Habitat models for the four-fingered skink (Carlia tetradactyla) at the microhabitat and landscape scale

2003 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joern Fischer ◽  
David Lindenmayer ◽  
Ann Cowling
Keyword(s):  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Moderate Amount ◽  
Weed Invasion ◽  
Habitat Models ◽  
Conservation Implications ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Reptile Species ◽  
Landscape Units

A spatially nested experimental design was used to survey reptiles in a sheep- and cattle-grazing landscape in southern New South Wales, Australia. Sixteen landscape units were chosen on the basis of their aspect, topography and amount of tree cover. Across these landscape units, 288 pitfall traps were established at 144 plots arranged in 48 sites. Each plot was searched for reptiles and pitfall-trapped in two separate survey periods. The four-fingered skink (Carlia tetradactyla) was the most commonly encountered reptile species, and detailed statistical habitat models were constructed for this species. The four-fingered skink responded to both landscape scale and microhabitat variables. The species was more likely to be detected in landscape units characterised by a high amount of tree cover. Adults were most likely to inhabit microhabitats dominated by box- or gum-type eucalypts, with a moderate amount of canopy cover and with a large number of spiders. Juveniles were most likely to inhabit microhabitats with a moderate amount of weed invasion where shrubs were present. Finally, the four-fingered skink was more likely to be found at sites with at least two other co-occurring small reptile species. Body condition and tail loss of adult skinks were not related to the habitat or microhabitat where a given individual was found. The results are discussed in relation to current herpetological research, and some long-term conservation implications are highlighted.

scholarly journals Shade-tree rehabilitation in vanilla agroforests is yield neutral and may translate into landscape-scale canopy cover gains

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic A. Martin ◽  
Annemarie Wurz ◽  
Kristina Osen ◽  
Ingo Grass ◽  
Dirk Hölscher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Forest Protection ◽  
Shade Tree ◽  
Open Land

Agroforestry can contribute to an increase in tree cover in historically forested tropical landscapes with associated gains in biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, but only if established on open land instead of underneath a forest canopy. However, declines in yields with increasing shade are common across agroforestry crops, driving shade-tree removal in forest-derived agroforests and hindering tree regrowth in open-land-derived agroforests. To understand trajectories of change in tree cover in forest- and open-land-derived agroforests and the impacts of tree cover on vanilla yields, we studied 209 vanilla agroforests along an 88-year chronosequence in Madagascar. Additionally, we used remotely-sensed canopy cover data to investigate tree cover change in the agricultural landscape. We found yields to vary widely but independently of canopy cover and land-use history (forest- vs. open-land-derived), averaging at 154.6 kg ha-1 yr-1 (SD = 186.9). Furthermore, we found that forest- and open-land-derived vanilla agroforests gained canopy cover over time, but that only open-land-derived agroforests gained canopy height. Canopy cover increased also at the landscape scale: areas in the agricultural landscape with medium initial canopy cover gained 6.4% canopy cover over 10 years, but canopy cover decreased in areas with high initial canopy cover. These opposing trends suggest tree cover rehabilitation across areas covered by vanilla agroforests, whereas remnant forest fragments in the agricultural landscape were transformed or degraded. Our results indicate that yield-neutral tree rehabilitation through open-land-derived agroforestry could, if coupled with effective forest protection, provide mutually beneficial outcomes for ecosystem functions and agricultural production in a smallholder-dominated agricultural landscape.

Relationships Between Grass, Shrub and Tree Cover on Four Landforms of Semi-Arid Eastern Australia, and Prospects for Change by Burning.

1996 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 104 ◽  
Author(s):  
RL Daly ◽  
KC Hodgkinson
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
New South ◽  
Perennial Grass ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Woody Vegetation ◽  
Grass Cover ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
The Relationship

The range of grass, shrub and tree levels present in the Louth region of western New South Wales was determined in an area where woody weeds are considered to be rampant, and the prospects for change by burning were evaluated. Relationships between the three vegetation elements in each of four major landforms were determined by regression and reduction in the canopy cover of woody vegetation after one or two fires were simulated. Basal cover of grass was negatively related to canopy cover of woody vegetation, except in the Sandplains and Dunefields landform. The relationship here was curvilinear with maximum grass cover occurring at 10% canopy cover of the woody vegetation. Pastoralism was considered to become less efficient when the canopy cover of woody vegetation exceeded 5%; 44% of sites measured were below this threshold. The remaining sites could be divided into two groups; one which would fall below the threshold if burnt with a prescribed fire (21%) and the other which required two fires or an equivalent second treatment to reduce the cover below the threshold (35%). The survey confirmed the perception of pastoralists, administrators and scientists that shrub cover is unacceptably high for pastoralism throughout much of the region. Additionally the perennial grass cover was very low and this would increase the instability of forage supply to pastoral herbivores. The high spatial variability in the composition of vegetation indicates that graziers need to identify and treat areas where return on investment in rehabilitation will be highest and most certain.

scholarly journals Shade-Tree Rehabilitation in Vanilla Agroforests is Yield Neutral and May Translate into Landscape-Scale Canopy Cover Gains

Ecosystems ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic Andreas Martin ◽  
Annemarie Wurz ◽  
Kristina Osen ◽  
Ingo Grass ◽  
Dirk Hölscher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Forest Protection ◽  
Shade Tree ◽  
Open Land

AbstractAgroforestry can contribute to an increase in tree cover in historically forested tropical landscapes with associated gains in biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, but only if established on open land instead of underneath a forest canopy. However, declines in yields with increasing shade are common across agroforestry crops, driving shade-tree removal in forest-derived agroforests and hindering tree regrowth in open-land-derived agroforests. To understand trajectories of change in tree cover in forest- and open-land-derived agroforests, and the impacts of tree cover on vanilla yields, we studied 209 vanilla agroforests along an 88-year chronosequence in Madagascar. Additionally, we used remotely sensed canopy cover data to investigate tree cover change in the agricultural landscape. We found yields to vary widely but independently of canopy cover and land-use history (forest- vs. open-land-derived), averaging at 154.6 kg ha−1 year−1 (SD = 186.9). Furthermore, we found that forest- and open-land-derived vanilla agroforests gained canopy cover over time, but that only open-land-derived agroforests gained canopy height. Canopy cover increased also at the landscape scale: areas in the agricultural landscape with medium initial canopy cover gained 6.4% canopy cover over 10 years, but canopy cover decreased in areas with high initial canopy cover. These opposing trends suggest tree cover rehabilitation across areas covered by vanilla agroforests, whereas remnant forest fragments in the agricultural landscape were transformed or degraded. Our results indicate that yield-neutral tree rehabilitation through open-land-derived agroforestry could, if coupled with effective forest protection, provide benefits for both ecosystem functions and agricultural production in a smallholder-dominated agricultural landscape.

scholarly journals Diversity of Medicinal Plants among Different Tree Canopies

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2640
Author(s):  
Muhammad Zubair ◽  
Akash Jamil ◽  
Syed Bilal Hussain ◽  
Ahsan Ul Haq ◽  
Ahmad Hussain ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Coniferous Forest ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Tree Canopy ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
Floral Diversity ◽  
Tree Canopy Cover ◽  
Closed Canopy

The moist temperate forests in Northern Pakistan are home to a variety of flora and fauna that are pivotal in sustaining the livelihoods of the local communities. In these forests, distribution and richness of vegetation, especially that of medicinal plants, is rarely reported. In this study, we carried out a vegetation survey in District Balakot, located in Northeastern Pakistan, to characterize the diversity of medicinal plants under different canopies of coniferous forest. The experimental site was divided into three major categories (viz., closed canopy, open spaces, and partial tree cover). A sampling plot of 100 m2 was established on each site to measure species diversity, dominance, and evenness. To observe richness and abundance, the rarefaction and rank abundance curves were plotted. Results revealed that a total of 45 species representing 34 families were available in the study site. Medicinal plants were the most abundant (45%) followed by edible plants (26%). Tree canopy cover affected the overall growth of medicinal plants on the basis of abundance and richness. The site with partial canopy exhibited the highest diversity, dominance, and abundance compared to open spaces and closed canopy. These findings are instrumental in identifying the wealth of the medicinal floral diversity in the northeastern temperate forest of Balakot and the opportunity to sustain the livelihoods of local communities with the help of public/private partnership.

