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Diversity
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Landscape Biodiversity
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Landscape Biodiversity

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Biogeography and Macroecology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2025) | Viewed by 1497

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Ilda Vagge

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Milan, Via Celoria 2, I-20133 Milan, Italy
Interests: geobotany; plant community; landscape ecology; agroforestry; landscape design; applied botany
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Landscape biodiversity plays a pivotal role in ensuring the resilience of territories to the impacts of climate change and human activities. It provides a foundation for the maintenance of diverse ecosystems and specific biodiversity. A landscape with high biodiversity can better withstand stress and disturbance, facilitating the formation of robust ecological networks. Furthermore, landscape biodiversity is essential for the provision of a range of ecosystem services and benefits, particularly those related to support and regulation.

The conservation of landscape biodiversity and its implementation present unique challenges that are contingent upon various contextual factors, including climatic, geographical, human, and social influences. Therefore, studies and research in this field assume paramount importance. The methodology employed in these studies must be multidisciplinary, incorporating the expertise of various ecological disciplines, such as landscape ecology and geobotany, which play a pivotal role in this field. Additionally, the utilization of sophisticated computer and modeling tools is essential.

The findings of landscape biodiversity research have tangible applications in a number of real-world contexts. These include the development of spatial and landscape analyses, the formulation of strategies for the conservation and implementation of biodiversity, and the planning and design of ecological landscapes.

This Special Issue aims to present methodological and applied work on the subject of landscape biodiversity in a range of geographical contexts and at varying spatial and temporal scales. We welcome the submission of comprehensive and well-reasoned bibliographical reviews on the subject.

Prof. Dr. Ilda Vagge
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • landscape biodiversity
  • ecosystem services
  • landscape ecology
  • multidisciplinary
  • multiscalar
  • ecological planning
  • ecological network

