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Logged and disturbed forests are often viewed as degraded and depauperate environments compared with primary forest. However, they are dynamic ecosystems 1 that provide refugia for large amounts of biodiversity 2,3 , so we cannot afford to underestimate their conservation value 4 . Here we present empirically defined thresholds for categorizing the conservation value of logged forests, using one of the most comprehensive assessments of taxon responses to habitat degradation in any tropical forest environment. We analysed the impact of logging intensity on the individual occurrence patterns of 1,681 taxa belonging to 86 taxonomic orders and 126 functional groups in Sabah, Malaysia. Our results demonstrate the existence of two conservation-relevant thresholds. First, lightly logged forests (<29% biomass removal) retain high conservation value and a largely intact functional composition, and are therefore likely to recover their pre-logging values if allowed to undergo natural regeneration. Second, the most extreme impacts occur in heavily degraded forests with more than two-thirds (>68%) of their biomass removed, and these are likely to require more expensive measures to recover their biodiversity value. Overall, our data confirm that primary forests are irreplaceable 5 , but they also reinforce the message that logged forests retain considerable conservation value that should not be overlooked., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Ongoing deforestation poses a major threat to biodiversity 1,2 . With limited resources and imminent threats, deciding when as well as where to conserve is a fundamental question. Here we use a dynamic optimization approach to identify an optimal sequence for the conservation of plant species in 458 forested ecoregions globally over the next 50 years. The optimization approach includes species richness in each forested ecoregion, complementarity of species across ecoregions, costs of conservation that rise with cumulative protection in an ecoregion, the existing degree of protection, the rate of deforestation and the potential for reforestation in each ecoregion. The optimal conservation strategy for this formulation initially targets a small number of ecoregions where further deforestation leads to large reductions in species and where the costs of conservation are low. In later years, conservation efforts spread to more ecoregions, and invest in both expanded protection of primary forest and reforestation. The largest gains in species conservation come in Melanesia, South and Southeast Asia, the Anatolian peninsula, northern South America and Central America. The results highlight the potentially large gains in conservation that can be made with carefully targeted investments., (© 2022. This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply.)

Safeguarding Earth's tree diversity is a conservation priority due to the importance of trees for biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services such as carbon sequestration. Here, we improve the foundation for effective conservation of global tree diversity by analyzing a recently developed database of tree species covering 46,752 species. We quantify range protection and anthropogenic pressures for each species and develop conservation priorities across taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity dimensions. We also assess the effectiveness of several influential proposed conservation prioritization frameworks to protect the top 17% and top 50% of tree priority areas. We find that an average of 50.2% of a tree species' range occurs in 110-km grid cells without any protected areas (PAs), with 6,377 small-range tree species fully unprotected, and that 83% of tree species experience nonnegligible human pressure across their range on average. Protecting high-priority areas for the top 17% and 50% priority thresholds would increase the average protected proportion of each tree species' range to 65.5% and 82.6%, respectively, leaving many fewer species (2,151 and 2,010) completely unprotected. The priority areas identified for trees match well to the Global 200 Ecoregions framework, revealing that priority areas for trees would in large part also optimize protection for terrestrial biodiversity overall. Based on range estimates for >46,000 tree species, our findings show that a large proportion of tree species receive limited protection by current PAs and are under substantial human pressure. Improved protection of biodiversity overall would also strongly benefit global tree diversity.

One of the most fundamental questions in ecology is how many species inhabit the Earth. However, due to massive logistical and financial challenges and taxonomic difficulties connected to the species concept definition, the global numbers of species, including those of important and well-studied life forms such as trees, still remain largely unknown. Here, based on global ground-sourced data, we estimate the total tree species richness at global, continental, and biome levels. Our results indicate that there are ∼73,000 tree species globally, among which ∼9,000 tree species are yet to be discovered. Roughly 40% of undiscovered tree species are in South America. Moreover, almost one-third of all tree species to be discovered may be rare, with very low populations and limited spatial distribution (likely in remote tropical lowlands and mountains). These findings highlight the vulnerability of global forest biodiversity to anthropogenic changes in land use and climate, which disproportionately threaten rare species and thus, global tree richness., Competing Interests: Competing interest statement: M.L.B. is an employee of PNAS., (Copyright © 2022 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.)

An important challenge for silvicultural practices is the conservation of tree diversity while fulfilling the traditional objectives of forest management, most notably timber harvesting. The purpose of this study was to compare the tree diversity before and after the application of silvicultural treatments in a temperate forest in northern Mexico. Fifteen experimental plots, each measuring 2500 m2, were established to evaluate the immediate effect of four silvicultural treatments. These treatments were identified by their levels of management: intensive (clearcut, removal 100%), semi-intensive (removal of 59-61% of basal area), conservative (removal of 29-31% of basal area), and a control group. New forest guidelines, in contrast to conventional approaches, were applied to the semi-intensive and conservative treatments based on health and diversity conditions. Basal area, canopy cover, tree and total volume were measured in each plot. The Importance Value Index, alpha diversity, and evenness were estimated before and after treatments. Eighteen species belonging to five genera and five families were found in the study area. The species with the highest ecological values were Pinus durangensis, P. teocote, Quercus sideroxyla, and Quercus convallata with IVI numbers between 13.6 and 24.5%. Alpha diversity was intermediate (Margalef: 2.9 to 3.8), while dominance and evenness were above average compared to other studies (Simpson: 0.69 to 0.77; Shannon-Wiener: 1.44 to 1.6; Pielou: 0.76 to 0.85). The species evenness index in the conservative treatment was high (Sorensen, Jaccard, quantitative Sorensen and Morisita-Horn; 88 to 99%), although abundance decreased. Overall, there were no significant differences in IVI values and diversity indicators before and after treatments, with the exception of the clearcut treatment. When associating the diversity indices with stand variables, only the Pielou's evenness index showed a significant relationship between them. We concluded that both the conservative and semi-intensive treatments did not generate significant changes in tree diversity, but the former had slightly higher alpha diversity indices. These results can provide a better insight on silvicultural practices and their effects on species composition., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

