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An estimation of where forest fragmentation is likely to occur is critically important for improving the integrity of the forest landscape. We prepare a forest fragmentation susceptibility map for the first time by developing an integrated model and identify its causative factors in the forest landscape. Our proposed model is based upon the synergistic use of the earth observation data, forest fragmentation approach, patch forests, causative factors, and the weight-of-evidence (WOE) method in a Geographical Information System (GIS) platform. We evaluate the applicability of the proposed model in the Indian Himalayan region, a region of rich biodiversity and environmental significance in the Indian subcontinent. To obtain a forest fragmentation susceptibility map, we used patch forests as past evidence of completely degraded forests. Subsequently, we used these patch forests in the WOE method to assign the standardized weight value to each class of causative factors tested by the Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) method. Finally, we prepare a forest fragmentation susceptibility map and classify it into five levels: very low, low, medium, high, and very high and test its validity using 30% randomly selected patch forests. Our study reveals that around 40% of the study area is highly susceptible to forest fragmentation. This study identifies that forest fragmentation is more likely to occur if proximity to built-up areas, roads, agricultural lands, and streams is low, whereas it is less likely to occur in higher altitude zones (more than 2000 m a.s.l.). Additionally, forest fragmentation will likely occur in areas mainly facing south, east, southwest, and southeast directions and on very gentle and gentle slopes (less than 25 degrees). This study identifies Himalayan moist temperate and pine forests as being likely to be most affected by forest fragmentation in the future. The results suggest that the study area would experience more forest fragmentation in the future, meaning loss of forest landscape integrity and rich biodiversity in the Indian Himalayan region. Our integrated model achieved a prediction accuracy of 88.7%, indicating good accuracy of the model. This study will be helpful to minimize forest fragmentation and improve the integrity of the forest landscape by implementing forest restoration and reforestation schemes.

The Garhwal Himalaya has experienced extensive deforestation and forest fragmentation, but data and documentation detailing this transformation of the Himalaya are limited. The aim of this study is to analyse the observed changes in land cover and forest fragmentation that occurred between 1976 and 2014 in the Garhwal Himalayan region in India. Three images from Landsat 2 Multispectral Scanner System (MSS), Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM), and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) were used to extract the land cover maps. A cross-tabulation detection method in the geographic information system (GIS) module was used to detect land cover changes during the 1st period (1976–1998) and 2nd period (1998–2014). The landscape fragmentation tool LFT v2.0 was used to construct a forest fragmentation map and analyse the forest fragmentation pattern and change during the 1st period (1976–1998) and 2nd period (1998–2014). The overall annual rate of change in the forest cover was observed to be 0.22% and 0.27% in the 1st period (1976–1998) and 2nd period (1998–2014), respectively. The forest fragmentation analysis shows that a large core forest has decreased throughout the study period. The total area of forest patches also increased from 1976 to 2014, which are completely degraded forests. The results indicate that anthropogenic activities are the main causes of the loss of forest cover and forest fragmentation, but that natural factors also contributed. An increase in the area of scrub and barren land also contributed to the accumulation of wasteland or non-forest land in this region. Determining the trend and the rate of land cover conversion is necessary for development planners to establish a rational land use policy.

We evaluated the structure of a community of frugivorous bats using composition and abundance patterns, niche amplitude and food overlap of these animals in four Atlantic Forest fragments, each one exposed to different conservation realities. For twelve months, we captured six bat species and found the seeds of 13 species of pioneering plants in 158 fecal samples. The most abundant bat species were Artibeus planirostris (25.4%), Artibeus lituratus (24.1%) and Carollia perspicillata (23.9%). Only one fragment (Fazenda Unida), the most conserved area, exhibited a significantly different composition and abundance of species. We found low trophic niche amplitude values (<0.60), associated to high food overlaps. Our results suggest that bats can adjust their foraging strategy to deal with food availability variations. By favoring pioneering plant species, the fragmentation process noted of the studied areas creates an attractive environment for bats more tolerant to this type of disturbance. The sampled areas represent important secondary forest remnants in southern Brazil that require attention to avoid an even greater loss of bat diversity.

