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Wu Y, Zhang W, Wang Y, Zhao S, Tian J, Shi J, Yang X, Cui P. Effects of Landscape Context on Bird Community in the Subtropical Evergreen Broad-Leaved Forest of Wuyishan National Park. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13081294. [PMID: 37106857 PMCID: PMC10134990 DOI: 10.3390/ani13081294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Revised: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 04/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Landscape context can reflect the habitat structure and play an important role in bird species occurrences and abundance. For local biodiversity conservation and restoration, we examined the effects of landscape context on bird communities at different altitude gradients. Our study was conducted in four altitude gradients (<300 m, 300-599 m, 600-899 m, 900-1200 m) of subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest in Wuyishan National Park, China. The bird survey was carried out in 115 transects in spring, summer, autumn and winter. We examined the effects of altitude, season and landscape context. The result showed that (1) species richness and abundance at <300 m altitude were highest among the four altitude gradients, and they showed more significant differences than those at other altitude gradients; (2) the species richness of birds was associated with altitude, season and landscape context, as the season is more significant than other explanatory variables; (3) at the landscape level, habitat configuration is more important. The average canopy height and contagion index positively correlated with the species richness and abundance of birds at all four altitude gradients. In particular, the average canopy height is significant at 300-599 m and 600-899 m altitude gradients. The study results can provide a theoretical basis and guidance for future national park conservation and management and ecological restoration in the subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Wu
- Research Center for Biodiversity Conservation and Biosafety, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory on Biosafety, State Environmental Protection Scientific Observation and Research Station for Ecological Environment of Wuyi Mountains, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, China
| | - Wenwen Zhang
- Research Center for Biodiversity Conservation and Biosafety, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory on Biosafety, State Environmental Protection Scientific Observation and Research Station for Ecological Environment of Wuyi Mountains, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, China
| | - Yifei Wang
- School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Shengjun Zhao
- Research Center for Biodiversity Conservation and Biosafety, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory on Biosafety, State Environmental Protection Scientific Observation and Research Station for Ecological Environment of Wuyi Mountains, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, China
| | - Jing Tian
- Research Center for Biodiversity Conservation and Biosafety, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory on Biosafety, State Environmental Protection Scientific Observation and Research Station for Ecological Environment of Wuyi Mountains, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, China
| | - Jie Shi
- Research Center for Biodiversity Conservation and Biosafety, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory on Biosafety, State Environmental Protection Scientific Observation and Research Station for Ecological Environment of Wuyi Mountains, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, China
| | - Xiao Yang
- Research Center for Biodiversity Conservation and Biosafety, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory on Biosafety, State Environmental Protection Scientific Observation and Research Station for Ecological Environment of Wuyi Mountains, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, China
| | - Peng Cui
- Research Center for Biodiversity Conservation and Biosafety, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory on Biosafety, State Environmental Protection Scientific Observation and Research Station for Ecological Environment of Wuyi Mountains, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, China
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Liu W, Yu D, Yuan S, Yi J, Cao Y, Li X, Xu H. Effects of spatial fragmentation on the elevational distribution of bird diversity in a mountain adjacent to urban areas. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9051. [PMID: 35813928 PMCID: PMC9251884 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The biodiversity in mountainous ecosystems is high but is threatened by rapid environmental change. Urbanization and other anthropogenic factors in the mountains can affect land use and spatial fragmentation. Moreover, patterns of habitat are closely related to elevation and have a major effect on montane biodiversity. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of spatial fragmentation on the vertical distribution pattern of bird diversity by characterizing the structure of the bird community, species diversity, and landscape factors at different altitudes. From 2016 to 2019, this study made a four years of continuous monitoring of the breeding birds. The result indicated that Mount Tai harbored a high bird diversity. Bird richness, abundance, and Shannon-Wiener index decreased with latitude in Mount Tai monotonically. Moreover, the structure of bird communities varied along altitudinal gradients, and some special species were supported in different elevational bands due to the environmental filtering. Road density, number of habitat patches, patch density, and the percentage of forest were significantly related to bird diversity. Sufficient habitat and more patches in the low-mountain belt supported higher bird diversity. The middle-mountain belt and high-mountain belt showed contrasting patterns. Our results highlight the effects of on-going urbanization and human activities on montane biodiversity and emphasize the need for artificial habitats in the mountains to be managed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Liu
