Land-Use Change, Rural Practices and Animal Diversity

Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

Traditional rural and land-use practices produce a typical mosaic structure at the landscape scale. Extensive agricultural landscapes are usually characterized by small man-made structures such as field boundaries, terraces, dry-stone walls, irrigation ponds and drinking troughs. These structures are recognized as important elements for the conservation of biodiversity, and they act as stepping stones and increase connectivity corridors among biological populations. In fact, these structures maintain the viability of animal metapopulations in many agricultural landscapes. However, in recent years, large land-use transformations have occurred, increasing the homogeneity of the rural landscape. Moreover, in many remote areas, traditional rural practices have been abandoned and these man-made structures are neglected and lost. In many areas, the abandonment of rural practices may have severe outcomes on biodiversity both at the local and regional scale, especially in the Mediterranean region where animal and plants are well adapted to human rural activities. The importance of these artificial structures is now acknowledged by ecologists, conservationists and even by policy makers, and in some cases, legislation on the conservation of biodiversity (i.e., in article 10 of the European Union Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC) has been adopted. Therefore, the objective of this Topic is to serve as a forum for advancing our scientific understanding of the effects of land-use changes in rural landscapes on animal diversity.

Dr. Sebastiano Salvidio
Dr. Giacomo Rosa
Topic Editors

Keywords

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Animals animals	2.7	4.9	2011	16.1 Days	CHF 2400
Conservation conservation	-	-	2021	35.6 Days	CHF 1000
Diversity diversity	2.1	3.4	2009	18.3 Days	CHF 2100
Land land	3.2	4.9	2012	16.9 Days	CHF 2600
Sustainability sustainability	3.3	6.8	2009	19.7 Days	CHF 2400

MDPI Topics is cooperating with Preprints.org and has built a direct connection between MDPI journals and Preprints.org. Authors are encouraged to enjoy the benefits by posting a preprint at Preprints.org prior to publication:

1. Immediately share your ideas ahead of publication and establish your research priority;
2. Protect your idea from being stolen with this time-stamped preprint article;
3. Enhance the exposure and impact of your research;
4. Receive feedback from your peers in advance;
5. Have it indexed in Web of Science (Preprint Citation Index), Google Scholar, Crossref, SHARE, PrePubMed, Scilit and Europe PMC.

Published Papers (4 papers)

Order results

Content type Publication Date

Result details

Normal Extended Compact

Journals

All Animals Conservation Diversity Land Sustainability

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Plain Text BibTeX BibTeX (without abstracts) Endnote Endnote (without abstracts) Tab-delimited RIS

Error

Oops... you haven't selected anything for export.

Ok

clear

attachment

Supplementary material:
Supplementary File 1 (ZIP, 1983 KiB)

14 pages, 4000 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Scale-Dependent Habitat Nestedness and Its Implications for Anuran Conservation in the Chengdu Region: A Multi-Extent Analysis

by Xiaoqin Shi, Xiaoke Liu and Youhua Chen

Animals 2024, 14(20), 2931; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14202931 - 11 Oct 2024

Viewed by 721

Abstract

Nestedness in community ecology predicts that species in a species-poor site should be a subset of species of a species-rich site. A variety of ecological mechanisms have been offered to explain community nestedness; however, few studies have systematically discussed the issue of scale [...] Read more.

