Category: Research summaries

Agriculture, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Land sparing outperforms land sharing for Amazonian bird communities regardless of surrounding landscape context

Benjamin Birch discusses the role of wildlife-friendly habitat in the wider surrounding landscape in promoting farmland diversity. Alongside colleagues, Birch modelled strategies of land sparing and land sharing under different levels of production. Background The conversion of natural habitats to agriculture is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity globally. Currently, 40% of the Earth’s land is dedicated to farming, and projections show a further … Continue reading Land sparing outperforms land sharing for Amazonian bird communities regardless of surrounding landscape context

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Grasslands, Monitoring and methods, Policy, Research summaries

No change in burning of peatland in Eastern Scotland’s moorlands

Author Benedict Spracklen used satellite imagery to better understand the impact of prescribed burning of moorland on ecosystem services. Prescribed burning has long played a role in the management of moorland, both in Scotland and across the UK. In Eastern Scotland, moorland burning (muirburn) is carried out to remove old vegetation and encourage new growth, in the belief this will help red grouse, which are … Continue reading No change in burning of peatland in Eastern Scotland’s moorlands

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Agriculture, Research summaries

The landscape of fear in cattle farms? How the presence of barn swallow influences the activity of pest flies

Authors of a research article recently published in Journal of Applied Ecology talk us through how barn swallows are effective biological control agents for lowering pest fly activity in livestock farms. Preamble: Farmland birds, filth flies and the landscape of fear Birds are key suppliers of crucial ecosystem services worldwide, and insectivorous species can consume up to 400 – 500 million tons of prey each … Continue reading The landscape of fear in cattle farms? How the presence of barn swallow influences the activity of pest flies

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Monitoring and methods, Research summaries, Restoration

Restoring Landscapes: When restoration actions don’t lead to restoration outcomes

As part of the ‘Restoring Landscapes’ blog series, author Jake Williams presents a case study illustrating the value of satellite data in filling the knowledge gap on the effect of passive restoration efforts in different climatic and ecological contexts. With the launch of the ‘Restoring Landscapes’ blog series, it is a timely moment to reflect on the connection between the actions we call “restoration” and … Continue reading Restoring Landscapes: When restoration actions don’t lead to restoration outcomes

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Careers, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Oliver Wilson: Assessing the exposure of UK habitats to 20th- and 21st-century climate change, and its representation in ecological monitoring schemes

Shortlisted for the 2023 Southwood Prize Oliver Wilson explains how he, along with co-author Oliver Pescott, generated a metric of climate change exposure by quantifying the change in observed historical and predicted future conditions. They then compared patterns of climate change exposure in locations sampled by ecological monitoring schemes to random samples from wider habitats. Climate change and ecological monitoring We’re living in a time … Continue reading Oliver Wilson: Assessing the exposure of UK habitats to 20th- and 21st-century climate change, and its representation in ecological monitoring schemes

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Agriculture, Careers, Plant and soil ecology, Research summaries

Iván Raniero Hernández-Salmerón: Native palms and trees mediate drought impacts on dry neotropical pastures

Shortlisted for the 2023 Southwood Prize Iván Raniero Hernández-Salmerón talks us through research, conducted alongside colleagues, which shows that fostering a diversity of native palms and trees has positive effects on the functioning of cattle pastures, especially during dry periods. A larger understanding of the facilitative effects of remnant palms and trees on pastures during seasonal droughts may also help to develop more climate-resilient livestock … Continue reading Iván Raniero Hernández-Salmerón: Native palms and trees mediate drought impacts on dry neotropical pastures

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Careers, Plant and soil ecology, Research summaries, Restoration

Natashi Pilon: Challenges and directions for open ecosystems biodiversity restoration: An overview of the techniques applied for Cerrado

Shortlisted for the 2023 Southwood Prize In this blog post, Natashi Pilon discusses their team’s analysis of 82 data sets from the literature and primary data collection, with the aim of assessing the effectiveness of passive and active restoration techniques applied in Cerrado open ecosystems. Restoration We are in the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, and the consensus is stronger than ever that conservation is … Continue reading Natashi Pilon: Challenges and directions for open ecosystems biodiversity restoration: An overview of the techniques applied for Cerrado

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Careers, Grasslands, Invasive species, Plant and soil ecology, Research summaries

Nicholas McMillan: Unraveling the invasion paradox 

Shortlisted for the 2023 Southwood Prize Nicholas McMillan details how he and colleagues collected data across eight grassland landscapes to test how an invasive legume affected plant and bird communities at spatial grains ranging from 0.1 m2 to >3,000,000 m2. It was concluded that scale is a central problem in ecology, and defining scale in management objectives is essential for effective biodiversity conservation. Invasive plants Invasive plants are managed … Continue reading Nicholas McMillan: Unraveling the invasion paradox 

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Careers, Coastal and marine, Freshwater, Practitioners, Research summaries, Restoration, Themed collections

Conservation of future marshland

Shortlisted for the Chico Mendes Prize 2023 In this blog post, author Molly Mitchell describe her team’s Practice Insights article which demonstrates the value of using multiple models and data to inform marsh management, conservation and restoration practices. How do you make good decisions about managing resources when those resources are changing? This is the issue with which coastal managers have been struggling as sea … Continue reading Conservation of future marshland

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Careers, Human-wildlife interactions, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Aimée McIntosh: Modelling harvest of Greenland barnacle geese and its implications in mitigating human–wildlife conflict

Shortlisted for the 2023 Southwood Prize Aimée McIntosh talks us through how she and colleagues constructed an integrated population model to assess the cumulative impact of all shooting harvest on the Greenland barnacle goose. Findings demonstrate the impact of local harvests on global abundance, emphasising the importance of internationally coordinated monitoring and management strategies of migratory species. From conservation success to conflict Unlike many migratory … Continue reading Aimée McIntosh: Modelling harvest of Greenland barnacle geese and its implications in mitigating human–wildlife conflict

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