitat diversity. Resident species were not consistently more sensitive than migratory species to any of the landscape variables. These findings are relevant to landscapes with relatively long histories of human land‐use, and they highlight that habitat loss, fragmentation and habitat‐type diversity must all be considered in land‐use planning and landscape modeling of avian communities.     

农业景观生物多样性与害虫生态控制

现代农业的一个重要特征就是人类对农田生态系统的干扰强度及频率不断增加,严重影响农业景观的结构及其生物多样性.农业景观结构的变化及其生物多样性的丧失,必然引起生态系统服务功能的弱化,不利于实施以保护自然天敌为主的害虫生态控制.农业的集约化经营导致自然生境破碎化,减少了农业景观的复杂性,使得作物和非作物变成一种相对离散化的生境类型和镶嵌的景观格局;破碎化的生境不仅会减少某些物种的丰度,还会影响物种之间的相互关系及生物群落的多样性和稳定性.非作物生境类型如林地、灌木篱墙、田块边缘区、休耕地和草地等,是一种比较稳定的异质化环境.非作物生境较少受到干扰,可以为寄生性和捕食性节肢动物提供适宜的越冬或避难场所以及替代猎物、花粉和花蜜等资源,因此,非作物生境有利于自然天敌的栖息和繁衍,也有利于它们迁入邻近的作物生境中对害虫起到调节和控制作用.景观的格局-过程-尺度影响农田生物群落物种丰富度、多度、多样性以及害虫与天敌之间的相互作用.从区域农业景观系统的角度出发,运用景观生态学的理论和方法来研究作物、害虫、天敌等组分在不同斑块之间的转移过程和变化规律,揭示害虫在较大尺度和具有异质性的空间范围内的灾变机理,可为利用农业景观生物多样性来保护农田自然天敌,实施害虫的区域性生态控制提供新的研究思路和手段.     

Conserving freshwater biodiversity: The value,status and management of high quality ditch systems

Freshwater biodiversity is globally threatened and while most conservation efforts are focussed on natural and larger freshwater systems such as rivers and lakes, in many lowland agricultural landscapes artificial water bodies including ditches may be equally important as habitats for freshwater species. Ditches occur across the agricultural landscape but in particular, those associated with coastal and floodplain grazing marsh, have high conservation value. The importance of this habitat for rare and threatened species afforded priority status under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan is explored. The characteristics of ditches that have high conservation value are described and a set of targets against which such ditches can be assessed are presented. An analysis of the current condition of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for the wider coastal and floodplain grazing marsh habitat demonstrates the range of pressures affecting these sites and highlights that alongside generic freshwater issues such as eutrophication and non-native species, these sites have a unique set of pressures associated with their ongoing management and the vulnerable location of many sites at the coast. Wider conservation strategies for freshwater biodiversity in lowland landscapes across Europe need to factor in the different management requirements of artificial habitats such as ditches alongside more ambitious restoration projects for natural waterbodies. In low lying coastal areas the threat of coastal squeeze for many important grazing marshes will require a strategic approach to allow upstream migration of important biodiversity.     

Even the Smallest Non-Crop Habitat Islands Could Be Beneficial: Distribution of Carabid Beetles and Spiders in Agricultural Landscape

Carabid beetles and ground-dwelling spiders inhabiting agroecosystems are beneficial organisms with a potential to control pest species. Intensification of agricultural management and reduction of areas covered by non-crop vegetation during recent decades in some areas has led to many potentially serious environmental problems including a decline in the diversity and abundance of beneficial arthropods in agricultural landscapes. This study investigated carabid beetle and spider assemblages in non-crop habitat islands of various sizes (50 to 18,000 square metres) within one large field, as well as the arable land within the field, using pitfall traps in two consecutive sampling periods (spring to early summer and peak summer). The non-crop habitat islands situated inside arable land hosted many unique ground-dwelling arthropod species that were not present within the surrounding arable land. Even the smallest non-crop habitat islands with areas of tens of square metres were inhabited by assemblages substantially different from these inhabiting arable land and thus enhanced the biodiversity of agricultural landscapes. The non-crop habitat area substantially affected the activity density, recorded species richness and recorded species composition of carabid and ground-dwelling spider assemblages; however, the effects were weakened when species specialised to non-crop habitats species were analysed separately. Interestingly, recorded species richness of spiders increased with non-crop habitat area, whereas recorded species richness of carabid beetles exhibited an opposite trend. There was substantial temporal variation in the spatial distribution of ground-dwelling arthropods, and contrasting patterns were observed for particular taxa (carabid beetles and spiders). In general, local environmental conditions (i.e., non-crop habitat island tree cover, shrub cover, grass cover and litter depth) were better determinants of arthropod assemblages than non-crop habitat island size, indicating that the creation of quite small but diversified (e.g., differing in vegetation cover) non-crop habitat islands could be the most efficient tool for the maintenance and enhancement of diversity of ground-dwelling carabids and spiders in agricultural landscapes.     

乡村景观生物多样性研究进展

乡村景观是一种人文和自然共生的复合生态系统, 为生物多样性的维持提供了支持。目前, 中国传统乡村地区生物多样性的维持正面临着农业集约化、人工林树种单一化、非农业用地急剧扩张及生态传承机制解体等复杂多样的威胁, 亟待展开深入研究。本文在总结乡村景观生物多样性相关概念及特征的基础上, 通过文献分析概括了国际乡村景观生物多样性的热点研究方向, 包括农业集约化下的生物多样性管理、区域尺度乡村景观与生物多样性的协同关系、局地尺度不同乡村景观类型的物种多样性及乡村景观中的生物文化多样性, 进一步梳理了国内在相关研究方向上的主要进展并指出研究不足。在此基础上提出未来研究展望, 包括突出生物文化多样性特征、加强多时空尺度分析、深化动态维持机制研究、推进生物多样性研究在乡村生态景观规划中的全过程应用等建议。     

Single large AND several small habitat patches: A community perspective on their importance for biodiversity

The debate whether single large or several small (SLOSS) patches benefit biodiversity has existed for decades, but recent literature provides increasing evidence for the importance of small habitats. Possible beneficial mechanisms include reduced presence of predators and competitors in small habitat areas or specific functions such as stepping stones for dispersal. Given the increasing amount of studies highlighting individual behavioral differences that may influence these functions, we hypothesize that the advantage of small versus large habitat patches not only depends on patch functionality but also on the presence of animal personalities (i.e., risk-tolerant vs. risk-averse). Using an individual-based, spatially-explicit community model, we analyzed the diversity of mammal communities in landscapes consisting of a few large habitat islands interspersed with different amounts and sizes of small habitat patches. Within these heterogeneous environments, individuals compete for resources and form home-ranges, with only risk-tolerant individuals using habitat edges. Results show that when risk-tolerant individuals exist, small patches increase species diversity. A strong peak occurs at approximately 20% habitat cover in small patches when those small habitats are only used for foraging but not for breeding and home-range core position. Additional usage as stepping stones for juvenile dispersal further increases species persistence. Overall, our results reveal that a combination of a few large and several small habitat patches promotes biodiversity by enhancing landscape heterogeneity. Here, heterogeneity is created by pronounced differences in habitat functionality, increasing edge density, and variability in habitat use by different behavioral types. The finding that a combination of single large AND several small (SLASS) patches is needed for effective biodiversity preservation has implications for advancing landscape conservation. Particularly in structurally poor agricultural areas, modern technology enables precise management with the opportunity to create small foraging habitats by excluding less profitable agricultural land from cultivation.     

Conservation potential of semi-natural habitats for birds in intensively-used agricultural landscapes

