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ABSTRACT Aim Location Taxon Methods Results Main Conclusions The realised niches of species change following environmental and distributional shifts. Still, the magnitude of niche change and its consequences are determined by how different species cope with environmental changes, which ultimately depends on their ecology and traits. We assessed how environmental and distributional shifts have led to changes in the realised breeding niches of 121 species of North American birds over the last four decades and how the magnitude of niche change was associated with species traits.North America.Birds.We calculated geographic and niche overlap, breadth and shift, and estimated the temporal trends of the different niche metrics from 1980 to 2018 for each species. The slopes of these temporal trends were then modelled as a function of species traits using Bayesian models that accounted for phylogenetic relatedness and the uncertainty of the temporal slopes.We found that the niche of 57% of the bird species diverged through time as they experienced widespread environmental change, including changes in both niche breadth and position. Most niches expanded due to increasing environmental variability within their ranges, but habitat specialists showed a tendency for niche contraction. Niche shifts were larger in species that live in habitats with denser vegetation cover. However, species showing larger average geographical shifts were able to track their reference niche more effectively.Bird species were in general increasingly exposed to higher environmental variation that led to changes in their realised niches over a relatively short time span (four decades), while the niches of many others remained stable. The differences in the magnitude of niche change were to some extent related to species traits, providing clues about how different species respond to widespread environmental change in both geographical and niche space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land abandonment promotes forest expansion into abandoned agricultural lands in Europe. This process leads to changes that affect several ecosystem services, but it is considered a low‐cost strategy to restore soil functions in past agricultural lands. Soil microbial communities play a key role in restoring functions. However, the relationship among forest expansion, microbial communities, and soil functioning is unclear.In this study, we used a Juniperus thurifera expansion gradient on abandoned agricultural lands in Alto Tajo National Park (Spain) to discover the changes elicited by the soil microbial communities and their functions along this gradient considering two microhabitats, under the canopy and open areas. Specifically, our objectives were (i) to analyse how soil properties (organic matter and pH), microbial communities (using PLFAs‐NFLAs) and enzymatic activities (related to C, N and P cycling) varied along the forest expansion gradient and between microhabitats and (ii) to decipher the pathways by which soil properties control the carbon and nutrient cycling in soils.The forest expansion gradient had a direct negative effect on phosphatase activity. The microhabitat showed a positive direct effect on organic matter content, pH, actinomycetes and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi biomass and on soil C and P cycling. Moreover, the biomass of gram‐positive bacteria determined the biomass of other microbial groups.Synthesis and Applications: Though its effectiveness is variable, passive restoration can be more effective than active restoration. Our research indicates that passive tree colonisation of past agricultural land is enough to achieve soil functionality similar to a mature forest for most variables studied. However, some variables would need more time to reach mature forest levels, such as total microbial biomass and organic matter content. Therefore, to support ecosystem recovery, the management of this applied forest ecology strategy requires continuous monitoring of newly established trees and soil to elucidate the time needed to achieve mature soil properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Change in land‐use patterns affects a landscape by changing the composition of local flora and fauna. The lateritic plateaus in Konkan are one such example of this rapid land‐use change. Although these plateaus are rich in endemic flora and fauna, they are considered as "wastelands" due to lack of woody vegetation and thus, are subjected to various land‐uses. Mango cultivation in this region has become a major source of income due to its Alphonso variety of mangoes. Hence, over the last few decades, many plateaus have been converted into mango orchards. However, how the conversion of plateaus to mango orchards has affected species composition of different groups of organisms remains unclear. In the present study, we sampled the lateritic plateaus and plateaus converted into mango orchards in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, to investigate the response of the reptile communities. We observed more species heterogeneity in the orchards compared to the unaltered sites. Moreover, it appeared that there was a species turnover when the plateaus were converted into orchards. The generalist and widespread species such as agamids and skinks and very few specialist species were comparatively more abundant in the orchards. On the contrary, the plateaus without orchards harbored more specialist species such as Hemidactylus albofasciatus (n = 62, in unaltered sites vs. n = 5 in the orchards), Echis carinatus (n = 15 in unaltered sites and none in the orchards) and Ophisops jerdonii (n = 45 in unaltered site vs. n = 12 in the orchards) compared to the generalist species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Avocado orchards (Persea americana) in Mexico are constantly being expanded to meet the increasing demand for the fruit in the national and international markets. The land-use change (LUC) caused by this expansion has numerous negative impacts, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to the loss of forest cover and the burning of pruning residues. To generate a comprehensive evaluation of this complex environmental issue, we calculate emissions from LUC and from residue burning between 1974 and 2017 at a local scale (1:20,000), and the energy potential of pruning residues was estimated as an alternative to revalue a waste product and mitigate the negative impacts of avocado cultivation. Our results show that land-use conversions emitted 390.5 GgCO2, of which 91% came from conversions to avocado orchards. Emissions of GHG from biomass burning amounted to an additional 20.68 GgCO2e released per year. Given that around 12,600 tons of dry avocado pruning residues are generated annually in the study region, their use for energy generation could replace 240 TJ/year of fossil fuels in rural industries and could mitigate around 31 GgCO2e per year. This study provides decision-makers with a concrete example of how to establish multiple-impact strategies at local scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review article focuses on the complex relationships between forests and water, particularly the effects of forests on streamflow during meteorological droughts. The impact of forests on water resources is a long‐standing research topic, but there are also many common beliefs that are not based on scientific evidence or only selective evidence. We critically examine the origin of some of the common public misconceptions and review the wealth of studies on how forests impact precipitation, soil water dynamics, evapotranspiration, and streamflow. Generally, reforestation increases evapotranspiration and decreases groundwater recharge and streamflow. However, some of the evaporated water will return as precipitation, potentially offsetting some of the increased evapotranspiration losses. Where reforestation leads to more extensive infiltration and recharge due to the effects of forests on the soil's hydraulic properties, it might increase streamflow during dry periods. Although these individual processes have been studied, predicting the impacts of forests on streamflow remains challenging as the effects are site‐specific and depend on many factors, such as the climate, the forest‐ and soil‐characteristics before and after reforestation, and the hydrogeological setting. However, a more accurate and nuanced understanding of the role of forests on hydrology and a better ability to predict where and when the net effects of reforestation are positive or negative is crucial for sustainable forest and water management.This article is categorized under: Science of Water > Science of Water Science of Water > Water and Environmental Change Science of Water > Hydrological Processes Engineering Water > Sustainable Engineering of Water [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic land‐use practices influence ecosystem functions and the environment. Yet, the effect of global land‐use change on ecosystem nitrogen (N) cycling remains unquantified despite that ecosystem N cycling plays a critical role in maintaining food security. Here, we analysed 2430 paired observations globally to show that converting natural to managed ecosystems increases ratios of autotrophic nitrification to ammonium immobilisation and nitrate to ammonium, but decreases soil immobilisation of mineral N, causing increased N losses via leaching and gaseous N emissions, such as nitrous oxide (e.g., via denitrification), resulting in a leaky N cycle. Changing land use from intensively managed to one that resembles natural ecosystems reversed N losses by 108% on average, resulting in a more conservative N cycle. Structural equation modelling revealed that changes in soil organic carbon, pH and carbon to N ratio were more important than changes in soil moisture content and temperature in predicting ecosystem N retention capacities following land‐use conversion and its reversion. The hotspots of leaky N cycles were mostly in equatorial and tropical regions, as well as in Western Europe, the United States and China. Our results suggest that whether an ecosystem exhibits a conservative N cycle after land‐use reversion depends on management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive farmland in Europe hosts high biodiversity levels but is threatened by land use changes associated with market and agricultural policy drivers. We show that a nationwide replacement of rainfed cereals in favor of beef production in Portugal has coincided with a nearly 80% decline in the population of a ground‐nesting raptor, the Montagu's harrier Circus pygargus, since 2002. Reduced cereal crop cover led to nesting attempts occurring mostly in fodder crops, the predominant habitat with suitable sward structure at the onset of breeding. This