Impacts of global change on species distributions: obstacles and solutions to integrate climate and land use

Aim The impact of multiple stressors on biodiversity is one of the most pressing questions in ecology and biodiversity conservation. Here we critically assess how often and efficiently two main drivers of global change have been simultaneously integrated into research, with the aim of providing practical solutions for better integration in the future. We focus on the integration of climate change (CC) and land-use change (LUC) when studying changes in species distributions. Location Global. Methods We analysed the peer-reviewed literature on the effects of CC and LUC on observed changes in species distributions, i.e. including species range and abundance, between 2000 and 2014. Results Studies integrating CC and LUC remain extremely scarce, which hampers our ability to develop appropriate conservation strategies. The lack of CC-LUC integration is likely to be a result of insufficient recognition of the co-occurrence of CC and LUC at all scales, covariation and interactions between CC and LUC, as well as correlations between species thermal and habitat requirements. Practical guidelines for the study of these interactive effects include considering multiple drivers and processes when designing studies, using available long-term datasets on multiple drivers, revisiting single-driver studies with additional drivers or conducting comparative studies and meta-analyses. Combining various methodological approaches, including time lags and adaptation processes, represent further avenues to improve global change science. Main conclusions Despite repeated claims for a better integration of multiple drivers, the effects of CC and LUC on species distributions and abundances have been mostly studied in isolation, which calls for a shift of standards towards more integrative global change science. The guidelines proposed here will encourage study designs that account for multiple drivers and improve our understanding of synergies or antagonisms among drivers

Woody cover in wet and dry African savannas after six decades of experimental fires

Fire is an integral process in savannas ecosystems as it alters the extent of woody cover in these systems. This study examined the effects of varying fire frequencies and fire exclusion over a 60-year time period in South Africa. The presence of fire, irrespective of frequency, was influential in lowering tree abundance in the wet savanna, whilst the effect of fire in the dry savanna was limited. This study suggests that vegetation responses to fire are most likely influenced by rainfall, thus it is recommended that management strategies should take account of whether a savanna is a wet or dry system when implementing fire management regimes

Does increasing crop heterogeneity benefit species diversity? Cross-taxon congruence across a gradient of agricultural landscapes

The congress theme reflected that landscape ecology is a meeting point - where pattern and process meet people and action - seen as a way of thinking when dealing with European landscapes. We wanted to put emphasis on the integration of pattern and process as a biophysical component of landscape ecology with people and action, bringing in the social and cultural approaches. This requires a true interaction of natural and social sciences, and of science, policy and practice. Therefore the congress was an opportunity to reflect on the state of the art of landscape ecology today. Furthermore, the challenge of the congress was what the future directions are of landscape ecology as a social relevant approach for science, policy and practice

Managing landscape spatio-temporal heterogeneity for biodiversity conservation

Although the concept of biodiversity emerged 30 years ago, patterns and processes influencing ecological diversity have been studied for more than a century. Historically, ecological processes tended to be considered as occurring in local habitats, spatially homogeneous and temporally at equilibrium. However, the increasing recognition of environmental heterogeneity and its role for biodiversity resulted in the emergence of landscape ecology, whose major goal is to understand how spatial and temporal heterogeneity influence biodiversity. To achieve this goal, researchers came to realize that a fundamental issue revolves around how they choose to conceptualize and measure heterogeneity. Indeed, observed landscape patterns and their apparent relationship with biodiversity often depend on the scale of observation and the model used to describe the landscape. Due to the strong influence of island biogeography, landscape ecology has been focusing primarily on spatial heterogeneity and the role of patch structure, patch context and mosaic heterogeneity for biodiversity. More recently, the increasing recognition of the role of temporal scale has led to the development of new conceptual frameworks acknowledging that landscapes are not only heterogeneous but also dynamic and that species and ecosystems respond to environmental changes with time lags. The current challenges now remain to truly integrate both spatial and temporal dimensions in studies on biodiversity and to understand how complex interconnections between social and ecological processes shape socio-ecological landscapes, maintain biodiversity and ecosystem services

RO4 : Nouveaux horizons pour l’écologie des paysages

L’écologie des paysages est une discipline relativement récente qui s’est considérablement développée au cours des trente dernières années (Turner and Gardner, 2015). Les paysages font aujourd’hui l’objet d’un intérêt institutionnel et politique important et croissant, ce qui contribue à renforcer la place de cette discipline. Par ailleurs, la disponibilité de nouvelles données spatialisées et les évolutions des questionnements ouvrent de nouveaux horizons scientifiques qui nécessitent de mieux organiser la communauté des chercheurs en écologie des paysages. Dans ce texte, nous rappelons les fondements et objectifs de l’écologie des paysages. Nous donnons quelques exemples de cette place plus grande offerte aux paysages dans le cadre des politiques environnementales et des accords internationaux sur le climat et le développement durable. Puis nous abordons brièvement des exemples des nouvelles questions scientifiques auxquelles l’écologie des paysages cherche à répondre. Enfin, nous concluons sur le rôle que le groupe thématique d’écologie des paysages de la SFE pourra jouer dans ces dynamiques