Agricultural intensification resulted in substantial loss of farmland biodiversity. Semi-natural habitats may be viewed as potential buffers of these adverse impacts, but a rigorous assessment of their capacity for supporting farmland biodiversity is lacking. In this study, we explored conservation potential of two different types of semi-natural habitats for birds in intensively-used agricultural landscapes – farmland hedges (i.e., linear strips of shrubby and tree vegetation) and open scrubland (i.e., scattered shrubs and abandoned orchards). Specifically, we tested whether the abundance and species richness of birds differ between these habitats considering various species traits, such as habitat affinity (i.e., forest, farmland and urban species), diet specialization (i.e., animal eaters, plant eaters, and omnivores) and conservation status (Species of European Conservation Concern). We found that open scrubland hosted on average 37.9 bird species and 122.6 individuals per 1 km² of the transect, whereas farmland hedges hosted only 19 species and 61.8 individuals per 1 km² of the transect. However, results have substantially changed if we considered the area of suitable habitat into account. More specifically, open scrubland hosted more bird species and individuals when we considered open habitat species and the area of open habitats, whereas farmland hedges had higher species diversity and individuals of woodland bird species when we considered the area of woodland habitats. Similarly, analyses of habitat affiliations of individual species corresponded to the whole-community patterns; and revealed that several woodland bird species were mainly associated with farmland hedges (e.g., Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs, Common Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos and Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla), whereas the open scrubland was preferred by open habitat bird species (e.g., Corn Bunting Emberiza calandra, Quail Coturnix coturnix and Skylark Alauda arvensis). These results demonstrate that semi-natural habitats, both open scrubland and farmland hedges, have large potential for promotion and conservation of bird communities within intensively used agricultural landscapes, as both may have represented suitable habitats for species with different ecological requirements. Therefore, management measures focused on the enlargement of the area of these habitats, in combination with suitable management (e.g., regulating the progress of natural succession in open scrubland; increasing structural diversity of existing farmland hedges), may substantially contribute to bird conservation within agricultural landscapes.     

Biodiversity and ecosystem services−A case study for the assessment of multiple species and functional diversity levels in a cultural landscape

The expansion of large-scale plantations has a major impact on landscapes in the Tropics and Subtropics. Crops like soy bean, oil palm and rubber have led to drastic changes in land cover over the past decades, thereby altering ecosystem functions and services (ESS). Associated shifts in ESS such as climate regulation, erosion and water cycles, biodiversity as well as soil fertility or the provisioning of raw materials have been assessed through several models and software solutions (InVEST, ARIES, MIMES). However, suitable methods for the integration of a range of biodiversity assessments in agricultural landscapes are scarce.With this study, we introduce a methodology for incorporating multiple levels of species diversity into models to allow an integrated evaluation of ESS. We collected data sets from both published and unpublished sources on the distribution of vascular plants, selected pollinator groups, ground beetles, ungulates as well as amphibians, mammals, reptiles and birds in rubber-dominated landscapes, with a focus on our study sites in Southwest China and Thailand. Based on this information, we developed a common classification scheme that enables the integration of different facets of biodiversity (species diversity and functional diversity) to complement an interdisciplinary ESS assessment.Species diversity data were normalized against the most divers habitats reported (using habitat scores) to assess the impact of rubber cultivation on multiple levels of biodiversity. This resulted in a comparable matrix of different land use types and their suitability as habitat for the respective species groups allowing the aggregation of very diverse indicators. The findings were applied to two alternative land use scenarios in southern China to highlight the potential effects of land use and management decisions on species and functional diversity. Our results highlighted that the conservation oriented scenario did score higher for habitat suitability in both total species (+5%) as well as IUCN Red List species (+6%) assessments compared to the current state or business as usual scenarios (-2% and −3% compared to current state).The process presented here allows for an application within established ESS software programs, in our case InVEST, using aggregated indices while additionally providing enhanced opportunities for comparable, spatially explicit assessments of the expected impact of the analyzed scenarios on specific species groups.     

Old rural parks support higher biodiversity than forest remnants

One of the main challenges in biodiversity conservation is to curb a further degradation and loss of high-quality habitats. In agricultural matrix landscapes, the detection of alternative habitats for habitat specialists may be a solution. Historic old parks or landscape gardens around manor houses and castles are cultural heritage of nobles, but their value in harbouring biodiversity is poorly acknowledged. Therefore we evaluated the potential of old rural parks to serve as a habitat for nemoral forest species. We recorded stand structure and the presence of forest biodiversity indicators in 74 closed-canopy stands of historic parks and compared them with 93 neighbouring mature forest remnants on ancient forest land. We estimated the importance of stand structure in relation to habitat type on biodiversity indicators. Finally we suggest single-value indicator-complexes for the cost-efficient assessment of the conservation value of forests and forest-like habitats. Park stands outclassed reference forests in several individual structural characteristics, and in combined indicators of habitat quality and biodiversity. Forests had higher estimates for the combined indicator of dead wood, but large-diameter dead wood types were more abundant in parks. Woodpeckers, several old-growth indicator epiphytes and forest herbs had successfully become established in planted forest-like park fragments. Old rural parks resemble high-conservation-value forests more than the best preserved contemporary forest remnants. After the century needed to overcome immigration delay, old parks do provide a refugium for temperate deciduous forest species. Consequently, biodiversity-targeted management should retain and enhance old-growth attributes in forests and on the peripheries of parks: e.g. preserving old trees to provide service for epiphytes, hollow trees and an understorey mosaic for birds and bats; dead wood elements for saproxylic insects and fungi; limited mowing frequency and increased cutting height for forest herbs. Forestry should enhance the recovery of mixed deciduous stands and avoid conifer plantations.     