Context Mountaintop removal/valley fill (MTR/VF) mining in the central Appalachians is a major driver of landscape change within terrestrial ecosystems. Objective We quantified avian community and individual taxa thresholds in response to changing landscapes from MTR/VF using a Threshold Indicator Taxa Analysis approach. Methods We conducted 50-m fixed radius avian surveys (n = 707) within forest adjacent to mine lands in 2012–2013 and obtained data for additional surveys (n = 905) sampled using comparable methods during 2008–2013. We quantified positive and negative community, habitat guild, and species thresholds in abundance and occurrence for each of five landscape metrics within a 1-km radius of each survey point. Results Reclaimed mine-dominated landscapes (less forest and more grassland/shrubland cover) elicited more negative (57 %) than positive (39 %) species responses. Negative thresholds for each landscape metric generally occurred at lower values than positive thresholds, thus negatively responding species were detrimentally affected before positively responding species benefitted. Forest interior birds generally responded negatively to landscape metric thresholds, interior edge species responses were mixed, and early successional birds responded positively. The forest interior guild declined most at 4 % forest loss, while the shrubland guild increased greatest after 52 % loss. Based on random forest importance ranks, total amount of landscape grassland/shrubland had the most influence, although this varied by guild. Conclusions Because of little overlap in habitat requirements, managing landscapes simultaneously to maximally benefit both guilds may not be possible. Our avian thresholds identify single community management targets accounting for scarce species. Guild or individual species thresholds allow for species-specific management.

Opportunities to conduct large-scale field experiments are rare, but provide a unique opportunity to reveal the complex processes that operate within natural ecosystems. Here, we review the design of existing, large-scale forest fragmentation experiments. Based on this review, we develop a design for the Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystems (SAFE) Project, a new forest fragmentation experiment to be located in the lowland tropical forests of Borneo (Sabah, Malaysia). The SAFE Project represents an advance on existing experiments in that it: (i) allows discrimination of the effects of landscape-level forest cover from patch-level processes; (ii) is designed to facilitate the unification of a wide range of data types on ecological patterns and processes that operate over a wide range of spatial scales; (iii) has greater replication than existing experiments; (iv) incorporates an experimental manipulation of riparian corridors; and (v) embeds the experimentally fragmented landscape within a wider gradient of land-use intensity than do existing projects. The SAFE Project represents an opportunity for ecologists across disciplines to participate in a large initiative designed to generate a broad understanding of the ecological impacts of tropical forest modification.

Changes in weather and land use are transforming the spatial and temporal characteristics of fire regimes in Amazonia, with important effects on the functioning of dense (i.e., closed-canopy), open-canopy, and transitional forests across the Basin. To quantify, document, and describe the characteristics and recent changes in forest fire regimes, we sampled 6 million ha of these three representative forests of the eastern and southern edges of the Amazon using 24 years (1983-2007) of satellite-derived annual forest fire scar maps and 16 years of monthly hot pixel information (1992-2007). Our results reveal that changes in forest fire regime properties differentially affected these three forest types in terms of area burned and fire scar size, frequency, and seasonality. During the study period, forest fires burned 15% (0.3 million ha), 44% (1 million ha), and 46% (0.6 million ha) of dense, open, and transitional forests, respectively. Total forest area burned and fire scar size tended to increase over time (even in years of average rainfall in open canopy and transitional forests). In dense forests, most of the temporal variability in fire regime properties was linked to El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-related droughts. Compared with dense forests, transitional and open forests experienced fires twice as frequently, with at least 20% of these forests' areas burning two or more times during the 24-year study period. Open and transitional forests also experienced higher deforestation rates than dense forests. During drier years, the end of the dry season was delayed by about a month, which resulted in larger burn scars and increases in overall area burned later in the season. These observations suggest that climate-mediated forest flammability is enhanced by landscape fragmentation caused by deforestation, as observed for open and transitional forests in the Eastern portion of the Amazon Basin.

