Dataset Information

Novel land uses shape meta-community structures in neighbouring native forests: Dataset across Uruguay.

ABSTRACT: The presented datasets relate to the research article entitled "Native forest meta-community structures in Uruguay shaped by novel land use types in their surroundings" [Ramírez and Säumel; Ecology and Evolution, 2022]. The datasets include field survey data on woody species presence and absence from 384 plots at 32 permanent monitoring sites of native forests across the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (South America). We compiled different methods from meta-community studies, remote sensing and landscape ecology to explore how woody species communities are influenced by land use change from local to regional scale. We describe the diverse woody species composition in native forests across Uruguay and structure of metacommunities of woody species. Data on woody species diversity inform landscape planning, land-use management, policy and governance and can be used for further meta-analysis with other local, regional or global data sets.

SUBMITTER: Saumel I

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9130530 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Novel land uses shape meta-community structures in neighbouring native forests: Dataset across Uruguay.

Säumel Ina I Ramírez Leonardo R LR

Data in brief 20220516

The presented datasets relate to the research article entitled "Native forest meta-community structures in Uruguay shaped by novel land use types in their surroundings" [Ramírez and Säumel; Ecology and Evolution, 2022]. The datasets include field survey data on woody species presence and absence from 384 plots at 32 permanent monitoring sites of native forests across the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (South America). We compiled different methods from meta-community studies, remote sensing and la ...[more]

PMID: 35647241

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Project description:We explore the effect of land-use change from extensively used grasslands to intensified silvi- and agricultural monocultures on metacommunity structure of native forests in Uruguay. We integrated methods from metacommunity studies, remote sensing, and landscape ecology to explore how woody species distribution was influenced by land-use change from local to regional scale. We recorded richness and composition of adult and juvenile woody species from 32 native forests, created land-use maps from satellite image to calculate spatial metrics at landscape, class, and patch levels. We also analyzed the influence of land use pattern, climate, topography, and geographic distance between sites (d) on metacommunity, and created maps to visualize species richness and (dis)similarity between communities across the country. Woody species communities were distributed in a discrete pattern across Uruguay. Precipitation and temperature seasonality shaped species distribution pattern. Species richness and community dissimilarity increased from West to East. Latitude did not influence these patterns. Number of patches, landscape complexity, and interspersion and juxtaposition indexes determine woody species distribution at landscape level. Increasing areas covered by crops and timber plantation reduced species richness and increased community dissimilarity. The spatial metrics of native forest fragments at patch level did not influence metacommunity structure, species richness, and community dissimilarity. In conclusion, Uruguayan native forests display a high range of dissimilarity. Pressure of neighborhood land uses was the predominant factor for species assemblages. Conserving landscape structures that assure connectivity within and among native forest patches is crucial. On sites with rare target species, the creation of alliances between governmental institution and landowner complemented by incentives for biodiversity conservation provides opportunities to advance in species protection focused on those less tolerant to land-use change.

Project description:Human land cover can degrade estuaries directly through habitat loss and fragmentation or indirectly through nutrient inputs that reduce water quality. Strong precipitation events are occurring more frequently, causing greater hydrological connectivity between watersheds and estuaries. Nutrient enrichment and dissolved oxygen depletion that occur following these events are known to limit populations of benthic macroinvertebrates and commercially harvested species, but the consequences for top consumers such as birds remain largely unknown. We used non-metric multidimensional scaling (MDS) and structural equation modeling (SEM) to understand how land cover and annual variation in rainfall interact to shape waterbird community composition in Chesapeake Bay, USA. The MDS ordination indicated that urban subestuaries shifted from a mixed generalist-specialist community in 2002, a year of severe drought, to generalist-dominated community in 2003, of year of high rainfall. The SEM revealed that this change was concurrent with a sixfold increase in nitrate-N concentration in subestuaries. In the drought year of 2002, waterbird community composition depended only on the direct effect of urban development in watersheds. In the wet year of 2003, community composition depended both on this direct effect and on indirect effects associated with high nitrate-N inputs to northern parts of the Bay, particularly in urban subestuaries. Our findings suggest that increased runoff during periods of high rainfall can depress water quality enough to alter the composition of estuarine waterbird communities, and that this effect is compounded in subestuaries dominated by urban development. Estuarine restoration programs often chart progress by monitoring stressors and indicators, but rarely assess multivariate relationships among them. Estuarine management planning could be improved by tracking the structure of relationships among land cover, water quality, and waterbirds. Unraveling these complex relationships may help managers identify and mitigate ecological thresholds that occur with increasing human land cover.

Project description:Soil microbial communities can form links between forest trees and functioning of forest soils, yet the impacts of converting diverse native forests to monoculture plantations on soil microbial communities are limited. This study tested the hypothesis that conversion from a diverse native to monoculture ecosystem would be paralleled by a reduction in the diversity of the soil microbial communities. Soils from Teak (Tectona grandis) plantations and adjacent native forest were examined at two locations in Trinidad. Microbial community structure was determined via Illumina sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes and fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions, and by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis. Functional characteristics of microbial communities were assessed by extracellular enzyme activity (EEA). Conversion to Teak plantation had no effect on species richness or evenness of bacterial or fungal communities, and no significant effect on EEA. However, multivariate analyses (nested and two-way crossed analysis of similarity) revealed significant effects (p < 0.05) of forest type (Teak vs. native) upon the composition of the microbial communities as reflected in all three assays of community structure. Univariate analysis of variance identified two bacterial phyla that were significantly more abundant in the native forest soils than in Teak soils (Cyanobacteria, p = 0.0180; Nitrospirae, p = 0.0100) and two more abundant in Teak soils than in native forest (candidate phyla TM7, p = 0.0004; WS6, p = 0.044). Abundance of an unidentified class of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) was significantly greater in Teak soils, notable because Teak is colonized by AMF rather than by ectomycorrihzal fungi that are symbionts of the native forest tree species. In conclusion, microbial diversity indices were not affected in the conversion of native forest to teak plantation, but examination of specific bacterial taxa showed that there were significant differences in community composition.

Dataset Information

Novel land uses shape meta-community structures in neighbouring native forests: Dataset across Uruguay.

Publications

Novel land uses shape meta-community structures in neighbouring native forests: Dataset across Uruguay.

Similar Datasets

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