Agricultural matrix provides modest habitat value for ants on mixed farms in eastern Australia

Agricultural development has contributed to the global erosion of biodiversity. The farmed matrix in agricultural landscapes can and must be important for the conservation of biodiversity and provision of ecosystem services, but this assumes that the matrix has biodiversity value. We investigate the contribution of pastures and crops to ant diversity on mixed farms in eastern Australia. Remnant native woodlands, pastures of native grasses, sown pastures of exotic species, and crops were sampled for epigaeic ants on 3 farms using pitfall trapping. Ants were sorted to species and assigned to functional groups. Ant species richness and functionality followed consistent patterns across the three farms. Significant differences in assemblage composition were found between the major habitat types, and in species richness between woodland and non-woodland habitats (native and sown pastures, and crops), which did not contribute appreciably to farm-level biodiversity: 1–10% of species were found only in the farmed matrix. Insect conservation in agricultural landscapes is important for the provision of ecosystem services, including pest control and the maintenance of soil condition. As the farmed matrix makes only a modest contribution to farm-scale biodiversity, appropriate management of the unfarmed parts of the landscape is critical and habitat restoration may be warranted where the level of native vegetation is low. Maintaining a mix of land uses within the production matrix will also be a necessary bet-hedging strategy in a world with changing climates, commodities, community expectations and farming practices.     

Landscape-scale crop diversity interacts with local management to determine ground beetle diversity

Crop diversification and maintenance of semi-natural habitats (grasslands and field boundaries) are suggested to enhance farmland biodiversity, but the relative importance of these factors remains poorly known. We evaluated how crop diversity and availability of semi-natural grasslands at a landscape-scale interacted with local farming management (three management types from low to high intensity: ley < winter wheat < sugar beet) in their effect on ground beetle assemblages in southern Sweden. Ground beetle diversity increased with crop diversity either independently of local management (Simpson species diversity), or only in the less intensively managed habitats (rarefied species richness). While ground beetle diversity in leys tended to increase with field boundary length, no such relationship was observed in winter wheat or sugar beet fields. In contrast, the landscape proportions of leys and semi-natural grasslands did not affect ground beetle species richness and diversity. We conclude that (a) semi-natural grasslands and leys may not function as source habitats at a landscape-scale if they comprise a low proportion of the total land-use, while (b) increasing crop diversity is correlated to ground beetle richness and diversity in agricultural landscapes dominated by arable land. The beneficial effect of landscape-scale crop diversification on farmland biodiversity may depend on the general level of agricultural intensity of a region.     

Effects of landscape connectivity on the spatial distribution of insect diversity in agricultural mosaic landscapes

European agricultural landscapes are mosaics of intensively cultivated areas and semi-natural elements. Although comprising only a small fraction of the total area, semi-natural elements provide habitat for most of the landscape biodiversity. Agricultural intensification has increasingly fragmented semi-natural elements and species numbers are in decline. Insights into the effects of landscape structure on species’ distributions within and among semi-natural habitats are needed to conserve biodiversity in agricultural landscapes more effectively. We investigated the landscape- and habitat-specific diversity partitions of wild bees, true bugs, and carabid beetles in two differently structured agricultural landscapes in Switzerland. In each landscape, we partitioned the total species diversity (γ) into its additive components within (_P) and among patches (β_P) and among habitats (β_H). In the landscape characterized by a patchy, isolated distribution of habitat elements, among-patch diversity (β_P) explained 44% of the total species richness (γ) and was significantly higher than expected under a random distribution of samples among habitat patches; in the landscape with higher habitat connectivity, among-patch diversity (β_P) comprised 32% of the total species richness (γ) and did not differ from the random expectation. Habitat-specific within-patch contributions to species richness were similarly low across habitat types (_P=23–24%) in the patchy landscape, whereas in the more connected landscape within-patch partitions tended to be higher and differed among habitat types (_P=22–38%). Functionally different groups of bees, true bugs, and carabids also responded differently to landscape structure in a manner that was consistent with known differences in resource specialization and dispersal ability. Differences in diversity partitions among landscapes and taxa indicate the need for flexible conservation strategies. Conservation of habitat-specific diversity may require more habitat patches in landscapes that have lower habitat connectivity and low within-patch diversity (_P) than in landscapes with higher within-patch diversity (_P).     

