ORCID Profile
0000-0003-1747-175X
Current Organisation
Frederick University
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Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-06-2015
DOI: 10.1038/SREP11569
Abstract: Understory avian insectivores are especially sensitive to deforestation, although regional differences in how these species respond to human disturbance may be linked to varying land-use histories. South Asia experienced widespread conversion of forest to agriculture in the nineteenth century, providing a comparison to tropical areas deforested more recently. In Sri Lanka and the Western Ghats of India, we compared understory insectivores to other guilds and to insectivores with different vertical strata preferences, both inside mixed-species flocks and for the whole bird community. Overall species richness did not change across the land-use gradient, although there was substantial turnover in species composition between land-use types. We found that the proportion of species represented by insectivores was ~1.14 times higher in forest compared to agriculture and the proportion of insectivores represented by understory species was ~1.32 times higher in forests. Mass-abundance relationships were very different when analyzed on mixed-species flocks compared to the total community, perhaps indicating reduced competition in these mutualisms. We show that South Asia fits the worldwide pattern of understory insectivores declining with increased land-use intensity and conclude that these species can be used globally as indicator and/or umbrella species for conservation across different disturbance time scales.
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Date: 16-11-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2017
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-05-2020
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 31-01-2020
DOI: 10.3390/F11020159
Abstract: Research Highlights: The reasons for persistence of forest fragments in human-dominated landscapes have rarely been examined, despite their importance in bio ersity and ecosystem services. We determined these reasons for forest fragments on collective land in Xishuangbanna prefecture, southwest China. Background and Objectives: Reconciling economic development with bio ersity conservation has been a major challenge in China’s small tropical land area, where local realities have often been in conflict with national policies. In Xishuangbanna, much of China’s most bio erse forest area has been replaced by cash crops in recent decades, but numerous small forest fragments remain on collective land. Our objective was to find out why these fragments have not been cleared. Methods: We used a combination of semi-structured interviews with 600 households in 69 villages representing nine ethnic groups and information from key informants. Results: Overall, 64% of in idual households retained forest fragments on the land allocated to them, and 93% of villages retained larger areas managed as a collective forest. Most (71%) interviewees said that fragments on their own land were on sites of low agricultural value and were retained as fuelwood sources. They were also often (33%) underplanted with crops and supplied other forest products. All interviewees attributed the retention of collective forests to policy restrictions on clearance, with most (96%) mentioning cultural and religious uses and many recognizing environmental benefits. Most were also used as sources of wild edible plants (61%) and other forest products. Many said these collective forests had shrunk over time, particularly in areas suitable for profitable cultivation. Conclusions: China’s new ecological redline policy will protect most larger patches of forest in Xishuangbanna, but the smaller fragments on land allocated to in idual households are also of conservation value, particularly in areas with no other forest. Some form of compensation scheme is needed to encourage their continued retention.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2016
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2017
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No related grants have been discovered for Christos Mammides.