Effects of logging and fire on small mammals in Mumbulla State Forest, near Bega, New South Wales

1987 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 163 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Lunney ◽  
B. Cullis ◽  
P. Eby
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
First Year ◽  
Severe Effect ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Antechinus Stuartii ◽  
Rattus Fuscipes

This study of the effects of logging on small mammals in Mumbulla State Forest on the south coast of New South Wales included the effects of a fire in November 1980 and a drought throughout the study period from June 1980 to June 1983. Rattus fuscipes was sensitive to change: logging had a significant impact on its numbers, response to ground cover, and recapture rate; fire had a more severe effect, and drought retarded the post-fire recovery of the population. The three species of dasyurid marsupials differed markedly in their response to ground cover, canopy cover, logging and fire. Antechinus stuartii was distributed evenly through all habitats and was not affected by logging, but fire had an immediate and adverse effect which was sustained by the intense drought. A. swainsonii markedly preferred the regenerating forest, and was not seen again after the fire, the failure of the population being attributed to its dependence on dense ground cover. Sminthopsis leucopus was found in low numbers, appeared to prefer forest with sparse ground cover, and showed no immediate response to logging or fire; its disappearance by the third year post-fire suggests that regenerating forest is inimical to the survival of this species. Mus musculus showed no response to logging. In the first year following the fire its numbers were still very low, but in the next year there was a short-lived plague which coincided with the only respite in the 3-year drought and, importantly, occurred in the intensely burnt parts of the forest. The options for managing this forest for the conservation of small mammals include minimising fire, retaining unlogged forest, extending the time over which alternate coupes are logged and minimising disturbance from heavy machinery.

scholarly journals Landscape-scale quantification of fire-induced change in canopy cover following mountain pine beetle outbreak and timber harvest

2017 ◽  
Vol 391 ◽  
pp. 164-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Ryan McCarley ◽  
Crystal A. Kolden ◽  
Nicole M. Vaillant ◽  
Andrew T. Hudak ◽  
Alistair M.S. Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mountain Pine Beetle ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Timber Harvest ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Mountain Pine ◽  
Pine Beetle

Deep phylogenetic structure has conservation implications for ornate rainbowfish (Melanotaeniidae:Rhadinocentrus ornatus) in Queensland, eastern Australia

2004 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy J. Page ◽  
Suman Sharma ◽  
Jane M. Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Mitochondrial Atpase ◽  
Isolated Populations ◽  
Exotic Fish ◽  
Phylogenetic Structure ◽  
Bay Area ◽  
Conservation Implications ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Atpase Gene

The freshwater fish, Rhadinocentrus ornatus Regan, 1914, has a patchy distribution through coastal drainages of Queensland and New South Wales, eastern Australia. Isolated populations of R. ornatus are found on several islands, as well as in a disjunct northern population 350 km from its nearest conspecific population. Deoxyribonucleic acid was extracted and sequenced for the mitochondrial ATPase gene to describe the geographic and genetic subdivision within the species. Four major clades were identified. These clades diverged between two and seven million years ago and so represent long-term divisions and possible units of conservation. There are conservation implications in that the narrow and localised distribution of R. ornatus overlaps with an area of large-scale land clearing, high human population and threats from introduced exotic fish. A particularly high centre of Rhadinocentrus diversity in the Tin Can Bay area of Queensland presents some interesting questions about the evolution of the genus Rhadinocentrus.

Degradation or recovery of argan woodlands in South Morocco? Tree count from satellite imagery between 1967–2019 may underestimate pressures on dryland forests status

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Marzolff ◽  
Mario Kirchhoff ◽  
Robin Stephan ◽  
Manuel Seeger ◽  
Ali Aït Hssaïne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Cover ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Biosphere Reserve ◽  
Agroforestry System ◽  
Tree Density ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Natural State ◽  
Remotely Sensed Data ◽  
Change Analysis

