Road networks predict human influence on Amazonian bird communities

Ahmed, Sadia E.; Lees, Alexander Charles; Moura, Nárgila; Gardner, Toby; Barlow, Jos; Ferreira, Joice; Ewers, Robert M.

doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.1742

Cited by 33 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 69 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Furthermore, the recent return to increasing deforestation rates seems likely to continue as a newly appointed administration led by President Jair Bolsonaro (inaugurated 1 January 2019) threatens to expand mining, pasture, and agricultural activities in the Amazon (Artaxo, 2019;Escobar, 2018). Amazon road networks are also anticipated to continue expanding (Ahmed, Ewers, & Smith, 2013;Ahmed et al, 2014;Ahmed, Souza, Riberio, & Ewers, 2013;Laurance et al, 2014). A recent analysis across the entire Brazilian Amazon found that, on average, nearly 17,000 km of roads were added every year between 2004 and 2007 (Ahmed, Souza, et al, 2013).…”

Section: Con Clus Ionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For Amazonian birds, a considerable body of research has shown the toll that deforestation (including partial deforestation characterized by forest fragments) and existing roads take on the forest bird community (e.g., Ahmed et al, ; Develey & Stouffer, ; Ferraz et al, ; Laurance, ; Laurance, Stouffer, & Laurance, ; Lees & Peres, , ; Mahood, Lees, & Peres, ; Stouffer, Johnson, Bierregaard, & Lovejoy, ). However, little attention has focused on these deforested landscapes and how ecological succession alters avian communities following anthropogenic change.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Avian ecological succession in the Amazon: A long‐term case study following experimental deforestation

Rutt

Jirinec

Cohn‐Haft

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Approximately 20% of the Brazilian Amazon has now been deforested, and the Amazon is currently experiencing the highest rates of deforestation in a decade, leading to large‐scale land‐use changes. Roads have consistently been implicated as drivers of ongoing Amazon deforestation and may act as corridors to facilitate species invasions. Long‐term data, however, are necessary to determine how ecological succession alters avian communities following deforestation and whether established roads lead to a constant influx of new species. We used data across nearly 40 years from a large‐scale deforestation experiment in the central Amazon to examine the avian colonization process in a spatial and temporal framework, considering the role that roads may play in facilitating colonization. Since 1979, 139 species that are not part of the original forest avifauna have been recorded, including more secondary forest species than expected based on the regional species pool. Among the 35 species considered to have colonized and become established, a disproportionate number were secondary forest birds (63%), almost all of which first appeared during the 1980s. These new residents comprise about 13% of the current community of permanent residents. Widespread generalists associated with secondary forest colonized quickly following deforestation, with few new species added after the first decade, despite a stable road connection. Few species associated with riverine forest or specialized habitats colonized, despite road connection to their preferred source habitat. Colonizing species remained restricted to anthropogenic habitats and did not infiltrate old‐growth forests nor displace forest birds. Deforestation and expansion of road networks into terra firme rainforest will continue to create degraded anthropogenic habitat. Even so, the initial pulse of colonization by nonprimary forest bird species was not the beginning of a protracted series of invasions in this study, and the process appears to be reversible by forest succession.

show abstract

Section: Con Clus Ionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Avian ecological succession in the Amazon: A long‐term case study following experimental deforestation

Rutt

Jirinec

Cohn‐Haft

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Nowadays, road networks fragment and deteriorate natural habitats (Ahmed et al . ), imposing a filter on animal movement (Kramer‐Schadt et al . ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Road avoidance responses determine the impact of heterogeneous road networks at a regional scale

