Environmental Science · Nature and Landscape Conservation
A study using data from the National Ecological Observatory Network found that plant invasions were associated with less stable plant communities at both local and broader ecosystem scales. The pattern was linked to losses in functional diversity and shifts toward fast-growing and more acquisitive growth and seed-dispersal strategies.
Terrestrial vertebrate communities in Australian mangroves and saltmarshes were shaped mainly by how connected they were to natural land, rather than by small-scale habitat features. The survey recorded 45 species in mangroves and 38 in saltmarshes across 115 sites in seven estuaries.
A common-garden experiment found that a mountain plant showed rapid adaptation during the 2012–2016 western U.S. drought. The benefits were clearest at the high-elevation, advancing edge of the plant’s range, while low-elevation populations showed signs of mismatch with current conditions.
Victoria’s lowland temperate grasslands have been extensively cleared and degraded by farming, urban growth, invasive species and poor management. A review warns that without substantial conservation action, the fat-tailed dunnart could be among the species pushed to extinction.
Prescribed burns made the Brazilian Cerrado shrub Macairea radula flower earlier and for longer, but reduced its fruiting period and fruit abundance. The findings suggest that fire management should consider effects on reproduction beyond flowering.
