Temporal and spatial changes in an area of the New Jersey Pine Barrens landscape

In order to document the extent of landscape fragmentation for a section of the New Jersey Pine Barrens region, we have used satellite image and spatial analysis to monitor landscape change between 1972 and 1988. Land-cover patterns were quantified by mean, number, and size of patches; and amount of edges between land cover types. During the intervening sixteen year period, fractal dimension, diversity, and contagion generally decreased while dominance, disturbance and edges increased, indicating a trend to a more dissected and disturbed landscape. There was an increase in the number of forest patches and a significant decrease in the average size of forest patches. In contrast, the mean patch size for the non-forest category has increased as a result of a coalescence of patches. The landscape fragmentation is shown by a downward shift in the distribution of forest patches by size class. These changes in landscape pattern have implications for many ecological processes and resources. Management practices need to consider landscape fragmentation in the Pinelands National Reserve in order to preserve the essential character of the Pine Barrens landscape.     

Spatial simulation of landscape changes in Georgia: A comparison of 3 transition models

Spatial simulation models were developed to predict temporal changes in land use patterns in a piedmont county in Georgia (USA). Five land use categories were included: urban, cropland, abandoned cropland, pasture, and forest. Land use data were obtained from historical aerial photography and digitized into a matrix based on a 1 ha grid cell format. Three different types of spatial simulation were compared: (1) random simulations based solely on transition probabilities; (2) spatial simulations in which the four nearest neighbors (adjacent cells only) influence transitions; and (3) spatial simulations in which the eight nearest neighbors (adjacent and diagonal cells) influence transitions. Models and data were compared using the mean number and size of patches, fractal dimension of patches, and amount of edge between land uses. The random model simulated a highly fragmented landscape having numerous, small patches with relatively complex shapes. The two versions of the spatial model simulated cropland well, but simulated patches of forest and abandoned cropland were fewer, larger, and more simple than those in the real landscape. Several possible modifications of model structure are proposed. The modeling approach presented here is a potentially general one for simulating human-influenced landscapes.     

The effects of future urban development on habitat fragmentation in the Santa Monica Mountains

A site suitability model of urban development was created for the Santa Monica Mountains in southern California, USA, to project to what degree future development might fragment the natural habitat. The purpose was to help prioritize land acquisition for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and examine to what extent projected urban development would affect distinct vegetation classes. The model included both environmental constraints (slope angle), and spatial factors related to urban planning (proximity to roads and existing development, proposed development, and areas zoned for development). It implemented a stochastic component; areas projected to have high development potential in the suitability model were randomly selected for development. Ownership tracts were used as the spatial unit of development in order to give the model spatial realism and not arbitrarily `develop' grid cells. Using different assumptions and parameters, the model projected the pattern of development from 5 to 25 years hence (based on recent development rates in the area). While <25% of the remaining natural landscape is removed under these scenarios, up to 30% of core (interior) habitat area is lost and edge length between natural vegetation and development increases as much as 45%. Measures of landscape shape complexity increased with area developed and number of patches of natural habitat increased four- to nine-fold, depending upon model parameters. This increase in fragmentation occurs because of the existing patterns of land ownership, where private (`developable') land is interspersed with preserved park lands.     

Fire-induced changes in northern Patagonian landscapes

In northern Patagonia, Argentina we quantify changes in fire frequency along a gradient from mesic Nothofagus dombeyi forest to xeric woodlands of Austrocedrus chilensis at the steppe ecotone, and we examine patterns of vegetation change coincident with the changes in fire regimes across a range of spatial scales. At a regional scale changes in land cover types are documented by comparing 1:250000 scale cover type maps from 1913 and 1985. Changes in landscape structure are analyzed by comparing vegetation patterns on 1:24000 scale aerial photographs taken in 1940 and 1970. Fire frequency peaked in the late nineteenth-century due to widespread burning and clearing of forests by European settlers late in the century. Subsequently, fire frequency declined dramatically about 1910 due to the cessation of intentional fires and has remained low due to increasingly effective fire exclusion. At a regional scale there has been a dramatic increase during the twentieth century in the proportion of forest cover relative to areas mapped as recent burns or shrublands in 1913. Remnant forest patches that survived the widespread late-nineteenth century burning have coalesced to form more continuous forest covers, and formerly continuous areas of shrublands have become dissected by forest. Under reduced fire frequency there has been a shift in dominance from short-lived resprouting species (mostly shrubs) towards longer-lived species and obligate seed-dispersers such as Austrocedrus chilensis and Nothofagus dombeyi. Due to limited seed dispersal of these tree species, the spatial configuration of remnant forest patches plays a key role in subsequent changes in landscape pattern.     

Landscape cover type and pattern dynamics in fragmented southern Great Plains grasslands,USA

We documented land cover and landscape pattern changes in an area of northwestern Oklahoma, USA using aerial photography from 1965, 1981, and 1995. This region of the southern Great Plains is fragmented by agricultural activity, and in recent years many remnant native grasslands have experienced extensive invasion by woody juniper (Juniperus virginiana L.). Concurrently, many cropland areas are being planted into perennial forage grasses and converted to intensively managed introduced grasslands as part of the U.S. Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Our objectives were to document land cover and landscape pattern changes in the region relative to the expansion of juniper and CRP activity. We then examined how local landscape dominance by either anthropogenic or woody vegetation patches affected landscape pattern indices. Land cover changes from 1965 to 1995 included substantial increases in juniper woodlands and mixed woodlands that resulted from juniper encroachment into deciduous woodlands. Introduced grasslands also increased in many areas as a result of CRP implementation. Changes in landscape pattern generally reflected the influx of juniper into many areas. Landscapes dominated by woody vegetation had significantly more patches, smaller patches and patch core areas, more total edge, and higher patch diversity than landscapes dominated by anthropogenic cover types. Results indicate that expanding juniper is exacerbating the fragmentation process initiated by previous human activity, and represents a serious threat to the continued integrity and conservation of remaining southern Great Plains grasslands.This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Relationships between watershed Stressors and sediment contamination in Chesapeake Bay estuaries

Three methods for assessing the relationships between estuarine sediment contaminant levels and watershed Stressors for 25 Chesapeake Bay sub-estuaries were compared. A geographic information system (GIS) was used to delineate watersheds for each sub-estuary and analyze land use pattern (area and location of developed, herbaceous and forested land) and point source pollution (annual outflow and contaminant loading) using three landscape analysis methods: (1) a watershed approach using the watershed of the estuary containing the sampling station. (2) a partial watershed approach using the area of the watershed within a 10 km radius of the sampling station and (3) a weighted partial watershed approach where Stressors within the partial watershed were weighted by the inverse of their linear distance from the sampling station. Nine sediment metals, 16 sediment organics and seven metals loading variables were each reduced to one principal component for statistical analyses. Relationships between the first principal components for sediment metals and organics concentrations and watershed stressor variables were analyzed using rank correlation and stepwise multiple regression techniques. For both metals and organics, the watershed method yieldedR ² values considerably lower than the partial and weighted partial watershed analysis methods. Regression models using Stressor data generated by the weighted partial watershed landscape analysis method explained 76% and 47% of the variation in the first principal component for sediment metals and organics concentrations, respectively. Results suggest that the area of developed land located in the watershed within 10 km of the sediment sampling station is a major contributing factor in the sediment concentrations of both metals and organics.     

Resource patch array use by two squirrel species in an agricultural landscape

Eastern grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) and North American red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) were studied among wooded patches within an agricultural mosaic. Fifteen sites south of Ottawa, Canada, with differing landscape and local features were censused using tracking boards placed in a woods or wooded fencerow. Regression analyses of landscape compositional and physiognomic variables within a 1-km radius isolated the best predictors of grey and red squirrel abundance and activity. Grey squirrels were found in both small woods and fencerows in farm landscapes but were not found in large woods. A polynomial regression of wooded patch size explained 79% of the variance in grey squirrel abundance. Grey squirrel activity was correlated with the percent cover of soybeans in the landscape. Red squirrels were found in fencerows, small and large woods; activity was correlated with the percent cover of both woods and corn crop in the surrounding landscape. These results indicate that distributions of both species are influenced by multiple landscape elements, but that grey squirrels may rely on fragmented agricultural landscapes whereas red squirrels make more use of both native woodland and altered landscapes.     

Landscape graphs: Ecological modeling with graph theory to detect configurations common to diverse landscapes

In view of the bewildering diversity of landscapes and possible patterns therein, our objectives were to see if a useful modeling method for directly comparing land mosaics could be developed based on graph theory, and whether basic spatial patterns could be identified that are common to diverse landscapes. The models developed were based on the spatial configuration of and interactions between landscape elements (ecosystems, land uses or ecotopes). Nodes represented landscape elements and linkages represented common boundaries between elements. Corridors, corridor intersections, and the matrix were successfully incorporated in the models. Twenty-five landscape graphs were constructed from aerial photographs chosen solely to represent a breadth of climates, land uses and human population densities. Seven distinctive clusters of nodes and linkages were identified and common, three of which, in the forms of a spider, necklace and graph cell, were in >90% of the graphs. These represented respectively the following configurations of patches, corridors and matrix: (1) a matrix area surrounding or adjoining many patches; (2) a corridor bisecting a heterogeneous area; and (3) a unit in a network of intersecting corridors. The models also indicated that the connectivity or number of linkages for several common elements, such as fields and house clearings, was relatively constant across diverse landscapes, and that linear shaped elements such as roads and rivers were the most connected. Several additional uses of this graph modeling, including compatibility with systems dynamics models, are pinpointed. Thus the method is useful in allowing simple direct comparisons of any scale and any landscape to help identify patterns and principles. A focus on the common and uncommon configurations should enhance our understanding of fluxes across landscapes, and consequently the quality of land planning and management.     

Landscape changes and breeding bird assemblages in northwestern Portugal: the role of fire

Fire is a major driving force of landscape change in the Mediterranean region. The objectives of this paper were to explore the implications of landscape change and wildfires in a region of northwestern Portugal for the diversity of breeding birds. Land use cover for the years 1958, 1968, 1983 and 1995 was obtained from aerial photography for a study area of 3700 ha. Breeding bird assemblages in each of six land use categories were characterized in 1998 using point counts. The main landscape changes in the study area across the 40 years were a decrease in the area of agricultural land and low shrublands (respectively 29% and 48%) and an increase in forests and tall shrublands (both over 95%). Bird assemblages showed increased richness and diversity across the gradient: low shrublands tall shrublands conifer mixed deciduous agricultural areas. Many of the species with narrow niche breadth (specialists) were associated with agricultural areas and deciduous forests. In spite of the low diversity of burned areas (mostly shrublands) a few specialist species depend on this habitat. Thus, the current fire regime probably contributes to maintaining bird diversity at the landscape level. There was an inverse relationship between landscape diversity and estimated bird diversity across the last 40 years. Landscape management actions to preserve bird diversity should focus on the maintenance of agricultural land and deciduous forests. In parallel, a wider use of prescribed burning and grazing is suggested. This would contribute to maintaining low shrublands in the landscape, useful both as an habitat for some bird species and as fuel breaks for preventing the occurrence of large wildfires.     

Changes in landscape patterns in Georgia,USA

The objectives of this study were to determine how landscape patterns in Georgia, USA have changed through time and whether the spatial patterns varied by physiographic region. Historical aerial photography was used to analyze spatial patterns of land use from the 1930's to the 1980's. Land use patterns were quantified by: (1) mean number and size of patches; (2) fractal dimension of patches; (3) amount of edge between land uses; and (4) indices of diversity, dominance, and contagion. Forest cover increased in aerial extent and in mean patch size. The mean size of agricultural patches increased in the coastal plain and decreased in the mountains and piedmont. Edges between land uses decreased through time, indicating less dissection of the landscape. Fractal dimensions also decreased, indicating simpler patch shapes. Indices of diversity and dominance differed through time but not among regions; the contagion index differed among regions but not through time. A geographic trend of decreasing diversity and increasing dominance and contagion was observed from the mountains to the lower coastal plain. Landscape patterns exhibited the greatest changes in the piedmont region. Overall, the Georgia landscape has become less fragmented and more connected during the past 50 years. Changing patterns in the landscape may have implications for many ecological processes and resources.     

Land-use changes in Illinois,ASA: The influence of landscape attributes on current and historic land use

The Illinois Geographic Information System was used to compare the soil and landscape attributes of the State with its historic vegetation, current land use, and patterns of land-use change over the past 160 years. Patch structural characteristics among land types in four geographic zones were also compared. The assessment of patch characteristics revealed a highly modified State with most land patches controlled by human influences and relatively few by topographic and hydrologic features. Correlation and regression analyses determined the relationships of land type and abundance within each of 50 general soil associations to properties of the soil associations - typically slope, texture, organic matter, productivity index, and available waterholding capacity. The distribution of the historic vegetation of the State and its current deciduous forests and nonforested wetlands related moderately (r² 0.44) to various landscape attributes. Urban and other highly modified land types were less closely related.     