D’Amico

Périquet

Román

et al. 2015

Journal of Applied Ecology

107

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

1. Barrier effect is a road-related impact affecting several animal populations. It can be caused by behavioural responses towards roads (surface and/or gap avoidance), associated emissions (traffic-emissions avoidance) and/or circulating vehicles (vehicle avoidance). Most studies so far have described road-effect zones along major roads, without determining the actual factor inducing the behavioural response. 2. The purpose of the present study was to assess the factors potentially causing road-effect zones in a heterogeneous road network (with variations in road width, road surface and traffic volume) and eventually to estimate the reduction of habitat quality imposed by roads within a protected area (Doñana Biosphere Reserve, Spain). As model species, we used two ungulates, red deer Cervus elaphus and wild boar Sus scrofa. 3. We surveyed the presence of both species along 200-m transects. All transects started and were perpendicular to reference roads (those with a traffic volume above 10 cars per day), often intersecting unpaved minor roads with virtually no traffic. 4. The presence probability of both species was mainly affected by the distance to the nearest road (in most cases unpaved roads without traffic), but also by the proximity to reference roads. Red deer presence was also affected by the traffic volume of the nearest reference road. At a regional scale, the overall road network within the protected area imposes a reduction in presence probability of 40% for red deer and 55% for wild boar. A road network optimization, decommissioning unused and unpaved roads, would re-establish almost entirely the potential habitat quality (91% for both species). 5. Synthesis and applications. We found that both study species avoided roads regardless of their surface or traffic volume, suggesting a response due to gap avoidance which may be based on the association between linear infrastructures and the possibility of vehicles occurring along them. The overall behavioural response can substantially decrease habitat quality over large scales, including the conservation value of protected areas. For this reason, we recommend road network optimization by road decommissioning to mitigate the impact of roads at a regional scale, with potential positive effects at ecosystem level.

show abstract

“…The spatial distribution, i.e. the extent and density, of road networks can be used to model human influences on tropical forests at larger scales (Mertens et al, 2001;Arima et al, 2008;Bell et al, 2012;Ahmed et al, 2013bAhmed et al, , 2013aAhmed et al, , 2014. It also served as an important input to define the intactness of forest landscapes (Potapov et al, 2008) and the identification of priority road-free areas at a global scale .…”

Section: Characterizing the Spatial Distribution And Coverage Of Loggmentioning

confidence: 99%

Logging Roads in Tropical Forests: Synthesis of Literature Written in French and English Highlights Environmental Impact Reduction Through Improved Engineering

Kleinschroth¹,

Gourlet‐Fleury

Gond

et al. 2017

Bois for. trop.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Les pistes forestières sont considérées comme des causes majeures de dégrada- tion des forêts en raison de leurs impacts directs et indirects sur le fonctionnement et la diversité des écosystèmes. Compte tenu de l’importance de l’exploitation forestière tropi- cale dans le monde, la bonne gestion de l’in- frastructure routière est cruciale pour réduire les impacts environnementaux associés à ces activités tout en réduisant les coûts des opé- rations. Notre étude visait à analyser comment la question des pistes de débardage avait été traitée dans la littérature scientifique. Des études publiées depuis 65 ans, la plupart en français, dans la revue Bois et Forêts des Tro- piques (BFT), ont été comparées à une série d’études plus récentes extraites des bases de données Scopus et Web of Knowledge. La moitié des articles BFT datent d’avant 1972, alors que les bases de données plus géné- ralistes indiquent une augmentation régu- lière, depuis cette date, du nombre d’articles publiés sur ce thème, qui atteint aujourd’hui un niveau record. Sur l’ensemble de la biblio- graphie, nous avons sélectionné, à des fins d’évaluation critique, 126 articles traitant des impacts et de la gestion des pistes forestières tropicales. Les articles de BFT se caractérisent par une attention particulière portée à des questions pratiques d’ingénierie, tandis que de nombreux articles rédigés en anglais se concentrent sur l’identification des impacts sur les écosystèmes forestiers. Les impacts environnementaux liés aux pistes forestières proviennent de la destruction du couvert pen- dant leur construction, de l’accroissement des effets de lisière, de l’érosion des sols, de la perturbation de la faune et de l’accès plus facile aux forêts pour la chasse et la colonisa- tion agricole. Nous présentons, sur la base de cette revue de la littérature, une liste de recommandations permettant de réduire ces impacts. En conclusion, nous constatons, que malgré l’intérêt continu pour le sujet des pistes forestières, nous savons très peu de choses sur leur devenir à long terme dans les paysages forestiers.

show abstract

Road networks predict human influence on Amazonian bird communities

Cited by 33 publications

References 69 publications

Avian ecological succession in the Amazon: A long‐term case study following experimental deforestation

Avian ecological succession in the Amazon: A long‐term case study following experimental deforestation

Road avoidance responses determine the impact of heterogeneous road networks at a regional scale

Logging Roads in Tropical Forests: Synthesis of Literature Written in French and English Highlights Environmental Impact Reduction Through Improved Engineering

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About