results in a twofold ecological trap: early hay harvesting destroys first nesting attempts, whereas late cereal harvesting destroys replacement clutches. This double phenological mismatch prevents any breeding success and likely explains the country's observed population decline of Montagu's harriers and other key farmland birds. Reforming current agroenvironmental schemes to promote practices compatible with wild population phenology is paramount to revert these changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transformation of natural habitats for farming is a major driver of tropical biodiversity loss. To mitigate impacts, two alternatives are promoted: intensifying agriculture to offset protected areas (land sparing) or integrating wildlife‐friendly habitats within farmland (land sharing). In the montane and dry tropics, phylogenetic and functional diversity, which underpin evolutionary values and the provision of ecosystem functioning and services, are best protected by land sparing. A key question is how these components of biodiversity are best conserved in the more stable environments of lowland moist tropical forests.Focusing on cattle farming within the Colombian Amazon, we investigated how the occupancy of 280 bird species varies between forest and pasture spanning gradients of wildlife‐friendly features. We then simulated scenarios of land‐sparing and land‐sharing farming to predict impacts on phylogenetic and functional diversity metrics.Predicted metrics differed marginally between forest and pasture. However, community assembly varied significantly. Wildlife‐friendly pastures were inadequate for most forest‐dependent species, while phylogenetic and functional diversity indices showed minimal variation across gradients of wildlife‐friendly features.Land sparing consistently retained higher levels of Faith's phylogenetic diversity (~30%), functional richness (~20%) and evolutionarily distinct lineages (~40%) than land sharing, and did so across a range of landscape sizes. Securing forest protection through land‐sparing practices remains superior for conserving overall community phylogenetic and functional diversity than land sharing.Synthesis and applications: To minimise the loss of avian phylogenetic diversity and functional traits from farming in the Amazon, it is imperative to protect large blocks of undisturbed and regenerating forests. The intensification required within existing farmlands to make space for spared lands while meeting agricultural demand needs to be sustainable, avoiding long‐term negative impacts on soil quality and other ecosystem services. Policies need to secure the delivery of both actions simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban waterbodies provide important services to humans and play a considerable role in biodiversity conservation. Yet, we still know very little about how urban pond ecosystems may respond to ongoing and future stresses operating at multiple spatial scales. Here we examined the littoral macroinvertebrates in 20 urban waterbodies as an indicator community to assess how local waterbody condition and urban land use affected their taxonomic and functional feeding group composition. Although macroinvertebrates were diverse (total richness of 60 family taxa ranging from 10 to 41), they were dominated by two major taxonomic groups, the Diptera Chironomidae (36%) and Annelida Oligochaeta (22%), which largely represent the dominant functional feeding group of the collector-gatherers (63%). Fuzzy clustering identified four different types of communities based on taxonomic and functional feeding groups. These reflected inversed gradients in the dominance of collector-gatherers versus ponds with higher abundances of herbivores (Gastropoda Pulmonata, Hemiptera, Trichoptera), collectors-filterers (Gastropoda Prosobranchia, Crustacea Ostracoda), predators (Odonata), and parasites (Nematoda, Hydracarina). Distance-based redundancy analysis identified macrophyte cover and green landscape (parks and buildings with green yards) within a 100-m radius as the best drivers to differentiate among the different waterbody clusters. Specifically, waterbodies characterized by high macrophyte cover and the presence of buildings with green yards within 100 m had the highest abundances and diversity. Our results illustrate the benefit of green spaces, beyond parks, up to 2000 m but especially within 100 m from ponds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peatland carbon storage is increasingly threatened by the combination of land‐use change and climate variability, though carbon losses from land‐use changes that span centuries are difficult to quantify, particularly in systems where little undisturbed area remains. Here we use a combination of vegetation change, fire history, and calculations of excess ash mass to quantify carbon loss in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (GDS NWR), USA, a highly impacted oligotrophic temperate peat swamp. Our results indicate that ditch construction that began in the Colonial Era in the late 1700s and continued into the mid‐20th century across the swamp resulted in shifts from cypress‐tupelo swamps to a combination of maple‐gum and pine pocosin forests, consistent with drying surface conditions. Two large smoldering fires (2008, 2011) that were exacerbated by surface drainage, shifted vegetation from swamp to marsh, consumed peat over 25 km2, and caused losses of 1.05–1.34 Tg C due to peat burning. Across the Refuge as a whole, up to 48.2 Tg C has been lost to peat oxidation since ditch construction. Both stocks and rates of carbon loss remain higher than post‐disturbance accumulation across most of GDS NWR, suggesting that existing efforts to block drainages to elevate water tables may not be enough to offset carbon losses. Rewetting heavily impacted surface peats may reduce peat oxidation and carbon loss, and shift vegetation toward hydrologic conditions preferred by pre‐disturbance cypress‐tupelo swamps. Plain Language Summary: Peatlands sequester a globally significant pool of carbon despite covering only 3% of the terrestrial earth's surface. However, this carbon can be released to the atmosphere as the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane due to changes in climate and land use. In this study we quantify carbon loss from Great Dismal Swamp, a temperate peat swamp with a history of drainage that began with George Washington in the late 18th century. Using ash content as a proxy for peat loss, we found that Great Dismal Swamp has lost a substantial amount of carbon (∼50 million metric tons) since Colonial‐era ditching, with more than 1 million metric tons lost from two recent catastrophic smoldering peat fires. Our calculations suggest that the swamp continues to lose carbon, despite efforts to slow water loss from nearly 240 km of drainage ditches constructed over the last >200 years. More aggressive mitigation methods may be needed to return the Great Dismal Swamp to a carbon sink, an important consideration as the United States aims to reach carbon neutrality in the coming decades. Key Points: Excess ash mass is used to quantify a loss of ∼50 Tg of carbon in a temperate peat swamp since drainage began in the late 1700sMore than 1 Tg of carbon and 50–75 cm of peat were consumed in two recent fires in Great Dismal SwampCarbon loss in the peat swamp is continuing, despite management efforts to reduce water loss from ∼240 km of drainage ditches [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal areas are at the centre of human–nature relationship, shaped by recreation, tourism and aesthetic values. However, socioeconomic drivers of biodiversity change in coastal areas have received less attention.Soft sediment seafloors support diverse species communities and contribute to ecosystem functionality. One of the main threats is dredging, which sweeps resident organisms. Dredgings are commonly done to deepen waterways, but also for the purposes of private housing. The ecological impacts of these small‐sized dredgings are not well known over broad environmental and geographical gradients.We developed a simple approach for spatial integration of ecological and socioeconomic system, to describe how recreational land use change contributes to the loss of marine biodiversity. It shows how human behaviour, such as preference for a location of second home, can be derived from spatial data and coupled with ecological change.We characterize typical locations of second homes based on accessibility, aesthetics and environment, and with the information identified suitable areas for new second homes. We also quantified typical areas of dredging, based on the depth and substrate of the sea floor, and the extent of the reed beds, influencing the access to properties. We then simulate an annual increase of new second homes and expected land‐use change, namely dredging of shores. Finally, we quantified the realized and projected loss of marine biodiversity from dredged sites, based on species distribution models, relying on extensive ecological data collected from over 170,000 underwater sites.We found that small‐sized dredging can be detrimental to coastal biodiversity, as dredging targets shallow, photic bays and lagoons, with diverse algal and aquatic plant communities, with limited recovery potential. Dredgings also had broad impacts on benthic faunal habitats, which maintain ecosystem processes and functions. Our results reveal a significant ecological change driven by recreational land use.Reversing the trend of biodiversity loss requires a holistic understanding of socioecological systems. Our results highlight the need for integrating land–sea interactions into conservation policies and reforming current land‐use regulation for the benefit of marine biodiversity. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate and land-use changes are predicted to impact biodiversity, threatening ecosystem services and functions. However, their combined effects on the functional diversity of mammals at the regional scale remain unclear, especially at the beta level. Here, we use projected climate and land-use changes in China to investigate their potential effects on the alpha and beta functional diversities of terrestrial mammals under low- and high-emission scenarios. In the current projection, we showed strong positive spatial correlations between functional richness and species richness. Functional evenness (FEve), functional specialization (FSpe), and functional originality (FOri) decreased with species richness, and functional divergence (FDiv) increased first and then plateaued. Functional beta diversity was dominated by its nestedness component, in contrast to the taxonomic facet. Potential changes in species richness are more strongly influenced by land-use change under the low-emission scenario, while under the high-emission scenario, they are more strongly influenced by climate change. Changes in functional richness (FRic) were inconsistent with those in species richness, with a magnitude of decreases greater than predicted from species richness. Moreover, mammal assemblages showed potential functional differentiation (FD) across the country, and the trends exceeded those towards taxonomic differentiation (TD). Our findings help us understand the processes underlying biodiversity responses to global changes on multiple facets and provide new insight for conservation plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geographically isolated wetlands (GIWs) offer a diverse array of ecosystem services and contribute largely to landscape functions. Numerous studies have documented the substantial pressures on wetland ecosystems from both natural changes and human activities worldwide. However, the quantification of these impacts on GIWs remains scarce. This study presents an assessment of the spatiotemporal dynamics of GIWs in the downstream portion of the Nenjiang River Basin, Northeast China, over a 38-year period (1978–2015). We quantitatively evaluated the impacts of anthropogenic activities and natural changes using a five-stage wetland dataset (1978, 1990, 2000, 2008, and 2015) and four-stage (1990, 2000, 2010, and 2015) land use datasets. Our findings indicate that 86% of the GIWs in the study area have vanished, primarily replaced by unused land (28.39%) and farmland (54.90%). Anthropogenic activities were identified as the main cause of wetland loss from 1978 to 2008, whereas natural changes have played a more significant role in recent years of GIWs. Considering the ongoing regional trends of warming and drying, it is imperative to conserve and restore GIWs to maintain their ecosystem services for a broad spectrum of beneficiaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To estimate a watershed's response to climate change, it is crucial to understand how human activities and climatic extremes have interacted over time. Over the last century, the Zarivar Lake watershed, Iran, has been subjected to various anthropogenic activates, including deforestation and inappropriate land-management practices alongside the implementation of conservation measures like check dams. To understand the effects of these changes on the magnitude of sediment, organic carbon (OC), and phosphorus supplies in a small sub-watershed connected to the lake over the last century, a lake sediment core was dated using 210Pbex and 137Cs as geochronometers. The average mass accumulation rate (MAR), organic carbon accumulation rates (OCAR), and particulate phosphorus accumulation rates (PPAR) of the sediment core were determined to be 6498 ± 2475, 205 ± 85, and 8.9 ± 3.3 g m−2 year−1, respectively. Between the late 1970s and early 1980s, accumulation rates were significantly higher than their averages at 7940 ± 3120, 220 ± 60, and 12.0 ± 2.8 g m−2 year−1 respectively. During this period, the watershed underwent extensive deforestation (12%) on steep slopes, coinciding with higher mean annual precipitations (more than double). Conversely, after 2009, when check dams were installed in the sub-watershed, the sediment load to the lake became negligible. The results of this research indicate that anthropogenic activities had a pronounced effect on MAR, OCAR, and PPAR, causing them to fluctuate from negligible amounts to values twice the averages over the last century, amplified by climatic factors. These results imply that implementing climate-smart watershed management strategies, such as constructing additional check dams and terraces, reinforcing restrictions on deforestation, and minimum tillage practices, can facilitate protection of lacustrine ecosystems under accelerating climate change conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wetlands, widely distributed and hotspots of biodiversity, play a crucial role in global biogeochemical cycles and human well-being. However, despite their ecological importance, wetlands worldwide are under threat due to widespread conversion into agricultural fields, leading to changes in hydrology, increased salinity, and more frequent eutrophication. In response to these challenges, constructed wetlands are created to treat agricultural wastewater and mitigate eutrophication. This study aims to assess the effect of natural vs. constructed wetlands on ecosystem functioning (organic matter decomposition of the dominant vegetation: Phragmites australis and Typha angustifolia). We conducted this study in the Ebro River Delta (NE Spain), which represents a deltaic wetland affected by agricultural land-use changes, examining two constructed and two natural wetlands. Our findings indicate that the influence of agricultural runoff on the decomposition process was similar in both types of wetlands, suggesting that freshwater agricultural runoff has a consistent effect on ecosystem functioning, regardless of its origin, natural vs. constructed. Differences in macroinvertebrate communities associated with leaf litter were likely due to specific conductivity but did not impact decomposition rates. The estimated time required to decompose 95% of the T. angustifolia litter produced annually in the studied wetlands ranged from 288 to 856 days. In constructed wetland, this decomposition time exceeded one year, contributing to soil formation and carbon sequestration in wetland ecosystems. Our study suggests that the utilization of constructed wetlands for treating agricultural runoff can aid in mitigating the impacts of agricultural land use in these areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pumas (Puma concolor) have a broad geographic range across the Americas and are globally listed as Least Concern. However, in Uruguay’s Pampas Grasslands, they are considered Data Deficient and regionally endangered in Argentina and Brazil. Understanding the distribution and population status of pumas is crucial for their conservation. This study examines puma occurrence in Uruguay’s Grasslands within a regional context, assessing habitat suitability and recent land use changes. Using a Species Distribution Model (SDM) in MaxEnt with 224 occurrence records (1999–2011) and bioclimatic and topographic predictors, we found intermediate habitat suitability in the Pampas Grasslands, indicating a naturally sparse puma population. The highest suitability was along riverbanks and riparian areas. Recent land use changes have transformed suitable habitats into areas less likely to support pumas, affecting a significant portion of Uruguay’s land. Our results suggest source-sink dynamics, where Uruguayan puma records likely represent dispersing individuals from established subpopulations in Eastern Argentina and Southern Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the carbon offset potential in Espoo, Finland, by comparing a construction-impacted deforestation site with a larger conserved forest area. Addressing a knowledge gap in localized forest conservation as a CO2 offset method, our research quantifies the carbon stock and sequestration impacts under both baseline and alternative scenarios for the two study sites. The baseline scenario for offset site reflects standard forest management practices, while the alternative scenario involves complete forest conservation without active management. Our findings reveal that the conserved forest (79 ha), dominated by Norway spruce (Picea abies) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), increased its carbon stock by 26 Mg C ha-1 in soil and 65 Mg C ha-1 in biomass. This enhancement is sufficient to compensate for the smaller deforestation site's (19 ha), also containing a mix of Norway spruce and Scots pine, stock loss of 186 Mg C ha-1 in soil and 43 Mg C ha-1 in biomass. Furthermore, this study illuminates the complexities of CO2 compensation regulation and emphasizes the necessity for robust, transparent carbon accounting practices. The insights offer a valuable perspective on integrating nature-based solutions in urban planning to achieve broader ecological and climate goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land use is both a major cause of the biodiversity crises and a potential solution to it. Decisions about land use are made in complex social–ecological systems, yet conservation research, policy, and practice often neglect the diverse and dynamic nature of land use. A deeper integration of land system science and conservation science provides major opportunities in this context, through a transfer of concepts, data, and methodologies. Specifically, a closer exchange between land‐use data developers and users will enable common terminology and better data use, allowing to move beyond coarse land‐cover representations of land use. Similarly, archetyping and regionalization approaches can help to embrace, rather than oversimplify, the diversity of land‐use actors and practices. Finally, systematically linking land‐use actors to portfolios of pressures on biodiversity, beyond their direct impact on habitat, can better represent and map co‐occurring and interacting threats. Together, this will enable conservation policymakers and planners to recognize the often‐complex and wicked nature of conservation challenges related to land, allowing for more context‐specific conservation policymaking and planning, and more targeted conservation interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land‐based mitigation strategies (LBMS) are critical to reducing climate change and will require large areas for their implementation. Yet few studies have considered how and where LBMS either compete for land or could be deployed jointly across the Earth's surface. To assess the opportunity costs of scaling up LBMS, we derived high‐resolution estimates of the land suitable for 19 different LBMS, including ecosystem maintenance, ecosystem restoration, carbon‐smart agricultural and forestry management, and converting land to novel states. Each 1 km resolution map was derived using the Earth's current geographic and biophysical features without socioeconomic constraints. By overlaying these maps, we estimated 8.56 billion hectares theoretically suitable for LBMS across the Earth. This includes 5.20 Bha where only one of the studied strategies is suitable, typically the strategy that involves maintaining the current ecosystem and the carbon it stores. The other 3.36 Bha is suitable for more than one LBMS, framing the choices society has among which LBMS to implement. The majority of these regions of overlapping LBMS include strategies that conflict with one another, such as the conflict between better management of existing land cover types and restoration‐based strategies such as reforestation. At the same time, we identified several agricultural management LBMS that were geographically compatible over large areas, including for example, enhanced chemical