The Atlantic rainforest of Brazil is one of the global terrestrial hotspots of biodiversity. Despite having undergone large scale deforestation, forest cover has shown signs of increases in the last decades. Here, to understand the degradation and regeneration history of Atlantic rainforest remnants near São Paulo, we combine a unique dataset of very high resolution images from Worldview-2 and Worldview-3 (0.5 and 0.3m spatial resolution, respectively), georeferenced aerial photographs from 1962 and use a deep learning method called U-net to map (i) the forest cover and changes and (ii) two pioneer tree species, Cecropia hololeuca and Tibouchina pulchra. For Tibouchina pulchra, all the individuals were mapped in February, when the trees undergo mass-flowering with purple and pink blossoms. Additionally, elevation data at 30m spatial resolution from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and annual mean climate variables (Terraclimate datasets at ∼ 4km of spatial resolution) were used to analyse the forest and species distributions. We found that natural forests are currently more frequently found on south-facing slopes, likely because of geomorphology and past land use, and that Tibouchina is restricted to the wetter part of the region (southern part), which annually receives at least 1600 mm of precipitation. Tibouchina pulchra was found to clearly indicate forest regeneration as almost all individuals were found within or adjacent to forests regrown after 1962. By contrast, Cecropia hololeuca was found to indicate older disturbed forests, with all individuals almost exclusively found in forest fragments already present in 1962. At the regional scale, using the dominance maps of both species, we show that at least 4.3% of the current region's natural forests have regrown after 1962 (Tibouchina dominated, ∼ 4757 ha) and that ∼ 9% of the old natural forests have experienced significant disturbance (Cecropia dominated)., Competing Interests: The authors have read the journal’s policy and have the following conflicts: YT is employed by Luxcarta Technology. This does not alter our adherence to all the PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Intact forests provide diverse and irreplaceable ecosystem services that are critical to human well-being, such as carbon storage to mitigate climate change. However, the ecosystem functions that underpin these services are highly dependent on the woody vegetation-animal interactions occurring within forests. While vertebrate defaunation is of growing policy concern, the effects of vertebrate loss on natural forest regeneration have yet to be quantified globally. Here we conduct a meta-analysis to assess the direction and magnitude of defaunation impacts on forests. We demonstrate that real-world defaunation caused by hunting and habitat fragmentation leads to reduced forest regeneration, although manipulation experiments provide contrasting findings. The extirpation of primates and birds cause the greatest declines in forest regeneration, emphasising their key role in maintaining carbon stores, and the need for national and international climate change and conservation strategies to protect forests from defaunation fronts as well as deforestation fronts.

In order to establish effective conservation strategy, drivers of local and regional patterns of biodiversity need to be understood. The composition of local biodiversity is dependent on a number of factors including evolution and redistribution of lineages through dispersal and environmental heterogeneity. Brazilian canga is characterised by a ferrugineous substrate, found both in the Iron Quadrangle of Minas Gerais and in the Carajás mountains in Amazonia. Canga is one of several specialised habitat types comprising Brazilian campo rupestre, a montane vegetation found within or adjacent to several major Brazilian bioregions, including the Atlantic Forest and Amazonia, with exceptionally high levels of diversity and endemism arising from both history of dispersal and environmental variation. In order to inform biodiversity conservation for canga, and more broadly for campo rupestre, we performed floristic and phylogenetic analyses investigating affinities between 28 sites on different substrates (canga and quartzite) and geographic locations (Carajás, Pará [Amazonia]; Cadeia do Espinhaço, Minas Gerais; Chapada Diamantina, Bahia). Through analysis of 11204 occurrences of 4705 species of angiosperms, we found that Amazonian Carajás canga plant communities formed a cohesive group, distinct from species assemblages found in Eastern Brazil (Minas Gerais, Bahia), either on canga or quartzite. The phylogenetic megatree of species across all sites investigated shows associations between certain clades and Amazonian canga, with few shared species between the Amazonian Carajás and Eastern Brazil sites, while the floristic comparison shows high levels of heterogeneity between sites. The need for reserves for Amazonian Carajás canga has been recognized and addressed by the creation of a national park. However, current sampling does not provide sufficient reassurance that the canga areas now benefitting from full legal protection adequately represent the regional canga flora., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Non-native tree (NNT) species have been transported worldwide to create or enhance services that are fundamental for human well-being, such as timber provision, erosion control or ornamental value; yet NNTs can also produce undesired effects, such as fire proneness or pollen allergenicity. Despite the variety of effects that NNTs have on multiple ecosystem services, a global quantitative assessment of their costs and benefits is still lacking. Such information is critical for decision-making, management and sustainable exploitation of NNTs. We present here a global assessment of NNT effects on the three main categories of ecosystem services, including regulating (RES), provisioning (PES) and cultural services (CES), and on an ecosystem disservice (EDS), i.e. pollen allergenicity. By searching the scientific literature, country forestry reports, and social media, we compiled a global data set of 1683 case studies from over 125 NNT species, covering 44 countries, all continents but Antarctica, and seven biomes. Using different meta-analysis techniques, we found that, while NNTs increase most RES (e.g. climate regulation, soil erosion control, fertility and formation), they decrease PES (e.g. NNTs contribute less than native trees to global timber provision). Also, they have different effects on CES (e.g. increase aesthetic values but decrease scientific interest), and no effect on the EDS considered. NNT effects on each ecosystem (dis)service showed a strong context dependency, varying across NNT types, biomes and socio-economic conditions. For instance, some RES are increased more by NNTs able to fix atmospheric nitrogen, and when the ecosystem is located in low-latitude biomes; some CES are increased more by NNTs in less-wealthy countries or in countries with higher gross domestic products. The effects of NNTs on several ecosystem (dis)services exhibited some synergies (e.g. among soil fertility, soil formation and climate regulation or between aesthetic values and pollen allergenicity), but also trade-offs (e.g. between fire regulation and soil erosion control). Our analyses provide a quantitative understanding of the complex synergies, trade-offs and context dependencies involved for the effects of NNTs that is essential for attaining a sustained provision of ecosystem services., (© 2019 The Authors. Biological Reviews published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Cambridge Philosophical Society.)

Cities comprise of mixed green patches that vary in size and are highly scattered and disconnected. Although small green spaces largely dominate the cityscape, they are often neglected and ignored by the naturalists and conservationists, as they do not fulfill the large green spaces criteria. The citizens on the other hand seem to have a different perception and requirements from small green spaces as they are within their neighbourhood. Bangalore, a developing city within South India, consists of a large number of newly formed residential areas which have pocket green spaces in the form of neighbourhood parks (henceforth NPs). They are maintained by the municipality and are mainly designed for recreation purposes, completely neglecting the fact that these spaces could be essential for biodiversity. Here, there is a disconnect between the requirements of the citizens, conservationists and the end product that the municipality delivers. Here, through a questionnaire survey we assess the biodiversity citizens are fond off, and use them as surrogate taxa for the not so immediately obvious taxa, insects to enumerate the biodiversity within NPs. We analyze and identify landscape characteristics around NPs which could enhance the biodiversity within NPs. Our results reveal that people are fond of Birds and Butterflies and we use them as surrogates for the inconspicuous taxa to assess biodiversity within NPs. 55 tree species, 45 species of birds, 41 species of butterflies and 68 morpho species of insects were recorded. We demonstrate that small green spaces are critical systems and help support biodiversity across three scale within the city. Interestingly, results suggests that density of NPs is more important rather than the size of NPs. Also, the presence of high density of NPs within a neighbourhood could support similar biodiversity that large green spaces support. Finally, this study provides insights on the landscape matrix that could help enhance biodiversity support service within NPs and the surrounding neighbourhood., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Inland waters are unique ecosystems offering services and habitat resources upon which many species depend. Despite the importance of, and threats to, inland water, global assessments of protected area (PA) coverage and trends have focused on land habitats or have assessed land and inland waters together. We here provide the first assessment of the level of protection of inland open surface waters and their trends (1984-2015) within PAs for all countries, using a globally consistent, high-resolution (30 m) and validated dataset on permanent and seasonal surface waters based on Landsat images. Globally, 15% of inland surface waters are covered by PAs with mapped boundaries. Estimated inland water protection increases to 16.4% if PAs with reported area but delineated only as points are included as circular buffers. These coverage estimates slightly exceed the comparable figure for land but fall below the 17% goal of the Convention on Biological Diversity's Aichi Target 11 for 2020. Protection levels are very uneven across countries, half of which do not yet meet the 17% target. The lowest coverage of surface water by PAs (<5%) was found in Africa and in parts of Asia. There was a global trend of permanent water losses and seasonal water gains within PAs, concomitant with an increase of both water types outside PAs. In 38% of countries, PAs lost over 5% of permanent water. Global protection targets for inland waters may well be met by 2020, but much stronger efforts are required to ensure their effective conservation, which will depend not only on sound PA governance and management but also on the sustainable use of water resources outside PAs. Given the pressures on water in a rapidly changing world, integrated management planning of water resources involving multiple sectors and entire basins is therefore necessary., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Actinorhizal plants are a group of perennial dicotyledonous angiosperms, comprised of more than 200 species, most of which can establish root-nodule symbiosis with the nitrogen fixing actinobacteria of the genus Frankia. They are key providers of fundamental goods and services and can give a major contribution to mitigate the combined effects of climate changes, human population growth and loss of biodiversity. This aspect is particularly relevant for the developing economies of many African countries, which are highly exposed to climate and anthropogenic disturbances. In this work we have analyzed the distribution, conservation and uses of actinorhizal species native to or introduced in Africa. A total of 42 taxa distributed over six botanical families (Betulaceae, Casuarinaceae, Myricaceae, Elaeagnaceae, Rhamnaceae and Coriariaceae) were identified. The vast majority is able to thrive under a range of diverse environments and has multiple ecological and economic potential. More than half of the identified species belong to the genus Morella (Myricaceae), most of them native to Middle, Eastern and Southern Africa. Although the information about the conservation status and uses of Morella spp. is largely incomplete, the available data is indicative of their potential in e.g. forestry and agroforestry, food and medicine. Therefore, efforts should be made to upgrade actinorhizal research in Africa towards the sustainable use of biodiversity at the service of local (bio)economies.

