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

Recognising and supporting Brazilian ecological science in uncertain times

Incoming Executive Editor, Jos Barlow, introduces this collection of articles that celebrates ecological research in Brazil. All articles in this Virtual Issue are free to read for a limited time. Read this post in Portuguese here. This Virtual Issue celebrates over 70 years of Brazil-based or Brazil-led research in British Ecological Society (BES) journals. Although the first manuscript led by a Brazil-based scientist was published … Continue reading Recognising and supporting Brazilian ecological science in uncertain times

Issue 55:5

Read the highlights from our September issue. Value of information: when to learn and when to manage in conservation This issue’s Editor’s Choice article Better many small than a few large: how landscape configuration affects arthropod communities in rice Can splitting agricultural ecosystems help reduce yield losses for rice farmers? Mejor muchos pequeños que pocos grandes: sobre como la configuración del paisaje afecta las comunidades … Continue reading Issue 55:5

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

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

Abandoned pastures regenerate to low diversity forests without intervention

To start the week, Associate Editor, Cate Macinnis-Ng comments on the recently published article, Abandoned pastures cannot spontaneously recover the attributes of old-growth savannas by Cava et al. Savanna ecosystems of the seasonally dry tropics cover almost 20% of the earth’s land area. Maintenance of biodiversity in savannas relies on the right amounts of grazing and fire. While overgrazing of savannas is a common threat, … Continue reading Abandoned pastures regenerate to low diversity forests without intervention