weathering and improved plantation rotations. Our analysis presents local stakeholders, communities, and governments with the range of LBMS options, and the opportunity costs associated with scaling up any given LBMS to reduce global climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Global change, especially landscape simplification, is a main driver of species loss that can alter ecological interaction networks, with potentially severe consequences to ecosystem functions. Therefore, understanding how landscape simplification affects the rate of loss of plant–pollinator interaction diversity (i.e., number of unique interactions) compared to species diversity alone, and the role of persisting abundant pollinators, is key to assess the consequences of landscape simplification on network stability and pollination services. Location: France, Germany, and Switzerland. Methods: We analysed 24 landscape‐scale plant–pollinator networks from standardised transect walks along landscape simplification gradients in three countries. We compared the rates of species and interaction diversity loss along the landscape simplification gradient and then stepwise excluded the top 1%–20% most abundant pollinators from the data set to evaluate their effect on interaction diversity, network robustness to secondary loss of species, and flower visitation frequencies in simplified landscapes. Results: Interaction diversity was not more vulnerable than species diversity to landscape simplification, with pollinator and interaction diversity showing similar rates of erosion with landscape simplification. We found that 20% of both species and interactions are lost with an increase of arable crop cover from 30% to 80% in a landscape. The decrease in interaction diversity was partially buffered by persistent abundant generalist pollinators in simplified landscapes, which were nested subsets of pollinator communities in complex landscapes, while plants showed a high turnover in interactions across landscapes. The top 5% most abundant pollinator species also contributed to network robustness against secondary species loss but could not prevent flowers from a loss of visits in simplified landscapes. Main Conclusions: Although persistent abundant pollinators buffered the decrease in interaction diversity in simplified landscapes and stabilised network robustness, flower visitation frequency was reduced, emphasising potentially severe consequences of further ongoing land‐use change for pollination services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small-scale open-pit, non-artisanal mining of low-value ores is an understudied practice despite its widespread occurrence and potential impact on freshwater resources due to mining-induced land-use/cover changes (LUCCs). This research investigates the long-term impacts of andesite mining in Pasuruan, Indonesia, on the Umbulan Spring's water discharge within its watershed. System Dynamics (SD) modeling captures the systemic and systematic impact of mining-induced LUCCs on discharge volumes and groundwater recharge. Agricultural and reservoir-based land reclamation scenarios then reveal post-mining temporal dynamics. The no-mining scenario sees the spring's discharge consistently decrease until an inflection point in 2032. With mining expansion, reductions accelerate by ~1.44 million tons over two decades, or 65.31 thousand tons annually. LUCCs also decrease groundwater recharge by ~2.48 million tons via increased surface runoff. Proposed post-mining land interventions over reclaimed mining areas influence water volumes differently. Reservoirs on reclaimed land lead to ~822.14 million extra tons of discharge, 2.75 times higher than the agricultural scenario. Moreover, reservoirs can restore original recharge levels by 2039, while agriculture only reduces the mining impact by 28.64% on average. These findings reveal that small-scale non-artisanal andesite mining can disrupt regional hydrology despite modest operating scales. Thus, evidence-based guidelines are needed for permitting such mines based on environmental risk and site water budgets. Policy options include discharge or aquifer recharge caps tailored to small-scale andesite mines. The varied outputs of rehabilitation scenarios also highlight evaluating combined land and water management interventions. With agriculture alone proving insufficient, optimized mixes of revegetation and water harvesting require further exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the effects of land use/land cover (LULC) and demographical changes on runoff and erosion processes in the watersheds of border highlands in Serbia. It provides an interdisciplinary approach, linking demography (human geography) with physical geography (hydrology and geomorphology). (A) A predominant decrease in curve number (CN), a key hydrological indicator, is recorded in more than 20 watersheds in Eastern and Southeastern Serbia, largely due to continuous depopulation and abandonment of arable land over recent decades. In contrast, minor CN changes are dominant in over 10 watersheds in Western and Southwestern Serbia. (B) Through cluster analysis, four regions are spatially delineated by changes in four key indicators: runoff, soil erosion, agricultural land use, and rural population. Soil erosion change is correlated with the deagrarianisation and depopulation processes at a significance of p < 0.0001 with r = 0.580 and r = 0.629, respectively. The border watersheds are being studied for the first time using a complex approach that analyses the relationships between changes in demography, land use, surface runoff, and soil erosion. The study results contribute to a better understanding of sustainable land management and risk management in the hilly and mountainous border regions, which are particularly vulnerable to torrential flooding and soil erosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conversion of tropical forests into agricultural lands is increasing at a rapid pace. Smallholders are responsible for most of the world’s agricultural production, and thus are important land-use decision-makers and land-use change actors. In agro-forest frontiers, land-use changes are dynamic and short-term, and highly influenced by different social-ecological factors. We employed the Photovoice methodology to assess how the perceptions of 20 smallholder families about what they most value in their daily lives, influence farm land-use decisions in two villages in southern Mexico. Results indicate that what farmers perceive as the most valued in their daily lives are the household (including family and food) and the farm. Similar perceptions sometimes result in similar farm land-use composition (land-use type and proportion) decisions (agriculture, reforestation), but sometimes not (pasture, forest). Positive and negative perceptions about oil palm highly influence whether this land-use is adopted or not. In contrast, positive perceptions about rubber do not always translate in this crop being planted. We conclude that perceptions play an important role in smallholder land-use decisions. However, perceptions are influenced and operate along other factors at multiple levels, including survival motivations, culture, economic considerations, markets, farm size, institutional programs, local ecological knowledge, ecosystem services, and risk assessment. We suggest that smallholder perceptions should be taken into account as part of the set of social-ecological factors driving land-use decisions. Involving farmers in the co-design of land-use policies, planning, and rural development initiatives that address their perceptions, values, and livelihood needs will improve the effectiveness of such policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective irrigation planning is crucial for sustainable agricultural development and ecosystem restoration projects in arid regions. With respect to ambitious greening initiatives, Saudi Arabia is establishing a national strategy toward a more sustainable and eco-friendly future not only for itself but also for the broader Middle East region. Thus, comprehensively understanding the water cycle in the region is essential to identify the most suitable target locations for afforestation and reforestation while considering the potential role of irrigation. Herein, in addition to traditional pedoclimatic factors, we introduce a complementary consideration—“irrigation recycling.” Building on the well-established concept of atmospheric moisture recycling and taking advantage from an atmospheric trajectory dataset, we track the path of evaporated water from current or potential irrigated sites to the location where the evaporated water eventually falls as precipitation. Our analysis offers two key benefits. First, it helps pinpoint the regions in which and the periods during which water recycling is maximum within the country, aiding more precise calculations of the investment return value for irrigation infrastructures. Second, it helps identify the land-use change patterns that contribute to international efforts such as drought mitigation in East Africa as an example. We found that one-third of the actual precipitation in the current Saudi irrigated sites originated from evapotranspiration over land, mainly from Saudi Arabia and surrounding countries. Interestingly, most of the evapotranspiration from these irrigated sites will eventually fall somewhere over land (primarily in Iran). Controlling the seasonality and spatial distribution of the future irrigation expansion will allow controlling the atmospheric moisture recirculation in Saudi Arabia and nearby drought-prone regions such as Eastern Africa. The outcomes of this study will be the subject of future integrated assessments to account for the climatic feedbacks of the land-use change scenarios. At present, they provide crucial insights to support the decision-making process surrounding the Saudi and Middle East Green Initiatives. Further, the presented methodology offers a pragmatic framework that can be applied to similar greening projects for other regions, making it a viable and valuable approach for global sustainability programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Coastal areas are at the centre of human–nature relationship, shaped by recreation, tourism and aesthetic values. However, socioeconomic drivers of biodiversity change in coastal areas have received less attention. Soft sediment seafloors support diverse species communities and contribute to ecosystem functionality. One of the main threats is dredging, which sweeps resident organisms. Dredgings are commonly done to deepen waterways, but also for the purposes of private housing. The ecological impacts of these small‐sized dredgings are not well known over broad environmental and geographical gradients. We developed a simple approach for spatial integration of ecological and socioeconomic system, to describe how recreational land use change contributes to the loss of marine biodiversity. It shows how human behaviour, such as preference for a location of second home, can be derived from spatial data and coupled with ecological change. We characterize typical locations of second homes based on accessibility, aesthetics and environment, and with the information identified suitable areas for new second homes. We also quantified typical areas of dredging, based on the depth and substrate of the sea floor, and the extent of the reed beds, influencing the access to properties. We then simulate an annual increase of new second homes and expected land‐use change, namely dredging of shores. Finally, we quantified the realized and projected loss of marine biodiversity from dredged sites, based on species distribution models, relying on extensive ecological data collected from over 170,000 underwater sites. We found that small‐sized dredging can be detrimental to coastal biodiversity, as dredging targets shallow, photic bays and lagoons, with diverse algal and aquatic plant communities, with limited recovery potential. Dredgings also had broad impacts on benthic faunal habitats, which maintain ecosystem processes and functions. Our results reveal a significant ecological change driven by recreational land use. Reversing the trend of biodiversity loss requires a holistic understanding of socioecological systems. Our results highlight the need for integrating land–sea interactions into conservation policies and reforming current land‐use regulation for the benefit of marine biodiversity. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Aim: Seasonality governs species composition at a given place and time. However, the effects of climate and land‐use change can vary by season, altering species composition. These changes can lead to a loss of distinct seasonal community composition, representing a novel form of biotic homogenisation. We ask if breeding and winter bird communities are becoming more similar over time. If so, is homogenisation occurring more rapidly in winter than in the breeding season, and has the presence of individual species changed between seasons? Location: Northeastern United States. Time Period: 1989–2019. Major Taxa Studied: Two hundred thirty‐eight bird species. Methods: We use data from The National Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count and the North American Breeding Bird Survey to test if winter and breeding bird communities have become more similar (homogenised). We evaluate this change using the Sørensen dissimilarity index, and its components of turnover (species replacement) and nestedness (a subset of a more species rich community) and describe the mechanism in which the seasonal winter and breeding bird communities are changing. Results: We found that winter and breeding bird communities are homogenising, driven by significant decrease in turnover and a marginal decrease nestedness. When viewing breeding and wintering communities separately, we observe different trends. Breeding communities are becoming more unique with decreasing turnover and nestedness. Winter communities are becoming more similar to each other, with decreasing turnover and nestedness. More breeding species are declining and species that are typically found in the winter and year‐round residents are the main contributors to the homogenisation between seasons. Main Conclusions: We show for the first time homogenisation between winter and breeding bird communities over time across the northeastern United States. This insight into how individual species are faring between seasons, and how they impact community structure, can be used when implementing conservation measures for maintaining ecological functioning and integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Woody plants are encroaching across terrestrial ecosystems globally, and this has dramatic effects on how these systems function and the livelihoods of producers who rely on the land to support livestock production. Consequently, the removal of woody plants is promoted widely in the belief that it will reinstate former grasslands or open savanna. Despite this popular management approach to encroachment, we still have a relatively poor understanding of the effects of removal on society, and of alternative management practices that could balance the competing needs of pastoral production, biodiversity conservation and cultural values. This information is essential for maintaining both ecological and societal benefits in encroached systems under predicted future climate changes. In this review, we provide a comprehensive synthesis of the social–ecological perspectives of woody encroachment based on recent studies and global meta‐analyses by assessing the ecological impacts of encroachment and its effects on sustainable development goals (SDGs) when woody plants are retained and when they are removed. We propose a working definition of woody encroachment based on species‐ and community‐level characteristics; such a definition is needed to evaluate accurately the effects of encroachment. We show that encroachment is a natural process of succession rather than a sign of degradation, with encroachment resulting in an overall 8% increase in ecosystem multifunctionality. Removing woody plants can increase herbaceous plant richness, biomass and cover, but at the expense of biocrust cover. The effectiveness of woody plant removal depends on plant identity, and where, when and how they are removed. Under current management practices, either removal or retention of woody plants can induce trade‐offs among ecosystem services, with no management practice maximising all SDGs [e.g. SDG2 (end hunger), SDG13 (climate change), SDG 15 (combat desertification)]. Given that encroachment of woody plants is likely to increase under future predicted hotter and drier climates, alternative management options such as carbon farming and ecotourism could be effective land uses for areas affected by encroachment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Indonesia, the rapid expansion of oil palm and rubber plantations replaces large areas of tropical rainforest. Rainforest transformation alters the diversity and composition of parasitoid wasp communities, but appropriate management strategies to buffer their decline in rainforest transformation landscapes are not yet developed.Here, we studied the effects of rainforest conversion to smallholder rubber and oil palm plantations on parasitoid wasp species richness, abundance and species composition. We also conducted a flowering vegetation enrichment experiment using the flowering weed Asystasia gangetica in all land‐uses to investigate potential mitigation effects on parasitoid wasp diversity and composition.Rainforest transformation to rubber plantations caused a large decrease in species richness (46%) and abundance (59%) of parasitoid wasps. Community structure of parasitoid wasps differed between forest and monoculture habitats with more habitat‐specialised species in forest and a higher proportion of common species in the monoculture.The experimental flowering vegetation enrichment increased parasitoid wasp species richness by 18% and abundance by 127%. Enrichment also enhanced the presence of unique parasitoid species in plantation and furthermore increased differences in community composition between rainforest and plantations. However, the enrichment experiment was confounded by time, meaning that a multi‐year experiment with targeted controls is necessary for statistically more reliable statements.Our study shows the effect of rainforest transformation to oil palm and rubber plantations on parasitoid wasp communities. Although providing additional flowering vegetation in plantations seems to potentially mitigate diversity loss, further research is needed to confirm and to investigate the mechanisms how flowering plants alleviate negative effects of rainforest transformation on parasitoid communities. Thereby, efficient conservation strategies for parasitoids wasps and their biological control services can be developed for rapidly changing tropical landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic habitat modification is a major contributor to global change. While the modification of natural habitats to agroecosystems attracts most of the attention, little is known about the conversion of one natural ecosystem to another. Dry dipterocarp forest is the key dry forest type across Southeast Asia. Moderate fire disturbance is essential for its regeneration, but humans often prevent fire in these forests. Consequently, dry dipterocarps can change to dry evergreen forests through succession. The consequences of this conversion on food webs are unknown. Using the network approach, we compared the food webs of web-building spiders and their prey in the understory between dry dipterocarp (open canopy, uniform understory) and dry evergreen forests (closed canopy, heterogeneous understory) in north-eastern Thailand. Overall, we collected 560 individual web-building spiders belonging to 37 genera. Further, we collected 1139 prey items from spider webs belonging to 16 arthropod orders. The composition of captured prey and the network structure differed between the forest types. Specifically, the web-building spiders were more specialized and their niches overlapped less in dry dipterocarps than in dry evergreens. The differences in food-web structure were driven mostly by trophic groups turnover rather than interaction rewiring. Implications for insect conservation: The transformation of dry dipterocarp to dry evergreen forests from the prevention of fire disturbance may lead to an altered ecological function of web-building spiders in forest understories. As trophic links and their strength are rewired, habitat modification may also lead to changes in nutrient and energy flow in forest understories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in climate and land cover have substantially modified the geographic range of several species, particularly those with specific ecological requirements, such as woodcreepers. Most woodcreeper species are associated with primary humid tropical forests due to their feeding and nesting habits, which depend on tree bark for foraging and locating nest cavities. We used species distribution models to analyze the effects of climate change (CC) until 2050 and land-use change (to detect primary habitat loss [PHL]) on the suitability areas of 15 woodcreeper species across Mexico. Optimistic and pessimistic scenarios show that by 2050, the projected suitability areas for these species will tend to be reduced by 60% and 74%, respectively. When we consider past changes in PHL for woodcreepers’ ranges were factored into CC future scenarios, suitability areas showed a reduction of up to 97% for restricted-range species, such as Xiphocolaptes emigrans and X. omiltemensis. Overall, the combined effects of CC and PHL on all woodcreeper species reduced their ranges, even if temperate, cloud, and evergreen forests showed slight future gain in suitability areas. Our findings revealed that most woodcreeper species could face severe declines. Given the ecological role of these birds and the at-risk status of several species, our findings should be considered when making conservation decisions in this important group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Forest conversion to agricultural land has been shown to deplete soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil total nitrogen (STN) stocks. However, research on how soil properties respond to forest conversion to shifting cultivation has produced conflicting results. The conflicting findings suggest that the agricultural system may influence the response of SOC and STN to forest conversion to agriculture, depending on the presence of vegetative cover throughout the year. Due to the unique characteristics of montane evergreen forests (MEF) and banana plantations (BP), SOC and STN response to MEF conversion to BP may differ from existing models. Nevertheless, research on how soil properties are affected by MEF conversion to BP is scarce globally. In order to fill this research gap, the goal of this study was to evaluate how much deforestation for BP affects SOC, STN, and soil quality by analysing these soil parameters in MEF and BP fields down to 1-m depth, using standard profile-based procedures. Contrary to the specified hypothesis that SOC and STN losses would be restricted to the upper 20-cm soil layer, SOC losses were extended to the 40-cm depth layer and STN losses to the 60-cm depth layer. The soils lost 18.56 Mg ha – 1 (37%) of SOC from the upper 20 cm and 33.15 Mg ha – 1 (37%) from the upper 40 cm, following MEF conversion to BP. In terms of STN, the upper 20, 40, and 60 cm lost 2.98 (43%), 6.62 (47%), and 8.30 Mg ha – 1 (44%), respectively. Following MEF conversion to BP, the SOC stratification ratio decreased by 49%, implying a decline in soil quality. Massive exportation of nutrients, reduced C inputs due to complete removal of the arboreal component and crop residues, the erodibility of the soils on the study area’s steep hillslopes, and the potential for banana plantations to increase throughfall kinetic energy, and splash erosion through canopy dripping are thought to be the leading causes of SOC and STN losses. More research is needed to identify the extent to which each cause influences SOC and STN losses.

Abstract Land-use change is the main driver of carbon storage change in terrestrial ecosystems. Currently, domestic and international studies mainly focus on the impact of carbon storage changes on climate, while studies on the impact of land-use changes on carbon storage in complex terrestrial ecosystems are few. The Jialing River Basin (JRB), with a total area of ~ 160,000 km2, diverse topography, and elevation differences exceeding 5 km, is an ideal case for understanding the complex interactions between land-use change and carbon storage dynamics. Taking the JRB as our study area, we analyzed land-use changes from 2000 to 2020. Subsequently, we simulated land-use patterns for business-as-usual (BAU), cropland protection (CP), and ecological priority (EP) scenarios in 2035 using the PLUS model. Additionally, we assessed carbon storage using the InVEST model. This approach helps us to accurately understand the carbon change processes in regional complex terrestrial ecosystems and to formulate scientifically informed land-use policies. The results revealed the following: (1) Cropland was the most dominant land-use type (LUT) in the region, and it was the only LUT experiencing net reduction, with 92.22% of newly designated construction land originating from cropland. (2) In the JRB, total carbon storage steadily decreased after 2005, with significant spatial heterogeneity. This pattern was marked by higher carbon storage levels in the north and lower levels in the south, with a distinct demarcation line. The conversion of cropland to construction land is the main factor driving the reduction in carbon storage. (3) Compared with the BAU and EP scenarios, the CP scenario demonstrated a smaller reduction in cropland area, a smaller addition to construction land area, and a lower depletion in the JRB total carbon storage from 2020 to 2035. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of the PLUS and InVEST models in analyzing complex ecosystems and offers data support for quantitatively assessing regional ecosystem services. Strict adherence to the cropland replenishment task mandated by the Chinese government is crucial to increase cropland areas in the JRB and consequently enhance the carbon sequestration capacity of its ecosystem. Such efforts are vital for ensuring the food and ecological security of the JRB, particularly in the pursuit of the “dual-carbon” objective.

Societal Impact Statement Cultural use berries are prized foods and medicines across the United States and Canada, with almost 200 different species used by Indigenous Peoples. Berries are increasingly being impacted by environmental and land‐use change. Berry habitats, how and when berry plants reproduce, and the volume of berries available for harvest each year are shifting widely. These changes are impacting access to, availability of, and consumption of berries. Biocultural stewardship practices, like low‐intensity fire, transplanting, and thinning, can be used in response to these stressors to support berry plant health and productivity as well as a sustained relationship with this important food. Summary Almost 200 different species of berries are used for food and medicine by Indigenous Peoples, with unparalleled nutritional and cultural significance among plant foods. Environmental and land‐use change is increasingly compromising access to, availability of, and consumption of berries. In this review, I consider (a) how climate and land‐use change are impacting cultural use berries across species and places, as documented by Indigenous Peoples and in the scientific literature, and (b) how stewardship practices are being applied to promote resilience and sustainability in berrying landscapes experiencing stress. Climate impacts on Arctic and subarctic berry species include earlier ripening, changes in taste, or increased variability in abundance. These same regions are experiencing a proliferation of shrubs, while forests throughout the lower 48 and Canada are suffering from suffocating fuel loads and stand densities that are not conducive to berry habitat for many species. In the Pacific West, berries are influenced by prolonged droughts and increasing spring and summer temperatures. Climate change impacts are amplified by shifts in land use for forestry and agriculture. Biocultural stewardship practices, like low‐intensity fire, thinning, transplanting, and cultural care, can be used to mitigate these impacts and promote berry microclimate habitats. There is opportunity for intertribal networking and knowledge sharing around berry stewardship practices that will support local and regional climate change responses.

Forest conversion to agricultural land has been shown to deplete soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil total nitrogen (STN) stocks. However, research on how soil properties respond to forest conversion to shifting cultivation has produced conflicting results. The conflicting findings suggest that the agricultural system may influence the response of SOC and STN to forest conversion to agriculture, depending on the presence of vegetative cover throughout the year. Due to the unique characteristics of montane evergreen forests (MEF) and banana plantations (BP), SOC and STN response to MEF conversion to BP may differ from existing models. Nevertheless, research on how soil properties are affected by MEF conversion to BP is scarce globally. In order to fill this research gap, the goal of this study was to evaluate how much deforestation for BP affects SOC, STN, and soil quality by analysing these soil parameters in MEF and BP fields down to 1-m depth, using standard profile-based procedures. Contrary to the specified hypothesis that SOC and STN losses would be restricted to the upper 20-cm soil layer, SOC losses were extended to the 40-cm depth layer and STN losses to the 60-cm depth layer. The soils lost 18.56 Mg ha – 1 (37%) of SOC from the upper 20 cm and 33.15 Mg ha – 1 (37%) from the upper 40 cm, following MEF conversion to BP. In terms of STN, the upper 20, 40, and 60 cm lost 2.98 (43%), 6.62 (47%), and 8.30 Mg ha – 1 (44%), respectively. Following MEF conversion to BP, the SOC stratification ratio decreased by 49%, implying a decline in soil quality. Massive exportation of nutrients, reduced C inputs due to complete removal of the arboreal component and crop residues, the erodibility of the soils on the study area's steep hillslopes, and the potential for banana plantations to increase throughfall kinetic energy, and splash erosion through canopy dripping are thought to be the leading causes of SOC and STN losses. More research is needed to identify the extent to which each cause influences SOC and STN losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land‐use change is one of the main threats to biodiversity at the global level, and subtropical dry forests are not exempt from such a threat. Recent studies suggest that species can become extinct with a considerable time lag, even if no further habitat loss occurs. Hence, there may be an extinction debt, which poses a great challenge to conservation. Here, we analyzed the response of taxonomic and functional richness of forest and understory specialist birds to 30 years (data from 1989, 2004 and 2019) of land‐cover and land‐use changes in the Chaco Serrano forest of central Argentina. Our results showed the occurrence of extinction debt in both forest and understory specialist birds, with such debt being greater in forest specialist birds. Results for species trait debt were inconclusive. We also found evidence that birds are not equally sensitive to land‐use change, indicating a species‐specific response. We conclude that the current presence of some large native forest patches and an intermediate degree of isolation in the region might be prolonging the persistence of some bird species and traits. Moreover, ecological legacies can strongly affect the current species distribution pattern and the permanence of functional traits in fragmented landscapes. These findings should be considered in conservation planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioral changes are often animals' first responses to environmental change and may act as a bellwether for population viability. Nonetheless, most studies of habitat conversion focus