With main purpose of developing a coherent baseline information of timberline forests of Sikkim, Eastern Himalaya, we investigated, (i) forest structure and composition, (ii) regeneration status of dominant timberline tree species between timberline and treeline, (iii) influence of environmental variables in species composition, and (iv) relationship between environmental variables and ecological attributes. The study was conducted along the timberline stretch of Dzongri landscape nested within the Khangchendzonga National Park (UNESCO's World Heritage Site, 2016), a core zone of Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve (in UNESCO WNBRs, 2018), Sikkim, India. We employed quadrat method to sample 9 contiguous sites to capture all possible variations in timberline composition. Transect method was used to study the regeneration of woody taxa between timberline to treeline. In total, 20 woody species belonging to 10 genera and 6 families were recorded. Among these, Abies densa, Rhododendron lanatum and Sorbus microphylla exhibited higher dominance, comprising of 50% of the total importance value index (IVI) weightage. Betula utilis the common treeline species in much of the western and central parts of Himalaya was absent here. Tree density in studied timberline was significantly higher than its western Himalayan counterparts of Indian Himalayan region. Environmental variables viz., elevation, slope, and humus were observed determinants of species composition across the study area. The species dominance correlated negatively (p<0.01; n = 9) with species diversity and richness. We observed an irregular spatial pattern of timberline across the 9 study sites, and the extent of timberline elements (seedling; sapling; live tree or dead tree) ranged between 5.3m to 187.7m higher than the current timberline at different sites. The present trends suggest that upslope advancement is unlikely to occur in near future, while treeline densification is anticipated. Further investigations are suggested to develop a holistic understating of these timberline patterns across the Indian Himalayan region., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Tree invasion has the potential to negatively affect biodiversity and ecosystems, with invasive alien trees (IATs) expanding widely in protected areas (PAs) across different habitats. Thus, the effectiveness of PAs might be reduced. Investigation of the distributions of IAT is urgently required to improve the effective conservation management of PAs. We projected the potential distributions of 10 IATs, which included Acacia mearnsii, Ardisia elliptica, Cecropia peltata, Cinchona pubescens, Leucaena leucocephala, Melaleuca quinquenervia, Miconia calvescens, Morella faya, Prosopis glandulosa, and Spathodea campanulata, that have a serious influence on global biodiversity and assessed the distribution possibilities of these IATs in PAs based on the PA categories of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The overall potential distributions of these 10 IATs included Latin America, central and southern Africa, southeastern Asia, eastern Australia and New Zealand, and western Europe. Annual mean temperature, temperature seasonality, annual precipitation, and soil bulk density were found to be important environmental variables for the potential distributions of these IATs. Overall, A. mearnsii, A. elliptica, C. peltata, L. leucocephala, M. quinquenervia, M. calvescens, and S. campanulata were distributed mainly in the IUCN PA categories of national parks and PAs with sustainable use of natural resources. We proposed the following for conservation management of PAs: (1) completion of species inventories for PAs, (2) better understanding of factors driving invasions in PAs, (3) assessment of the efficiency of management within particular PAs, and (4) evaluation of changes in trends regarding plant invasions in PAs under climate change conditions.

In recognition of the failures of sectoral approaches to overcome global challenges of biodiversity loss, climate change, food insecurity and poverty, scientific discourse on biodiversity conservation and sustainable development is shifting towards integrated landscape governance arrangements. Current landscape initiatives however very much depend on external actors and funding, raising the question of whether, and how, and under what conditions, locally embedded resource management schemes can serve as entry points for the implementation of integrated landscape approaches. This paper assesses the entry point potential for three established natural resource management schemes in West Africa that target landscape degradation with involvement of local communities: the Chantier d'Aménagement Forestier scheme encompassing forest management sites across Burkina Faso and the Modified Taungya System and community wildlife resource management initiatives in Ghana. Based on a review of the current literature, we analyze the extent to which design principles that define a landscape approach apply to these schemes. We found that the CREMA meets most of the desired criteria, but that its scale may be too limited to guarantee effective landscape governance, hence requiring upscaling. Conversely, the other two initiatives are strongly lacking in their design principles on fundamental components regarding integrated approaches, continual learning, and capacity building. Monitoring and evaluation bodies and participatory learning and negotiation platforms could enhance the schemes' alignment with integrated landscape approaches.

A growing world population and rapid expansion of cities increase the pressure on basic resources such as water, food and energy. To safeguard the provision of these resources, restoration and sustainable management of landscapes is pivotal, including sustainable forest and water management. Sustainable forest management includes forest conservation, restoration, forestry and agroforestry practices. Interlinkages between forests and water are fundamental to moderate water budgets, stabilize runoff, reduce erosion and improve biodiversity and water quality. Sweden has gained substantial experience in sustainable forest management in the past century. Through significant restoration efforts, a largely depleted Swedish forest has transformed into a well-managed production forest within a century, leading to sustainable economic growth through the provision of forest products. More recently, ecosystem services are also included in management decisions. Such a transformation depends on broad stakeholder dialog, combined with an enabling institutional and policy environment. Based on seminars and workshops with a wide range of key stakeholders managing Sweden's forests and waters, this article draws lessons from the history of forest management in Sweden. These lessons are particularly relevant for countries in the Global South that currently experience similar challenges in forest and landscape management. The authors argue that an integrated landscape approach involving a broad array of sectors and stakeholders is needed to achieve sustainable forest and water management. Sustainable landscape management-integrating water, agriculture and forests-is imperative to achieving resilient socio-economic systems and landscapes.