<p>In semi-arid to arid South-west Morocco, the once ubiquitous endemic argan tree (<em>Argania spinosa</em>) forms the basis of a traditional silvo-pastoral agroforestry system with complex usage rights involving pasturing and tree-browsing by goats, sheep and camels, smallholder agriculture and oil production. Widespread clearing of the open-canopy argan forests has been undertaken in the 12<sup>th</sup>–17<sup>th</sup> century for sugarcane production, and again in the 20<sup>th</sup> century for fuelwood extraction and conversion to commercial agriculture. The remaining argan woodlands have continued to decline due to firewood extraction, charcoal-making, overgrazing and overbrowsing. Soil and vegetation are increasingly being degraded; natural rejuvenation is hindered, and soil-erosion rates rise due to reduced infiltration and increased runoff. Numerous studies indicate that tree density and canopy cover have been generally decreasing for the last 200 years. However, there is little quantitative and spatially explicit information about these forest-cover dynamics.</p><p>In our study, the tree-cover change between 1967 and 2019 was analysed for 30 test sites of 1 ha each in argan woodlands of different degradation stages in the provinces of Taroudant, Agadir Ida-Outanane and Chtouka-Aït Baha. We used historical black-and-white satellite photography from the American reconnaissance programme CORONA, recent high-resolution multispectral imagery from the commercial WorldView satellites and ultrahigh resolution small-format aerial photography taken with an unmanned aerial system (UAS) to map the presence, absence and comparative crown-size class of 2610 trees in 1967 and 2019. We supplemented the remotely-sensed data with field observations on tree structure and architecture.</p><p>Results show that plant densities reach up to 300 argan trees and shrubs per hectare, and the mean tree density has increased from 58 trees/ha in 1967 to 86 trees/ha in 2019. While 7% of the 1967 trees have vanished today, more than one third of today’s trees could not be observed in 1967. This positive change has a high uncertainty, however, as most of the increase concerns small trees (< 3 m diameter) which might have been missed on the lower-resolution CORONA images.</p><p>When combined with our field data on tree architecture, tree count – albeit a parameter easily attained by remote sensing – is revealed as too simple an indicator for argan-forest dynamics, and the first impression of a positive development needs to be revised: The new small trees as well as trees with decreased crown sizes clearly show much stronger degradation characteristics than others, indicating increased pressures on the argan ecosystem during recent decades. Structural traits of the smaller trees also suggest that the apparent increase of tree count is not a result of natural rejuvenation, but mostly of stump re-sprouting, often into multi-stemmed trees, after felling of a tree. The density of the argan forest in the 1960s, prior to the general availability of cooking gas in the region and before the stronger enforcement of the argan logging ban following the declaration of the UNESCO biosphere reserve, may have marked a historic low in our study area, making the baseline of our change analysis far removed from the potential natural state of the argan ecosystem.</p>

Urban edge effects in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales: implications for design of buffers to protect significant habitats

2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Smith ◽  
Judy Smith
Keyword(s):  
Edge Effects ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
Weed Invasion ◽  
Native Flora ◽  
Blue Mountains ◽  
The Road ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Urban Edge ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Local Residents

Urban edge effects can have an adverse impact on native flora and fauna in the adjoining bushland. We surveyed edge effects at sites in the Blue Mountains where the urban area is separated from bushland by a perimeter road. Common edge effects included weed invasion, physical disturbance of the vegetation and soil, incidental rubbish, dumped rubbish, dumped plant material, tree felling/lopping/ringbarking and visits from domestic dogs. Uncommon edge effects included recent hazard reduction burns, bushrock collection, and poor tree health (dieback not associated with fires). The maximum extent of obvious edge effects (all types combined) varied between sites, from 9 m to 60 m from the edge of the road. At most sites (77%), edge effects were restricted to distances of 40 m or less into the bushland, but a significant number of sites (23%) had more extensive edge effects. Sites with extensive weed invasion were associated with older housing, suggesting that weed invasion will increase over time at sites adjacent to younger housing. Weed invasion frequently extended further than 60 m into the bushland along drainage lines and tracks, especially the former, but these were not included in the measurements. Edge effects were more extensive on flatter topography than downslope of housing, apparently because the former is subject to more intensive use by local residents. The actions of local residents have a major influence on edge effects, and are responsible for much of the variability observed between sites. The findings of this study are consistent with previous studies of edge effects around Sydney and elsewhere. Based on the results of the study, we recommend that a buffer of native vegetation at least 60 m wide should be retained around significant flora and fauna habitats to protect them from edge effects. Additional management actions are required to control vegetation degradation along drainage lines.

scholarly journals Large-Area, High-Resolution Tree Cover Mapping with Multi-Temporal SPOT5 Imagery, New South Wales, Australia

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Fisher ◽  
Michael Day ◽  
Tony Gill ◽  
Adam Roff ◽  
Tim Danaher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Large Area ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Multi Temporal
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document