Nestedness in community ecology predicts that species in a species-poor site should be a subset of species of a species-rich site. A variety of ecological mechanisms have been offered to explain community nestedness; however, few studies have systematically discussed the issue of scale dependence when interpreting community nestedness. This study conducted surveys of anuran species data in the vicinity of Chengdu, Sichuan, in the summers of 2019–2020, using the transect method. The study area was divided into 23 sampling sites and 8 regions to explore the relationship between environmental factors and the nested distribution pattern of anuran communities under different sampling extents (with sampling buffers set at 1 km, 2 km, and 5 km). The WNODF (weighted-nestedness metric based on overlap and decreasing fill) results indicated that anurans exhibited a strong nested pattern at both the sampling sites scale and the regional scale. The habitat matrix test results suggested that a small-scale study area requires a correspondingly small habitat-sampling extent to effectively test for habitat nestedness. As the study area expands, the habitat-sampling range can be appropriately increased. The nested pattern of anurans in the vicinity of Chengdu can only be explained by habitat nestedness, as a Spearman’s correlation analysis showed that other environmental factors (area size, connectivity index, concentration index, proximity index, and distance to the city center) were not significantly correlated with the nested sequences of sampling points and regions. Therefore, regarding the conservation strategies for anurans in the vicinity of Chengdu, we recommend prioritizing the protection of areas with higher habitat diversity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Land-Use Change, Rural Practices and Animal Diversity)

►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1
<p>Transect line sampling locations in Sichuan, China (<b>left</b>), and eight regions divided (<b>right</b>).</p> Full article ">Figure 2
<p>A schematic diagram for evaluating the influence of scale dependence on community structure. In our study, two scale-changing properties were evaluated: varying the study area extent (transect-site-region) and varying the sampling range (1 km, 2 km, and 5 km). Line transects are marked as red polylines.</p> Full article ">Figure 3
<p>The relationships between species richness and relative area size predicted by the random placement model at sample-site (see subfigures (<b>a</b>–<b>c</b>)) and regional spatial scales (see subfigures (<b>d</b>–<b>f</b>)). Expected values and the 95% confidence interval (dashed lines), observed species richness of amphibians (black dots). Note that here, suitable habitat area sizes were determined by using 1 km, 2 km, and 5 km buffering circles.</p> Full article ">

11 pages, 1542 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Long-Term Monitoring of European Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus) Population in the Slovak Danubian Lowland

by Francesco Vizzarri, Jaroslav Slamecka, Tomas Sladecek, Rastislav Jurcik, Lubomir Ondruska and Peter Schultz

Diversity 2024, 16(8), 486; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16080486 - 9 Aug 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1076

Abstract

In many European countries over the last few decades, arable fields dominate agricultural landscapes, leading to very intensive land-use practices. This seems to be the main cause of population declines for numerous farmland species, including the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus Pallas, [...] Read more.

In many European countries over the last few decades, arable fields dominate agricultural landscapes, leading to very intensive land-use practices. This seems to be the main cause of population declines for numerous farmland species, including the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778). The Research Institute for Animal Production (National Agricultural and Food Centre—NPPC, Luzianky, Slovakia) has been engaged in a long monitoring project (a project currently running), collecting certain indicators of brown hare population dynamics during hunting season from 1987 to 2023 in the Slovak Danubian Lowland. In the same macro-area (Čiližská Radvaň and Lehnice), a study was conducted on the influence of permanent semi-natural vegetation in relation to recruitment, population density and production. The entire monitored period was aggregated into 5-year intervals (for a total of seven time intervals), with the aim of analyzing the brown hare population dynamics. Spring hare density in the Danubian Lowland is currently 20.8 hares/km², with harvests of 4.6 hares/km². During the monitoring period, bag animals have been examined following the regular hunting operations for the purpose of age determination (weight of eye lenses), sex ratio and productivity. There was a large positive effect of set-aside with special mixtures created for hares in large-scale farmed agrarian landscapes on brown hare density, bag and recruitment. In-model hunting grounds with such set-asides increased the spring stock by 25%, bag by 100% and recruitment by 20%. This study reveals that the management of European brown hare is not sustainable in the Slovak Danubian Lowland, and the population is decreasing. This is proven through the decline in harvest brown hares and by population dynamic parameters. Our data suggest that improvements in the habitat quality of arable landscapes by the adoption of permanent semi-natural vegetation may be more effective in the increase in the brown hare population. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Land-Use Change, Rural Practices and Animal Diversity)

