Tag: disturbance

Forests, Research summaries

The surprising connections between deer and the forest canopy

Ungulates place immense consumptive pressure on forest vegetation globally, leaving legacies of reduced biodiversity and simplified vegetative structure. In their latest research, Samuel Reed and colleagues sought to determine whether browse-induced changes occurring early in succession ultimately manifest themselves in the developed forest canopy. Herbivores are incredibly influential around the world and can re-shape entire ecosystems over time. In North American temperate forests, white-tailed deer … Continue reading The surprising connections between deer and the forest canopy

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Agriculture, Grasslands, Research summaries, Restoration

Reintroducing Grazing in California’s Vernal Pools—Can we reverse the effects of past management?

In disturbance-adapted ecosystems, the removal of disturbance can lead to losses of diversity and sometimes irreversible changes in community composition. In their latest research, Michaels and colleagues identify the thresholds at which changes occur and explore the reversibility of these shifts in a vernal pool ecosystem in Northern California. If you head out in search of one of California’s famous vernal pools, you’ll have to … Continue reading Reintroducing Grazing in California’s Vernal Pools—Can we reverse the effects of past management?

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Forests, Research summaries, Themed collections

Forests undergoing novel disturbances: understanding and managing the complex new reality of forests

Considering the vast impacts disturbances such as fire and insect outbreaks are having on forests worldwide, Alexandro B. Leverkus and Simon Thorn bring together a selection of work showcasing quality research into these disturbances and strategies being taken to manage them.

This Virtual Issue features articles from across the British Ecological Society journals that are free-to-read for a limited time. Continue reading Forests undergoing novel disturbances: understanding and managing the complex new reality of forests

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

Black and white fragmentation maps can be misleading

Recent research from Marina Antongionanni and colleagues estimates 47,000 fragments of Caatinga dry forests to be affected by chronic human disturbances. Here the authors look at how such effects are depicted, and demonstrate how this knowledge can help define large-scale conservation and management actions. Continue reading Black and white fragmentation maps can be misleading

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Forests, Research summaries

A novel view of salvage logging in Europe’s spruce forests

In their recently published research, Laura Dobor, Tomáš Hlásny and colleagues investigate how different levels of intensity in salvage logging affect both bark beetle outbreaks and  landscape-scale carbon storage. Salvage logging – the removal of trees killed by wind, insects and other agents – is one of the most frequently applied management responses to forest disturbances worldwide. In European Norway spruce forests, salvaging of windfelled … Continue reading A novel view of salvage logging in Europe’s spruce forests

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Editor's Choice, Grasslands, Journal covers

Cover stories: red deer for grassland conservation

Our latest cover photo, taken by Marcus Meißner shows a red deer stag amidst an area of common broom the Grafenwöhr military training area (GTA), Germany. Besides disturbances caused by military training activities and mechanical land management, grazing by wild red deer contributes to maintaining open habitats on GTA. Friederike Riesch, lead author of the corresponding article, Grazing by wild red deer: Management options for … Continue reading Cover stories: red deer for grassland conservation

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Forests, Research summaries

How to keep the mycorrhizae? The more hosts you leave, the more symbionts you get

How can tree retention mediate the effects of human-introduced disturbance on ectomycorrhizal fungi? Nahuel Policelli  and Senior Editor, Martin Nuñez discuss the recent article, The significance of retention trees for survival of ectomycorrhizal fungi in clear‐cut Scots pine forests. One of the most important above-belowground interactions is that between plants and mycorrhizal fungi. Acting as symbionts, mycorrhizal fungi are involved in plants’ nutrient uptake and … Continue reading How to keep the mycorrhizae? The more hosts you leave, the more symbionts you get

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Coastal and marine, Infographic, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Infographic: Dynamic management tools

Heather Welch et al. provide an operationalization framework for implementing dynamic management tools to tackle a range of disturbance management goals, including minimization of protected species bycatch. See their work presented as an infographic here: Read the full open access article, Practical considerations for operationalizing dynamic management tools in Journal of Applied Ecology. Continue reading Infographic: Dynamic management tools

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Research summaries, Restoration

A new method for predicting time to recovery during restoration

Associate Editor, Lars Brudvig looks at the recently published Review, Advancing restoration ecology: A new approach to predict time to recovery by Rydgren et al. Restoring degraded ecosystems is a global priority, hailed for its potential to recover biodiversity and promote ecosystem functioning and services. Yet successful restoration doesn’t happen overnight. It may take years, decades, or longer for restoration projects to meet their goals … Continue reading A new method for predicting time to recovery during restoration

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Journal news, Research summaries

Issue 55:2

Issue 55:2 includes a Spotlight on Decision making under uncertainty. Other topics include urban ecology, population monitoring, tropical forest restoration and more. Here we take a look at some of the articles published in this issue. Decision making under uncertainty Senior Editor, Michael Bode on this issue’s selection of Spotlight papers How does grazing by wild ungulates and livestock affect plant richness? This issue’s Editor’s Choice Jaguar … Continue reading Issue 55:2

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