Loss of natural forests by forest clearcutting has been identified as a critical conservation challenge worldwide. This study addressed forest fragmentation and loss in the context of the establishment of a functional green infrastructure as a spatiotemporally connected landscape-scale network of habitats enhancing biodiversity, favorable conservation status, and ecosystem services. Through retrospective analysis of satellite images, we assessed a 50- to 60-year spatiotemporal clearcutting impact trajectory on natural and near-natural boreal forests across a sizable and representative region from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Scandinavian Mountain Range in northern Fennoscandia. This period broadly covers the whole forest clearcutting period; thus, our approach and results can be applied to comprehensive impact assessment of industrial forest management. The entire study region covers close to 46,000 km² of forest-dominated landscape in a late phase of transition from a natural or near-natural to a land-use modified state. We found a substantial loss of intact forest, in particular of large, contiguous areas, a spatial polarization of remaining forest on regional scale where the inland has been more severely affected than the mountain and coastal zones, and a pronounced impact on interior forest core areas. Salient results were a decrease in area of the largest intact forest patch from 225,853 to 68,714 ha in the mountain zone and from 257,715 to 38,668 ha in the foothills zone, a decrease from 75% to 38% intact forest in the inland zones, a decrease in largest patch core area (assessed by considering 100-m patch edge disturbance) from 6114 to 351 ha in the coastal zone, and a geographic imbalance in protected forest with an evident predominance in the mountain zone. These results demonstrate profound disturbance of configuration of the natural forest landscape and disrupted connectivity, which challenges the establishment of functional green infrastructure. Our approach supports the identification of forests for expanded protection and conservation-oriented forest landscape restoration. La pérdida de bosques naturales por causa de la tala uniforme de árboles en los mismos ha sido identificada como unreto muyimportantepara la conservación global. Esteestudioabordó la fragmentación y pérdida de bosques en el contexto del establecimiento de una infraestructura verde funcional como una red de hábitats a escala de paisaje conectados espacio-temporalmente que mejoren la biodiversidad, los estados favorables de conservación y los servicios ambientales. Por medio de un análisis retrospectivo de imágenes satelitales evaluamos una trayectoria de impacto espacio-temporal de 50 a 60 años de tala uniforme sobre bosques boreales naturales y casi naturales en una región considerable y representativa desde el Golfo de Botnia hasta la Cordillera Escandinava en el norte de Fenoescandia. Este rango cubre todo el periodo de tala uniforme en el bosque en términos generales; por lo tanto, nuestra metodología y resultados pueden aplicarse a la evaluación completa del impacto del manejo industrial de bosques. Toda la región de estudio cubría hasta 46,000 km² de paisaje dominado por bosque en una etapa tardía de la transición entre el estado natural o casi natural y el estado de uso de suelo modificado. Encontramos una pérdida sustancial de bosque intacto, particularmente para áreas grandes y contiguas, una polarización espacial del bosque restantea una escala regional en la que tierra adentro hay mayores afectaciones que en las zonas montañosas y costeras, y un impacto pronunciado sobre las áreas nucleares de los bosques interiores. Los resultados salientes fueron una disminución en el área del fragmento más grande de bosque intacto de 225, 853 a 68, 714 ha en la zona montañosa y de 257, 715 a 38, 668 ha en la zona de pie de monte, una disminución del 75% al 38% de bosque intacto en las zonas tierra adentro, una disminución en el área nuclear del fragmento más grande (valorada al considerar 100-m de perturbación al borde del fragmento) de 6, 114 a 351 ha en la zona costera, y un desbalance geográfico en los bosques protegidos con una evidente mayoría en la zona montañosa. Estos resultados demuestran una perturbación profunda de la configuración del paisaje de bosque natural y una conectividad interrumpida, lo que presenta un reto para el establecimiento de una infraestructura verde funcional. Nuestro enfoque sustenta la identificación de bosques para su protección expandida y la restauración del paisaje de bosque orientada hacia la conservación. 森林皆伐造成的自然森林丧失被认为是全世界面胳的重要保护挑战。功能性绿色基础设施是提高生物多 样性、保护状况和生态系统服务的时空上连接的景观尺度生境网络 本研究关注其建设中的森林破碎化和森林 丧失同题。通过分析卫星图像, 我们评估7\"芬诺斯坎通亚 (Fennoscancdia) 北部波的尼亚湾 (Gulf of Bothnia) 到 斯堪的纳维亚山脉(Scandinavian Mountain Range)大面积有代表性的自然和接近自然的北方森林受到 50-60 年森林皆伐的影响轨迹。这一时间段大致包括了整个森林皆伐期，因此我们的方法和结果可以应用于工业森林 管理的综合影响评估。整个研究区域覆盖了近紙000平方公里以森林为主的景風处于自然或接近自然的景 观向人为改造的土地利用类型过渡的后期。我们发现原始森林严重丧失，特别是大面积的连续区域，_ 余的森林 在区域尺度上发生空间的两极分化，其中内陆比山区和沿海地区受到更为严重的影响，内部森林核心区也受到明 显影响。突出的结果包括:山区最大的原始森林斑块面积从225,853公顷减少到 68,714 公埂而在山麓地区 从 257,715 公現滅少到38,668 公埂, 内陆地区从 75% 减少到 38%, 最大的斑块核心区域面积减少(根据 6,114 公顷到 351 公顷的沿海地区 100 米斑块边缘干扰的评估结果X 以及受保护森林的地理分布不平衡(主要在山 区) 。这些结果表明，自然森林景观配置受到严重干抵连接度受到破坏，这对建设功能性绿色基础设施提出了 挑战。我们的方法有助于确定扩大保护及进行保护导向的森林景观恢复的森林范围。

