Habitat fragmentation and its lasting impact on Earth’s ecosystems
Nick M. Haddad,Lars A. Brudvig,Jean Clobert,Kendi F. Davies,Andrew Gonzalez,Robert D. Holt,Thomas E. Lovejoy,Joseph O. Sexton,Mike P. Austin,Cathy D. Collins,William M. Cook,Ellen I. Damschen,Robert M. Ewers,Bryan L. Foster,Clinton N. Jenkins,Andrew J. King,William F. Laurance,Douglas J. Levey,Chris Margules,Chris Margules,Brett A. Melbourne,A. O. Nicholls,A. O. Nicholls,John L. Orrock,Dan-Xia Song,John R. Townshend +25 more
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TLDR
An analysis of global forest cover is conducted to reveal that 70% of remaining forest is within 1 km of the forest’s edge, subject to the degrading effects of fragmentation, indicating an urgent need for conservation and restoration measures to improve landscape connectivity.Abstract:
We conducted an analysis of global forest cover to reveal that 70% of remaining forest is within 1 km of the forest’s edge, subject to the degrading effects of fragmentation. A synthesis of fragmentation experiments spanning multiple biomes and scales, five continents, and 35 year sd emonstrates that habitatfragmentation reduces biodiversity by 13 to 75% and impairs key ecosystem functions by decreasing biomass and altering nutrient cycles. Effects are greatest in the smallest and most isolated fragments, and they magnify with the passage of time. These findings indicate an urgent need for conservation and restoration measures to improve landscape connectivity, which will reduce extinction rates and help maintain ecosystem services.read more
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The super-rich and cropland expansion via direct investments in agriculture
TL;DR: In this article, the authors show how, over the period 1991-2014, the large amount of wealth in the hands of high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) stimulated foreign direct investments in agriculture in Latin America and Southeast Asia, in turn driving the expansion of flex-crops areas.
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Large-scale commodity agriculture exacerbates the climatic impacts of Amazonian deforestation.
Eduardo Eiji Maeda,Temesgen Alemayehu Abera,Mika Siljander,Luiz E. O. C. Aragão,Luiz E. O. C. Aragão,Yhasmin Mendes de Moura,Janne Heiskanen +6 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluated the impacts of large-scale commodity farming and rural settlements on surface temperature, rainfall patterns, and energy fluxes in the Amazon rainforest, and found that changes in land-atmosphere coupling are induced not only by deforestation size but also, by land use type and management patterns inside the deforested areas.
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Hotspots of land-use change in global biodiversity hotspots
TL;DR: In this article, a human land use disturbance index (LDI) was proposed to assess habitat loss and fragmentation in global biodiversity hotspots from 1992 to 2015, where negative and positive LDIs were defined.
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How does forest fragmentation affect tree communities? A critical case study in the biodiversity hotspot of New Caledonia
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors studied the effect of habitat configuration and availability on tree communities and found that the distance from the forest edge was the variable that explained the greatest observed variance in tree assemblages.
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Recent climate change is creating hotspots of butterfly increase and decline across North America
Michael S. Crossley,Olivia M. Smith,Lauren L. Berry,Robert Phillips-Cosio,Jeffrey Glassberg,Kaylen M. Holman,Jacquelin G. Holmquest,Amanda R. Meier,Sofia Varriano,Maureen R. McClung,Matthew D. Moran,William E. Snyder +11 more
TL;DR: This paper examined abundance and biodiversity trends for North American butterflies using a unique citizen-science dataset that has recorded observations of over 8 million butterflies across 456 species, 503 sites, nine ecoregions, and 26 years.
References
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Book
The Theory of Island Biogeography
TL;DR: The Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201
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High-Resolution Global Maps of 21st-Century Forest Cover Change
Matthew C. Hansen,Peter Potapov,Rebecca Moore,M. Hancher,Svetlana Turubanova,Alexandra Tyukavina,David Thau,Stephen V. Stehman,Scott J. Goetz,Thomas R. Loveland,Anil Kommareddy,A. Egorov,Louise Chini,Christopher O. Justice,John R. Townshend +14 more
TL;DR: Intensive forestry practiced within subtropical forests resulted in the highest rates of forest change globally, and boreal forest loss due largely to fire and forestry was second to that in the tropics in absolute and proportional terms.
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Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World: A New Map of Life on Earth
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Effects of Habitat Fragmentation on Biodiversity
TL;DR: In this article, the authors suggest that the term "fragmentation" should be reserved for the breaking apart of habitat, independent of habitat loss, and that fragmentation per se has much weaker effects on biodiversity that are at least as likely to be positive as negative.
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Solutions for a cultivated planet
Jonathan A. Foley,Navin Ramankutty,Kate A. Brauman,E. S. Cassidy,James S. Gerber,M. Johnston,Nathaniel D. Mueller,Christine S. O’Connell,Deepak K. Ray,Paul C. West,Christian Balzer,Elena M. Bennett,Stephen R. Carpenter,Jason Hill,Chad Monfreda,Stephen Polasky,Johan Rockström,John Sheehan,Stefan Siebert,David Tilman,David P. M. Zaks +20 more
TL;DR: It is shown that tremendous progress could be made by halting agricultural expansion, closing ‘yield gaps’ on underperforming lands, increasing cropping efficiency, shifting diets and reducing waste, which could double food production while greatly reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture.