Landscape Ecology最新文献

Context: There are urgent calls to transition society to more sustainable trajectories, at scales ranging from local to global. Landscape sustainability (LS), or the capacity for landscapes to provide equitable access to ecosystem services essential for human wellbeing for both current and future generations, provides an operational approach to monitor these transitions. However, the complexity of landscapes complicates how and what to consider when assessing LS.

Objectives: To identify important features of landscapes that remain challenging to consider in LS assessments and provide guidance to strengthen future assessments.

Methods: We conducted two workshops to identify the complex features of landscapes that remain under-considered in LS assessments, and developed guidelines on how to better incorporate these features.

Results: We identify open and connected boundaries and diversity of values as landscape features that must be better considered in LS assessments or risk exacerbating offstage sustainability burdens and power inequalities. We provide guidelines to avoid these pitfalls which emphasize assessing ecosystem service interactions across interconnected landscapes and incorporating local actors' diverse values.

Conclusions: Our guidelines provide a stepping stone for researchers and practitioners to better incorporate landscape complexities into LS assessments to inform landscape-level decisions and actions.

Context: Changes in landscape patterns, which refer to the composition and spatial configuration of land use and land cover (LULC) classes in a landscape, can have negative impacts on biodiversity and environmental processes such as carbon cycles. Such impacts are both dependent on the spatial extent of changes and which LULC classes are affected, but previous global-scale landscape pattern assessments have focused on single LULC classes or landscape-level measurements only. A comprehensive, multiscale analysis across multiple LULC types is therefore key for understanding the full impact of landscape pattern change on the environment.

Objectives: We assessed global-scale change in landscape patterns for six LULC classes from the HILDA+ dataset (urban, cropland, pasture/rangeland, forest, unmanaged grass/shrubland, and sparse/no vegetation) between 1992 and 2020.

Methods: Six class-level landscape metrics with predictable scaling behaviour across landscape extents were calculated at global scale for each LULC class and year. Landscape metrics were quantified for five landscape extents (100, 400, 1600, 6400 and 25,600 km²). Trends in landscape metrics were evaluated and linked to changes in LULC composition (area) and configuration over time.

Results: Unmanaged grass/shrubland LULC expanded in area and showed increased number of patches, edge length, and complexity in shapes, while pasture/rangeland and forest LULC tended to decline in area, number of patches, and edge length. Even though there was high spatial heterogeneity in landscape pattern change for all LULC classes, neighbouring 100 km² landscapes often showed the same directional change in area and fragmentation.

Conclusions: Global landscape pattern change was highly variable for all LULC classes between 1992 and 2020, suggesting that drivers of LULC change act on local to regional scales. We expect that the multiscale global dataset of landscape metrics generated here will have future applications in understanding the drivers of landscape pattern change and its environmental impacts.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10980-025-02210-0.

Context: Human activities, particularly intensive agriculture, have caused significant environmental degradation, reduced ecosystem diversity, and increased vulnerability to global change. Recent international policies, such as the Global Biodiversity Framework's 30 × 30 target, advocate for nature-based solutions (NbS) such as ecological restoration to address these impacts. In agricultural landscapes, however, there are concerns that restoration may impact food production.

Objectives: We investigated how forest restoration, as an NbS, changes the supply of ecosystem services (ES), including potential trade offs with agricultural output. Using the Montérégie region of Québec (southeastern Canada) as a case study, we assessed the influence of restoration extent, spatial configuration, and the original agricultural site conditions on the ES outcomes.

Methods: We modeled ES outcomes for seven ES (crop production, maple syrup production, deer hunting, water quality, carbon storage, pollination, and outdoor recreation) under nine scenarios, which varied by total amount of the landscape restored (3.3%, 10.8%, 30%) and initial conditions of the agricultural fields restored (randomly selected, degraded agricultural field, or abandoned agricultural field).

Results: Our findings indicate that increasing the amount of land restored enhances provision of most ES, though improvement varied by service. The initial condition of restored sites minimally influences ES outcomes. However, the spatial pattern of restoration plays a significant role in determining ES delivery, as restored sites enhance most ES through spillover effects up to 500 m.

Conclusion: This study underscores the potential for combining landscape ecology approaches and ES tools to forecast NbS outcomes and inform landscape planning.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10980-025-02121-0.

Context: Approaches estimating landscape effects on biodiversity frequently focus on a single extent, finding one 'optimal' extent, or use narrow extents. However, species perceive the environment in different ways, select habitat hierarchically, and respond to multiple selection pressures at extents that best predict each pressure.

Objective: We aimed to assess multi-scale relationships between primary productivity and species occurrences and abundances.

