Search Results (65)

Wooded grasslands are agroforestry systems of high biological and cultural value, which are increasingly threatened by land-use abandonment in Mediterranean marginal areas. In the central-southern Apennines, little is known about their ecological dynamics under different management regimes. This study assesses how three management intensities (High: mowing plus grazing; Low: grazing only; and Abandoned: no management for ~50 years) affect the wooded grasslands in a protected area of the Central Apennines. Vascular plant composition and cover were recorded along radial transects from isolated Fagus sylvatica L. trunks to the adjacent grassland, with plots grouped in four positions (Trunk, Mid-canopy, Edge, and Grassland). The canopy cover, shrub height, species richness, and ecological roles of species were analysed. The results show that light availability, driven by canopy and shrub cover, shapes a gradient from shade-adapted species near the trunk to heliophilous grassland species in open areas. In the Abandoned site, shrub encroachment reduces light even beyond the canopy, facilitating the spread of shade-tolerant and pre-forest species, accelerating succession towards a closed-canopy forest. High-intensity management preserves floristic gradients and grassland species, while Low-intensity management shows early signs of succession at the canopy edge. These findings highlight the importance of traditional mowing and grazing in maintaining the biodiversity and ecological functions of wooded grasslands and emphasize the need for timely interventions where management declines. Full article

Mediterranean wood pastures are the result of traditional silvo-pastoral uses that shaped these ecosystems into a mosaic of trees and open grassland. This ecosystem structure is generally associated with increased soil fertility under tree canopies. However, the response of herbaceous plant functional types (PFTs)—grasses, legumes, and non-legume forbs—to these heterogeneous microenvironments (under the canopy vs. open grassland) remains largely unknown, particularly regarding carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) acquisition and use. Even less is known about how different tree species and environmental conditions influence these responses. In this study, we aim to assess how tree canopies influence carbon and nitrogen cycling by comparing the effects of traditional oak stands and pine plantations on herbaceous PFTs and soil dynamics. For that we use C and N content and natural isotopic abundances (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) as proxies for biogeochemical cycling. Our results show that ecosystem C and N patterns depend not only on herbaceous PFTs and the presence or absence of tree canopies but also on tree species identity and environmental conditions, including climate. In particular, pine-dominated plantations exhibited lower nitrogen availability compared to those dominated by oak, suggesting that oak stands may contribute more effectively to enhance soil fertility in Mediterranean wood pastures. Furthermore, the canopy effect was more pronounced under harsher environmental conditions, highlighting the role of trees in buffering environmental stress, particularly in arid regions. This suggests that changes in tree cover and tree species may drive complex changes in ecosystem C and N storage and cycling. Full article

The prevalence of plant parasitic nematodes (PPN) in the Irish peatlands was investigated in five different peatland habitats—raised bog, cutover scrub/woodlands, fens and peat grasslands, which were further sub-categorised into fourteen different sub-habitats. Within the raised bog habitat were healthy bog hummock (HBH), healthy bog lawn (HBL), degraded bog hummock (DBH) and degraded bog lawn (DBL) and the fen habitats were fen peat (FP) and rich fen peat (R-FP). Cutover scrub or woodland habitat included cutover scrub rewetted (C-RW), cutover scrub non-rewetted (C-NRW), woodlands rewetted (W-RW) and woodlands non-rewetted (W-NRW). Grassland included wasted peat (WP), rough grazing (RG-I) and improved fen peat grassland (IFPG-RW and IFPG-NRW). Soil samples from peatlands were all collected between July and December 2023 when the temperature ranged from 12 to 20 °C. One half of each sample was used for molecular nematode analysis and the other half for morphological identification of nematodes. For the morphological identification, a specific nematode extraction protocol was optimised for peatland soils, and the extracted nematodes were fixed onto slides to be studied under a high-power light microscope. Subsequently, the other part of the soil was processed to isolate total DNA, from which the 18S rRNA gene was sequenced for the identification of nematode taxa. The extracted DNA was also used for randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprinting analysis to determine banding patterns that could classify different bog habitats based on PPN random primers. Compared to that in the climax habitats (HBH, HBL, DBH, DBL, FP, R-FP), PPN prevalence was recorded as being higher in grasslands (WP, RG-I, IFPG-RW and IFPG-NRW) and scrub/woodland ecosystems (C-RW, C-NRW, W-RW, W-NRW). The results indicate that nematode populations are different across the various bog habitats. Emerging and current quarantine PPN belonging to the families Pratylenchidae, Meloidogynidae, Anguinidae and Heteroderidae were noted to be above the threshold limits mentioned under EPPO guidelines, in grassland and wooded peatland habitats. Future actions for PPN management may need to be considered, along with the likelihood that these PPN might impact future paludiculture and other crops and trees growing in nearby agricultural lands. Full article

The main causes of habitat conversion, degradation, and fragmentation—all of which add to the loss in biodiversity—are human activities, such as urbanization and farmland reclamation. In order to inform scientific land management and biodiversity conservation strategies and, therefore, advance sustainable development, it is imperative to evaluate the effects of land-use changes on biodiversity, especially in areas with high biodiversity. Using data from five future land-use scenarios under various Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) and Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs), this study systematically assesses the characteristics of land-use and landscape pattern changes in southwest China by 2050. This study builds a comprehensive biodiversity index and forecasts trends in species richness and habitat quality using models like Fragstats and InVEST to evaluate the overall effects of future land-use changes on biodiversity. The research yielded the subsequent conclusions: (1) Grasslands and woods will continue to be the primary land uses in southwest China in the future. But the amount of grassland is expected to decrease by 11,521 to 102,832 km², and the amounts of wasteland and urban area are expected to increase by 8130 to 16,293 km² and 4028 to 19,677 km², respectively. Furthermore, it is anticipated that metropolitan areas will see an increase in landscape fragmentation and shape complexity, whereas forests and wastelands will see a decrease in these aspects. (2) In southwest China, there is a synergistic relationship between species richness and habitat quality, and both are still at relatively high levels. In terms of species richness and habitat quality, the percentage of regions categorized as outstanding and good range from 71.63% to 74.33% and 70.13% to 75.83%, respectively. The environmental circumstances for species survival and habitat quality are expected to worsen in comparison to 2020, notwithstanding these high levels. Western Sichuan, southern Guizhou, and western Yunnan are home to most of the high-habitat-quality and species-richness areas, while the western plateau is home to the majority of the lower scoring areas. (3) The majority of areas (89.84% to 94.29%) are forecast to undergo little change in the spatial distribution of biodiversity in southwest China, and the general quality of the ecological environment is predicted to stay favorable. Except in the SSP1-RCP2.6 scenario, however, it is expected that the region with declining biodiversity will exceed those with increasing biodiversity. In comparison to 2020, there is a projected decline of 1.0562% to 5.2491% in the comprehensive biodiversity index. These results underscore the major obstacles to the conservation of biodiversity in the area, highlighting the need to fortify macro-level land-use management, put into practice efficient regional conservation plans, and incorporate traditional knowledge in order to save biodiversity. Full article

We evaluated the richness, diversity, and assemblage of Carabidae in the Val Grande National Park. Monitoring, by pitfall-trapping, was performed in 2021–2022 in two sites (S1 and S2), and considering six vegetation habitats (“Terraced ferns”, “Terraced grassland”, “Wood”, “Chestnut grove”, “Ecotone”, and “Grassland”). A total of 2707 carabids consisting of 34 species were collected. The assemblage displayed the dominance of Calathus fuscipes graecus (27%), followed by Carabus glabratus latior (15%), and Carabus problematicus problematicus (15%). Besides the species already known for the Park, seven further species have been recorded. While in S1 the carabid assemblage was unexpectedly poor, a rich biodiversity with an excellent balance among the numerous brachypterous, macropterous, and pteropolymorphous species was recorded in S2. The species recorded in the habitat “Terraced ferns” and in “Ecotone” constituted the dominant groups and they accounted for 51% and 41%, in S1 and S2, respectively. The awareness of the species composition, richness, and ecology can be a useful tool for the Park to address the management of the surfaces in order to avoid disturbing the carabid fauna, especially for carabids of conservation concern, to mitigate their potential decline. Full article

In the framework of an ongoing gene conservation programme in the Tolna Hills Region, Hungary, a total of 41 site plots were selected on agricultural land that had recently been used as grassland, meadow or vineyard. Aims of our study were (i) to test the taxonomic status of relic oak trees growing out of forested lands; (ii) to verify the origin of relic trees whether they regenerated by sprouts and suckers or by seeds in order to estimate their age and origin (nativeness); (iii) to test their microhabitats to see if forest-specific plant and fungal species were presented; (iv) and to test species to see if their presence linked to any forest vegetation in the past. Furthermore, the land-use type did not show a significant effect on the abundance of woody, dicot herbaceous, or monocot herbaceous plants recorded on sites based on maps from 1941 or earlier. The follow-up univariate ANOVA revealed a significant direct effect of recent land-use type (of 2022) on monocot herbaceous plants (F(3,33) = 5.21, p < 0.01). Additionally, a significant but weaker effect was observed on woody plants (F(3,33) = 3.22, p < 0.05). The overall past effect of land-use type showed a significantly high positive correlation between the abundance of woody plants and the number of times the maps showed forest or forest boundary land-use types (R = 0.46, p < 0.01). The plots have likely preserved and sustained the microhabitats of the native forest vegetation that was once distributed in the region. The site plots of relic oak trees, considered as flagstone habitats, create opportunities for gene flow, not only for the species with dispersal or discontinuous distribution, but also for the Vergilius oak populations. Therefore, relic trees and their microhabitats might have an important role in the mating system of various species and might also be valuable resources for genetic conservation programmes. Full article

Wood pastures have been characteristic farming types in the Pannonian biogeographical region over the centuries. In the present work, we studied wood-pastures of typical geographical locations in the North Hungarian Mountain Range of Hungary characterized by similar environmental conditions but grazed by different livestock. The sample area of Cserépfalu was grazed by Hungarian Grey Cattle, while the Erdőbénye was grazed by Hungarian Racka Sheep. Coenological records of the sites were collected from 2012 to 2021 in the main vegetation period according to the Braun-Blanquet method with the application of 2 × 2 m sampling quadrats, where the coverage estimated by percentage for each present species was also recorded. To evaluate the state of vegetation, ’ecological ordering’ distribution, diversity, and grassland management values were used. Between the two areas, the grazing pressure of the two studied livestock produced different results. Based on the diversity values, woody–shrubby–grassland mosaic diversity values were high (Shannon diversity: 2.21–2.87). Cattle grazing resulted in a variable and mosaic-like shrubby area with high cover values. Based on our results, grazing by cattle provides an adequate solution for forming and conserving wood-pasture habitats in the studied areas of Hungary. However, if the purpose is to also form valuable grassland with high grassland management values, partly sheep grazing should be suggested. Full article

Landscape changes based on spectral responses allow showing plant cover changes through diversity, composition, and ecological connectivity. The spatial and temporal vegetation dynamics of the Bijagual Massif from 1986 to 2021 were analyzed as a measure of ecological integrity, conservation, and territory. The covers identified were high open forest (Hof), dense grassland of non-wooded mainland (Dgnm), a mosaic of pastures and crops (Mpc), lagoons (Lag), and bare and degraded lands (Bdl). The Bijagual Massif has 8574.1 ha. In 1986, Dgnm occupied 42.6% of the total area, followed by Mpc (32.8%) and Hof (24.5%); by 2000, Mpc and Hof increased (43.7 and 28.1%, respectively), while Dgnm decreased (28%); by 2021, Dgnm was restricted to the northeastern zone and continued to decrease (25.2%), Mpc occupied 52.9%, Hof 21.7% and Bdl 0.1%. Of the three fractions of the connectivity probability index, only dPCintra and dPCflux contribute to ecological connectivity. Hof and Dgnm show patches with biota habitat quality and availability. Between 1986 and 2021, Dgnm lost 1489 ha (41%) and Hof 239.5 ha (11%). Mpc replaced various covers (1722.2 ha; 38%) in 2021. Bijagual has a valuable biodiversity potential limited by Mpc. Territorial planning and sustainable agroecological and ecotourism proposals are required due to the context of the ecosystems. Full article

Struvite is a substance that can be extracted from wastewater and has the potential to replace conventionally manufactured fertilizers and reduce environmental issues. A slow-release fertilizer can more effectively be used by matching the nutrient requirements of plants through the growing period and gradually supplying N and P for crop growth. Struvite is an ecologically friendly fertilizer because of its gradual fertilizer treatment and high quality. Existing research indicates that the solubility and absorption of struvite by plants are equivalent to those of artificial phosphorus fertilizers such as triple superphosphate or potassium phosphate. Struvite is recognized to be an effective fertilizer for grass, tree seedlings, ornamental plants, vegetables, and flower beds. Struvite precipitation removes phosphorus and nitrogen from sewage water, hence alleviating phosphorus shortages from non-renewable phosphorus sources and water eutrophication. Struvite would also be useful in the grasslands and woods where fertilizers are used. However, the agricultural utility of struvite has not been thoroughly investigated. As a result, this work is reported as a pot experiment designed to assess the fertilizer value of struvite. Experimental settings were created, and pot experiments were conducted to establish the optimal amount of struvite based on two factors. The initial pH for struvite synthesis was 9. The formulated struvite fertilizers were compared to standard phosphorus fertilizers in the pot trials. Fourier-transform spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy-Dispersive X Ray Spectroscopy (EDAX) were employed to support the quantitative findings. To summarize, struvite precipitation is a desirable and effective method for removing phosphate and nitrogen from domestic sewage water and using them as fertilizers. Full article