Genetic consequences of forest fragmentation by agricultural land in an arboreal marsupial

Context

Increasing demands on land for agriculture have resulted in large-scale clearance and fragmentation of forests globally. In fragmented landscapes, species that tolerate or exploit the matrix will persist, while those that do not, frequently decline. Knowledge of matrix use is therefore critical to predicting extinction proneness of species in modified landscapes and defining the value of land for conservation management.

Objectives

In a fragmented landscape consisting of seven remnant patches surrounded by agricultural land and a large Eucalyptus forest, we explored (i) population connectivity of common ringtail possums, Pseudocheirus peregrinus, to determine the permeability of the agricultural matrix, and (ii) genetic consequences of forest fragmentation.

Methods

238 common ringtail possums were screened at 14 microsatellite markers and analysed using a range of genetic techniques.

Results

We observed significant genetic differentiation among all patches and limited dispersal through the agricultural matrix, even between neighbouring patches. Consequences of this were a six- to ten-fold increase in genetic dissimilarity over an equivalent geographic distance across patches compared with sites in the continuous forest and a significant reduction in genetic diversity, particularly in patches that were geographically more isolated from their neighbours.

Conclusions

We conclude that the agricultural matrix has a number of characteristics that make it unsuitable for facilitating movement of possums through this landscape, and recommend several management strategies to mitigate the impacts of fragmentation on this and other arboreal species for their conservation.

     

Effects of land use on population presence and genetic structure of an amphibian in an agricultural landscape

Context

Species distributions are a function of an individual’s ability to disperse to and colonize habitat patches. These processes depend upon landscape configuration and composition.

Objectives

Using Blanchard’s cricket frogs (Acris blanchardi), we assessed which land cover types were predictive of (1) presence at three spatial scales (pond-shed, 500 and 2500 m) and (2) genetic structure. We predicted that forested, urban, and road land covers would negatively affect cricket frogs. We also predicted that agricultural, field, and aquatic land covers would positively affect cricket frogs.

Methods

We surveyed for cricket frogs at 28 sites in southwestern Ohio, USA to determine presence across different habitats and analyze genetic structure among populations. For our first objective, we examined if land use (crop, field, forest, and urban habitat) and landscape features (ponds, streams, and roads) explained presence; for our second objective, we assessed whether these land cover types explained genetic distance between populations.

Results

Land cover did not have a strong influence on cricket frog presence. However, multiple competing models suggested effects of roads, streams, and land use. We found genetic structuring: populations were grouped into five major clusters and nine finer-scale clusters. Highways were predictive of increased genetic distance.

Conclusions

By combining a focal-patch study with landscape genetics, our study suggests that major roads and waterways are key features affecting species distributions in agricultural landscapes. We demonstrate that cricket frogs may respond to landscape features at larger spatial scales, and that presence and movement may be affected by different environmental factors.

     

Landscape drivers of butterfly and burnet moth diversity in lowland rural areas

Context

Butterflies have been continuously declining for several decades in Europe due to many factors, such as farming intensification. Rural landscapes have undergone dramatic changes leading to homogenized landscapes.

Objectives

In this study, we investigated how landscape composition, structure and connectivity impact butterfly communities according to their ecological and biological traits.

Methods

We made use of 5669 Lepidoptera surveys performed at 4525 distinct locations in lowland Central France. We considered 19 ecological groups based on habitat specialization, mobility, diet, voltinism or overwintering strategy. Generalized linear mixed-effect models were used to relate the species richness of these groups to landscape variables defined in circular zones with radius from 250 m to 5 km.

Results

Richness of most species groups co-varied with landscape variables, with the exception of mobile, imago-overwintering, monophagous and polyphagous species. Habitat proportion explained more variation in butterfly diversity than habitat connectivity or habitat diversity. Moreover, the best proportion models were generally found for the 250-m circular zones. Thirteen species groups were disfavored by cropland amount. Except for forest specialists and high mobility group, no other group was more diverse in landscapes dominated by a single land cover type. Rather, for total diversity and 14 groups, species richness peaked for forest proportions varying between 40 and 80%, and for total diversity and nine groups for grassland proportions ranging from 30 to 60%.

