Incorporating low-resolution historic species location data decreases performance of distribution models

Developing robust species distribution models is important as model outputs are increasingly being incorporated into conservation policy and management decisions. A largely overlooked component of model assessment and refinement is whether to include historic species occurrence data in distribution models to increase the data sample size. Data of different temporal provenance often differ in spatial accuracy and precision. We test the effect of inclusion of historic coarse-resolution occurrence data on distribution model outputs for 187 species of birds in Australian tropical savannas. Models using only recent (after 1990), fine-resolution data had significantly higher model performance scores measured with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) than models incorporating both fine- and coarse-resolution data. The drop in AUC score is positively correlated with the total area predicted to be suitable for the species (R² = 0.163-0.187, depending on the environmental predictors in the model), as coarser data generally leads to greater predicted areas. The remaining unexplained variation is likely to be due to the covariate errors resulting from resolution mismatch between species records and environmental predictors. We conclude that decisions regarding data use in species distribution models must be conscious of the variation in predictions that mixed-scale datasets might cause.     

国有自然资源资产管理体制改革的建议与思考

自然资源产权管理和专业监管的分立可充分发挥市场作用,进一步促进简政放权,实现对山水林田湖草的综合管理,克服监管盲点,提升综合保护绩效,促进绿水青山转化为金山银山。设立专门机构开展自然资源资产管理,《生态文明体制改革总体方案》等规定了改革依据;自然资源统一确权登记试点取得积极进展,奠定了工作基础;与自然资源资产负债表、绿色GDP核算、生态文明建设目标评价考核等结合起来,促进改革的系统化和连贯化;建议在国家和省、市成立三级国有自然资源资产管理机构,在部分区域和流域派驻机构。为保障改革的实施,需界定国有自然资源资产的范围及所有权、监管权的角色和权限;改革生态补偿、排污权有偿使用、资源有偿利用等制度;明晰流域与属地的权力(利)关系;明确自然资源资产管理职责和生态环保党政同责的关系;重构环境保护税、资源税和自然资源资产使用费的关系;规定自然资源资产管理的原则、体制、制度和责任;建立自然资源资产清单、权利清单和管理信息平台;厘清各方权利边界和监管边界,建立评价考核和奖惩机制。     

优化施肥模式对我国热带地区水稻-豇豆轮作系统N2O和CH4排放的影响

选择海南典型的水稻-豇豆轮作系统进行氧化亚氮(N_2O)和甲烷(CH_4)排放的原位监测,探究不同施肥模式下该系统土壤温室气体排放特征.试验设当地常规施肥对照(CON)、优化施肥量(OPT)、有机无机配施(ORG)、缓控肥替代优化(SCOPT)及不施氮对照(CK)共5个处理,采用静态箱-气相色谱法监测整个种植季土壤N_2O和CH_4排放,并估算增温潜势(GWP)和温室气体排放强度(GHGI).结果表明,各处理水稻季N_2O累积排放量为0. 19～1. 37 kg·hm~(-2),相较于CON处理,优化施肥处理N_2O减排50%～86%;豇豆季N_2O累积排放量为1. 29～3. 55 kg·hm~(-2),除ORG增加14%,其他处理减排16%～59%.各处理水稻季CH_4累积排放量为4. 67～14. 23 kg·hm~(-2),CK、OPT和ORG处理分别较CON增加116%、22%和102%,而SCOPT减少了29%;豇豆季CH_4累积排放量为0. 03～0. 26 kg·hm~(-2),期间出现CH_4吸收.比较两个作物季和休闲期对农田土壤直接排放的温室气体GWP的贡献率,豇豆季在CH_4排放极低的情况下,仍有44. 7%～54. 5%的占比;两种温室气体比较中,N_2O对GWP的贡献率为66. 7%～77. 2%. SCOPT处理的GWP和两季作物GHGI均显著低于CON处理.3个优化施肥处理中,SCOPT的增产减排效果最显著,为最优的施肥方案.     