►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1
<p>Geographical location of the Slovak Danubian Lowland (<b>A</b>) and the two model areas, Čiližská Radvaň (<b>B</b>) and Lehnice (<b>C</b>), for semi-natural habitats. Source: National Agricultural and Food Centre archive.</p> Full article ">Figure 2
<p>Average data on precipitation (mm) and temperature (°C) in Slovak Danubian Lowland.</p> Full article ">Figure 3
<p>Development of hare shooting and acreage of tilled set-aside (Čiližská Radvaň).</p> Full article ">Figure 4
<p>Recruitment of brown hares (PYB = ratio of juveniles in the bag) and acreage of set-asides (Lehnice).</p> Full article ">

attachment

Supplementary material:
Supplementary File 1 (ZIP, 181 KiB)

17 pages, 6221 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Taxonomic and Functional Diversity of Reptiles in a Heterogeneous Landscape of Jalisco State, West-Central Mexico

by Verónica Carolina Rosas-Espinoza, Fabián Alejandro Rodríguez-Zaragoza, Eliza Álvarez-Grzybowska, Karen Elizabeth Peña-Joya, Ana Luisa Santiago-Pérez, Arquímedes Alfredo Godoy-González and Francisco Martín Huerta-Martínez

Diversity 2024, 16(7), 394; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16070394 - 10 Jul 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2558

Abstract

Reptiles are threatened by anthropogenic landscape transformation, largely due to agriculture. However, ecosystems nowadays constitute a matrix of fragmented landscapes. We analyzed a heterogeneous landscape’s reptile taxonomic and functional diversity patterns across ten land cover/use types in Jalisco state, in west-central Mexico. At [...] Read more.

Reptiles are threatened by anthropogenic landscape transformation, largely due to agriculture. However, ecosystems nowadays constitute a matrix of fragmented landscapes. We analyzed a heterogeneous landscape’s reptile taxonomic and functional diversity patterns across ten land cover/use types in Jalisco state, in west-central Mexico. At the alpha diversity level, we assessed the taxonomic diversity using q-order indices, and functional diversity with multidimensional indices (FRic, FDiv, and FEve) by land cover/use. We evaluated the differences in species composition among land cover/use types (beta diversity). We utilized multidimensional distance-based analyses (dbRDA) to evaluate the association between reptile diversity, habitat structure, and environmental variables. Species richness did not correlate with functional richness across land cover types overall, except for riparian habitat surrounded by crops (RH-C), which exhibited higher species richness and functional diversity. Secondary vegetation surrounded by temperate forest (SV-TF), riparian habitat surrounded by tropical dry forest (RH-TDF), and RH-C were the land cover/use types with the most functional groups. Herbaceous cover is crucial for preserving both reptile diversity facets in this landscape. These findings suggest that the availability of resources (e.g., riparian habitat and herbaceous cover) regardless of perturbation level could be more relevant for reptile diversity than the condition (tropical vs. temperate) due to the high plasticity and adaptation of the group. It is essential to recognize the ecological value of these habitats by adopting a holistic approach that values the intrinsic and ecological importance of reptile diversity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Land-Use Change, Rural Practices and Animal Diversity)