Landscape approaches have become prominent in efforts to address issues of conservation and development through bringing together different actors and sectors, to reconcile diverse land uses, and promote synergies. Some have suggested that integrated landscape management approaches are consistent with the goals of REDD+ and offer a strategy to address multiple goals of climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation, maintenance of ecosystem services, and socio-economic development. Institutional or governance arrangements have been shown to be a critical component in influencing outcomes in landscapes. Using diverse methodologies, this study investigated the capacity of institutions to support the planning, implementation, and resource mobilization needed to integrate climate change mitigation, conservation, and livelihood goals in a forest mosaic landscape in East Cameroon. Results showed that diverse institutions are present in the landscape, including institutions of relevant government agencies, local government, local non-government, the private sector, and hybrid institutions of conservation, development and research institutions. However, the overall institutional capacity for integrated landscape planning and management in the study area is limited, although some institutions exhibit increased capacity in some areas over others. Multiple strategies can be employed to build the necessary human, financial, and leadership capacity, and facilitate the institutional planning and coordination that is foundational to multi-stakeholder landscape governance. Given the complexity of integrating climate change mitigation, conservation and livelihood goals in a landscape, building such institutional capacity is a long term endeavour that requires sustained effort and ongoing financial, technical and human resource support.

Seasonally dry forests in the neotropics are heavily threatened by a combination of human disturbances and climate change; however, the severity of these threats is seldom contrasted. This study aims to quantify and compare the effects of deforestation and climate change on the natural spatial ranges of 17 characteristic tree species of southern Ecuador dry deciduous forests, which are heavily fragmented and support high levels of endemism as part of the Tumbesian ecoregion. We used 660 plant records to generate species distribution models and land-cover data to project species ranges for two time frames: a simulated deforestation scenario from 2008 to 2014 with native forest to anthropogenic land-use conversion, and an extreme climate change scenario (CCSM4.0, RCP 8.5) for 2050, which assumed zero change from human activities. To assess both potential threats, we compared the estimated annual rates of species loss (i.e., range shifts) affecting each species. Deforestation loss for all species averaged approximately 71 km2/year, while potential climate-attributed loss was almost 21 km2/year. Moreover, annual area loss rates due to deforestation were significantly higher than those attributed to climate-change (P < 0.01). However, projections into the future scenario show evidence of diverging displacement patterns, indicating the potential formation of novel ecosystems, which is consistent with other species assemblage predictions as result of climate change. Furthermore, we provide recommendations for management and conservation, prioritizing the most threatened species such as Albizia multiflora, Ceiba trichistandra, and Cochlospermum vitifolium.

Forests are subjected to stress from climatic and non-climatic sources. In this study, we have reported the results of inherent, as well as climate change driven vulnerability assessments for Indian forests. To assess inherent vulnerability of forests under current climate, we have used four indicators, namely biological richness, disturbance index, canopy cover, and slope. The assessment is presented as spatial profile of inherent vulnerability in low, medium, high and very high vulnerability classes. Fourty percent forest grid points in India show high or very high inherent vulnerability. Plantation forests show higher inherent vulnerability than natural forests. We assess the climate change driven vulnerability by combining the results of inherent vulnerability assessment with the climate change impact projections simulated by the Integrated Biosphere Simulator dynamic global vegetation model. While 46% forest grid points show high, very high, or extremely high vulnerability under future climate in the short term (2030s) under both representative concentration pathways 4.5 and 8.5, such grid points are 49 and 54%, respectively, in the long term (2080s). Generally, forests in the higher rainfall zones show lower vulnerability as compared to drier forests under future climate. Minimizing anthropogenic disturbance and conserving biodiversity can potentially reduce forest vulnerability under climate change. For disturbed forests and plantations, adaptive management aimed at forest restoration is necessary to build long-term resilience.

Pasturing of livestock in forests has had profound consequences for Europe's landscapes. In Białowieża Primeval Forest (BPF), cattle pasturing was a part of traditional forest use that ceased only in the second half of the twentieth century. We collected information on the institutional changes governing forest cattle pasturing and the changes in spatial extent of cattle presence in BPF in last two centuries and information on cattle numbers and their impact on forest regeneration. The spatial extent of cattle pasturing was highly variable, with the distribution of grazing areas frequently changing. Forest near villages (constituting less than 10 % of the area) was most often used for cattle grazing during continued longer time periods. Historical data showed that cattle have had a clear impact on forest regeneration. However, the frequent changes that occurred in the extent of cattle grazing indicate that their impact occurred locally, was smaller in other less intensively used areas, and in the forest as a whole.

Surface albedo is an important physical property by which the land surface regulates climate. A wide and growing body of literature suggests that failing to account for surface albedo can result in suboptimal or even counterproductive climate-motivated policies of the land-based sectors. As such, albedo changes are increasingly included in climate impact assessments of forestry and other land sector projects through conversion of radiative forcings into carbon or carbon dioxide equivalents. However, the prevailing methodology does not sufficiently accommodate dynamic albedo changes on land or CO 2 in the atmosphere. We present two new metrics designed to address these deficiencies, referring to them as the time-dependent emissions equivalent and the time-independent emissions equivalent of albedo changes. We demonstrate their application in various land management contexts and discuss their merits and uncertainties., (© 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.)

Amazonia is the most biodiverse rainforest on Earth, and the debate over how many tree species grow there remains contentious. Here we provide a checklist of all tree species collected to date, and describe spatial and temporal trends in data accumulation. We report 530,025 unique collections of trees in Amazonia, dating between 1707 and 2015, for a total of 11,676 species in 1225 genera and 140 families. These figures support recent estimates of 16,000 total Amazonian tree species based on ecological plot data from the Amazonian Tree Diversity Network. Botanical collection in Amazonia is characterized by three major peaks, centred around 1840, 1920, and 1980, which are associated with flora projects and the establishment of inventory plots. Most collections were made in the 20th century. The number of collections has increased exponentially, but shows a slowdown in the last two decades. We find that a species' range size is a better predictor of the number of times it has been collected than the species' estimated basin-wide population size. Finding, describing, and documenting the distribution of the remaining species will require coordinated efforts at under-collected sites.

The taxonomic status of a single island, narrow range endemic plant species from Palau, Micronesia (Timonius salsedoi) was assessed using DNA barcode markers, additional plastid loci, and morphology in order to verify its conservation status. DNA barcode loci distinguished T. salsedoi from all other Timonius species sampled from Palau, and were supported by sequence data from the atpB-rbcL intergenic spacer region. Timonius salsedoi was only known from two mature individual trees in 2012. Due to its extremely narrow range and population size, it had previously been recommended to be listed as Critically Endangered Status under three separate IUCN Criteria. In 2014 a second survey of the population following a typhoon revealed that the only two known trees had died suggesting that this species may now be extinct. Comprehensive follow up surveys of suitable habitat for this species are urgently required.