基于植被指数和神经网络的热带人工林地上蓄积量遥感估测

热带森林作为陆地生态系统的组成成分之一,研究其蓄积量估测对我们了解其在全球碳循环中的地位和作用有很重要的意义.但遥感估测森林生态参数的精度如何,还是个不确定的问题.利用LANDSAT-TM数据,基于森林清查数据和遥感技术,以尾叶桉和加勒比松为例,对中国南方地区人工林蓄积量估测进行了尝试研究.首先,通过测量样方胸径、树高,建立森林蓄积量估算模型.其次,通过对比分析不同植被指数与森林蓄积量之间的关系,选择合适植被指数组合,建立多元回归和神经网络模型.结果表明:单波段TM数据和大多数植被指数与蓄积量相关性并不好.神经网络比回归分析模拟效果好.而多元回归和神经网络模型大大提高预测精度.本研究方法对大面积的森林蓄积量估测具有一定的参考价值.     

The Potential for Species Conservation in Tropical Secondary Forests

Abstract: In the wake of widespread loss of old‐growth forests throughout the tropics, secondary forests will likely play a growing role in the conservation of forest biodiversity. We considered a complex hierarchy of factors that interact in space and time to determine the conservation potential of tropical secondary forests. Beyond the characteristics of local forest patches, spatial and temporal landscape dynamics influence the establishment, species composition, and persistence of secondary forests. Prospects for conservation of old‐growth species in secondary forests are maximized in regions where the ratio of secondary to old‐growth forest area is relatively low, older secondary forests have persisted, anthropogenic disturbance after abandonment is relatively low, seed‐dispersing fauna are present, and old‐growth forests are close to abandoned sites. The conservation value of a secondary forest is expected to increase over time, as species arriving from remaining old‐growth forest patches accumulate. Many studies are poorly replicated, which limits robust assessments of the number and abundance of old‐growth species present in secondary forests. Older secondary forests are not often studied and few long‐term studies are conducted in secondary forests. Available data indicate that both old‐growth and second‐growth forests are important to the persistence of forest species in tropical, human‐modified landscapes.     

The Dynamics of Species Composition and Abundance of Wasps from the Families Pompilidae, Sphecidae, and Vespidae (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) in Successional Pine Biogeocenoses of the Berezinskii Biosphere Reserve

The data on the dynamics of population size and species composition of wasps from the families Pompilidae, Sphecidae, and Vespidae were obtained in the course of long-term studies carried out in successional pine forests of the Berezinskii Biosphere Reserve. The abundance and species diversity of wasps were significantly higher in a polewood forest (40 years) than in a young forest (20 years) and mature moss forest (70 years). In an overgrown ride in the moss pine forest, the composition of dominant wasp species remained relatively stable during the seven-year period of observations, although the number of species and their abundance varied significantly from year to year, depending on the weather.     

Conservation Value of Remnant Riparian Forest Corridors of Varying Quality for Amazonian Birds and Mammals

Abstract:  Forest corridors are often considered the main instrument with which to offset the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation. Brazilian forestry legislation requires that all riparian zones on private landholdings be maintained as permanent reserves and sets fixed minimum widths of riparian forest buffers to be retained alongside rivers and perennial streams. We investigated the effects of corridor width and degradation status of 37 riparian forest sites (including 24 corridors connected to large source-forest patches, 8 unconnected forest corridors, and 5 control riparian zones embedded within continuous forest patches) on bird and mammal species richness in a hyper-fragmented forest landscape surrounding Alta Floresta, Mato Grosso, Brazil. We used point-count and track-sampling methodology, coupled with an intensive forest-quality assessment that combined satellite imagery and ground truthed data. Vertebrate use of corridors was highly species-specific, but broad trends emerged depending on species life histories and their sensitivity to disturbance. Narrow and/or highly disturbed riparian corridors retained only a depauperate vertebrate assemblage that was typical of deforested habitats, whereas wide, well-preserved corridors retained a nearly complete species assemblage. Restriction of livestock movement along riparian buffers and their exclusion from key areas alongside deforested streams would permit corridor regeneration and facilitate restoration of connectivity .     