Methods: We used a multi-scale approach, called 'scalograms', to assess landscape level effects of primary productivity, in the form of Dynamic Habitat Indices (DHIs) on the occurrences and abundances of 100 Argentinian forest bird species. We used average DHI values within multiple extents (3 $\times$ 3 to 101 $\times$ 101 pixels; 30 m resolution), and 11 'scalogram' metrics as environmental inputs in occurrence and abundance models.

Results: Average cumulative DHI values in extents 81 $\times$ 81 to 101 $\times$ 101 pixels (5.9 - 9.2 km²) and maximum cumulative DHI across extents were in the top three predictors of species occurrences (included in models for 41% and 18% of species, respectively). Average cumulative DHI values in various extents contributed ~ 1.6 times more predictive power to occurrence models than expected. For species abundances, average DHI values and scalogram measures were in the top three predictors for < 2% of species and contributed less model predictive power than expected, regardless of DHI type (cumulative, minimum, variation).

Conclusions: Argentinian forest bird occurrences, but not abundances, respond to high levels of primary productivity at multiple, broad extents rather than a single 'optimal' extent. Factors other than primary productivity appear to be more important for predicting abundance.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10980-025-02081-5.

Context: Sandy shorelines, including beaches and embryo dunes, are important spaces for both recreation and nature. Balancing these landscape functions remains a challenge. Directing recreation pressure via visitor footpaths (pathways) is widely used to mitigate recreation pressure in nature reserves. However, its potential to support multifunctionality on beaches is poorly quantified.

Objectives: To assess the response relationship between directed recreation pressure and the establishment of characteristic plant species alongside associated topographical development on the upper beach.

Methods: We experimentally introduced seeds and rhizomes (diaspores) of five common dune-building plant species in 30 locations at varying distance from main pathways at a beach near The Hague, the Netherlands. Species were a mix of grasses and herbs and ranged from pioneer to early successional species. We measured shoot emergence per species and initiation of embryo dunes, as well as environmental conditions and visitor numbers across one growing season.

Results: We found that the likelihood of establishment and shoot density were significantly higher beyond the first 20 m from pathways, irrespective of species or diaspore type, suggesting a limited zone of influence of beach visitors. Similarly, the number of surviving species and embryonic dune initiations were significantly higher beyond the pathways. Indeed, visitor observations showed that most visitors followed existing pathways across the beach, confirming the limited zone of influence of recreation pressure in the presences of pathways.

Conclusions: Recreation hampers the establishment of plant species and associated dune initiation on the upper beach. However, constraining recreation pressure on the upper beach by stimulating development of pathways can improve coexistence between nature development and recreation in coastal areas.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10980-025-02246-2.

Context

Ecological corridors are one of the most recommended ways to mitigate biodiversity loss. With growing recognition of corridor importance, corridor modeling lags others in the development of robust, quantitative validation methods.

Objective

We propose a post-hoc corridor validation framework, considering the range of methods across data needs and statistical intensity. We demonstrate the importance of post-hoc corridor validation by testing several validation methods on different corridor model outputs.

Methods

We used three different transformations on a Florida black bear (Ursus americanus floidanus) habitat suitability model to create different resistance grids, independent GPS collar data from a case study population, and Circuitscape to create corridor models. We used several validation methods, including a novel method, to compare resulting corridors.

Results

Transformed resistance grids were all correlated, yet differing validation and resistance grids resulted in different recommended corridors. The use of one resistance surface and one validation type can result in the selection of inefficient or ineffective corridors. At a minimum, modelers should determine what proportion of an independent population falls within resulting corridors and should move towards more robust, documented methods as resources allow. The use of multiple validation methods can ensure greater confidence of modeling results.

Conclusions

We encourage the use and further development of the framework presented here to drive the corridor modeling field towards more effective corridor creation and improved conservation outcomes. If validation methods are not improved, the ecological and economic cost of poor corridor science will continue to increase with increasing biodiversity loss.

Context

A large body of literature has shown that forests provide nutritious foods in many low- and middle-income countries. Yet, there is limited evidence on the contributions from different types of forest and tree systems.

Objectives

Here, we focus on individual trees and smaller forest patches outside established forest reserves as well as different forest management systems.

Methods

We do so by combining novel high-resolution data on tree cover with 24-h dietary recall surveys from 465 women in Tanzania.

Results

We show that people with more unclassified tree cover (i.e., individual trees and small forest patches) in their nearby surroundings have more adequate protein, iron, zinc, and vitamin A intakes. We also find that having a nearby forest under Participatory Forest Management (PFM) system is associated with higher adequacy levels of energy, iron, zinc and vitamin A. By contrast, tree cover within other types of forest (e.g., Government Forest Reserves and Government Forest Plantations) is not positively associated with people’s dietary quality.