Conclusions

These results indicate that landscape homogenization is contributing to the ongoing decline in butterflies, and support preserving and (re)creating mosaics of grasslands and forests.

     

The plant functional traits that explain species occurrence across fragmented grasslands differ according to patch management,isolation, and wetness

Context

Landscape fragmentation significantly affects species distributions by decreasing the number and connectivity of suitable patches. While researchers have hypothesized that species functional traits could help in predicting species distribution in a landscape, predictions should depend on the type of patches available and on the ability of species to disperse and grow there.

Objectives

To explore whether different traits can explain the frequency of grassland species (number of occupied patches) and/or their occupancy (ratio of occupied to suitable patches) across a variety of patch types within a fragmented landscape.

Methods

We sampled species distributions over 1300 grassland patches in a fragmented landscape of 385 km² in the Czech Republic. Relationships between functional traits and species frequency and occupancy were tested across all patches in the landscape, as well as within patches that shared similar management, wetness, and isolation.

Results

Although some traits predicting species frequency also predicted occupancy, others were markedly different, with competition- and dispersal-related traits becoming more important for occupancy. Which traits were important differed for frequency and occupancy and also differed depending on patch management, wetness, and isolation.

Conclusions

Plant traits can provide insight into plant distribution in fragmented landscapes and can reveal specific abiotic, biotic, and dispersal processes affecting species occurrence in a patch type. However, the importance of individual traits depends on the type of suitable patches available within the landscape.

     

Responses of mammals to habitat edges: an overview

Life generates discontinuites (boundaries) in the distribution of matter and energy. One class of these constitutes the edges between habitat-types; these are fundamental structures in landscape functioning, and hence are of central importance in conservation biology. The symposium on which this series of papers is based focused on the responses of mammals to habitat edges. A diversity of views are represented, and a variety of edge related behaviors illustrated. A survey of general ecology texts dating back to 1933 demonstrates a decline of interest in ecotones and edge effects extending into the 1980's but showing a resurgence of interest in the 1990's. Habitat edges are defined operationally with respect to particular focal species leading to a number of important corollary features. The variety of phenomena subsumed under edge effects is emphasized, and an initial attempt at classification is proposed based primarily on the presence or absence of emergent properties in edge response behaviors (matrix vs. ecotonal effects). This scheme provides for clear null hypotheses needed to distinguish the two types, enlightens mechanistic explanations of edge effects, and encourages predictions about the results of untested management schemes or other novel situations. The use and design of landscape corridors are tied to edge related behaviors. A functional and general definition of corridors is urged, so that their effectiveness can be judged with respect to specified attributes rather than to a general collection of things that might be termed corridors. Linear habitat patches are specifically excluded from the definition. Studies on small mammals have contributed to our understanding of the potential role of corridors in metapopulation dynamics. Fine versus coarse grained perceptions of environment by different species will generate ecotonal edge effects such as spillover predation. In general, the effects on landscape processes of various species operating on different spatial scales seems a fruitful direction for future research.     

Fire-driven dynamic mosaics in the Great Victoria Desert,Australia – II. A spatial and temporal landscape model

An explicitly spatial, large scale, high resolution model of fire driven landscape dynamics in the Great Victoria Desert is constructed and parameterized to simulate frequency distributions of fire size and shape obtained from previous analyses of satellite chronosequences. We conclude that probabilities of fire spread cannot be constant over time, and that realistic distributions of fire size and plausible rates of fire spread can be obtained by assuming that fire spread is conditional on observed durations of windy conditions. Landscapes subject to this form of disturbance show large scale correlation structure many times greater than the average dimensions of single fires, and exhibit low frequency quasi-periodic stochastically driven oscillations in proportions of the landscape at different successional states over spatial scales exceeding 100,000 km². Average fire return intervals are 30 yrs. Analysis of patch structure suggests that this landscape is composed of few large younger patches, embedded in a mature sea of surrounding habitat. Intermediate and late successional habitat must exist in more abundant patches somewhat smaller than young habitat. Numerous small patches of mature habitat are likely to be scattered throughout this younger habitat. The model predicts that fire size frequency distributions are relatively insensitive to changes of as much as ±50% of observed fire ignition frequency.     