Clearing diseased wood is a common measure used to reduce the continued spread of pine wilt disease and prevent infecting other pines. However, the impact of clearing diseased wood on the physicochemical properties of the soil is still unclear. To elucidate this matter, we conducted a series of soil experiments and observations in Changdao, mainly focused on uncut black pine, cut black pine, and the inter-forest zone. The results showed the following. (1) The soil beneath the forest underwent a transition towards the characteristics of forest and grassland after clearing diseased wood, which indicated a potential shift in the ecosystem’s structure and function. (2) Clearing diseased wood led to an increase in the soil pH of 0.15, indicating that it facilitated the recovery of acidic soil. (3) The clearing of diseased wood can coarsen the soil’s texture. Moreover, it effectively reduced the surface soil temperature (0–20 cm) in summer by 1.52 °C, as well as significantly decreasing the surface (0–20 cm) soil moisture in spring and summer by 1.3% and 2.43%, respectively. (4) Clearing diseased wood clearing can effectively modify the content of essential nutrients in the soil. It reduced the available nitrogen by 26.86 mg·kg⁻¹, increased the available phosphorus by 0.57 mg·kg⁻¹, and decreased the available potassium by 1.68 mg·kg⁻¹. Meanwhile, clearing diseased wood exacerbated soil salinization and increased the soil’s salt content by 0.70 g·kg⁻¹. The findings of this study provide scientific solutions for the sustainable ecological development of black pine forests in Changdao. Full article

The Three Gorges Dam project and other human activities, including regional urbanization and industrialization, have had a substantial influence on the biological environment of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA). They have changed the surface land use pattern, disrupted ecosystem structure and function, and influenced changes in the value of ecosystem services. The human activity intensity (HAI) assessment model, the ecosystem services value (ESV) assessment model, and the bivariate spatial autocorrelation model were used based on the spatiotemporal evolution data of towns along the Yangtze River in the TGRA in 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020. At the same time, the spatiotemporal impact of the HAI on land use patterns was evaluated and the magnitude of the spatiotemporal influences on the ESV was investigated. The findings demonstrate the following: (1) The TGRA’s higher reaches are occupied by forested land, while the middle and lower portions are characterized by agricultural land. Land change in the reservoir region has mostly featured transitions between wooded land, agricultural land, grassland, and building land during the last 25 years. Because of differences in natural geography and administrative divisions, the intensity of human activity in the TGRA changes throughout the Yangtze River, with higher intensity in Chongqing and lower intensity in Hubei. By comparing the ESV and the HAI and validating with Moran scatter plots, it was determined that there is a negative relationship between the value of ecosystem services and the intensity of human activities. (2) The ESV rose from CNY 1017.16 × 10⁸ in 1995 to CNY 1052.73 × 10⁸ in 2020, suggesting that the policies of converting farmland back into forests, eliminating outdated production capacity, and developing green industries, among other ecological conservation measures, are effective. (3) In the research area, the effect coefficient of HAI on ESV ranges from −0.02 to −0.032 to −0.031. This coefficient represents the correlation between the HAI and ESV and can preliminarily judge the change in the degree of correlation between the HAI and ESV. The increase in HAI leads to a decrease in the value of ecosystem services, and there is a clear negative spatial correlation between the two. The low human activity area and low ecosystem service value area in the Chongqing section have been transformed into a high ecosystem service value area through years of returning farmland to forest and ecological management measures for sustainable development. Full article

Ecological sensitivity measures an ecosystem’s reaction and restoration difficulty to exogenous disturbances. Regional ecological and environmental challenges can be identified using ecological sensitivity evaluation. The regional characteristics and environmental challenges of plateau lakes were quantified to create four assessment indexes: landform, natural conditions, human activities, and ecological security. Eleven ecologically sensitive characteristics were chosen. We evaluated the landscape ecological sensitivity of the Erhai Lake Basin, China, using ArcGIS and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The results showed that the Erhai Lake Basin was mostly forest from 1990 to 2020 and that the dynamic land-use attitude increased and then reduced. The cultivated land became mostly woods and grassland. The largest building area was tied to reverting farms to woods and urban construction. The highest weight was from single-factor ecologically sensitive vegetation covering, followed by river systems and roadways, and lowest was from landslides and collapses. The ecologically sensitive areas with more vegetation and a greater distance from roads and woodland are harder to recover from harm. According to the thorough sensitivity analysis, the study region’s high sensitivity area is 1102.36 km² (26.16%) and the higher sensitivity area is 1177.10 km² (27.93%). The ecological sensitivity increases from neighborhoods to nature reserves. High-sensitivity areas were in hilly woods and grasslands with few people. The low-sensitivity area was around water and homes. The dynamic stability of the area ecological environment influenced ecological sensitivity. This study aims to provide sustainable land use solutions for the Erhai Lake Basin and a scientific basis for managing and protecting ecologically vulnerable areas. Full article

Population growth in the city of Lubumbashi in the southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) is leading to increased energy needs, endangering the balance of the miombo woodland in the rural area referred to as the Lubumbashi charcoal production basin (LCPB). In this study, we quantified the deforestation of the miombo woodland in the LCPB via remote sensing and landscape ecology analysis tools. Thus, the analysis of Landsat images from 1990, 1998, 2008, 2015 and 2022 was supported by the random forest classifier. The results showed that the LCPB lost more than half of its miombo woodland cover between 1990 (77.90%) and 2022 (39.92%) and was converted mainly to wooded savannah (21.68%), grassland (37.26%), agriculture (2.03%) and built-up and bare soil (0.19). Consecutively, grassland became the new dominant land cover in 2022 (40%). Therefore, the deforestation rate (−1.51%) is almost six-times higher than the national average (−0.26%). However, persistent miombo woodland is characterised by a reduction, over time, in its largest patch area and the complexity of its shape. Consequently, because of anthropogenic activities, the dynamics of the landscape pattern are mainly characterised by the attrition of the miombo woodland and the creation of wooded savannah, grassland, agriculture and built-up and bare soil. Thus, it is urgent to develop a forest management plan and find alternatives to energy sources and the sedentarisation of agriculture by supporting local producers to reverse these dynamics. Full article

Because of the counterintuitive imaging and confusing interpretation dilemma in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images, the application of deep learning in the detection of SAR targets has been primarily limited to large objects in simple backgrounds, such as ships and airplanes, with much less popularity in detecting SAR vehicles. The complexities of SAR imaging make it difficult to distinguish small vehicles from the background clutter, creating a barrier to data interpretation and the development of Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) in SAR vehicles. The scarcity of datasets has inhibited progress in SAR vehicle detection in the data-driven era. To address this, we introduce a new synthetic dataset called Mix MSTAR, which mixes target chips and clutter backgrounds with original radar data at the pixel level. Mix MSTAR contains 5392 objects of 20 fine-grained categories in 100 high-resolution images, predominantly 1478 × 1784 pixels. The dataset includes various landscapes such as woods, grasslands, urban buildings, lakes, and tightly arranged vehicles, each labeled with an Oriented Bounding Box (OBB). Notably, Mix MSTAR presents fine-grained object detection challenges by using the Extended Operating Condition (EOC) as a basis for dividing the dataset. Furthermore, we evaluate nine benchmark rotated detectors on Mix MSTAR and demonstrate the fidelity and effectiveness of the synthetic dataset. To the best of our knowledge, Mix MSTAR represents the first public multi-class SAR vehicle dataset designed for rotated object detection in large-scale scenes with complex backgrounds. Full article

Landscape configuration and forest structure assume an increasing importance as determinants of animal communities. This paper focused on nocturnal Lepidoptera inhabiting alder patches in the Sila National Park, Italy. According to their shapes, patches were divided into linear and compact ones to disentangle the roles of forest structure and landscape configuration in determining the composition of nocturnal Lepidopteran communities at different observation scales. We used the Mann–Whitney test for medians and Shannon diversity, equitability, Fisher’s alpha, and nestedness to test differences among moth communities. We found that compact patches inhabited richer and more abundant communities. The abundance-based Correspondence Analysis showed moth communities clustered according to woodlot shape, except a compact woodlot with a linear-like moth community because it was entirely surrounded by grasslands. Percentage of forested area and abundance and composition of communities were positively correlated at 50 and 200 m buffers, while correlations were absent at smaller and larger buffers. Our results demonstrated that a width of 50 m may not be sufficient to give proper functionality to the wooded area, at least for moths. As a consequence, planning of forest restorations should consider the importance of increasing the structural habitat continuity at larger scales. Full article