scholarly journals Jumping the barrier: Does a glacier tongue affect species distribution along the elevation gradient in the subnival and nival belts? A case study on Mt. Kazbegi, Georgia, Central Great Caucasus Mountains

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-229
Author(s):  
Zaal Kikvidze ◽  
Tamar Jolokhava ◽  
Arsen Bakhia ◽  
Otar Abdaladze
Keyword(s):  
Species Distribution ◽  
Vegetation Structure ◽  
Elevation Gradient ◽  
Plant Distribution ◽  
Usual Sense ◽  
Rapid Decline ◽  
Plant Abundance ◽  
Glacier Tongue ◽  
Vegetation Patches

Glaciers are a prominent feature in high mountains and can affect plant distribution along the gradients. However, the possible effect of glaciers on plant community structure at landscape scale has been little studied. We asked: if a glacier tongue crosses a slope laterally and potentially blocks dispersal and migrations, how can this affect vegetation structure and species composition below and above this barrier? A suitable study system is offered by slopes on Mt. Kazbegi, where we established a transect through the subnival and nival belts. We sampled vegetation below and above the glacier tongue and conducted direct gradient analyses to reveal possible effects of the glacier on patterns of species distribution and vegetation structure such as the ratio of solitary plants in vegetation patches. The obtained results indicate that the glacier tongue in our study does not cause a ?vegetation switch? in the usual sense of this phrase. However, it might contribute to an abrupt change in the share of solitary plants, as well as to a very rapid decline of plant abundance and species numbers above the glacier.

scholarly journals Combining connectivity and species distribution modeling to define conservation and restoration priorities for multiple species: A case study in the eastern Amazon

2021 ◽  
Vol 257 ◽  
pp. 109148
Author(s):  
Leonardo de Sousa Miranda ◽  
Marcelo Awade ◽  
Rodolfo Jaffé ◽  
Wilian França Costa ◽  
Leonardo Carreira Trevelin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Distribution ◽  
Species Distribution Modeling ◽  
Distribution Modeling ◽  
Multiple Species

Plant species richness mediates the effects of vegetation structure, but not soil fertility, on insect gall richness in a savanna in Brazil

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 197-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Santos de Araújo
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Plant Height ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Vegetation Structure ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Plant Abundance ◽  
Insect Galls ◽  
Insect Gall

Abstract:The present study aims to investigate the effects of vegetation structure (plant abundance and height) and soil characteristics (soil organic matter and macronutrients) on insect gall richness, and determine the extent to which these effects are mediated by the indirect effects of plant species richness. The study was performed in forty-nine 100-m2 savanna plots in Parque Nacional das Emas (Brazil) and sampled a total of 985 individual plants of 71 plant species and 97 insect gall morphotypes. Cecidomyiidae (Diptera) induced the most insect galls (38.1%), and the plant family Myrtaceae had the greatest richness of insect gall morphotypes (16). Path analysis of plant abundance, plant height, soil macronutrients, soil organic matter and plant species richness explained 73% of insect gall richness. The results show that soil macronutrient quantity has a direct positive effect on insect gall richness, whereas plant abundance and plant height had only indirect positive effects on insect gall richness via the increase in plant species richness. These findings showed that both plant-related and environment-related factors are important to induce insect gall richness in Neotropical savannas, and that plant species richness should be taken into account to determine the richness of insect galls.

scholarly journals Practical Considerations for Implementing Species Distribution Essential Biodiversity Variables

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Boyd ◽  
Nick Isaac ◽  
Robert Cooke ◽  
Francesca Mancini ◽  
Tom August ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Distribution ◽  
Biodiversity Indicators ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Occupancy Detection ◽  
Essential Biodiversity Variables ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Species Occupancy ◽  
Very High ◽  
The Ideal

Species Distribution Essential Biodiversity Variables (SD EBVs; Pereira et al. 2013, Kissling et al. 2017, Jetz et al. 2019) are defined as measurements or estimates of species’ occupancy along the axes of space, time and taxonomy. In the “ideal” case, additional stipulations have been proposed: occupancy should be characterized contiguously along each axis at grain sizes relevant to policy and process (i.e., fine scale); and the SD EBV should be global in extent, or at least span the entirety of the focal taxa’s geographical range (Jetz et al. 2019). These stipulations set the bar very high and, unsurprisingly, most operational SD EBVs fall short of these ideal criteria. In this presentation, I will discuss the major challenges associated with developing the idealized SD EBV. I will demonstrate these challenges using an operational SD EBV spanning ~6000 species in the United Kingdom (UK) over the period 1970 to 2019 as a case study (Outhwaite et al. 2019). In short, this data product comprises annual estimates of occupancy for each species in all sampled 1 km cells across the UK; these are derived from opportunistically-collected species occurrence data using occupancy-detection models (Kéry et al. 2010). Having discussed which of the “ideal” criteria the case study satisfies, I will then touch on what are, in my view, two underappreciated challenges when constructing SD EBVs: dealing with sampling biases in the underlying data and the difficulty in evaluating the extent to which they bias the final product. These challenges should be addressed as a matter of urgency, as SD EBVs are increasingly applied in important settings such as underpinning national and international biodiversity indicators (see e.g., https://geobon.org/ebvs/indicators/).

Formation of disjunct plant distributions in Northeast Asia: a case study of Betula davurica using a species distribution model

Plant Ecology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 219 (9) ◽  
pp. 1105-1115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takuto Shitara ◽  
Yukito Nakamura ◽  
Tetsuya Matsui ◽  
Ikutaro Tsuyama ◽  
Haruka Ohashi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Distribution ◽  
Species Distribution Model ◽  
Northeast Asia ◽  
Distribution Model ◽  
Plant Distributions

scholarly journals Combining Deforestation and Species Distribution Models to Improve Measures of Chimpanzee Conservation Impacts of REDD: A Case Study from Ntakata Mountains, Western Tanzania

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1195
Author(s):  
Rebecca Dickson ◽  
Marc Baker ◽  
Noémie Bonnin ◽  
David Shoch ◽  
Benjamin Rifkin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Species Distribution ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Species Distribution Models ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Western Tanzania

Projects to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) are designed to reduce carbon emissions through avoided deforestation and degradation, and in many cases, to produce additional community and biodiversity conservation co-benefits. While these co-benefits can be significant, quantifying conservation impacts has been challenging, and most projects use simple species presence to demonstrate positive biodiversity impact. Some of the same tools applied in the quantification of climate mitigation benefits have relevance and potential application to estimating co-benefits for biodiversity conservation. In western Tanzania, most chimpanzees live outside of national park boundaries, and thus face threats from human activity, including competition for suitable habitat. Through a case study of the Ntakata Mountains REDD project in western Tanzania, we demonstrate a combined application of deforestation modelling with species distribution models to assess forest conservation benefits in terms of avoided carbon emissions and improved chimpanzee habitat. The application of such tools is a novel approach that we argue permits the better design of future REDD projects for biodiversity co-benefits. This approach also enables project developers to produce the more manageable, accurate and cost-effective monitoring, reporting and verification of project impacts that are critical to verification under carbon standards.

scholarly journals Predictive Ecosystem Mapping of South-Eastern Australian Temperate Forests Using Lidar-Derived Structural Profiles and Species Distribution Models

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Fedrigo ◽  
Stephen B. Stewart ◽  
Stephen H. Roxburgh ◽  
Sabine Kasel ◽  
Lauren T. Bennett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Distribution ◽  
Vegetation Structure ◽  
Species Distribution Models ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Continuous Distribution ◽  
Forest Monitoring ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Study Region ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Eastern Australia

Modern approaches to predictive ecosystem mapping (PEM) have not thoroughly explored the use of ‘characteristic’ gradients, which describe vegetation structure (e.g., light detection and ranging (lidar)-derived structural profiles). In this study, we apply a PEM approach by classifying the dominant stand types within the Central Highlands region of south-eastern Australia using both lidar and species distribution models (SDMs). Similarity percentages analysis (SIMPER) was applied to comprehensive floristic surveys to identify five species which best separated stand types. The predicted distributions of these species, modelled using random forests with environmental (i.e., climate, topography) and optical characteristic gradients (Landsat-derived seasonal fractional cover), provided an ecological basis for refining stand type classifications based only on lidar-derived structural profiles. The resulting PEM model represents the first continuous distribution map of stand types across the study region that delineates ecotone stands, which are seral communities comprised of species typical of both rainforest and eucalypt forests. The spatial variability of vegetation structure incorporated into the PEM model suggests that many stand types are not as continuous in cover as represented by current ecological vegetation class distributions that describe the region. Improved PEM models can facilitate sustainable forest management, enhanced forest monitoring, and informed decision making at landscape scales.

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