Assessing landscape functional connectivity in a forest carnivore using path selection functions

Context

Understanding connectivity patterns in relation to habitat fragmentation is essential to landscape management. However, connectivity is often judged from expert opinion or species occurrence patterns, with very few studies considering the actual movements of individuals. Path selection functions provide a promising tool to infer functional connectivity from animal movement data, but its practical application remains scanty.

Objectives

We aimed to describe functional connectivity patterns in a forest carnivore using path-level analysis, and to explore how connectivity is affected by land cover patterns and road networks.

Methods

We radiotracked 22 common genets in a mixed forest-agricultural landscape of southern Portugal. We developed path selection functions discriminating between observed and random paths in relation to landscape variables. These functions were used together with land cover information to map conductance surfaces.

Results

Genets moved preferentially within forest patches and close to riparian habitats. Functional connectivity declined with increasing road density, but increased with the proximity of culverts, viaducts and bridges. Functional connectivity was favoured by large forest patches, and by the presence of riparian areas providing corridors within open agricultural land. Roads reduced connectivity by dissecting forest patches, but had less effect on riparian corridors due to the presence of crossing structures.

Conclusions

Genet movements were jointly affected by the spatial distribution of suitable habitats, and the presence of a road network dissecting such habitats and creating obstacles in areas otherwise permeable to animal movement. Overall, the study showed the value of path-level analysis to assess functional connectivity patterns in human-modified landscapes.

     

Potential impacts of changing agricultural activities on scenic beauty – a prototypical technique for automated rapid assessment

As a result of the liberalisation of the agricultural market, mountain regions in Central Europe are at great risk of experiencing increasing land abandonment and spontaneous reforestation. Prior to taking measures for landscape maintenance, the ecological and landscape-aesthetic consequences of land abandonment should be analysed. This paper addresses the aesthetic component of such analyses: we investigated whether lay people perceive land abandonment and spontaneous reforestation as a loss or a gain and developed a prototypical technique for rapid aesthetic assessment of reforestation scenarios for vast regions.First, we conducted image experiments to assess the respondents' reactions to increasing levels of reforestation. Based on these experiments we concluded that a medium degree of reforestation is most desirable. Second, we analysed the relationship between scenic beauty and landscape patterns and found that landscape preference values correlate significantly with various quantitative measures of the landscape pattern (e.g., diversity and contagion indices of grey- tone and colour images). Third, we applied a GIS-assisted moving- window technique to transform spatially explicit remote-sensing data (in particular orthophotos) of a test region to spatially explicit data of landscape-pattern indices. Thanks to the significant positive correlation between pattern indices and landscape preference values, the resulting maps can preliminarily be interpreted as beauty-maps of the test-region.     

Modelling the impacts of agriculture in mixed-use landscapes: a review and case study involving two species of dabbling ducks

Context

This study synthesizes evidence from three separate surveys of American Black Duck and Mallard breeding habitat usage to quantify the effects of agriculture at the landscape scale.

Objectives

To assess duck breeding activity in agricultural landscapes within the Canadian maritimes in order to measure the overall impact of agricultural land use, the response to particular agricultural activities, and the influence of landscape configuration.

Methods

Models, constructed using a long-term census (SURVEY1), were used to predict habitat selection for two other independent surveys (SURVEY2, SURVEY3). Predictions incorporated information about wetland area and diversity, as well as anthropogenic factors, allowing subsequent analyses to focus on the remaining residual error attributable to agricultural effects.

Results

SURVEY2 results demonstrated that the proportion of active agriculture is an important indicator of the severity of human disturbance, yielding threshold estimates of 39% for Mallards and 60% for Black Ducks, with an overall average of 50%. Agricultural conversion beyond these thresholds deterred breeding ducks independently of other factors. SURVEY3 land cover information demonstrated that the presence of cropland intensified this deterrence effect, even at levels as low as 10%. Woodland cover (in excess of 30%) was important for both species, but its configuration was not.

Conclusions

In addition to quantifying threshold effects, this study reaffirms that woodland is an important part of the maritime landscape matrix, and contributes positively to habitat diversity in mixed use, moderate intensity agricultural regions. Wetland restoration in agricultural landscapes should monitor and promote less crop-intensive, mixed-use practices.