Research summaries

How could the EU’s LIFE funds enhance conservation in Natura 2000?

Virgilio Hermoso et al. identify prioritisation exercises that could better-distribute conservation funds in the EU in their recent Policy Direction, Spatial prioritisation of EU’s LIFE‐Nature programme to strengthen the conservation impact of Natura 2000. The EU has made significant conservation efforts in the last two decades. Guided by the Birds and Habitats Directives, member States have designated the world´s largest network of protected areas, the Natura … Continue reading How could the EU’s LIFE funds enhance conservation in Natura 2000?

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Translation

First steps towards active fire management on the Brazilian Cerrado – Primeiros passos em direção ao manejo ativo de fogo no Cerrado

Moving away from zero-fire policy in the Brazilian Cerrado. Associate Editor, Rafael D. Zenni comments on the recent Policy Direction, Fire management in the Brazilian savanna: First steps and the way forward by Schmidt et al. Rafael also provided a Portuguese version  of this post. The journal welcomes blog posts and abstracts in different languages. English version The Brazilian Cerrado is recognised by many as the most … Continue reading First steps towards active fire management on the Brazilian Cerrado – Primeiros passos em direção ao manejo ativo de fogo no Cerrado

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Research summaries

Wind farms affect small birds too

Julia Gómez-Catasús explains the need for a 4.5km threshold between wind farms and small-sized birds, based on the recently published article, Wind farms affect the occurrence, abundance and population trends of small passerine birds: The case of the Dupont’s lark. Wind energy has experienced significant developments in recent decades, with China, United States, Germany, India and Spain being the main wind energy producers in the world. … Continue reading Wind farms affect small birds too

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Freshwater, Research summaries

Tributaries may reset the legacy of dams in large rivers

Tributaries, river management and damming. In this post, Associate Editor Tadeu Siqueira comments the recent article by John Sabo and colleagues, Pulsed flows, tributary inputs, and food-web structure in a highly regulated river. The damming of large rivers has been common practice, probably since Thomas Edison built one of the first hydroelectric stations in 1882. Most important rivers in economically developed regions have already been … Continue reading Tributaries may reset the legacy of dams in large rivers

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Research summaries

Where do wintering cormorants in Europe come from – and does it matter?

Morten Frederiksen discusses conflicts between wintering cormorants and fisheries, following the recent article, Where do wintering cormorants come from? Long-term changes in the geographical origin of a migratory bird on a continental scale. Cormorants are very efficient predators of fish in shallow waters. They are particularly good at exploiting artificially high densities of fish. Predictably, this has led to widespread conflicts with human fisheries interests. Although fishermen … Continue reading Where do wintering cormorants in Europe come from – and does it matter?

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Pathogens and disease, Research summaries

The devil is in the details: managing small populations to combat disease-led decline

Following the recent post by Billie Lazenby, Ellery McNaughton & Associate Editor Margaret Stanley share their thoughts on the article, Density trends and demographic signals uncover the long-term impact of transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils and the importance of focusing on external threats to Tasmanian devils. New research by Lazenby et al. highlights the important interplay between disease ecology and population dynamics in informing conservation management. Wild … Continue reading The devil is in the details: managing small populations to combat disease-led decline

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Research summaries, Translation

The spontaneous recovery of Neotropical savannas in abandoned pastures – A recuperação espontânea de savanas neotropicais em pastagens abandonadas

Mario Cava comments on the article, Abandoned pastures cannot spontaneously recover the attributes of old-growth savannas, published in Journal of Applied Ecology. The authors have also provided a Portuguese translation of this post. Old-growth savannas are ancient fire-prone systems, with high endemism and species diversity. The richness of these systems is mainly represented by the ground layer. In the Brazilian Cerrado, for example, for each tree … Continue reading The spontaneous recovery of Neotropical savannas in abandoned pastures – A recuperação espontânea de savanas neotropicais em pastagens abandonadas

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Research summaries

Crop functional traits can help to predict the effects of organic farming on soil carbon sequestration

Focusing on functional traits of crop residues and their connection to soil carbon storage, Pablo Garcia Palacios comments on recent article, Crop traits drive soil carbon sequestration under organic farming. Soil organic carbon is a major agricultural resource for two different reasons. First, it is a measurable component of soil organic matter, which has a key influence on the capacity of soils to retain moisture and … Continue reading Crop functional traits can help to predict the effects of organic farming on soil carbon sequestration

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Research summaries

Warming, insect pests and water stress combine to reduce tree growth in the city

Emily Meineke comments on new research, Water availability drives urban tree growth responses to herbivory and warming  published today in Journal of Applied Ecology. Cities are getting warmer. This is due in part to global climate change. The more important factor for now, though, is the urban heat island effect; local warming in cities caused by sidewalks, asphalt, and reduced tree cover. In short, areas with less … Continue reading Warming, insect pests and water stress combine to reduce tree growth in the city

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Coastal and marine, Research summaries

Evaluating the temporal effectiveness of marine reserves

Assessing the effectiveness of marine reserves and evaluating species recovery after closure to towed mobile fishing gear; Associate Editor, Steph Januchowski-Hartley comments on the article, Recovery linked to life history of sessile epifauna following exclusion of towed mobile fishing gear by Kaiser et. al. Reserves, or protected areas, are frequently used to mitigate impacts from human uses. In marine waters these reserves are often established to afford … Continue reading Evaluating the temporal effectiveness of marine reserves

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