Salvage logging following windthrow is common throughout forests worldwide even though the practice is often considered inimical to forest recovery. Because salvaging removes trees, crushes seedlings, and compacts soils, many warn this practice may delay succession, suppress diversity, and alter composition. Here, over 8 yr following windthrow, we experimentally evaluate how salvaging affects tree succession across 11 gaps in Eastern deciduous forests of Pennsylvania, wherein each gap was divided into salvaged and control (unsalvaged) halves. Our gaps vary in size and windthrow severity, and we explicitly account for this variation as well as variation in soil disturbance (i.e., scarification) resulting from salvaging so that our results would be generalizable. Salvage logging had modest and ephemeral impacts on tree succession. Seedling richness and density declined similarly over time in both salvaged and unsalvaged areas as individuals grew into saplings. The primary impact of salvaging on succession occurred where salvaging scarified soils. Here, salvaging caused 41 to 82% declines in sapling abundance, richness, and diversity, but these differences largely disappeared within 5 yr. Additionally, we documented interactions between windthrow severity and scarification. Specifically, low-severity windthrow and scarification combined reinforced dominance by shade-tolerant and browse-tolerant species (Acer pensylvanicum, Fagus grandifolia). In contrast, high windthrow severity and scarification together reduced the density of a fast-growing pioneer tree (Prunus pensylvanica) and non-tree vegetation cover by 75% and 26%, respectively. This reduction enhanced the recruitment of two mid-successional tree species, Acer rubrum and Prunus serotina, by 2 and 3-fold, respectively. Thus, our findings demonstrate that salvaging creates novel microsites and mitigates competing vegetation, thereby enhancing establishment of important hardwoods and promoting tree species coexistence. Our results, coupled with an assessment of 27 published post-windthrow salvage studies, suggest short-term studies may overestimate the impact of salvaging on regeneration. We conclude that the ecological costs and benefits of salvaging depend upon the variation in canopy and soil disturbance severity as well as the timescale at which effects are evaluated. Thus, our findings are inconsistent with the view that salvaging inexorably undermines plant diversity; rather we suggest salvaging can promote tree species coexistence within various contexts.

Niche and neutral theories emphasize different processes contributing to the maintenance of species diversity. In this study, we calculated the local contribution to beta diversity (LCBD) of every cell, using variation partitioning in combination with spatial distance and environmental variables of the 25-ha Badagongshan plot (BDGS), to determine the contribution of environmentally-related variation versus pure spatial variation. We used topography and soil characteristics as environmental variables, distance-based Moran's eigenvectors maps (dbMEM) to describe spatial relationships among cells and redundancy analysis (RDA) to apportion the variation in beta diversity into three components: pure environmental, spatially-structured environmental, and pure spatial. Results showed LCBD values were negatively related to number of common species and positively related to number of rare species. Environment and space jointly explained ~60% of the variation in species composition; soil variables alone explained 21.6%, slightly more than the topographic variables that explained 15.7%; topography and soil together explained 27%, slightly inferior to spatial variables that explained 34%. The BDGS forest was controlled both by the spatial and environmental variables, and the results were consistent across different life forms and life stages.

We examine the effects of forest fragmentation on the structure and composition of tree assemblages within three seasonal and aseasonal forest types of southern Brazil, including evergreen, Araucaria, and deciduous forests. We sampled three southernmost Atlantic Forest landscapes, including the largest continuous forest protected areas within each forest type. Tree assemblages in each forest type were sampled within 10 plots of 0.1 ha in both continuous forests and 10 adjacent forest fragments. All trees within each plot were assigned to trait categories describing their regeneration strategy, vertical stratification, seed-dispersal mode, seed size, and wood density. We detected differences among both forest types and landscape contexts in terms of overall tree species richness, and the density and species richness of different functional groups in terms of regeneration strategy, seed dispersal mode and woody density. Overall, evergreen forest fragments exhibited the largest deviations from continuous forest plots in assemblage structure. Evergreen, Araucaria and deciduous forests diverge in the functional composition of tree floras, particularly in relation to regeneration strategy and stress tolerance. By supporting a more diversified light-demanding and stress-tolerant flora with reduced richness and abundance of shade-tolerant, old-growth species, both deciduous and Araucaria forest tree assemblages are more intrinsically resilient to contemporary human-disturbances, including fragmentation-induced edge effects, in terms of species erosion and functional shifts. We suggest that these intrinsic differences in the direction and magnitude of responses to changes in landscape structure between forest types should guide a wide range of conservation strategies in restoring fragmented tropical forest landscapes worldwide.

Conservation planning requires setting priorities at the same spatial scale at which decision-making processes are undertaken considering all levels of biodiversity, but current methods for identifying biodiversity hotspots ignore its genetic component. We developed a fine-scale approach based on the definition of genetic hotspots, which have high genetic diversity and unique variants that represent their evolutionary potential and evolutionary novelties. Our hypothesis is that wide-ranging taxa with similar ecological tolerances, yet of phylogenetically independent lineages, have been and currently are shaped by ecological and evolutionary forces that result in geographically concordant genetic patterns. We mapped previously published genetic diversity and unique variants of biparentally inherited markers and chloroplast sequences for 9 species from 188 and 275 populations, respectively, of the 4 woody dominant families of the austral temperate forest, an area considered a biodiversity hotspot. Spatial distribution patterns of genetic polymorphisms differed among taxa according to their ecological tolerances. Eight genetic hotspots were detected and we recommend conservation actions for some in the southern Coastal Range in Chile. Existing spatially explicit genetic data from multiple populations and species can help to identify biodiversity hotspots and guide conservation actions to establish science-based protected areas that will preserve the evolutionary potential of key habitats and species., (© The American Genetic Association 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

This study evaluated the effects of young poplar plantations on understory plant diversity in the Dongting Lake wetlands, China. Poplar plantations resulted in a higher species number and Shannon's diversity. Species compositions were different between areas with poplar and reed populations: a lower ratio of hygrophytes but a higher ratio of mesophytes, and a higher ratio of heliophytes but a lower ratio of neutrophilous or shade plants in poplar areas compared to reed areas. Poplar plantations supported a higher ratio of ligneous plants in the entire Dongting Lake area, but there was no difference in the monitored plots. Unlike reedy areas, poplar plantations had higher light availability but lower soil water content during the growing seasons. These data suggest that young poplar plantations generally increased species richness and plant diversity, but significantly changed species composition due to the reduced soil water and increased light availability.

Understanding the interactions among microbial communities, plant communities and soil properties following deforestation could provide insights into the long-term effects of land-use change on ecosystem functions, and may help identify approaches that promote the recovery of degraded sites. We combined high-throughput sequencing of fungal rDNA and molecular barcoding of plant roots to estimate fungal and plant community composition in soil sampled across a chronosequence of deforestation. We found significant effects of land-use change on fungal community composition, which was more closely correlated to plant community composition than to changes in soil properties or geographic distance, providing evidence for strong links between above- and below-ground communities in tropical forests.