on changes in species occurrences or abundances. We analyzed >14,000 behavioral observations across 55 bird species in communities in northwestern Costa Rica to determine how land use affects reproductive, foraging, and other passive kinds of behaviors not associated with either foraging or reproduction. Specifically, we quantified differences in behaviors between farms, privately owned forests, and protected areas and implemented a novel modeling framework to account for variation in detection among behaviors. This framework entailed estimating abundances of birds performing different behaviors while allowing detection probabilities of individuals to vary by behavior. Birds were 1.2 times more likely to exhibit reproductive behaviors in forest than in agriculture and 1.5 times more likely to exhibit reproductive behaviors in protected areas than in private forests. Species were not always most abundant in the habitats where they were most likely to exhibit foraging or reproductive behaviors. Finally, species of higher conservation concern were less abundant in agriculture than in forest. Together, our results highlight the importance of behavioral analyses for elucidating the conservation value of different land uses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migration is a prevalent strategy among birds used to track seasonal resources throughout the year. Individual and population‐level migratory movements provide insight to life‐history variation, carry‐over effects, and impacts of climate change. Our understanding of how geographic variation in a species' breeding or wintering grounds can impact migration distances is limited. However, changes in migration distances can have important fitness consequences for individuals and conservation implications for populations, particularly if migratory connectivity is altered during the annual cycle. In this study, we use three decades of data from the United States Geological Survey Bird Banding Laboratory for six migratory species of Arctic and subarctic breeding geese. We employ a Bayesian hierarchical framework to test if the distance between breeding and wintering locations has changed over time, while accounting for the latitude of the breeding grounds. A model that included only a temporal trend estimated the average rate of change in migration distance, across all six species, at −3.0 km/year over the period 1990–2019. Five of the six species showed a significant decrease in migration distances. Including an interaction effect with breeding latitude revealed that the reduction in migration distance was strongest in the southernmost populations for four of the six species. For those species, migration distance in northern populations were all either relatively unchanged or increasing. This indicates that southern breeding populations of geese had a stronger association with the observed spatiotemporal changes in wintering ranges, potentially influenced by a combination of climatic and biotic factors (e.g. resource availability or competitive interactions) that uniquely impact these populations. Abundant, long‐term banding data shows promise for use in illuminating changes in migratory patterns under climate change, leading to improved management and conservation outcomes, from regional to continental scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Converting natural vegetation for agriculture has resulted in the loss of approximately 5% of the current global terrestrial soil organic carbon (SOC) stock to the atmosphere. Increasing the agricultural area under grassland may reverse some of these losses, but the effectiveness of such a strategy is limited by how quickly SOC recovers after conversion from cropland. Using soil data and extensive land‐use histories gathered during the national German agricultural soil inventory, this study aims to answer three questions regarding agricultural land‐use change (LUC): (i) how do SOC stocks change with depth following LUC; (ii) how long does it take to reach SOC equilibrium after LUC; and (iii) what is the legacy effect of historic LUC on present day SOC dynamics? By using a novel approach that substitutes space for time and accounts for differences in site properties using propensity score balancing, we determined that sites that were converted from cropland to grassland reached a SOC equilibrium level 47.3% (95% confidence interval (CI): 43.4% to 49.5%) above permanent cropland levels 83 years (95% CI: 79 to 90 years) after conversion. Meanwhile, sites converted from grassland to cropland reached a SOC equilibrium level −33.6% (95% CI: −34.1% to −33.5%) below permanent grassland levels after 180 years (95% CI: 151 to 223 years). We estimate that, over the past century, today's German agricultural soils (16.6 million ha) have gained about 40 million Mg C. Furthermore, croplands with historic LUC from grassland are losing SOC by −0.26 Mg ha−1 year−1 (10% of agricultural land) while grasslands historically converted from cropland are gaining SOC by 0.27 Mg ha−1 year−1 (18% of agricultural land). This study shows that even long‐standing temperate agricultural sites likely have ongoing SOC change as a result of historical LUC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ladybirds (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) are a significant predator group that plays a role in agricultural contexts. They serve as important biocontrol agents against several agricultural pests. However, there is limited information available about how ladybirds' populations are regulated by their natural enemies and habitat perturbation. In this study, we evaluated ladybird communities associated with natural and managed areas during the agricultural cycle of 2018 (June–September). We identified seven ladybird species; the most abundant species were Hippodamia convergens (70% individuals) and Cycloneda sanguinea (20% individuals), followed by the exotic species Harmonia axyridis (3.33% individuals), while Paranaemia vittigera, Coleomegilla maculata, Brachiacantha sp., and Olla v-nigrum represented less than 3% each. Ladybirds were more abundant in agricultural fields than in natural habitats. We identified several natural enemies associated with the collected ladybirds, including parasitoids (Dinocampus coccinellae, Hymenoptera: Braconidae), ectoparasitic Acari (Coccipolipus sp., Podapolipidae), and nematodes (Mermithidae). However, none of the natural enemies affected more than 10% of the ladybirds, so natural enemies do not appear to be exerting substantial control over their populations. Our results corroborated that ladybirds can efficiently thrive in anthropogenic habitats in Mexico and therefore may represent good biocontrol agents for agriculture. It is important to consider the ecology of agriculturally important ladybirds in programs for integrated pest management. This includes factors contributing to the mortality of ladybirds, including their natural enemies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land-use change is an important factor influencing global climate change and the carbon cycle, and changes in land-use patterns can have a direct impact on global carbon emissions. Therefore, exploring the potential of land use structure optimization and land use management on carbon emission reduction is of great significance in addressing global climate change and achieving carbon emission reduction targets. This paper calculates and analyses the net carbon emissions and evolution characteristics of Nanjing based on the four periods of land use change data in 2010, 2015, 2018 and 2020 using the IPCC carbon emission coefficient method. Then integrates the carbon emissions from land use, land economic and ecological benefits, and establishes a land use structure optimization model under the low-carbon orientation. Finally, the spatial distribution of land use in Nanjing under different scenarios in 2030 is simulated based on the FLUS model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia has lost vast areas of its natural vegetation through agriculture and urbanization, resulting in the area of suitable habitat for many Australian bird species being greatly diminished. Given the geographical and ecological biases in anthropogenic land use, the impact of habitat loss now and into the future may be disproportionately high for some species, threatening their long-term persistence. Such changes are occurring rapidly, and habitat loss needs to be monitored dynamically to prevent extinction. To monitor changes in available unmodified species habitat, we use species' area of feeding habitat (AFH), which represents the area of habitat within a species' range with vegetation matching their feeding requirements. We analysed the past, current and future threats of habitat modification for 467 Australian bird species by calculating AFH across three time periods: pre-colonization, current (2020), and a projected future scenario (2100). These values were used to identify species subject to substantial habitat loss due to urbanization and agriculture and delineate predictors of such losses. Most species had experienced habitat loss since colonization (n = 442, 95%), and species that had already experienced considerable habitat loss were more likely to lose habitat into the future. Species with particular habitat associations (e.g., Mallee), were also more prone to greater proportions of habitat lost. The results highlight the utility of AFH and emphasize the importance of protecting what habitat remains for the species with highly depleted geographic ranges, noting that those that have experienced the most loss of unmodified habitat are the most likely to lose more unmodified habitat under future conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although studies have explored how soil microbial diversity and soil multifunctionality respond to land‐use change at local scales, they have rarely been explored at larger scales and across different climatic and soil environmental conditions. By sampling 40 paired sites of land‐use change from natural forests to agricultural lands (including croplands and orchards) along the middle and lower Yangtze River, combined with a global meta‐analysis, we investigated the effects of land‐use change and climate on the alpha and beta diversity of soil bacterial and fungal functional groups (FGs) and their associated soil multifunctionality at a regional scale. Our results showed that land‐use change strongly changed the diversity of soil bacterial and fungal FGs and decreased multifunctionality, which was supported by our meta‐analysis at a global scale. Direct effects of land‐use change and climate and their interaction, together with changes in soil environmental variables, were the main determinants of the land‐use change‐induced changes in the diversity of soil bacterial or fungal FGs. The land‐use change‐induced decrease in