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 4914 KiB  
Article
Land Use Effects on the Space Use and Dispersal of an Apex Predator in an Ecotone Between Tropical Biodiversity Hotspots
by Bernardo Brandão Niebuhr, Sandra M. C. Cavalcanti, Ermeson A. Vilalba, Vanessa V. Alberico, João Carlos Zecchini Gebin, Danilo da Costa Santos, Ananda de Barros Barban, Raphael de Oliveira, Eliezer Gurarie and Ronaldo G. Morato
Diversity 2025, 17(6), 435; https://doi.org/10.3390/d17060435 - 19 Jun 2025
Viewed by 649
Abstract
Assessing the ranging and dispersal behavior of apex predators and its consequences for landscape connectivity is of paramount importance for understanding population and ecosystem effects of anthropogenic land use change. Here, we synthesize ranging and dispersal ecological information on pumas (Puma concolor [...] Read more.
Assessing the ranging and dispersal behavior of apex predators and its consequences for landscape connectivity is of paramount importance for understanding population and ecosystem effects of anthropogenic land use change. Here, we synthesize ranging and dispersal ecological information on pumas (Puma concolor) and present estimates of how different land uses affect the space use and dispersal of pumas on fragmented landscapes in an ecotone between biodiversity hotspots in southeastern Brazil. Additionally, we evaluate the effect of animal translocations on dispersal and movement patterns. Using location data for 14 GPS-collared pumas and land use data, we assessed when, how long, and how far individuals dispersed; how forest loss and infrastructure influenced puma home range size; and how movement patterns changed according to land use and proximity to infrastructure, during ranging and dispersal, for residents, natural dispersers, and translocated individuals. We present the first detailed record on the dispersal of pumas in Brazil and in the tropics, including long-distance dispersals, and show that pumas moved faster and more linearly during dispersal than during ranging. Their movement was slower and their home ranges were smaller in more forested areas, underscoring the importance of forest as habitat. In contrast, movement rates were higher in open pastures, mainly during dispersal. Our study underscores the scarcity of research on puma space use and dispersal in South America and reveals partial divergences in dispersal behaviors compared to North America and temperate regions, especially concerning dispersal ages. Furthermore, we give the first steps in presenting how land cover and human infrastructure affect the movement of this apex predator in a tropical ecosystem, an important subsidy for land use management. We call for more comprehensive studies on the movement ecology of carnivores combined with long-term population monitoring, to allow linking individual behavior with metapopulation dynamics and landscape connectivity and drawing more effective measures to sustain their populations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Landscape Biodiversity)
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26 pages, 2353 KiB  
Article
Biodiversity in Agricultural Landscapes: Inter-Scale Patterns in the Po Plain (Italy)
by Gemma Chiaffarelli and Ilda Vagge
Diversity 2025, 17(6), 418; https://doi.org/10.3390/d17060418 - 13 Jun 2025
Viewed by 207
Abstract
Agrobiodiversity decline depends on wider-scale landscape ecological traits. Studying inter-scale patterns helps in understanding context-specific farm-scale biodiversity issues and needs. In this study, we investigated the drivers of agrobiodiversity in four Po Plain sites (northern Italy), an intensively impacted agricultural district. Farm-scale floristic–vegetational [...] Read more.
Agrobiodiversity decline depends on wider-scale landscape ecological traits. Studying inter-scale patterns helps in understanding context-specific farm-scale biodiversity issues and needs. In this study, we investigated the drivers of agrobiodiversity in four Po Plain sites (northern Italy), an intensively impacted agricultural district. Farm-scale floristic–vegetational indicators reflecting anthropic disturbance (biological forms, chorological traits, and maturity traits) were studied for their relationship with species richness and phytocoenosis α-diversity values. Their correlation with local- and extra-local-scale landscape ecology traits was also studied. Species richness and α-diversity were negatively related to floristic contamination and therophytes; they tended to increase with the Eurasiatic and phanerophyte ratio, suggesting a role of disturbance conditions on diversity values. Extra-local/local scale showed similar relationships with farm-scale floristic–vegetational traits; correlation was higher for local scale. Species richness and α-diversity tended to increase with higher landscape natural components, landscape diversity, biological territorial capacity, and connectivity. These landscape traits also tended to be positively related to Eurasiatic, hemicryptophyte, chamaephyte, phanerophyte, and maturity values, while they were negatively related to adventitious, wide distribution, aliens, and therophytes. Corridors’ ecological quality apparently influenced disturbance-related species amount. Maps representing these inter-scale biodiversity facets are provided (land-use-based support ecosystem service maps integrated with landscape diversity maps). The detected patterns orient context-specific multi-scale biodiversity support. They confirm the theoretical frameworks and should be validated on wider datasets to strengthen their representativeness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Landscape Biodiversity)
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15 pages, 2135 KiB  
Article
Investigating Endemic Alpine Communities of Papaver corona-sancti-stephani and Cerastium lerchenfeldianum in the Southern Carpathians
by Claudia Biță-Nicolae, Daniela Mogîldea and Oliviu G. Pop
Diversity 2025, 17(4), 283; https://doi.org/10.3390/d17040283 - 17 Apr 2025
Viewed by 288
Abstract
The high-elevation calcareous screes of the Southern Carpathians are ecologically important habitats characterised by extreme environmental conditions. These habitats support specialised plant communities, including endemic and relict species, shaped by climatic, edaphic and biogeographic factors. This study examines three scree vegetation communities in [...] Read more.
The high-elevation calcareous screes of the Southern Carpathians are ecologically important habitats characterised by extreme environmental conditions. These habitats support specialised plant communities, including endemic and relict species, shaped by climatic, edaphic and biogeographic factors. This study examines three scree vegetation communities in the Bucegi, Piatra Craiului and Făgăraș massifs to assess species composition, ecological strategies and environmental influences. Phytosociological surveys were carried out using the Braun-Blanquet method, diversity indices (species richness, Simpson indices and species evenness) and multivariate analyses, including ANOSIM (ANalysis Of SIMilarities), SIMPER (Similarity Percentage method) and PCA (Principal Component Analysis), and were applied to evaluate species–environment relationships. A total of 62 vascular plant species were recorded, with Caryophyllaceae and Asteraceae as the dominant families. Differences in lifeform composition and species distribution between the massifs were related to variations in soil moisture, nutrient availability and climatic conditions. The results highlight the role of calcareous substrates in supporting alpine endemism and underline the influence of abiotic stress on community structure. Conservation efforts should prioritise these fragile ecosystems, especially as climate change and human activities increase pressure on high-elevation habitats. The study contributes to a broader understanding of the Carpathian alpine flora and its biogeographic connections with other European mountain systems, and it highlights the need for targeted conservation strategies to preserve biodiversity in these vulnerable environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Landscape Biodiversity)
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