Empirical studies on severely fragmented regions suggest that decades after fragmentation, forest edges located near human-modified areas exhibit the structure of early successional states, with lower biomass per area and higher mortality compared to non-edge areas. These habitat changes (edge effects) can also have a considerable impact on ecosystem processes such as carbon and water balance, which in turn have a major impact on human activities. Also, the disruption of ecological interactions caused by the loss of animals (defaunation) has the potential of impacting human influenced fragmented landscapes much deeper than only through the microclimate-induced increased tree mortality caused by edge effects. Since large animals are most vulnerable in these landscapes, large tree seeds which are dispersed by them become more vulnerable to pre-dispersal seed predation, reducing tree recruitment in latter stages. Also, the loss large animals which predate on smaller animals can cause relaxation of top-down controls of this small seed-eating animal group, further impacting tree recruitment. Even though detailed and long term studies were developed on the topic of edge effects at local scale, understanding edge effect characteristics in fragmented forests on larger scales and finding indicators for its impact is crucial for predicting habitat loss and developing management options. Using field data from a long-term fragmented landscape in the Brazilian Northeastern Atlantic Forest, and the Forest Model FORMIND, we were able to visualize the time scale in which edge effects influence tropical forests by performing 500-year simulations. We observed changes in community composition, aboveground biomass, total evapotranspiration and total runoff, and evaluate the consequences of defaunation on biomass retention of a Brazilian Northeastern Atlantic Forest tree community by varying pre- and post-dispersal seed predation pressures in fragmented and intact scenarios. Finally, we evaluate the spatial and temporal dimensions of edge effects in large areas using remote sensing by using tree cover as an indicator of habitat quality and in relation to edge distance. FORMIND simulations show forest biomass degradation lasting around 100 years. If edge effects cease, recovery of biomass lasts around 150 years. Carbon loss is especially intense during the first five years after fragmentation, resulting in a decline of over 5 Mg C ha−1 y−1. Finally, edges of large fragments face an evapotranspiration loss of 43% and total runoff gains of 57% in relation to core areas of large fragments. The effects of large seed loss are only notable after 80% seed reduction or 10 times higher predation rates, but can cause the extirpation of this species group and up to 29% less biomass retention for the area. Our remote sensing results show that for all 11 LANDSAT scenes pixel neighborhood variation of tree cover is much higher in the vicinity of forest edges in relation to forest interior. Our studies suggest that fragmented landscapes can be of significantly lower value in terms of ecosystem services, and that defaunation has the potential to reduce biomass retention and species richness through dispersal collapse. Satellite based estimations of tree cover at edges suggest a maximum distance for edge effects and can indicate the location of unaffected core areas. However, tree cover patterns in relation to fragment edge distance vary according to the analyzed region, and maximum edge distance may differ according to local conditions.

Habitat fragmentation occurs when large tracts of an orginal habitat are replaced by smaller patches of two or more habitat types, largely through human activities. I studied the behavior of six measures of landscape pattern that seemed appropriate for quantifying fragmentation, and used these measures to investigate the effects of forest fragmentation on American martens (Martes americana) and their prey. The measures I selected were edge density, contagion, mean nearest neighbor distance between patches, mean proximity index, perimeter-area fractal dimension, and mass fractal dimension. To test the behavior of these measures with a variety of landscape patterns, I used a computer program to create nine series of increasingly fragmented landscapes that differed in the size and shape of patches, and in the way fragmentation was allowed to increase. Patch size changed the range of attainable values for all measures examined, and patch shape affected all measures except nearest neighbor distance and mean proximity index. The method in which fragmentation increased within each landscape series also affected all measures. None of the measures was able to differentiate between different spatial distributions of patches. To investigate the effects of forest fragmentation on martens and their prey, I selected 18 areas of mature forest habitat in Utah that differed in the amount of landscape heterogeneity due to natural openings and timber clearcuts. I conducted a live-trap survey of martens within each site over three summers from 1991-1993, and a 7-week snap-trap survey of small mammals within 12 of the sites in 1992. Martens were negatively correlated with increasing fragmentation, and mean proximity index was the strongest correlate with reductions in marten captures across sites (x2= 9.48, df= 1, P = 0.04). Capture rates of red-backed voles (Clethrionomys gapperi) also declined with increasing fragmentation (x2 = 4.66, df = 1, P = 0.03), while deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) capture rates increased (x2 = 6.12, df= 1, P = 0.01). Martens and voles both appeared sensitive to landscape pattern, with low numbers in areas having large, closely spaced patches of unforested habitat.