Annual deforestation rates in the Brazilian Amazon fell by 77% between 2004 and 2011, yet have stabilized since 2009 at 5,000–7,000 km ². We provide the first submunicipality assessment, to our knowledge, of actor-specific contributions to the deforestation slowdown by linking agricultural census and remote-sensing data on deforestation and forest degradation. Almost half (36,158 km ²) of the deforestation between 2004 and 2011 occurred in areas dominated by larger properties (>500 ha), whereas only 12% (9,720 km ²) occurred in areas dominated by smallholder properties (<100 ha). In addition, forests in areas dominated by smallholders tend to be less fragmented and less degraded. However, although annual deforestation rates fell during this period by 68–85% for all actors, the contribution of the largest landholders (>2,500 ha) to annual deforestation decreased over time (63% decrease between 2005 and 2011), whereas that of smallholders went up by a similar amount (69%) during the same period. In addition, the deforestation share attributable to remote areas increased by 88% between 2009 and 2011. These observations are consistent across the Brazilian Amazon, regardless of geographical differences in actor dominance or socioenvironmental context. Our findings suggest that deforestation policies to date, which have been particularly focused on command and control measures on larger properties in deforestation hotspots, may be increasingly limited in their effectiveness and fail to address all actors equally. Further reductions in deforestation are likely to be increasingly costly and require actor-tailored approaches, including better monitoring to detect small-scale deforestation and a shift toward more incentive-based conservation policies. Significance The Brazilian Amazon is at a critical juncture after the recent stabilization of deforestation rates. Identifying opportunities for continued deforestation reductions requires an understanding of the contribution of different actors to overall deforestation. We provide the first such assessment, to our knowledge, that reports on two headline findings. First, between 2004 and 2011, areas dominated by properties larger than 500 ha accounted for 48% of the deforestation compared with only 12% for smallholders (<100 ha). Second, the deforestation share attributed to the largest properties (≥2,500 ha) declined by 63% from a peak in 2005, whereas that of smallholders increased by 69%. Further reductions in deforestation are likely to require a shift toward more incentive-based policies that are tailored toward different actors.