Conclusions

Our key finding is that having individual trees, smaller forest patches and/or forest under PFM in close proximity is more beneficial for people’s diets than other types of established forests. Our results highlight the nutritional importance of trees outside established forests and question the often-assumed benefits of forests if these are made inaccessible by social barriers (e.g., legislation). Finally, our results emphasize the need to distinguish between different forest management systems when studying forest-diet linkages.

Context

Landscape sensation is essential for the delivery of cultural ecosystem services (CESs), yet the pathways through which these services are delivered remain inadequately understood. Exploring how people obtain CESs from landscapes facilitates better understanding of the tradeoffs and synergies between ecosystem services and landscape sustainability.

Objectives

This study aimed to elucidate the sensory pathways that links landscape attributes to CESs, focusing on the roles of cognitive and affective experiences.

Methods

We analyzed social media comments for the measurement scale of cognition. We employed partial least squares structural equation modeling to integrate sensation, cognition, affect, and satisfaction, using questionnaire data (n = 503).

Results

Cognitive comprehensions and affective responses play a crucial role in interpreting CESs while sensory experiences do not directly determine people’s satisfaction with CESs. The effective pathways are achieved through the sole mediator of cognition or by serial mediators of cognition and affect. Of the two mediators, cognition has a more profound mediating effect than affect.

Conclusions

Both physical and biological components, such as landscape sensory attributes, as well as cognitive and affective responses, influence human-nature interactions. These components should be considered when promoting the sustainability of human-dominated landscapes.

Context

Once common, the northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) has experienced declines > 90% due to white-nose syndrome (WNS). This severe mortality has resulted in their listing under the Endangered Species Act and made them a conservation priority. However, their broad distribution, variability in habitat use, and population instability make developing range-wide conservation strategies difficult. To understand how conservation of M. septentrionalis may vary across its range, we examined shifts in M. septentrionalis site occupancy on the edge of their historic range following severe WNS mortality.

Objectives

Our goal was to determine how mortality from white-nose syndrome affects site occupancy of M. septentrionalis at the southern edge of their historic range. Understanding which areas will remain occupied during disease related mortality will help inform management during disease outbreaks.

Methods

We used 11 years (2007–2017) of mist-netting records to construct dynamic occupancy models of M. septentrionalis in northern Georgia, USA. Occupancy was updated annually, with the initial period defined as all years prior to the winter of 2012–2013, which corresponds to when white-nose syndrome entered the study area. We assessed occupancy using landscape metrics at the home range (65 ha) and landscape (491 ha) scales, year since WNS occurrence in the study area, distance to karst, and distance to nearest WNS positive county. We estimated probability of detection using Julian date and sampling effort.

Results

Initial site occupancy was positively associated with percent deciduous forest cover at the home range scale. As M. septentrionalis populations declined from WNS, a site becoming unoccupied was negatively correlated with mean contiguity of forest at the home range scale and largest patch of forest and mean elevation at the landscape scale. Site occupancy declined precipitously in the years following WNS, dropping from 70.75% (41.76–96.98% [95% CI]) occupancy pre-WNS to 0.3% (0.3–20.5% [95% CI]) by the final year of the study.

Conclusions

Our results demonstrated that sites occupied by M. septentrionalis closer to the historic range edge were more vulnerable to becoming unoccupied after disease arrival. We recommend managers on the periphery of the historic range focus conservation efforts on high elevation forested areas nearer to the range core.

Context

Biotic resource exploitation is a critical determinant of species’ distributions. However, quantifying resource exploitation patterns through space and time can be difficult, complicating their incorporation in spatial ecology studies. Therefore, understanding the local drivers of spatial patterns of resource exploitation may contribute to better large-scale species distribution models.

Objectives

We investigated (1) how the resource exploitation patterns of two trophic interactions (plant–insect) are explained by insect behaviour, resource aggregation, and potential insect-insect interactions. We also analyzed how (2) resource patch size and (3) resource accessibility in a heterogeneous landscape affected host exploitation patterns.

Methods

We quantified nectar robbing by insects in the genus Bombus (bumblebees) and seed predation by Brachypterolus vestitus larvae (Antirrhinum beetle) on Antirrhinum majus L. (wild snapdragons) in the Pyrenees Mountains, Catalonia, Spain. We tested hypotheses about resource exploitation by integrating spatial analyses at multiple scales.

Results

Both trophic interactions were aggregated, explained by the aggregation of their resource. At some scales, nectar robbing is more aggregated than the resource. Trophic interaction abundance is proportional to resource patch size, following the ideal free distribution model. Landscape features do not explain the locations exploited. Nectar robbing and seed predation occur together more often than expected.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that multiple biotic and ecological spatial factors may simultaneously affect resource exploitation at a local scale. These findings should be considered when developing agricultural projects, management plans and conservation policies.