Tools for exploring habitat suitability for steppe birds under land use change scenarios

Cardador, Laura; Cáceres, Miquel De; Giralt, David; Bota, Gérard; Aquilué, Núria; Arroyo, Beatriz; Mougeot, François; Cantero‐Martínez, Carlos; Viladomiu, Lourdes; Rosell, Jordi; Casas, Fabián; Estrada, Alba; Álvaro‐Fuentes, Jorge; Brotons, Lluı́s

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2014.11.013

Cited by 21 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Some of these effects may also apply to spring-sown grain legumes, but this depends on weed management. The introduction of even small areas of grain legumes into regions such as the Iberian peninsula could help the recovery of bird populations that have declined due to the simplification of farming landscapes (Cardador et al, 2015).…”

Section: Biodiversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Grain Legume Production and Use in European Agricultural Systems

Watson

Reckling

Preißel

et al. 2017

Advances in Agronomy

231

240

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There is a great demand for high-protein materials for livestock feed in Europe and European agriculture has a deficit of about 70% high protein materials of which 87% is met by imported soybean and soy meal. This reflects the fact that grain legumes are currently under represented in European agriculture and produced on only 1.5 % of the arable land in Europe compared with 14.5% on a worldwide basis. Several grain legumes have the potential to replace at least some of the soya currently used in the diets of monogastric animals, ruminants and fish. There are also opportunities for greater use of legumes in new foods. Here we review the contribution of ecosystem services by grain legumes in European agriculture starting with provisioning services in terms of food and feed and moving on to the contribution they make to both regulating and supporting services which are in part due to the diversity which these crops bring to cropping systems. We explore the need to understand grain legume production on the time scale of a rotation rather than a cropping season in order to value and manage the agronomic challenges of weed, pests and diseases alongside the maintenance or improvement of soil structure, soil organic matter and nutrient cycling. A review of policy interventions to support grain legumes reveals that until very recently these have failed to make a difference in Europe. We contrast the European picture with the interventions that have allowed the development of grain legume production in both Canada and Australia. Whether farmers choose to grow more legumes will depend on market opportunities, the development of supply chains and policy support as well as technical improvements of grain legume production such as breeding of new varieties and management development to improve yield stability. However, to really increase the production of grain legumes in Europe the issues are far more wide reaching than agronomy or subsidy and require a fundamental rethinking of value chains to move grain legumes from being niche products to mainstream commodities.

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Section: Biodiversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Grain Legume Production and Use in European Agricultural Systems

Watson

Reckling

Preißel

et al. 2017

Advances in Agronomy

231

240

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A habitat provides an important place for waterbirds to rest, forage, nest, breed, and defend from natural enemies [2]. Intensive human activities and global climate change have deeply affected waterbirds' biodiversity and their habitats, mainly by altering the ecosystem's structure over the past decades [3][4][5]. Many species have experienced population decline-even extinction-and the number of waterbirds in the wild has drastically decreased owing to habitat degradation and fragmentation caused by these changes [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Remote Observation in Habitat Suitability Changes for Waterbirds in the West Songnen Plain, China

et al. 2019

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Being one of the most important habitats for waterbirds, China’s West Songnen Plain has experienced substantial damage to its ecosystem, especially the loss and degradation of wetlands and grasslands due to anthropogenic disturbances and climate change. These occurrences have led to an obvious decrease in waterbird species and overall population size. Periodic and timely monitoring of changes in habitat suitability and understanding the potential driving factors for waterbirds are essential for maintaining regional ecological security. In this study, land cover changes from 2000 to 2015 in this eco-sensitive plain were examined using Landsat images and an object-based classification method. Four groups of environmental factors, including human disturbance, water situation, food availability, and shelter safety, characterized by remote sensing data were selected to develop a habitat suitability index (HSI) for assessing habitat suitability for waterbirds. HSI was further classified into four grades (optimum, good, general, and poor), and their spatiotemporal patterns were documented from 2000 to 2015. Our results revealed that cropland expansion and wetland shrinkage were the dominant land cover changes. Waterbird habitat areas in the optimum grade experienced a sharp decline by 7195 km2. The habitat area in good suitability experienced reduction at a change rate of −8.64%, from 38,672 km2 to 35,331 km2. In addition, waterbird habitats in the general and poor grades increased overall by 10.31%. More specifically, the total habitat areas with optimum suitable grade, in five national nature reserves over the study region, decreased by 12.21%, while habitat areas with poor suitable grade increased by 3.89%. Changes in habitat suitability could be largely attributed to the increase in human disturbance, including agricultural cultivation from wetlands and grasslands and the expansion of built-up lands. Our findings indicate that additional attention should be directed towards reducing human impact on habitat suitability for sustainable ecosystems.

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“…Multiple changes in hydric ecosystem properties and functions have exerted severe impacts on the wildlife habitat and biodiversity in recent years (Cardador et al, 2015). Therefore, quick and effective assessment of the habitat suitability for species through time is a decisive step in habitat and zooplankton communities because one is not surrogate of the other one, in the same way as phytoplankton density and their functional and morphofunctional approaches.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring simplification in plankton communities using different ecological approaches

et al. 2019

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Aim This study aimed to answer: (i) can phytoplankton communities be used as surrogate of zooplankton communities?; (ii) can we use ecological approaches like functional groups (FG) or morphofunctional classification (MBFG) as surrogate for phytoplankton species?; (iii) can we use substitute groups (cladocera, copepod, rotifer or testate amoebae) as surrogate for zooplankton species?; (iv) are the environmental variables’ ordination standards concordant with the ordering patterns of phytoplankton and zooplankton species?; and (v) for both communities, is the spatial pattern of ordination maintained using density data or presence/absence of individuals or lower taxonomic resolutions? Methods The study was conducted in 25 water bodies that supply central-pivot irrigation in the Federal District - Brazil (Rio Preto Basin), in October 2012. We evaluated some physical and chemical variables as well as phytoplankton and zooplankton samples. To evaluate correlation among biological groups, numerical and higher taxonomic resolutions, we performed some Mantel and Procrustes analyses. Results Evaluating the use of substitute groups, comparisons between phytoplankton and zooplankton, FG and MBFG classifications and almost all the comparisons between zooplankton groups suggested concordant patterns. However, the values of r were low, all below 0.70. Biological analyses with phytoplankton and zooplankton can be performed using presence/absence of individuals without significant loss of information, except for MBFG classification and copepods. Data may also be used at genus or family level for copepods and testate amoebae and only data at genus level for cladocerans and rotifers. Different results were found concerning taxonomic resolution for phytoplankton considering that, while being significant, the r value was less than 0.70. Conclusions For environmental monitoring purposes, it is important to sample both phytoplankton and zooplankton communities because one is not surrogate of the other one, in the same way as phytoplankton density and their functional and morphofunctional approaches. On the other hand, to simplify the environmental monitoring, it is possible to adopt presence/absence species data instead of abundance data for both zooplankton and phytoplankton communities, except for copepods and morphofunctional approach. It is also possible to adopt genera level for zooplankton community and family level for copepods and testate amoebae.

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Tools for exploring habitat suitability for steppe birds under land use change scenarios

Cited by 21 publications

References 44 publications

Grain Legume Production and Use in European Agricultural Systems

Grain Legume Production and Use in European Agricultural Systems

Remote Observation in Habitat Suitability Changes for Waterbirds in the West Songnen Plain, China

Monitoring simplification in plankton communities using different ecological approaches

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