Global biodiversity is increasingly threatened by land-use change, but the direct and indirect drivers of species diversity in human-modified tropical landscapes are poorly known. Forest-dependent species are expected to be particularly sensitive to changes in landscape composition (e.g., forest loss) and configuration (e.g., increase of forest edges), both directly and indirectly through cascading landscape effects on local patterns of forest structure and resource availability. In contrast, non-forest-dependent species are probably more strongly related to landscape changes than to local forest patterns, as these species are able to use resources not only from the forest, but also from other landscape elements over larger spatial scales. We tested these hypotheses using structural equation modeling. In particular, we sampled 20 landscapes (115 ha each) from the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest to assess the effect of landscape-scale forest cover and amount of forest edges on the diversity of frugivorous birds, both directly and indirectly through the effect that these landscape variables may have on vegetation complexity and fruit biomass. We separately assessed the response of forest-dependent and non-forest-dependent frugivores to infer potential mechanisms underlying bird assemblages in fragmented landscapes. The diversity of forest-dependent birds mainly decreased with the simplification of vegetation complexity in more deforested landscapes, but increased with increasing fruit biomass in more forested landscapes (indirect effects). Both patterns were significant, thus supporting a strong bottom-up control, i.e., local habitat simplification and resource scarcity in highly deforested landscapes limits the maintenance of forest-dependent birds. Conversely, but as expected, non-forest-dependent birds were more strongly and directly related to landscape-scale patterns. In particular, landscapes with higher forest edge amount showed higher bird species diversity, probably because the increasing length of ecotones and interspersion/juxtaposition of different habitat types in landscapes with more forest edges can increase resource availability and foraging efficiency of non-forest-dependent birds. As the seed dispersal services offered by forest-dependent species cannot be ecologically compensated for by the proliferation of non-forest-dependent species, preventing forest loss is imperative to maintain forest-dependent birds and forest regeneration in this vanishing biodiversity hotspot.

Habitat loss and fragmentation are among the biggest threats to biodiversity. Anthropogenic habitat fragmentation leads to small and isolated remnant plant and animal populations. The combination of increased random genetic drift, inbreeding, and reduced gene flow may substantially reduce genetic variation of remnant populations. However, the magnitude of these responses may depend on several poorly understood factors including organism group, habitat type of both the fragment and the surrounding matrix, life‐history traits, and time since fragmentation. We compiled data for 83 plant and 52 animal species and conducted a meta‐analysis following best practices to evaluate how these factors mediate the effects of anthropogenic habitat fragmentation. We calculated 206 effect sizes as correlations between one of four measures of population‐level genetic diversity and fragment area. All analyses were repeated using models of increasing complexity (traditional random‐effects models, multilevel models accounting for non‐independent data, and multilevel models additionally correcting for phylogenetic relatedness). We confirmed that anthropogenic habitat fragmentation has overall negative effects on genetic diversity of organisms. Our meta‐analysis shows, however, that plant species responded in general stronger to fragmentation than animal species and that the largest negative impacts of fragmentation occurred in tropical and temperate forest fragments, surrounded by a non‐forest matrix. In contrast, we found only weak responses in non‐forest fragments. Genetic diversity measured as mean number of alleles (A) showed the strongest response to fragmentation. Expected heterozygosity (He) and percentage of polymorphic loci (PLP) showed similar but weaker responses. In contrast, our meta‐analysis indicated that inbreeding (Fis) was not measurably affected by anthropogenic habitat fragmentation. Additionally, our models revealed that effects on genetic diversity became stronger with age of fragments: We found significant negative responses for fragments older than 50 yr but not for those more recently isolated. Our meta‐analyses also showed that currently animals are underrepresented in the literature on genetic effects of anthropogenic fragmentation, as are certain geographical regions and habitat types. We expect that future field studies using state‐of‐the‐art approaches will provide further evidence of negative genetic effects, which may reinforce the here reported patterns, even for groups not yet studied.