0000000000803074
AUTHOR
Emma-liina Marjakangas
Dead wood profile of a semi-natural boreal forest – implications for sampling
Dead wood profile of a forest is a useful tool for describing forest characteristics and assessing forest disturbance history. Nevertheless, there are few studies on dead wood profiles, including both coarse and fine dead wood, and on the effect of sampling intensity on the dead wood estimates. In a semi-natural boreal forest, we measured every dead wood item over 2 cm in diameter from 80 study plots. From eight plots, we further recorded dead wood items below 2 cm in diameter. Based on these data we constructed the full dead wood profile, i.e. the overall number of dead wood items and their distribution among different tree species, volumes of different size and decay stage categories. We …
Pathways towards a sustainable future envisioned by early-career conservation researchers
Scientists have warned decision-makers about the severe consequences of the global environmental crisis since the 1970s. Yet ecological degradation continues and little has been done to address climate change. We investigated early-career conservation researchers' (ECR) perspectives on, and prioritization of, actions furthering sustainability. We conducted a survey (n = 67) and an interactive workshop (n = 35) for ECR attendees of the 5th European Congress of Conservation Biology (2018). Building on these data and discussions, we identified ongoing and forthcoming advances in conservation science. These include increased transdisciplinarity, science communication, advocacy in conservati…
Mutualistic interactions along a fragmentation gradient
Forest cover loss and fragmentation due to land use changes are one of the principal causes of global biodiversity loss. Indirectly, forest fragmentation can reduce biodiversity and ecosystem functioning by disrupting species interaction networks. Interaction networks, such as seed dispersal networks, are fundamental in maintaining ecosystem services. In tropical forests, frugivorous animals are the most important seed dispersers and thus the main agents of forest regeneration. In general, large tree species produce large seeds that are dispersed by large frugivores. Therefore, in absence of large frugivores, the average size in the tree community is hypothesized to eventually decrease whic…