To examine ownership and protection status of forests with high-biomass stores (>200 Mg/ha) in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) region of the United States, we used the latest versions of publicly available datasets. Overlay, aggregation, and GIS-based computation of forest area in broad biomass classes in the PNW showed that the National Forests contained the largest area of high-biomass forests (48.4 % of regional total), but the area of high-biomass forest on private lands was important as well (22.8 %). Between 2000 and 2008, the loss of high-biomass forests to fire on the National Forests was 7.6 % (236,000 ha), while the loss of high-biomass forest to logging on private lands (364,000 ha) exceeded the losses to fire across all ownerships. Many remaining high-biomass forest stands are vulnerable to future harvest as only 20 % are strictly protected from logging, while 26 % are not protected at all. The level of protection for high-biomass forests varies by state, for example, 31 % of all high-biomass federal forests in Washington are in high-protection status compared to only 9 % in Oregon. Across the conterminous US, high-biomass forest covers <3 % of all forest land and the PNW region holds 56.8 % of this area or 5.87 million ha. Forests with high-biomass stores are important to document and monitor as they are scarce, often threatened by harvest and development, and their disturbance including timber harvest results in net C losses to the atmosphere that can take a new generation of trees many decades or centuries to offset.

The effect of environmental variation on the structure of tree communities in tropical forests is still under debate. There is evidence that in landscapes like Tierra Firme forest, where the environmental gradient decreases at a local level, the effect of soil on the distribution patterns of plant species is minimal, happens to be random or is due to biological processes. In contrast, in studies with different kinds of plants from tropical forests, a greater effect on floristic composition of varying soil and topography has been reported. To assess this, the current study was carried out in a permanent plot of ten hectares in the Amacayacu National Park, Colombian Amazonia. To run the analysis, floristic and environmental variations were obtained according to tree species abundance categories and growth forms. In order to quantify the role played by both environmental filtering and dispersal limitation, the variation of the spatial configuration was included. We used Detrended Correspondence Analysis and Canonical Correspondence Analysis, followed by a variation partitioning, to analyze the species distribution patterns. The spatial template was evaluated using the Principal Coordinates of Neighbor Matrix method. We recorded 14 074 individuals from 1 053 species and 80 families. The most abundant families were Myristicaceae, Moraceae, Meliaceae, Arecaceae and Lecythidaceae, coinciding with other studies from Northwest Amazonia. Beta diversity was relatively low within the plot. Soils were very poor, had high aluminum concentration and were predominantly clayey. The floristic differences explained along the ten hectares plot were mainly associated to biological processes, such as dispersal limitation. The largest proportion of community variation in our dataset was unexplained by either environmental or spatial data. In conclusion, these results support random processes as the major drivers of the spatial variation of tree species at a local scale on Tierra Firme forests of Amacayacu National Park, and suggest reserve's size as a key element to ensure the conservation of plant diversity at both regional and local levels.

Taking the Korean pine broadleaved forest in Liangshui Nature Reserve of Heilongjiang Province, Northeast China as test object, this paper studied the species composition and diameter class structure, and by using point pattern analysis, analyzed the spatial distribution pattern and spatial association of the main populations. In the Reserve, there were a total of 16 species with diameter greater than 1 cm in tree layer, and great differences were observed in the densities of main populations. Coniferous trees such as Pinus koraiensis and Abies nephrolepis were dominant. The diameter class structure of the populations presented as an inverse "J" curve, indicating a good regeneration across the community. The main populations were mostly in aggregated distribution pattern, except that the P. koraiensis populations at the scales of 19-21 m and 44 m as well as the Acer tegmentosum populations close to the largest research scale were in random distribution. The P. koraiensis populations at all research scales were approximately in random distribution, and had the minimum aggregation. A. nephrolepis, Tilia amurensis, and A. tegmentosum populations all presented a random distribution trend. Except that the P. koraiensis and A. nephrolepis at 2-3 m scale and the A. nephrolepis and A. tegmentosum populations at 37-81 m scale had significant positive association, no significant associations were observed between other populations. All the tree species presented an overall non-significant positive association.

Adding propagules (source) to a degraded site (recipient) is a common way of manipulating secondary succession to restore diversity and services formerly provided by forests. However, heretofore no study has considered the effect of "successional distance" between source and recipient site. Four sites in the Shilin karst area of SW China were treated as different states along a secondary successional sere: grass, shrub, young secondary forest, and primary forest. Ten 1 m ×1m soil quadrats in the grass, shrub and young forest sites were replaced with 10 cm deep soil sources from corresponding later successional stage(s) in January 2009. Woody plant seed germination was monitored in the first year and seedling survival was monitored until the end of the second year. At the end of 2010, 2097 seeds of woody plants belonging to 45 taxa had germinated, and 3.9% of the seedlings and 7.8% of the species survived. Germination of most species was sensitive to ambient light (red, far-red, R:FR ratios, photosynthetically active radiation). Soil source and recipient site had a significant effect on the total number of seeds and number of species that germinated, and on the percentage of seedlings that survived through the end of the second year. Closer successional stages between recipient site and soil source had higher seed germination and seedling-survival percentages. However, a transition threshold exists in the young forest state, where seeds can germinate but not survive the second year. Our results, although based on an unreplicated chronosequence, suggest that successional distance between soil sources and recipient sites affect forest recruitment and restoration in degraded karst of SW China.

The concept of naturalness was developed to assess to what degree landscapes represent a natural state. Protected areas are often regarded as the remnants of untouched landscapes although many landscapes commonly perceived as pristine have a long history of human impact. Here, we introduced a historical perspective into the concept of naturalness and the analysis of the effectiveness of protected areas by analyzing historical trajectories in land-cover and forest communities for the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Michigan's Upper Peninsula (USA). Distribution of land-cover and forest community types was reconstructed for pre-settlement time (around 1850), the height of agricultural expansion (1928), and modern conditions (2000). Naturalness of the landscape was assessed by analyzing similarity between pre-settlement and current conditions and by assessing landscape continuity (1850-1928-2000). We compared changes in the strictly protected park core zone with those in the inland buffer zone with ongoing sustainable logging, and a not protected area adjacent to the park. Forest was the dominant land-cover type over the entire study period. We detected a gradient in land-cover continuity from the core zone (81 % continuity) to the inland buffer zone (74 %) and the area outside the park (66 %). Northern hardwood was the dominating forest type in all time points with high continuity (76 %). In contrast, pine forests show a more dynamic pattern with more than 50 % of the initial forests switching to non-forest or early succession forest types by 1928. More than half of the study area was considered as "natural virgin" (no changes in land-cover and forest community type) with a higher portion within the park than in the adjacent area. In contrast, areas with low naturalness are more abundant outside the park. Our study demonstrates the value of integrating historical information into naturalness assessments and the results provide useful information for future park management. More broadly speaking, our study advances research on the effectiveness of protected areas, by going beyond simple measures of averted deforestation, and introducing approaches to directly measure naturalness.