Effect of farmland heterogeneity on multiple ES spatial variability and trade-offs

Congrès international : « EcoSummit 2016 - Ecological Sustainability : Engineering Change » à Montpellier, France (29 Aout – 1er Septembre 2016) : 0072 Soil C, a double-win for food security and climate mitigation in low input agriculture : Lessons from temperate and tropical regions. Farmland heterogeneity has a true positive effect on biodiversity-in particular bee, bird, plant, spider. Positive effect on biological control -due to linear semi-natural elements. No effect on pollination and production. Complex interactions : Farmland heterogeneity Semi-natural percentage Practices Agricultural policies should start considering field configuration while maintaining semi-natural habitats and agrochemical reduction

A Holistic Landscape Description Reveals That Landscape Configuration Changes More over Time than Composition: Implications for Landscape Ecology Studies

International audienceBackground: Space-for-time substitution—that is, the assumption that spatial variations of a system can explain and predict the effect of temporal variations—is widely used in ecology. However, it is questionable whether it can validly be used to explain changes in biodiversity over time in response to land-cover changes.Hypothesis: ere, we hypothesize that different temporal vs spatial trajectories of landscape composition and configuration may limit space-for-time substitution in landscape ecology. Land-cover conversion changes not just the surface areas given over to particular types of land cover, but also affects isolation, patch size and heterogeneity. This means that a small change in land cover over time may have only minor repercussions on landscape composition but potentially major consequences for landscape configuration.Methods: sing land-cover maps of the Paris region for 1982 and 2003, we made a holistic description of the landscape disentangling landscape composition from configuration. After controlling for spatial variations, we analyzed and compared the amplitudes of changes in landscape composition and configuration over time.Results: For comparable spatial variations, landscape configuration varied more than twice as much as composition over time. Temporal changes in composition and configuration were not always spatially matched.Significance: The fact that landscape composition and configuration do not vary equally in space and time calls into question the use of space-for-time substitution in landscape ecology studies. The instability of landscapes over time appears to be attributable to configurational changes in the main. This may go some way to explaining why the landscape variables that account for changes over time in biodiversity are not the same ones that account for the spatial distribution of biodiversity

Association Patterns in Saproxylic Insect Networks in Three Iberian Mediterranean Woodlands and Their Resistance to Microhabitat Loss

The assessment of the relationship between species diversity, species interactions and environmental characteristics is indispensable for understanding network architecture and ecological distribution in complex networks. Saproxylic insect communities inhabiting tree hollow microhabitats within Mediterranean woodlands are highly dependent on woodland configuration and on microhabitat supply they harbor, so can be studied under the network analysis perspective. We assessed the differences in interacting patterns according to woodland site, and analysed the importance of functional species in modelling network architecture. We then evaluated their implications for saproxylic assemblages’ persistence, through simulations of three possible scenarios of loss of tree hollow microhabitat. Tree hollow-saproxylic insect networks per woodland site presented a significant nested pattern. Those woodlands with higher complexity of tree individuals and tree hollow microhabitats also housed higher species/interactions diversity and complexity of saproxylic networks, and exhibited a higher degree of nestedness, suggesting that a higher woodland complexity positively influences saproxylic diversity and interaction complexity, thus determining higher degree of nestedness. Moreover, the number of insects acting as key interconnectors (nodes falling into the core region, using core/periphery tests) was similar among woodland sites, but the species identity varied on each. Such differences in insect core composition among woodland sites suggest the functional role they depict at woodland scale. Tree hollows acting as core corresponded with large tree hollows near the ground and simultaneously housing various breeding microsites, whereas core insects were species mediating relevant ecological interactions within saproxylic communities, e.g. predation, competitive or facilitation interactions. Differences in network patterns and tree hollow characteristics among woodland sites clearly defined different sensitivity to microhabitat loss, and higher saproxylic diversity and woodland complexity showed positive relation with robustness. These results highlight that woodland complexity goes hand in hand with biotic and ecological complexity of saproxylic networks, and together exhibited positive effects on network robustness.The research Projects I+D CGL2011-23658 y CGL2012-31669 of the Spanish Minister of Science provided economic support

SNAKE AS FUNCTIONAL FOOD BY ARFAK TRIBE COMMUNITY IN MANOKWARI REGENCY PAPUA BARAT

The Arfak tribe has utilized snakes as functional food for generations. This study aims to describe the pattern of the snake utilization as functional food. This research was conducted using Descriptive Method with semi-structured interview and observation. Data collection was performed in 27 villages in Manokwari Regency. Data analysis was carried out qualitatively and quantitatively. The results showed that the Arfak tribe has utilised five species of snakes as functional food, which are Leiophython albertisii, Apodora papuana, Morelia amethystine, Morelia viridis, and Micropechis ikaheka. The utilised parts are meat, fat and bile. The health benefits of snakes are grouped into four categories, namely curing diseases of the respiratory tract, skin diseases, chronic diseases and increasing body strength and vitality. Although snakes have been utilized and are believed to have health benefits, issues related to zoonosis and the absence of comprehensive studies showing the effectiveness of snakes as medicine have resulted in the utilization of snakes as functional food has been debatable