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Lyme disease has been a growing problem in the United States over the last few decades, and is currently the most common vector-borne disease in the country. This research evaluates the land cover within specified counties of northern Virginia to determine if a correlation exists between forest fragmentation, suburbanization, and cases of human Lyme disease as has been demonstrated in other Lyme endemic regions in the United States. Few studies have focused specifically on northern Virginia when considering the impacts of land cover change on Lyme disease. Discovered through the use of geospatial and statistical analysis, the cluster of Lyme disease cases in northern Virginia are associated with forest fragmentation within the study region, which creates an ideal habitat for black-legged ticks and the white-footed mouse, allowing for an increase in Lyme disease transfer from vector to humans. The goal is for the research findings to be applicable to other regions with similar land cover types. Regions with similar characteristics would then be able to recognize the potential risk of human Lyme disease and implement ways to reduce the Lyme disease risk associated with suburban development. The purpose of this study is to answer the following research questions: 1) How has the spatial distribution of Lyme disease in Northern Virginia changed since 2005 with respect to land cover? 2) Which suburban communities are more at risk for Lyme disease when considering their land cover types and the increasing spatial distribution of Lyme disease? / Master of Science / Lyme disease has been a growing problem in the United States over the last few decades, and is currently the most common vector-borne disease in the country. This research evaluates the land cover within specified counties of northern Virginia to determine if a correlation exists between forest fragmentation, suburbanization, and cases of human Lyme disease as has been demonstrated in other Lyme endemic regions in the United States. Few studies have focused specifically on northern Virginia when considering the impacts of land cover change on Lyme disease. Discovered through the use of geospatial and statistical analysis, the cluster of Lyme disease cases in northern Virginia are associated with forest fragmentation within the study region, which creates an ideal habitat for black-legged ticks and the white-footed mouse, allowing for an increase in Lyme disease transfer from vector to humans. The goal is for the research findings to be applicable to other regions with similar land cover types. Regions with similar characteristics would then be able to recognize the potential risk of human Lyme disease and implement ways to reduce the Lyme disease risk associated with suburban development. The purpose of this study is to answer the following research questions: 1) How has the spatial distribution of Lyme disease in Northern Virginia changed since 2005 with respect to land cover? 2) Which suburban communities are more at risk for Lyme disease when considering their land cover types and the increasing spatial distribution of Lyme disease?

Forest fragmentation is a pervasive consequence of human land use that creates novel forest boundaries in place of contiguous, intact forest. Boundary forests, or edges, experience environmental conditions distinct from the forest interior driven by lateral exposure to adjacent non-forest land cover. Forest edges tend to be hotter, drier and experience increased wind turbulence and atmospheric deposition with significant consequences for ecosystem processes and biogeochemical cycling. Much of what we know about forest edge structure and function derives from tropical forest research, despite prolific fragmentation in temperate forests. Building on recent field studies of temperate forest edges in the northeastern United States (US), I combine measurements from the US national forest inventory (NFI) with remotely-sensed maps of forest area to characterize broad patterns in the extent and impacts of fragmentation on temperate forest ecology. Using the US NFI to identify forest edges across a 20-state region, I report increased biomass and growth of edge forests compared their interior counterparts. I then compare the prevalence of forest edges in the US NFI and commonly-used forest maps to very-high-resolution land-cover maps, and I demonstrate that conventional methods of forest characterization systematically undercount and exclude forest edge area. Finally, I synthesize these findings to quantify aboveground carbon (C) cycling in New England using a novel approach that partitions forest C fluxes into forest edge and interior categories. I find that forest edges are disproportionately vulnerable to land-use conversion and are a critical component of both forest C uptake and emissions. Accounting for elevated growth rates in forest edges increases estimates of the net forest C sink in New England by 8.6% (4.36 Tg C). My dissertation research demonstrates the need to better understand the extent and effects of fragmentation in temperate forests, provides support for the treatment of forest edges as a distinct system, and highlights the need to include forest edges in current and future C accounting.

O processo de fragmentação florestal, além do isolamento e da redução de hábitat, produz um aumento do microhábitat de borda. Este aumento leva à gradual perda de diversidade devido a alterações abióticas e bióticas fazendo com que remanescentes florestais não comportem a mesma diversidade que hábitats contínuos. O estabelecimento de espécies vegetal depende crucialmente do local onde as sementes são depositadas no ambiente, porém muito pouco se sabe sobre os efeitos da fragmentação florestal para a manutenção das características abióticas e bióticas dos microhábitats e seus efeitos na sobrevivência de sementes pós-dispersas, uma vez que a maioria dos estudos foi conduzida em florestas contínua. Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar os efeitos da fragmentação florestal na predação de sementes da palmeira Syagrus romanzoffiana (“jerivá") em três microhábitats (clareira, borda e interior de mata), testando oito fragmentos de Floresta Semidecídua (de 9,5 a 33.845 ha). Os objetivos deste trabalho foram os de avaliar (1) se existe diferenças bióticas e abióticas entre os microhábitats de borda, interior de mata e clareira; (2) se o tamanho do fragmento florestal exerce influência para a manutenção das características do microhábitats amostrados; (3) se os microhábitats testados diferem na sobrevivência de sementes de S. romanzoffiana pós-dispersas; (4) se o tamanho do fragmento influencia na taxa de predação de sementes; (5) quais das características estruturais avaliadas estão relacionadas com a predação de sementes de S. romanzoffiana e (6) quais as características estruturais que estão correlacionadas com o tamanho do fragmento. Foi concluído que fragmentos menores que 20 ha não possuem diferenças abióticas e bióticas por extrapolação da borda da mata a todo o fragmento, não sendo registrada nenhuma semente predada nestas áreas. Fragmentos de 230 a 380 ha possuem alta taxa de predação de sementes, sendo encontradas em todo o remanescente independente do microhábitat à medida que os fragmentos florestais com área superior a 1000 ha possuem uma menor taxa de predação e distinções abióticas e bióticas entre clareira, interior e borda de mata. Para a conservação de populações de jerivá em fragmentos florestais com área inferior a 1.000 ha são necessários planos de manejo, como medidas que visem o desenvolvimento de sub-bosque em fragmentos que estejam inteiramente sob efeito de borda, e a proteção de sementes pós-dispersas em fragmentos onde haja forte pressão de predadores de sementes. Investigações sobre os efeitos das alterações decorrentes do processo de fragmentação florestal na biologia reprodutiva de angiospermas são de suma importância para planos efetivos de planejamento, conservação e restauração, gerenciamento de áreas florestais. / The effects of forest fragmentation, more than isolation and habitat reduction, increase the microhabitat edge. This increasing leads to gradual biodiversity loss because of abiotic and biotic alterations, doing that forest fragments support less species when compared with continuous forest. The establishment of plants depends crucially on the place where their seeds were deposited on the environment, but very little is known about the effects of forest fragmentation on microhabitats abiotic and biotic conditions maintenance and their effects for seed survival, once that most studies have been carried out in large forest. In this study, we evaluate the effects of forest fragmentation on Syagrus romanzoffiana seed predation in three microhabitats (gaps, understory and forest edge), testing eight semi-deciduous forest fragments (9.5 to 33,845 ha). Our objectives were to test (1) if there are abiotic and biotic differences among gap, understory and forest edge; (2) if the size of forest fragment influence the maintenance of microhabitats condition; (3) if the microhabitats differs on S. romanzoffiana seed survival; (4) if forest size influence on seed predation rate; (5) which structure characteristics evaluated are related with S. romanzoffiana seed predation; and (6) which structure characteristics are related with forest fragment area. We conclude that forest with less than 20 ha do not support abiotic and biotic distinction, with the forest edge overspread the whole reminiscent. In these forest fragments, we did not find any seed predated. Fragments with 230 to 380 ha had higher seed predation rates, with no differences among the tested microhabitats. Forest fragments with more than 1,000 ha differ among microhabitats biotic ally and idiotically, and had lower seed predation. We conclude that for Syagrus romanzoffiana populations be conserved in isolated forest areas with less than 1,000 ha are necessaries managing plans, as developing understory at remnants with the whole area under edge effect, and post-dispersed seed protection at fragments with high seed predation. The knowledge of the effects of forest fragmentation on angiosperms reproductive processes is essentially for managing, planning, restoration and conservation of forested areas.

O noroeste de São Paulo, transição entre a Floresta Atlântica e o Cerrado, é uma das regiões mais fragmentadas do estado. Investigando a regeneração natural de remanescentes florestais é possível compreender como a diversidade de espécies e os processos ecológicos são mantidos nessas paisagens agrícolas muito fragmentadas, gerando subsídios para ações de conservação e restauração. Nesse sentido, as perguntas norteadoras deste estudo foram: 1) o conhecimento do componente regenerante de remanescentes florestais inseridos em matrizes agrícolas muito fragmentadas permite avaliar a perpetuação dos mesmos ao longo do tempo? 2) quais fatores, de qualidade de hábitat ou de estrutura da paisagem, exercem maior influência sobre composição, densidade e riqueza de espécies no componente regenerante desses remanescentes florestais? Para isso, foi comparada a riqueza, diversidade e composição de espécies entre o componente regenerante (altura >1,0 m e DAS< 5 cm) e arbóreo (DAS> 5 cm) de 18 fragmentos de florestas nativas do noroeste de São Paulo. Em seguida, foi analisada a relação entre a qualidade do hábitat (soma de bases do solo, teor de argila do solo e frequência de incêndio) e estrutura da paisagem (conectividade, isolamento e tamanho total do fragmento) com os valores descritivos do componente regenerante. Foram registrados no componente regenerante 5.989 indivíduos e 207 espécies, o que equivale a uma média de 4968±3584 ind.ha-1 e 33±14 espécies por fragmento. As famílias mais ricas foram Fabaceae (28 espécies), Myrtaceae (25), Rubiaceae (21) e os gêneros foram Eugenia (12), Ocotea (6), Campomanesia (5) e Psychotria (5). Comparado ao componente arbóreo, o componente regenerante apresentou significativamente menor riqueza e diversidade &alpha;, pois 71% das espécies do componente arbóreo não foram registradas na regeneração natural. Porém, ambos componentes apresentaram composição florística significativamente correlacionada. Com relação à diversidade &beta;, em média, o componente regenerante apresentou valor significativamente maior entre os fragmentos. A qualidade de habitat foi mais importante para explicar a estrutura e riqueza da comunidade regenerante. Frequência de incêndio contribuiu negativamente para a densidade total comunidade e de indivíduos zoocóricos, clímaces de sub-bosque e de dossel, assim como para a riqueza de espécies zoocóricas, pioneiras e colonizadoras. A riqueza de especialistas de florestas apresentou relação positiva com a soma de bases enquanto para a riqueza e densidade de generalistas a relação foi negativa. Soma de bases e teor de argila no solo foram as variáveis mais relacionadas com a composição florística da comunidade regenerante. Dentre as variáveis de paisagem, conectividade relacionou-se negativamente com a densidade de espécies generalistas enquanto área do fragmento apresentou relação positiva com a densidade de zoocóricas com propágulos de tamanho médio. Portanto, a regeneração natural representou um subconjunto de espécies do componente arbóreo com menor diversidade, riqueza e número de espécies compartilhadas entre os fragmentos e por isso seriam necessárias ações de manejo adaptativo para garantir a perpetuação dos remanescentes florestais nessas paisagens muito fragmentadas. Frequência de incêndios foi o principal fator comprometedor da perpetuação da biodiversidade e a importância do gradiente edáfico para composição de espécies dos remanescentes florestais da região foi confirmada. / The northwestern São Paulo, a transition area between the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado, is one of the most fragmented region of the state. Investigating the sapling community of forest communities would be possible understanding how species diversity and ecological processes are maintained in this kind of landscape and therefore it would help creating subsides for forest restoration. For this reason, the questions of this research were: 1) Does the survey of sapling community of forest remnants in highly fragmented agricultural landscape allows assessing their self-perpetuating capacity? 2) Which factors of habitat quality or landscape structure exerts greater influence on the species composition, density and species-richness of the sapling community of these forest remnants? Thus, it was assessed the sapling community (height >one, 0 m and DSH< 5,0 cm) density and compared the observed and the relative species-richness of functional groups, &alpha; and &beta; diversity and species composition to the tree community (DSH> 5,0 cm) in the same forest remnant. After that, was assessed the influence of habitat quality (soil sum of bases, soil clay content, fire frequency) and landscape structure (functional connectivity, isolation and total size of these forest remnants) on the descriptive values of sapling communities. Overall, the sapling community showed 5.989 individuals and 207 species that represent on average 4968±3584 ind.ha-1 and 33±14 species for forest fragments. The botanic families with higher species-richness were Fabaceae (28 species), Myrtaceae (25), Rubiaceae (21) and genera were Eugenia (12), Ocotea (6), Campomanesia (5) e Psychotria (5).Compared to the tree community, the sapling community had significantly smaller species-richness (observed and estimated) and &alpha; diversity, because 71 % of species from the tree community did not occur in sapling community. However, both communities had species composition significantly correlated, the sapling communities showed significantly higher &beta; diversity than trees communities. The habitat quality were more important to explain the density, species-richness and species composition of the sapling communities. Fire frequency contributed negatively to species-richness of zoochorous species, pioneer species and colonizers group (species found only at sapling community) and to the sapling density of zoochorous species, shade-tolerant canopy species and shade-tolerant understory species. The species-richness of forest-specialist species was positively related to the soil sum of bases but to the sapling density and species-richness of generalist species was found the opposite relation. Similarly, sum of base and clay content were the variables most related to the species composition of sapling community. Functional connectivity and the total area of the forests fragments explained only the density of generalist and zoochorous medium-seeded species, but with relatively smaller importance than the habitat quality variables. Thus, the sapling community of these forest remnants represented a subset of the tree community but with significant smaller diversity, species richness and number of common species among fragments and then adaptive management efforts is needed to assist long-term biodiversity persistence in forests fragments in highly fragmented agricultural landscape. Frequent fires was the main factor affecting negatively the biodiversity perpetuation and the importance of an edaphic gradient to species composition of forests remnants in the region was validated.