Category: Research summaries

Human-wildlife interactions, Research summaries

Using management interventions to help at-risk butterflies in a changing climate

Author Cheryl Schultz talks us through a new study which highlights the importance of active management interventions in helping to buffer effects of climate change, and helping to improve population trends for at-risk butterflies. Where did the idea come from? With extensive coverage in academic and popular publications, the widespread decline of butterflies is well-known. Butterflies face a triumvirate of threats: the cumulative effects of … Continue reading Using management interventions to help at-risk butterflies in a changing climate

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Desert and semi-arid, Monitoring and methods, Plant and soil ecology, Research summaries

Wide-scale rangeland condition monitoring: Measurement of increased vegetation cover following stock removal and conservation management

Angus Retallack explains how, using remote sensing data over a 22-year observation period, vegetation recovery after the removal of livestock and the introduction of conservation-focused management can be assessed. Arid and semi-arid rangelands cover close to 50% of the Earth’s land surface and are relied upon by a diverse range of stakeholders including Indigenous people, pastoralists and environmental conservationists. Sustainable use and conservation of these … Continue reading Wide-scale rangeland condition monitoring: Measurement of increased vegetation cover following stock removal and conservation management

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Agriculture, Plant and soil ecology, Research summaries

Close to the edge: Spatial variation in plant diversity, biomass and floral resources in conventional and agri-environment cereal fields

Laura Sutcliffe discusses her latest study where, alongside colleagues, she investigated the spatial distribution of vascular plant species richness and their contribution to the food web via biomass and flower units in conventional and agri-environment cereal fields. The study: Arable plants Arable plants are usually simply referred to as weeds, reflecting their low status in society and also in biodiversity research. Whilst there is a … Continue reading Close to the edge: Spatial variation in plant diversity, biomass and floral resources in conventional and agri-environment cereal fields

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Human-wildlife interactions, Research summaries

Integrated policies could help solar farms fulfil their climate and ecological potentials

In their latest Policy Direction, authors Fabio Carvalho, Hollie Blaydes and Alona Armstrong highlight key policy implications in relation to solar farm development and operation, and their usage in both addressing climate change and providing ecosystem benefits. Back in April last year, we wrote about the need to gather standardised evidence on the impacts of solar farms on hosting ecosystems to inform industry best practice … Continue reading Integrated policies could help solar farms fulfil their climate and ecological potentials

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Forests, Human-wildlife interactions, Research summaries

Salvage logging and subsequent post-windthrow management diminish forest bird communities for two decades

In this blog post, Michał Walesiak shares how increased bird diversity in an area of unmanaged windthrow persisted over a 20-year span in Poland. Natural disturbances in forests, such as hurricanes, fires, bark beetle outbreaks, often evoke negative emotions in people. Many find it hard to believe that hurricanes, fires, bark beetles… may actually bring some benefits to nature, such as increase in biodiversity! This … Continue reading Salvage logging and subsequent post-windthrow management diminish forest bird communities for two decades

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Agriculture, Grasslands, Research summaries

Supportive effect of uncut refuge strips on grassland arthropods may depend on the amount and width of strips

In this blog post, author Kitti Révész and her team share their latest study exploring the effects of uncut refuge strips on the abundance and diversity of arthropods. What is the best management practice of hay meadows from an arthropod conservation point of view? Grassland arthropods are declining as a consequence of land-use change and intensive management. There are efforts to spread extensive management through … Continue reading Supportive effect of uncut refuge strips on grassland arthropods may depend on the amount and width of strips

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Forests, Research summaries, Video

Mixed forests and delicious seeds: How tree species change the relationship between rodents and seeds

In this blog post, Pedro Mittelman and Bernado Araújo discuss how forest composition can affect plant–animal interactions without necessarily altering animal communities or population densities. Forest mortality We are walking through a dead forest. It is not yet winter, but as we move amid still standing Norway spruce (Picea abies) trunks along the Harz mountains, we find no leaves attached to them. Here, approximately 20,000 … Continue reading Mixed forests and delicious seeds: How tree species change the relationship between rodents and seeds

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Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Up in the trees – research into dormouse survey methods

Author Debbie Barlett shares her latest study that assesses whether current dormice survey methods are fit to produce accurate results. Where did the idea come from? I’ve always felt my role as programme leader for the MSc in Environmental Conservation at the University of Greenwich was to encourage students to question what they are being taught. This is particularly important during fieldwork, from the preparatory … Continue reading Up in the trees – research into dormouse survey methods

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Coastal and marine, Freshwater, Invasive species, Research summaries

Creating innovative solutions to manage aquatic invasive species impacts

Author Sarah Kingsbury shares a new integrated management approach to better assess the effects and risks of aquatic invasive species on Atlantic salmon in Nova Scotia, Canada. Invasive species played key roles in the extinction of 60% of Earth’s plants and animals as reported by IPBES in 2023. While not all alien species introduced to new habitats become problematic (or even are able to establish … Continue reading Creating innovative solutions to manage aquatic invasive species impacts

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Freshwater, Research summaries, Restoration

Paving the way for the restoration of the Enobieta stream

Authors of a recently published research article discuss the ecological consequences of large dam removal through their study of instream habitat and invertebrate communities in a temperate, forested catchment in northern Spain. River restoration by dam removal During the last decades, increased awareness on the consequences of a degraded environment has led to new legislation, such as the EU Water Framework Directive or the Nature … Continue reading Paving the way for the restoration of the Enobieta stream

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