The need for quick identification of priority areas for biodiversity protection makes rapid assessment methods important management tools for defining conservation strategies. An increasingly used rapid assessment method is rapid ecological assessment (REA), a fast and flexible survey directed toward selected indicator species and vegetation forms. The purpose of this study was to propose and test REA based on plant community features of the semideciduous Atlantic forest (SAF). Correlation tests were performed between data collected by REA and plant species diversity, richness, and abundance collected by conventional woody plant inventory methods. The study was conducted in 21 SAF patches in Northern Paraná State, Brazil. The phytosociological inventory was conducted along a single transect and required 2 days to complete (excluding time spent for herbarium identification), whereas REA was conducted along three to four transects per working day. REA results correlated positively with woody plant diversity, proving REA to be an efficient method for defining the conservation status of SAF fragments, but accuracy of evaluations of threats to biological integrity are relatively low. Both the selection of appropriate variables and the skill level of field staff are critical and can strongly influence REA results.

Deforestation and fragmentation are important concerns in managing and conserving tropical forests and have global significance. In the Indian context, in the last one century, the forests have undergone significant changes due to several policies undertaken by government as well as increased population pressure. The present study has brought out spatiotemporal changes in forest cover and variation in forest type in the state of Odisha (Orissa), India, during the last 75 years period. The mapping for the period of 1924-1935, 1975, 1985, 1995 and 2010 indicates that the forest cover accounts for 81,785.6 km(2) (52.5 %), 56,661.1 km(2) (36.4 %), 51,642.3 km(2) (33.2 %), 49,773 km(2) (32 %) and 48,669.4 km(2) (31.3 %) of the study area, respectively. The study found the net forest cover decline as 40.5 % of the total forest and mean annual rate of deforestation as 0.69 % year(-1) during 1935 to 2010. There is a decline in annual rate of deforestation during 1995 to 2010 which was estimated as 0.15 %. Forest type-wise quantitative loss of forest cover reveals large scale deforestation of dry deciduous forests. The landscape analysis shows that the number of forest patches (per 1,000) are 2.463 in 1935, 10.390 in 1975, 11.899 in 1985, 12.193 in 1995 and 15.102 in 2010, which indicates high anthropogenic pressure on the forests. The mean patch size (km(2)) of forest decreased from 33.2 in 1935 to 5.5 in 1975 and reached to 3.2 by 2010. The study demonstrated that monitoring of long term forest changes, quantitative loss of forest types and landscape metrics provides critical inputs for management of forest resources.

Military training generates frequent and irregular disturbance followed by succession, resulting in fine-scaled mosaics of ecological conditions in military training areas (MTAs). The awareness that MTAs may represent important biodiversity sanctuaries is increasing recently. Concurrently, changes in military doctrine are leading to abandonment of many MTAs, which are being brought under civilian administration and opened for development. We surveyed vascular plants in 43 and butterflies in 41 MTAs in the Czech Republic and compared the records with plants and butterfly records from 301 and 125 nature reserves, respectively. After controlling for effects of area, geography, and climate, we found that plant species richness was equal in the two land use categories; butterfly richness was higher in MTAs; reserves hosted more endangered plants and more endangered butterflies. Ordination analyses, again controlled for potential nuisance effects, showed that MTAs and reserves differed also in species composition. While specialist species of nationally rarest habitat types inclined towards the reserves, MTAs hosted a high representation of endangered species depending on either disturbed ground, or successionaly transient conditions. These patterns reflect the history of the national nature reserves network, and the disturbance-succession dynamics within MTAs. The conservation value of formerly army-used lands is increasingly threatened by abandonment, and conservationists should support either alternative uses mimicking army activities, or sustainable management regimes.

With the combination of forest landscape model (LANDIS) and forest gap model (LINKAGES), this paper simulated the effects of climate change on the boreal forest landscape in the Great Xing'an Mountains, and compared the direct effects of climate change and the effects of climate warming-induced fires on the forest landscape. The results showed that under the current climate conditions and fire disturbances, the forest landscape in the study area could maintain its dynamic balance, and Larix gmelinii was still the dominant tree species. Under the future climate and fire disturbances scenario, the distribution area of L. gmelinii and Pinus pumila would be decreased, while that of Betula platyphylla, Populus davidiana, Populus suaveolens, Chosenia arbutifolia, and Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica would be increased, and the forest fragmentation and forest diversity would have an increase. The changes of the forest landscape lagged behind climate change. Climate warming would increase the growth of most tree species except L. gmelinii, while the increased fires would increase the distribution area of P. davidiana, P. suaveolens, and C. arbutifolia and decrease the distribution area of L. gmelinii, P. sylvestris var. mongolica, and P. pumila. The effects of climate warming-induced fires on the forest landscape were almost equal to the direct effects of climate change, and aggravated the direct effects of climate change on forest composition, forest landscape fragmentation, and forest landscape diversity.

Canada's National Forest Inventory (CanFI) provides coarse-grained, aggregated information on a large number of forest attributes. Though reasonably well suited for summary reporting on national forest resources, the coarse spatial nature of this data limits its usefulness in modeling applications that require information on forest composition at finer spatial resolutions. An alternative source of information is the land cover classification produced by the Canadian Forest Service as part of its Earth Observation for Sustainable Development of Forests (EOSD) initiative. This product, which is derived from Landsat satellite imagery, provides relatively high resolution coverage, but only very general information on forest composition (such as conifer, mixedwood, and deciduous). Here we link the CanFI and EOSD products using a spatial randomization technique to distribute the forest composition information in CanFI to the forest cover classes in EOSD. The resultant geospatial coverages provide randomized predictions of forest composition, which incorporate the fine-scale spatial detail of the EOSD product and agree in general terms with the species composition summaries from the original CanFI estimates. We describe the approach and provide illustrative results for selected major commercial tree species in Canada.

The research was focused on exploring the structure, diversity and form of regeneration process of the Dipterocarp forests in Western Ghats in relation to environmental factors. Eight populations in the distribution range of Dipterocarp forests were selected. In each population 32 plots of 2mx2m were laid down randomly. Atotal of 1243 seedlings < or = 10 cm dbh (diameter at breast height) belonging to 99 species and 48 families were recorded. The number of regenerated tree species was found to be high in the populations of Mudigere (40), Sakleshpura (40) and Makuta (39), which are characterized by favorable locality factors and lower disturbances. The highest similarity index in species composition was recorded between the populations of Sampaje in Kodagu district and Gundya in Dakshina Kannada (60%) whereas the lowest similarity index was observed between the population of Sringeri in Chikmagalore and Sampaje (53%) and Gundya and Makuta (35%) in Kodagu district. Dipterocarpus indicus was found to be dominant among the regenerated tree species in all the sites studied except Gundy and Sampaje. The frequencies of regeneration classes (seedlings, saplings, poles and adult trees) were shaped as inverse J curve indicating the normal regeneration pattern under the present disturbance. The average disturbance of litter collection, grazing, fire, weeds and canopy opening were significant among different populations (p < or = 0.05). Negative correlation was observed between disturbance and species richness, number of individuals and density.

