Remote detection of invasive alien species

The spread of invasive alien species (IAS) is recognized as the most severe threat to biodiversity outside of climate change and anthropogenic habitat destruction. IAS negatively impact ecosystems, local economies, and residents. They are especially problematic because once established, they give rise to positive feedbacks, increasing the likelihood of further invasions and spread. The integration of remote sensing (RS) to the study of invasion, in addition to contributing to our understanding of invasion processes and impacts to biodiversity, has enabled managers to monitor invasions and predict the spread of IAS, thus supporting biodiversity conservation and management action. This chapter focuses on RS capabilities to detect and monitor invasive plant species across terrestrial, riparian, aquatic, and human-modified ecosystems. All of these environments have unique species assemblages and their own optimal methodology for effective detection and mapping, which we discuss in detail

Effects of past and future land conversions on forest connectivity in the Argentine Chaco

Context: Land-use change is the main driver of habitat loss and fragmentation worldwide. The rate of dry forest loss in the South American Chaco is among the highest in the world, mainly due to the expansion of soybean production and cattle ranching. Argentina recently implemented a national zoning plan (i.e., the Forest Law) to reduce further forest loss. However, it is unclear how the effects of past deforestation and the implementation of the Forest Law will affect forest connectivity in the Chaco. Objective: Our main goal was to evaluate the potential effect of the Forest Law on forest fragmentation and connectivity in the Argentine Chaco. Methods: We studied changes in the extent, fragmentation, and connectivity of forests between 1977 and 2010, by combining agricultural expansion and forest cover maps, and for the future in a scenario analysis. Results Past agricultural expansion translated into an overall loss of 22.5 % of the Argentine Chaco’s forests, with deforestation rates in 2000–2010 up to three times higher than in the 1980s. Forest fragmentation and connectivity loss were highest in 1977–1992, when road construction fragmented large forest patches. Our future scenario analysis showed that if the Forest Law will be implemented as planned, forest area and connectivity in the region will decline drastically. Conclusions: Land-use planning designed to protect stepping stones could substantially mitigate connectivity loss due to deforestation, with the co-benefit of preserving the greatest amount of biodiversity priority areas across all evaluated scenarios. Including scenario analyses that assess forest fragmentation and connectivity at the ecoregion scale is thus important in upcoming revisions of the Argentine Forest Law, and, more generally, in debates about sustainable resource use.Instituto de Recursos BiológicosFil: Piquer Rodriguez, María. Humboldt-University Berlin. Geography Department; AlemaniaFil: Torella, Sebastián Andrés. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Grupo de Estudios de Sistemas Ecológicos en Ambientes Agrícolas; ArgentinaFil: Gavier Pizarro, Gregorio Ignacio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Recursos Biológicos. Grupo de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Gestión Ambiental; ArgentinaFil: Volante, Jose Norberto. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta. Laboratorio de Teledetección y SIG; ArgentinaFil: Somma, Daniel Jorge. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Pergamino; ArgentinaFil: Guizburg, Rubén G. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución. Grupo de Estudios de Sistemas Ecológicos en Ambientes Agrícolas; ArgentinaFil: Kuemmerle, Tobias. Humboldt-University Berlin. Geography Department; Alemania. Humboldt-University Berlin. Integrative Research Institute for Transformations in Human Environment Systems; Alemani

Trade‐offs between biodiversity and agriculture are moving targets in dynamic landscapes [Conjunto de datos]

Supplementary information of Trade‐offs between biodiversity and agriculture are moving targets in dynamic landscapes. Journal of Applied Ecology (First published: 21 July 2020)Understanding how biodiversity responds to intensifying agriculture is critical to mitigating the trade-offs between them. These trade-offs are particularly strong in tropical and subtropical deforestation frontiers, yet it remains unclear how changing landscape context in such frontiers alters agriculture-biodiversity trade-offs. We focus on the Argentinean Chaco, a global deforestation hotspot, to explore how landscape context shapes trade-off curves between agricultural intensity and avian biodiversity. We use a space-for-time approach and integrate a large field dataset of bird communities (197 species, 234 survey plots), three agricultural intensity metrics (meat yield, energy yield and profit), and a range of environmental covariates in a hierarchical Bayesian occupancy framework. Woodland extent in the landscape consistently determines how individual bird species, and the bird community as a whole, respond to agricultural intensity. Many species switch in their fundamental response, from decreasing occupancy with increased agricultural intensity when woodland extent in the landscape is low (loser species), to increasing occupancy with increased agricultural intensity when woodland extent is high (winner species). This suggests that landscape context strongly mediates who wins and loses along agricultural intensity gradients. Likewise, where landscapes change, such as in deforestation frontiers, the very nature of the agriculture-biodiversity trade-offs can change as landscapes transformation progresses. Synthesis and applications. Schemes to mitigate agriculture-biodiversity trade-offs, such as land sparing or sharing, must consider landscape context. Strategies that are identified based on a snapshot of data risk failure in dynamic landscapes, particularly where agricultural expansion continues to reduce natural habitats. Rather than a single, fixed strategy, adaptive management of agriculture-biodiversity trade-offs is needed in such situations. Here we provide a toolset for considering changing landscape contexts when exploring such trade-offs. This can help to better align agriculture and biodiversity in tropical and subtropical deforestation frontiers.Instituto de Recursos BiológicosFil: Macchi, Leandro. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Instituto de Ecología Regional; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tucumán; ArgentinaFil: Decarre, Julieta. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Recursos Biológicos; ArgentinaFil: Goijman, Andrea Paula. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Recursos Biológicos; ArgentinaFil: Mastrangelo, Matias Enrique. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Grupo de Estudio de Agroecosistemas y Paisajes Rurales; ArgentinaFil: Mastrangelo, Matias Enrique. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; ArgentinaFil: Blendinger, Pedro G. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Instituto de Ecología Regional; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tucumán; Argentina.Fil: Gavier Pizarro, Gregorio Ignacio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Recursos Biológicos; ArgentinaFil: Murray, Francisco. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Luis. Agencia de Extensión Rural San Luis; ArgentinaFil: Piquer Rodriguez, María. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Instituto de Ecología Regional; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tucumán; ArgentinaFil: Semper-Pascal, Asunción. Humboldt-University Berlin. Geography Department; AlemaniaFil: Kuemmerle, Tobias. Humboldt-University Berlin. Geography Department; Alemania. Humboldt-University Berlin. Integrative Research Institute for Transformations in Human Environment Systems; Alemani

Testing the discrimination and detection limits of WorldView-2 imagery on a challenging invasive plant target

Invasive plants pose significant threats to biodiversity and ecosystem function globally, leading to costly monitoring and management effort. While remote sensing promises cost-effective, robust and repeatable monitoring tools to support intervention, it has been largely restricted to airborne platforms that have higher spatial and spectral resolutions, but which lack the coverage and versatility of satellite-based platforms. This study tests the ability of the WorldView-2 (WV2) eight-band satellite sensor for detecting the invasive shrub mesquite (Prosopis spp.) in the north-west Pilbara region of Australia. Detectability was challenged by the target taxa being largely defoliated by a leaf-tying biological control agent (Gelechiidae: Evippe sp. #1) and the presence of other shrubs and trees. Variable importance in the projection (VIP) scores identified bands offering greatest capacity for discrimination were those covering the near-infrared, red, and red-edge wavelengths. Wavelengths between 400 nm and 630 nm (coastal blue, blue, green, yellow) were not useful for species level discrimination in this case. Classification accuracy was tested on three band sets (simulated standard multispectral, all bands, and bands with VIP scores ≥1).Overall accuracies were comparable amongst all band-sets (Kappa = 0.71–0.77). However, mesquite omission rates were unacceptably high (21.3%) when using all eight bands relative to the simulated standard multispectral band-set (9.5%) and the band-set informed by VIP scores (11.9%). An incremental cover evaluation on the latter identified most omissions to be for objects 16 m2 allows application for mapping mesquite shrubs and coalesced stands, the former not previously possible, even with 3 m resolution hyperspectral imagery. WV2 imagery offers excellent portability potential for detecting other species where spectral/spatial resolution or coverage has been an impediment. New generation satellite sensors are removing barriers previously preventing widespread adoption of remote sensing technologies in natural resource management

Integrating biodiversity, remote sensing, and auxiliary information for the study of ecosystem functioning and conservation at large spatial scales

Assessing patterns and processes of plant functional, taxonomic, genetic, and structural biodiversity at large scales is essential across many disciplines, including ecosystem management, agriculture, ecosystem risk and service assessment, conservation science, and forestry. In situ data housed in databases necessary to perform such assessments over large parts of the world are growing steadily. Integrating these in situ data with remote sensing (RS) products helps not only to improve data completeness and quality but also to account for limitations and uncertainties associated with each data product. Here, we outline how auxiliary environmental and socioeconomic data might be integrated with biodiversity and RS data to expand our knowledge about ecosystem functioning and inform the conservation of biodiversity. We discuss concepts, data, and methods necessary to assess plant species and ecosystem properties across scales of space and time and provide a critical discussion of outstanding issues