Laboratorio de Análisis Regional y Teledetección. Facultad de Agronomía- Universidad de Buenos Aires- IFEVA- CONICET. Av. San Martín 4453- C1417DSE, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Métodos Cuantitativos y Sistemas de Información. Av. San Martín 4453- C1417DSE, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Instituto de Clima y Agua, Castelar. N. Repetto y De Los Reseros s/nº -B1686WAA, Hurlingham, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
J Environ Manage. 2021 Jul 15;290:112606. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112606. Epub 2021 Apr 28.
Land use changes are occurring with unprecedented magnitude and intensity, imposing global impacts on ecosystem services (ES) and biodiversity. While the impacts of land use changes are increasingly recognized, understanding how landscape connectivity is related to ecosystem functioning is lacking. In the Argentinian Dry Chaco, deforestation increased forest fragmentation but strips of native forest (linear remnants) were usually left after clearings. Although the number of ecological studies on forest strips has increased, their contribution to forest connectivity and functioning has not been assessed. We evaluated the contribution of forest strips to forest connectivity and estimated its effect on forests' functioning considering low, moderate, and high species' dispersal abilities in our estimation. The effects of forest strip connectivity contribution to the forests' Ecosystem Services Supply Index (Forests' ESSI) was also analyzed. Forest strips contributed on average 6% and up to 40% to forest connectivity for moderate dispersal abilities, while low and high dispersals presented low values in almost all cases. The connectivity contribution was highest (between 15 and 40%) and variable for moderate dispersal abilities in landscapes with between 25 and 35% of forest cover. High connectivity contribution was generally achieved for low and moderate dispersals when forest strips conformed a network among forest patches. Forest strip connectivity significantly increased the forests' ESSI (between 1.3 and 2.4% per unit of connectivity contribution) and its effect was higher in comparison to forest amount and fragmentation. This study provides insights for planning the location of forest strips and forest remnants in agricultural landscapes, thus increasing forest connectivity for enhancing ecosystem functioning.
土地利用变化正在以前所未有的规模和强度发生，对生态系统服务（ES）和生物多样性产生全球性影响。尽管土地利用变化的影响日益受到认识，但对景观连通性与生态系统功能之间的关系的理解却很缺乏。在阿根廷干燥查科，森林砍伐导致森林破碎化增加，但在清理后通常会留下一些原生森林（线性残余物）。尽管关于森林带的生态研究数量有所增加，但它们对森林连通性和功能的贡献尚未得到评估。我们评估了森林带对森林连通性的贡献，并考虑到物种的低、中、高扩散能力，估计了其对森林功能的影响。我们还分析了森林带连通性对森林生态系统服务供应指数（Forests' ESSI）的影响。森林带对中等扩散能力的森林连通性的贡献平均为 6%，最高可达 40%，而低和高扩散能力在几乎所有情况下的贡献都较低。在森林覆盖率在 25%至 35%之间的景观中，中等扩散能力的连通性贡献最高（在 15%至 40%之间）且变化较大。当森林带在森林斑块之间形成网络时，高和中等扩散能力通常会实现高连通性贡献。森林带连通性显著增加了森林的 ESSI（每单位连通性贡献增加 1.3%至 2.4%），其效果比森林面积和破碎化的效果更高。这项研究为规划农业景观中森林带和森林残余的位置提供了思路，从而提高森林连通性以增强生态系统功能。
