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Identifying hotspots for ecosystem restoration across heterogeneous tropical savannah-dominated regions.

ABSTRACT: There is high potential for ecosystem restoration across tropical savannah-dominated regions, but the benefits that could be gained from this restoration are rarely assessed. This study focuses on the Brazilian Cerrado, a highly species-rich savannah-dominated region, as an exemplar to review potential restoration benefits using three metrics: net biomass gains, plant species richness and ability to connect restored and native vegetation. Localized estimates of the most appropriate restoration vegetation type (grassland, savannah, woodland/forest) for pasturelands are produced. Carbon sequestration potential is significant for savannah and woodland/forest restoration in the seasonally dry tropics (net biomass gains of 58.2 ± 37.7 and 130.0 ± 69.4 Mg ha^-1). Modelled restoration species richness gains were highest in the central and south-east of the Cerrado for savannahs and grasslands, and in the west and north-west for woodlands/forests. The potential to initiate restoration projects across the whole of the Cerrado is high and four hotspot areas are identified. We demonstrate that landscape restoration across all vegetation types within heterogeneous tropical savannah-dominated regions can maximize biodiversity and carbon gains. However, conservation of existing vegetation is essential to minimizing the cost and improving the chances of restoration success. This article is part of the theme issue 'Understanding forest landscape restoration: reinforcing scientific foundations for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration'.

SUBMITTER: Lewis K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9661949 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Identifying hotspots for ecosystem restoration across heterogeneous tropical savannah-dominated regions.

Lewis Kennedy K Barros Fernanda de V FV Moonlight Peter W PW Hill Timothy C TC Oliveira Rafael S RS Schmidt Isabel B IB Sampaio Alexandre B AB Pennington R Toby RT Rowland Lucy L

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences 20221114 1867

There is high potential for ecosystem restoration across tropical savannah-dominated regions, but the benefits that could be gained from this restoration are rarely assessed. This study focuses on the Brazilian Cerrado, a highly species-rich savannah-dominated region, as an exemplar to review potential restoration benefits using three metrics: net biomass gains, plant species richness and ability to connect restored and native vegetation. Localized estimates of the most appropriate restoration v ...[more]

PMID: 36373925

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Project description:BackgroundInterspecific interactions play an important role in determining species richness and persistence in a given locality. However at some sites, the studies, especially for interaction networks on adult butterflies are scarce. The present study aimed the following objectives: (1) determine butterfly species richness and diversity that visit flowering plants, (2) compare species richness and diversity in butterfly-plant interactions among six different vegetation types and (3) analyze the structure of butterfly-flowering plant interaction networks mediated by flowers.MethodsThe study was developed in six vegetation types within the natural reserve of La Mancha, located in Veracruz, Mexico. In each vegetation type, we recorded the frequency of flower visits by butterflies monthly in round plots (of radius 5 m) for 12 months. We calculated Shannon diversity for butterfly species and diversity of interactions per vegetation type. We determined the classic Jaccard similarity index among vegetation types and estimated parameters at network and species-level.ResultsWe found 123 species of butterflies belonging to 11 families and 87 genera. The highest number of species belonged to Hesperiidae (46 species), followed by Nymphalidae (28) and Pieridae (14). The highest butterfly diversity and interaction diversity was observed in pioneer dune vegetation (PDV), coastal dune scrub (CDS) and tropical deciduous flooding forest and wetland (TDF-W). The same order of vegetation types was found for interaction diversity. Highest species similarity was found between PDV-CDS and PDV-TDF. The butterfly-plant interaction network showed a nested structure with one module. The species Ascia monuste, Euptoieta hegesia and Leptotes cassius were the most generalist in the network, while Horama oedippus, E. hegesia, and L. cassius were the species with highest dependencies per plant species.DiscussionOur study is important because it constitutes a pioneer study of butterfly-plant interactions in this protected area, at least for adult butterflies; it shows the diversity of interactions among flowering plants and butterflies. Our research constitutes the first approach (at a community level) to explore the functional role of pollination services that butterflies provide to plant communities. We highlighted that open areas show a higher diversity and these areas shared a higher number of species that shaded sites. In the interaction networks parameters, our results highlighted the higher dependence of butterflies by the flowers on which they feed than vice versa. In conclusion, the plant species (as a feeding resource) seem to limit the presence of butterfly species. Thus, this protected area is highly relevant for Lepidoptera diversity and the interaction between these insects and flowering plants. We suggest that studying plant and butterfly diversity in tropical habitats will provide insight into their interspecific interactions and community structure.

Project description:Agricultural expansion and intensification are major threats to global biodiversity, ecological functions, and ecosystem services. The rapid expansion of oil palm in forested tropical landscapes is of particular concern given their high biodiversity. Identifying management approaches that maintain native species and associated ecological processes within oil palm plantations is therefore a priority. Riparian reserves are strips of forest retained alongside rivers in cultivated areas, primarily for their positive hydrological impact. However, they can also support a range of forest-dependent species or ecosystem services. We surveyed communities of dung beetles and measured dung removal activity in an oil palm-dominated landscape in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. The species richness, diversity, and functional group richness of dung beetles in riparian reserves were significantly higher than in oil palm, but lower than in adjacent logged forests. The community composition of the riparian reserves was more similar to logged forest than oil palm. Despite the pronounced differences in biodiversity, we did not find significant differences in dung removal rates among land uses. We also found no evidence that riparian reserves enhance dung removal rates within surrounding oil palm. These results contrast previous studies showing positive relationships between dung beetle species richness and dung removal in tropical forests. We found weak but significant positive relationships between riparian reserve width and dung beetle diversity, and between reserve vegetation complexity and dung beetle abundance, suggesting that these features may increase the conservation value of riparian reserves. Synthesis and applications: The similarity between riparian reserves and logged forest demonstrates that retaining riparian reserves increases biodiversity within oil palm landscapes. However, the lack of correlation between dung beetle community characteristics and dung removal highlights the need for further research into spatial variation in biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships and how the results of such studies are affected by methodological choices.

Dataset Information

Identifying hotspots for ecosystem restoration across heterogeneous tropical savannah-dominated regions.

Publications

Identifying hotspots for ecosystem restoration across heterogeneous tropical savannah-dominated regions.

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