►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1
<p>Map showing the research area in Jalisco state, located in west-central Mexico (<b>A</b>). Sites for surveying in the Valles region (<b>B</b>). Sampling plots (<b>C</b>,<b>D</b>). Land cover and land use type abbreviations can be found in the <a href="#app1-diversity-16-00394" class="html-app">Supplementary Materials, Table S3</a>.</p> Full article ">Figure 2
<p>Reptile taxonomic and functional diversity per land cover/use type in Jalisco state, west-central Mexico. (<b>a</b>–<b>c</b>) Averages values of taxonomic diversity (⁰D, ¹D, and ²D), (<b>d</b>) abundances (N), (<b>e</b>) ²¹D evenness, (<b>f</b>) functional richness [FRic]. Tropical habitats are represented in red, and temperate habitats are shown in blue. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences (<span class="html-italic">p</span> ≤ 0.05) among cover/use types. Equal lowercase letters indicate no statistical differences among cover/use types. A land cover/use type that shares two or three letters with other land cover/use types indicates that it is not significantly different from the types that share those letters. Land cover/use types as well as the taxonomic and functional diversity indices codes are available in the <a href="#app1-diversity-16-00394" class="html-app">Supplementary Materials, Table S3</a>.</p> Full article ">Figure 3
<p>Reptile species composition, functional groups, and functional traits across different land cover/use types. The intensity of color in the matrix signifies the relative abundance of the species. A cluster analysis determined the amphibian functional groups: Group “a” was characterized by being venomous and terrestrial habitat; group “b” by non-venomous and viviparous; group “c” by medium or big size, non-venomous, omnivorous, or carnivorous (vertebrates), terrestrial-arboreal or terrestrial-aquatic, and oviparous; group “d” by the variable size, not venomous, fossorial, terrestrial, arboreal or terrestrial-arboreal, and oviparous. Abbreviations: oviparous (ov), viviparous (vi), invertebrates (inv), vertebrates (ver), invertebrates-vertebrates (i-v), omnivorous (on), diurnal (diu), nocturnal (noc), diurnal-nocturnal (d-n), diurnal-crepuscular (d-c), terrestrial (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), venomous (ve), non-venomous (n-ve), and size measured in cm. Land cover/use types abbreviations are available in the <a href="#app1-diversity-16-00394" class="html-app">Supplementary Materials, Table S3</a>.</p> Full article ">Figure 4
<p>PCO and dbRDA ordination. (<b>a</b>) The correlation between the types of land cover/use and the composition of reptile species; (<b>b</b>) relationship between environmental variables that best explained the reptile community variation across land cover/use types. Colors: Red for tropical habitats; blue for temperate habitats. Land cover/use types and reptile scientific name abbreviations can be found in the <a href="#app1-diversity-16-00394" class="html-app">Supplementary Materials, Table S3</a>.</p> Full article ">

attachment

Supplementary material:
Supplementary File 1 (ZIP, 243 KiB)

13 pages, 762 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Rice Fields as Important Habitats for Three Anuran Species—Significance and Implications for Conservation

by Simeon Lukanov, Andrey Kolev, Blagovesta Dimitrova and Georgi Popgeorgiev

Animals 2024, 14(1), 106; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14010106 - 27 Dec 2023

Viewed by 1599

Abstract

Agriculture can have different effects on wildlife depending on land-use type and extensive/intensive practices. The aim of this study was to establish the significance of rice fields in Central Bulgaria as anuran habitats. We used Audiomoth acoustic loggers to record calling activity at [...] Read more.

Agriculture can have different effects on wildlife depending on land-use type and extensive/intensive practices. The aim of this study was to establish the significance of rice fields in Central Bulgaria as anuran habitats. We used Audiomoth acoustic loggers to record calling activity at three sites near the city of Plovdiv—one shallow pond and two rice fields—from June to September in 2022 and 2023. We registered the three most widespread species in the region—Bufotes viridis, Hyla orientalis and Pelophylax ridibundus—and created pattern-matching models for them using the free web interface Arbimon, which enabled us to perform presence/absence counts and abundance estimates. At the beginning and the end of the rice vegetation period, water samples were collected and analysed for 62 substances. Substance concentrations were compared between ponds and with LC50 data from the available literature. We registered 19 and 21 substances in 2022 and 2023, respectively, with concentrations within the accepted limits, and although some metals were near risk levels, this was not reflected in the presence counts or the abundance estimates. The results indicated that frog activity was not related to any of the registered substances, but that it was positively correlated with daily rainfall and was higher in the rice fields. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Land-Use Change, Rural Practices and Animal Diversity)

►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1
<p>Percentages of detected presence per hour for the three anuran species in the study sites. X-axis—hour of recording, from first (7 p.m.) to fifth (12 a.m.); Y-axis—percentage of detection.</p> Full article ">

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Plain Text BibTeX BibTeX (without abstracts) Endnote Endnote (without abstracts) Tab-delimited RIS

 

Error

Oops... you haven't selected anything for export.

Ok

clear

Displaying articles 1-4