This study aims to identify the remnant tree flora in six forest fragments in the metropolitan area of Belém and to analyze these fragments in terms of biological conservation, species richness and diversity in the local urban landscape. The fragments and their respective sampling areas were as follows: Amafrutas reserve (15 ha), Trambioca Is. reserve (2 ha), Bosque Rodrigues Alves city park (15 ha), Combu Is. reserve (10 ha), Gunma Park reserve (10 ha) and Mocambo reserve (5 ha). Inventories were built from lineal plots of 250 m² and included trees with DBH equal to or greater than 10 cm at a height of 1.3 m above ground. Sixty-nine families and 759 species, of which eight were officially listed as endangered (Brazilian National Flora: Ministry of Environment, Normative Instruction of September, 2008; Pará State Flora: Decree Nº. 802 of February 2008) were recorded. These endangered species are: Aspidosperma desmanthum Benth. ex Müll. Arg. (Apocynaceae), Cedrela odorata L. (Meliaceae), Eschweilera piresii S.A Mori (Lecythidaceae), Euxylophora paraensis Huber (Rutaceae), Hymenolobium excelsum Ducke (Leguminosae), Manilkara huberi (Ducke) Chevalier (Sapotaceae), Tabebuia impetiginosa (Mart. ex DC.) Standl. (Bignoniaceae), Mezilaurus itauba (Meisn.) Taub. ex Mez (Lauraceae) and Qualea coerulea Aubl. (Vochysiaceae). Emergency actions such as implementing management plans for already existing Conservation Units, the creation of new such units in areas of primary forest fragments (as in the case of the Amafrutas reserve), as well as the intensification of actions of surveillance and monitoring, should be undertaken by Federal, State, and Municipal environmental agencies so as to ensure the conservation of these last primary forest remnants in the metropolitan area of Belém.

A total of 140 endangered species in Hainan Island were selected as indicator species, and their spatial distribution patterns were analyzed by using mechanism habitat model. Based on the iterative operation with systematic conservation planning tool MARXAN, the priority areas of these species were identified and evaluated. The priority areas had an area of 5383.7 km2, accounting for 15.6% of the total land area of the Island, and mainly distributed in some forest regions (Yinggeling, Jianfengling and Wuzhishan) and in northern part water source regions. In the priority areas, the conservation proportion of 11 1st grade indicator species habitats occupied at least 65% of all the habitats. Through the gap analysis of priority areas and current nature reserves, it was suggested that an expansion of Jianfengling, Yinggeling-Limushan, and Wuzhishan-Diaoluoshan nature reserves and the establishment of Baolonglinchang-Linbiling-Fuwanling protection system should be made, and the protection areas for water source conservation and endangered species should be established in the northern part of the Island.

Taking the 4 hm2 fixed sampling plot in the Beigou forest farm of Weichang County in Hebei Province as test object, and by adopting the parameters (point pattern distribution, mingling, and size differentiation), this paper analyzed the community structure and distribution pattern of a natural secondary forest in the farm. There were eleven populations in the arbor layer of the forest, among which, Populus davidiana and Betula platyphylla had the obvious advantage in population density and basal area, being the dominant and constructive species of the arbor layer. Spatially, these two species all presented cluster modes remarkably, and competed each other greatly. The main accompanying species Larix principis-rupprechti and Acer truncatum also presented cluster modes, but the density and volume were significantly lower than the two dominant species', not able to compete with the dominate species. Affected by the low mingling of dominant species, the average mingling of the whole stand was only 0.40, while the mingling of accompanying species generally presented moderate or high. The mean size differentiation of the whole stand was 0.49, and P. davidiana, B. platyphylla, L. principis-rupprechti, and Quercus mongolica were of dominance or sub-dominance in the spatial structural units, while the other accompanying species had no obvious dominance.

By using line-transect method, an investigation was conducted on the species diversity of butterfly in Wuyunjie National Nature Reserve, Changde City of Hunan Province from June 2008 to September 2010. Aiming at the main factors including plant species richness (D) , mean elevation (E) , average distance from stream/river (F), and human interference level (K) that affecting the species richness of butterfly in 31 segment-level transects in 4 line-transects, multiple regression analysis was made, and the diversity and similarity of the butterfly communities in the experimental zone, buffer zone, and core zone of the Reserve were compared. A total of 147 butterfly species were collected, belonging to 94 genera and 10 families, among which, 4 species was nationally conserved species. Multiple regression analysis showed that D, E, and K were the three most major factors affecting the distribution of butterfly. The species richness of butterfly had significant positive correlation with D (P < 0.01), and negative correlations with E and K (P < 0.05). The species diversity and evenness index of butterfly were higher in core zone than in experimental zone and buffer zone, dominance index was the highest in experimental zone, and a higher similarity index (0.526) was observed between buffer zone and core zone. To conserve the species diversity of butterfly in the Reserve, efforts should be made to protect the plant species richness, keep the natural forest succession, decrease the human interference properly, and tighten up the management of butterfly habitat.

Taking the broad-leaved Korean pine forest stands at four different succession stages after clear-cutting in Changbai Mountains as test objects, this paper studied the change characteristics of community composition and dominant species. The tree species richness, Shannon diversity index, and Simpson dominance index at different succession stages had less change, but the evenness and abundance changed greatly. As succession progressed, the community composition changed constantly, i.e., species number decreased, while the basal area sum and the maximum importance value of dominant tree species increased, suggesting that the dominance of dominant species was continuously improved with succession. In the succession process of broad-leaved Korean pine forest in Changbai Mountains, Betula platyphylla, Populus davidiana, Phellodendron amurense, Ulmus japonica, and other intolerant or semi-intolerant tree species decreased, while Tilia amurensis, Fraxinus mandshurica, Pinus koraiensis, Acer mono, and other shade-tolerant species increased.

By using indicator species analysis (ISA) method, this paper studied the feasibility of using indicator species to reflect the responses of species diversity and community composition of subtropical forests in Huitong of China to forest management. Ninety-four significant indicator species from 357 understory species were identified, and a new indicator species dataset (community level) was constructed to examine the association between indicator species dataset and original community dataset, and to evaluate the predictive potential of indicator species in reflecting forest management effect. There existed a strong association between the two datasets (Mantel r = 0.898). The indicator species dataset could well predict the management effect on species diversity (regression analysis, R2 > 0.74) and community composition (ANOVA, F >16.79). When the two datasets were applied to Nonmetric Multi-Dimensional Scaling (NMDS) ordination and K-mean cluster analysis, the indicator species dataset could well identify the forest types with different management treatments, as the original community dataset did. Also, the indicator species dataset nearly played the same role as the original community dataset in identifying the species diversity, community composition, and forest type. It was suggested that for saving costs in overall investigation of forest ecosystem, indicator species could be used as a surrogate of full community to predict forest management effect.

Based on the investigation data of monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest at its different succession stages (primary, CP; 15 years of succession, CF; and 30 years of succession, CT) in Pu' er of Yunnan Province, this paper studied the species-area relationship of this forest at each succession stage. It was found that in the communities at each succession stage, the number of total species, trees, shrubs, and lianas had a significant correlation with sampling area, with the area explained over 94% of the total variation. The Z value of the total species (0.334) and trees (0.394) was the lowest at CT, whereas that of shrubs (0.437) and lianas (0.326) was the lowest at CF. No significant differences were observed in the intercepts of the species-area curve of total species, trees, shrubs, and lianas among different succession stages, but the coefficient of determination (R2) of the species-area curve of total species and lianas was the highest at CP. The richness of trees and shrubs at CF explained 99.9% of the variance of Z value, but the richness of total species, trees, shrubs, and lianas at CP and CT had no significant correlations with the Z value.