Variation in photosynthetic photon flux density within a tropical seasonal rain forest of Xishuangbanna, south-western China

Introduction Photosyntheticphotonfluxdensity(PPFD)withinforestcanopiesisintrinsicallyheterogeneousinspaceandtime.Becausesomespeciesaregenotypicallysuitedforspecificlightregimes,understandingtheheterogeneityofthelightregimewithinaforestcanopyisimportantfor…     

Hunter Reporting of Catch per Unit Effort as a Monitoring Tool in a Bushmeat‐Harvesting System

Abstract: Growing threats to biodiversity in the tropics mean there is an increasing need for effective monitoring that balances scientific rigor with practical feasibility. Alternatives to professional techniques are emerging that are based on the involvement of local people. Such locally based monitoring methods may be more sustainable over time, allow greater spatial coverage and quicker management decisions, lead to increased compliance, and help encourage attitude shifts toward more environmentally sustainable practices. Nevertheless, few studies have yet compared the findings or cost‐effectiveness of locally based methods with professional techniques or investigated the power of locally based methods to detect trends. We gathered data on bushmeat‐hunting catch and effort using a professional technique (accompanying hunters on hunting trips) and two locally based methods in which data were collected by hunters (hunting camp diaries and weekly hunter interviews) in a 15‐month study in Equatorial Guinea. Catch and effort results from locally based methods were strongly correlated with those of the professional technique and the spatial locations of hunting trips reported in the locally based methods accurately reflected those recorded with the professional technique. We used power simulations of catch and effort data to show that locally based methods can reliably detect meaningful levels of change (20% change with 80% power at significance level [α]= 0.05) in multispecies catch per unit effort. Locally based methods were the most cost‐effective for monitoring. Hunter interviews collected catch and effort data on 240% more hunts per person hour and 94% more hunts per unit cost, spent on monitoring, than the professional technique. Our results suggest that locally based monitoring can offer an accurate, cost‐effective, and sufficiently powerful method to monitor the status of natural resources. To establish such a system in Equatorial Guinea, the current lack of national and local capacity for monitoring and management must be addressed.     

Trade‐Offs between Cattle Production and Bird Conservation in an Agricultural Frontier of the Gran Chaco of Argentina

Intensification of food production in tropical landscapes in the absence of land‐use planning can pose a major threat to biological diversity. Decisions on whether to spatially integrate or segregate lands for production and conservation depend in part on the functional relations between biological diversity and agricultural productivity. We measured diversity, density, and species composition of birds along a gradient of production intensification on an agricultural frontier of the Argentine Chaco, where dry tropical forests are cleared for cattle production. Bird species diversity in intact forests was higher than in any type of cattle‐production system. Bird species richness decreased nonlinearly as cattle yield increased. Intermediate‐intensity silvopastoral systems, those in which forest understory is selectively cleared to grow pastures of non‐native plants beneath the tree canopy, produced 80% of the mean cattle yield obtained in pastures on cleared areas and were occupied by 70–90% of the number of bird species present in the nearest forest fragments. Densities of >50% of bird species were significantly lower in open pastures than in silvopastoral systems. Therefore, intermediate‐intensity silvopastoral systems may have the greatest potential to sustain cattle yield and conserve a large percentage of bird species. However, compared with low‐intensity production systems, in which forest structure and extent were intact, intermediate‐intensity silvopastoral systems supported significantly fewer forest‐restricted bird species and fewer frugivorous birds. These data suggest that the integration of production and conservation through intermediate‐intensity silvopastoral systems combined with the protection of forest fragments may be required to maintain cattle yield, bird diversity, and conservation of forest‐restricted species in this agricultural frontier. Compromisos entre la Producción de Ganado y la Conservación de Aves en una Frontera Agrícola del Gran Chaco de Argentina