Evolutionarily distinct amphibians are disproportionately lost from human‐modified ecosystems

Humans continue to alter terrestrial ecosystems, but our understanding of how biodiversity responds is still limited. Anthropogenic habitat conversion has been associated with the loss of evolutionarily distinct bird species at local scales, but whether this evolutionary pattern holds across other clades is unknown. We collate a global dataset on amphibian assemblages in intact forests and nearby human‐modified sites to assess whether evolutionary history influences susceptibility to land conversion. We found that evolutionarily distinct amphibian species are disproportionately lost when forested habitats are converted to alternative land‐uses. We tested the hypothesis that grassland‐associated amphibian lineages have both higher diversification and are pre‐adapted to human landscapes, but found only weak evidence supporting this. The loss of evolutionarily distinct amphibians with land conversion suggests that preserving remnant forests will be vital if we aim to preserve the amphibian tree of life in the face of mounting anthropogenic pressures.     

不同干扰背景下景观指数与物种多样性的多尺度效应——以巩义市为例

以黄河中下游山地丘陵区的巩义市为研究区,采用典型样地法对灌草丛、人工林和农田边缘3种不同干扰背景下的自然、半自然生境内的植物进行调查。基于景观生态学原理,在地理信息系统技术支持下,借助于Fragstatta3.3软件,以调查样地为中心,计算了150、250、500、750、1000、1250、1500m不同半径缓冲区内表征景观形状(Edge and patch shape)、边缘对照(Edge contrast)、相似度和邻近度(Proximity and similarity)、景观多样性(Diversity)、基质(Texture)、斑块大小和密度(Patch size and patch density)共6类52个指数,运用冗余分析(RDA)筛选出不同尺度下对该区农业景观中植物多样性有显著影响的景观指数。结果表明:不同尺度,景观指数对物种多样性的影响变化显著。灌草丛生境,在500—750m范围内,SHAPE_AM指数和PARA_AM指数能够很好的解释物种多样性,解释量为33.6%;人工林生境,SHAPE_AM指数、AREA_CV指数、SIMI指数和PAFRAC指数在1000—1250m范围内对物种多样性的解释量达到48.1%;农田边缘生境,GYRATE_CV指数、ENN_CV指数、PARA_MN指数和FRAC_AM指数在750—1250m范围内对物种多样性影响显著,解释量为32%。其中,辛普森多样性指数(SIDI)与灌草丛物种多样性在750—1250m范围内作用显著,ENN_CV指数仅对农田边缘物种多样性影响较大。景观指数对物种多样性的影响具有尺度依赖性,未来应全面综合探讨这些指数的尺度效应及在景观生态学中的应用。     

Forest bees are replaced in agricultural and urban landscapes by native species with different phenologies and life‐history traits

Anthropogenic landscapes are associated with biodiversity loss and large shifts in species composition and traits. These changes predict the identities of winners and losers of future global change, and also reveal which environmental variables drive a taxon's response to land use change. We explored how the biodiversity of native bee species changes across forested, agricultural, and urban landscapes. We collected bee community data from 36 sites across a 75,000 km² region, and analyzed bee abundance, species richness, composition, and life‐history traits. Season‐long bee abundance and richness were not detectably different between natural and anthropogenic landscapes, but community phenologies differed strongly, with an early spring peak followed by decline in forests, and a more extended summer season in agricultural and urban habitats. Bee community composition differed significantly between all three land use types, as did phylogenetic composition. Anthropogenic land use had negative effects on the persistence of several life‐history strategies, including early spring flight season and brood parasitism, which may indicate adaptation to conditions in forest habitat. Overall, anthropogenic communities are not diminished subsets of contemporary natural communities. Rather, forest species do not persist in anthropogenic habitats, but are replaced by different native species and phylogenetic lineages preadapted to open habitats. Characterizing compositional and functional differences is crucial for understanding land use as a global change driver across large regional scales.