Projecting land use changes in the Neotropics: The geography of pasture expansion into forest

Herbivores and nutrients control grassland plant diversity via light limitation

“…A predictive understanding of the forces controlling grassland diversity is critical for informing issues of environmental and agricultural sustainability on all continents because of the steady conversion of the world's grasslands for use in livestock production [3][4][5][6][7] . Previous work observed that herbivores have the greatest effects on diversity in high productivity ecosystems [11][12][13][14][15][16] , whereas the experimental results presented here demonstrate that in grasslands in which herbivores increase ground-level light, they rescue plant diversity regardless of nutrient addition or environmental productivity.…”

“…Human alterations to nutrient cycles 1,2 and herbivore communities [3][4][5][6][7] are affecting global biodiversity dramatically 2 . Ecological theory predicts these changes should be strongly counteractive: nutrient addition drives plant species loss through intensified competition for light, whereas herbivores prevent competitive exclusion by increasing ground-level light, particularly in productive systems 8,9 .…”

“…Resources required for economic growth, energy and agriculture have all impacted natural ecosystems on a global scale. Introductions and extirpations of herbivore species, particularly as land is converted for grazing [3][4][5][6][7] , and increased nutrient supply are symptoms of humanity's global footprint 1,2 . Such widespread alteration of herbivores and nutrient supply may jointly determine the future diversity of ecosystems.…”

Scenarios of land-use change in a deforestation corridor in the Brazilian Amazon: combining two scales of analysis

“…For the Brazilian Amazon, a number of scenarios have been published (Aguiar et al 2016;Assis et al 2011;Lapola et al 2010Lapola et al , 2011Laurance et al 2001;Maeda et al 2011;Moreira 2009;Oliveira et al 2013;Rosa et al 2013Rosa et al , 2014Soares-Filho et al 2001, 2004Verburg et al 2014;Wassenaar et al 2007). Dalla-Nora et al (2014) critically assessed key elements of the different scenarios and realized that most scenario models failed to capture the amount of deforestation over recent decades.…”

Trees in the Agricultural Matrix: Reforestation Processes in a Tropical Dry Landscape in Chinandega, Nicaragua

“…The trend of land conversion is expected to continue, with agricultural conversion driving 69% of deforestation in the region from 2010 and beyond (Wassenaar 2007 (Gillespie et al 2000).…”