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental ScienceMinistry of Ecological EnvironmentNanjingChina
- College of Marine Life Sciences and Frontiers Science Center for Deep Multispheres and Earth SystemOcean University of ChinaQingdaoChina
| | - Dandan Yu
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental ScienceMinistry of Ecological EnvironmentNanjingChina
| | - Sijia Yuan
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and BiotechnologyCollege of Life SciencesNanjing Normal UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Jianfeng Yi
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental ScienceMinistry of Ecological EnvironmentNanjingChina
| | - Yun Cao
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental ScienceMinistry of Ecological EnvironmentNanjingChina
| | - Xiufen Li
- Taian Taishan Mountain Beauty Spot Management CommitteeTaianChina
| | - Haigen Xu
- Nanjing Institute of Environmental ScienceMinistry of Ecological EnvironmentNanjingChina
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Warudkar A, Goyal N, Kher V, Vinay KL, Chanda R, Bandi RS, Jenkins CN, Robin VV, Pimm S. Using the area of habitat to assess the extent of protection of India's birds. Biotropica 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.13132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ashwin Warudkar
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Tirupati Tirupati India
| | - Naman Goyal
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Tirupati Tirupati India
| | - Varun Kher
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Tirupati Tirupati India
- Wildlife Institute of India Dehradun Uttarakhand India
| | - K. L. Vinay
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Tirupati Tirupati India
- Salim Ali Center for Ornithology and Natural History Coimbatore India
| | - Ritobroto Chanda
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Tirupati Tirupati India
- Centre for Ecological Sciences Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru India
| | - Raja Sekhar Bandi
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Tirupati Tirupati India
| | - Clinton N. Jenkins
- Department of Earth and Environment & Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center Florida International University Miami Florida USA
| | - V. V. Robin
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Tirupati Tirupati India
| | - Stuart L. Pimm
- Nicholas School of the Environment Durham North Carolina USA
- Saving Nature Durham North Carolina USA
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Arasumani M, Singh A, Bunyan M, Robin VV. Testing the efficacy of hyperspectral (AVIRIS-NG), multispectral (Sentinel-2) and radar (Sentinel-1) remote sensing images to detect native and invasive non-native trees. Biol Invasions 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-021-02543-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/29/2022]
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Arasumani M, Bunyan M, Robin VV. Opportunities and challenges in using remote sensing for invasive tree species management, and in the identification of restoration sites in tropical montane grasslands. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2021; 280:111759. [PMID: 33298397 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2020] [Revised: 11/23/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Tropical montane grasslands (TMG) support biodiverse and endemic taxa and provide vital ecosystem services to downstream communities. Nevertheless, invasive alien tree species across the world have threatened tropical grasslands and grassland endemic species. In India, TMG in the Shola Sky Islands of the Western Ghats have been reduced due to exotic tree invasions (Acacias, Pines, and Eucalyptus species). The loss of grassland habitat has, in turn, reduced the range sizes of species endemic to grasslands (plants, birds, amphibians, and mammals), driving some populations to local extinction. Grassland conversion to exotic trees has also impacted ecosystem services in the Western Ghats. Conserving existing grassland and restoring invaded habitat is critical to reverse these losses. This research focused on identifying grassland restoration sites using satellite images with a high spatial resolution (RapidEye). We used an object-oriented Random Forest classification to map the area for grassland restoration. We identified an area of 254 sq. km. as suitable for grassland restoration and an area of 362 sq. km. for grassland conservation and preventing invasion by exotic tree species. For restoration, we recommend careful removal of young and isolated exotic trees at the invasion front and restoring grasslands, instead of removing dense stands of mature exotic trees. Although our limited data indicate that areas with low fire frequency tend to be invaded, and areas invaded by exotic trees tend to burn at higher intensities, we recommend a broader investigation of these patterns to critically examine a potential role for the use of fire in invasive species management. We assume that removing exotic tree species in the identified restoration sites and restoring the grassland will help recover lost habitat and ensure the viability of indigenous and endemic species and increase streamflow.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Arasumani
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati, Transit Campus, Karakambadi Road, Andhra Pradesh, 517507, India.
| | - Milind Bunyan
- Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Royal Enclave, Sriramapura, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560064, India
| | - V V Robin
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati, Transit Campus, Karakambadi Road, Andhra Pradesh, 517507, India
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