multifunctionality was mainly associated with the direct effect of forest conversion, soil fertility and diversity of fungal FGs. Furthermore, climate also regulated the effects of land‐use change on multifunctionality by affecting soil fertility and fungal FGs diversity along the Yangtze River. Synthesis and applications. Taken together, our findings highlight the important effects of land‐use change, climate and their interactions on microbial diversity and multifunctionality and suggest that effective land‐use management and climate change mitigation strategies should be adopted to protect biodiversity and ecosystem function in the Yangtze River Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land-use change is a main threat to biodiversity due to its impact on habitats, especially for species that inhabit mountainous regions. In the face of this, an adequate management requires knowledge of species habitat requirements, but in Chile, few studies have analyzed these requirements in a vulnerable group like reptiles in anthropized environments. A situation relevant to this problem is the Andes of Chile, which are facing increasing levels of anthropization that could affect species such as Liolaemus nigroviridis, a lizard that inhabits areas where urbanization, skiing, livestock, and waste have been increasing. However, there is no available information on the impact of these activities on this species. To analyze the effect of anthropization on L. nigroviridis, a study of habitat use with anthropogenic and natural resources was carried out through the analysis of resource selection indices (in Farellones, central Chile). Our results show that L. nigroviridis is affected by constructions; above a threshold of 15% of built environment, the species is not present. However, small-scale livestock, waste, and roads showed no apparent effects on the species. We concluded that urbanization is one of the main threats to this lizard in Farellones, since it is a determining factor for its presence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past forest use often has a long‐term negative impact on the recovery of the original plant composition of semi‐natural grasslands, which is known as a legacy effect. This study investigates the impact of seed dispersal limitations on the restoration of grassland plant diversity on ski slopes with past forest use, highlighting the negative legacy effect on biodiversity recovery. Focusing on ski areas, our research contrasts the vegetation on ski slopes originally created on semi‐natural grasslands such as pasture (pasture slopes) and constructed by clearing secondary forests or conifer plantations (forest slopes). We examined species richness and diversity, considering seed dispersal modes, grassland management history, and seed source proximity. We reveal that the proximity to species‐rich grassland sources is pivotal for the restoration of native grassland vegetation. Particularly, wind‐dispersed species show significant recovery on slopes with sustained management for more than 70 years and those with neighboring species‐rich grasslands, suggesting that both the duration of management and the proximity to seed sources are critical for overcoming the legacy effects of past forest use. Meanwhile, gravity‐dispersed species failed to recover their richness and diversity regardless of both the duration of management and the proximity to seed source grasslands, which their diversity recovered where seed sources neighbored. Our findings emphasize the importance of considering seed dispersal limitation and management history in the restoration and conservation of grasslands and their biodiversity, particularly in landscapes experiencing past human intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In long-lived species, deforestation can modify the genetic diversity patterns of recent populations. The spatial-structure genetics of Pinus leiophylla Schiede ex Schltdl. & Cham. was investigated in adults and seedlings of remnant populations from central Mexico. Two chloroplast intergenic regions were sequenced of two cohorts (adults and seedlings) of 121 individuals of P. leiophylla from three localities. Higher genetic differentiation was found in adults (ФST = 0.09) than in seedlings (ФST = 0.03). The discriminant analysis of principal components detected four genetic clusters and the Mantel test found a weak but significant isolation by distance pattern (r2 = 0.05, p = 0.002). Sixteen percent of genetic variation was explained by the spatial component according to the genetic neighborhood analysis. And the effect of three landscape features, i.e., elevation, aspect (sine and cosine), and land use, explored with ResistanceGA, detected that land use significantly restricts gene flow between populations, mostly in the farming category. This study emphasizes the critical role of preserving forest cover to maintain connectivity among remnants of P. leiophylla. Insights of this study will contribute to the conservation of conifers in Mexican temperate forests, especially within landscapes heavily altered by human activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effects of anthropogenic activities, including climate change, are modifying fire regimes, and the dynamic nature of these modifications requires identification of general patterns of organisms’ responses to fire. This is a challenging task because of the high complexity of factors involved (including climate, geography, land use, and species‐specific ecology). We aimed to describe the responses of the reptile community to fire across a range of environmental and fire‐history conditions in the western Mediterranean Basin. We sampled 8 sites that spanned 4 Mediterranean countries. We recorded 6064 reptile sightings of 36 species in 1620 transects and modeled 3 community metrics (total number of individuals, species richness, and Shannon diversity) as responses to environmental and fire‐history variables. Reptile community composition was also analyzed. Habitat type (natural vs. afforestation), fire age class (time since the last fire), rainfall, and temperature were important factors in explaining these metrics. The total number of individuals varied according to fire age class, reaching a peak at 15–40 years after the last fire. Species richness and Shannon diversity were more stable during postfire years. The 3 community metrics were higher under postfire conditions than in unburned forest plots. This pattern was particularly prevalent in afforested plots, indicating that the negative effect of fire on reptiles was lower than the negative effect of afforestation. Community composition varied by fire age class, indicating the existence of early‐ and late‐successional species (xeric and saxicolous vs. mesic reptiles, respectively). Species richness was 46% higher in areas with a single fire age class relative to those with a mixture of fire age classes, which indicates pyrodiverse landscapes promoted reptile diversity. An expected shift to more frequent fires will bias fire age distribution toward a predominance of early stages, and this will be harmful to reptile communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To evaluate the performance of species distribution models in predicting observed colonisations, persistences and extirpations in response to changes in climate and land use over a multi‐decadal period. Location: Sweden. Methods: We use historical (early 20th century) land use and climate data to build species distribution models for 84 plant species across three provinces of Sweden. Model performance was then evaluated internally using a subset of the historical data for cross‐validation, as well as by using the models to project occurrences to the modern day and validating them with observed occurrences from 1990 to 2020. We then analysed predicted and observed occurrences in the modern period in terms of persistence, extirpation (local extinction) and colonisation in relation to species' habitat and climate associations. Results: We found overall high agreement between evaluation methods, although internal evaluation gave consistently higher values for model performance (using true skill statistic, TSS). Overall, extirpations were worst predicted, with on average fewer than one‐third of each species' extirpations being foreseen by the models. Colonisations were better predicted, while persistences were relatively well‐predicted. Predictive accuracy of colonisations was higher for species with relatively warmer temperature associations (climate‐driven expansion), while extirpations were better predicted in cool‐related species (retractions at cool edges). Colonisations of forest‐associated species were more common than predicted (underpredicted), despite widespread patterns of afforestation. Assessing grid‐cell level turnover, we found that in grid cells that experienced the largest changes in terms of climate and land use, predicted extirpations were less likely to have happened. Main Conclusions: We found that commonly applied modelling approaches have limited ability to predict observed changes in species occurrences, especially extirpations. This suggests that we should take predictions of future biodiversity loss very seriously. However, the ability for species to (at least temporarily) persist in unsuitable conditions could be an opportunity for biodiversity conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decline of biodiversity is a key topic in public discussions around the globe. These debates have triggered massive efforts to increase protected areas and to safeguard the corridors connecting them. The wildlife corridors dealt with in this article are mainly thought to facilitate the mobility of elephants and some other large herbivores (for example, zebra and buffalo). Wildlife corridors are not only essential for species connectivity but also an integral part of the booming ecotourism in north-eastern Namibia's conservation landscapes. Coexistence infrastructure is meant to contribute to economic development and local incomes. Conservancies — community-based conservation organisations in the Namibian context — gazette corridors and market wildlife abundance to ecotourists, potential investors in tourism and commercial hunters. The coexistence of humans and wildlife is challenging, though. Human-wildlife interactions frequently result in damage, and often conservationist environmental infrastructuring runs against the aims of farmers to expand their fields for commercial crop production and to gain pastures for growing cattle herds. It also runs against other governmentally endorsed infrastructuring that brings tarred roads, water pipelines and boreholes. This article analyses contested wildlife corridors as part of a larger conservationist project in the western parts of Namibia's Zambezi Region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]