Local heterogenisation and regional homogenisation linked to habitat loss induced by dams in riparian forests of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

ABSTRACT: Riparian forests are crucial for biodiversity, but dam construction for hydroelectric power disrupts these ecosystems, causing habitat loss and altering river dynamics. Our study investigates the impacts of dams on tree diversity in the southern Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We sampled trees along riverbanks and uplands across 15 dam-affected fragments, analysing the relationship between habitat loss (i.e. loss of riparian zones by permanent flooding due to dam filling), elevation difference, fragment size, and dam implementation time with alpha and beta diversity using mixed models and redundancy analyses. Habitat loss had a more significant impact on beta diversity, leading to shifts in species composition and reduced uniqueness of communities as the impact's intensity, spatial extent, and

SUBMITTER: Wuerges M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11502687 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature