Journal of Environmental Management

Global climate warming is expected to increase wildfire hazard in many regions of the world. In southern Europe, land abandonment and an unbalanced investment toward fire suppression instead of prevention has gradually increased wildfire risk, which calls for a paradigm change in fire management policies. Here we combined scenario analysis, fire landscape modelling, and economic tools to identify which land-use policies would minimise the expected wildfire-related losses in a representative mountainous area of the northwestern Iberian Peninsula (the Transboundary Biosphere Reserve Geres-Xures, between Spain and Portugal). To do so, we applied the least-cost-plus-net-value-change approach and estimated net changes in wildfire damages based on their implications for the ecosystem services that affect financial returns to landowners in the study area (i.e. agriculture, pasture, and timber) and the wider economic benefits (i.e. recreation and climate regulation) for the 2010-2050 period. Four land-use scenarios were considered: (1) Business as Usual (BAU); (2) fire-smart, fostering more fire-resistant (less flammable) and/or fire-resilient landscapes (fire-smart); (3) High Nature Value farmlands (HNVf), wherein the abandonment of extensive agriculture is reversed; and (4) a combination of HNVf and fire-smart. We found the highest net value change (i.e. the difference between damages and avoided damages) in BAU for timber and pasture provision, and in fire-smart for recreation and climate regulation. HNVf was the best for suppression cost savings, but it generated the lowest expected present value for climate regulation. In fact, the best scenarios related to fire suppression are HNVf and HNVf combined with fire-smart, which also generate the lowest net value change plus net suppression costs in the entire study area (i.e. considering all ecosystem services damages and suppression costs). Therefore, reverting land abandonment through recultivation and promoting fire-resistant tree species is the most efficient way to reduce wildfire hazard. In this sense, payments for ecosystem services should reward farmers for their role in wildfire prevention. This study improves the understanding of the financial and societal benefits derived from reducing fire suppression spending and ecosystem services damage by undertaking fire-smart land-use strategies, which can be essential to enhance local stakeholders support for wildfire prevention policies. HighlightsO_LILand-use changes impact wildfire ecosystem services (ES) damages and suppression costs C_LIO_LIPromoting agriculture generates significant suppression cost savings C_LIO_LIAgriculture + fire-resistant forests is the best to reduce wildfire ES damages C_LIO_LILand-use policies should balance trade-offs between climate and wildfire regulation C_LIO_LIPayments for ES should reward farmers for their role in wildfire prevention C_LI

Permanent grassland (PG) is an important agricultural land use for the delivery of multiple ecosystem services (ES), including carbon sequestration, water quality protection, food production, habitat provision, and cultural activities. However, PG environments are threatened by sub-optimal management, cultivation, and abandonment that are influenced by context, land managers attitudes and societal demand for ES. Therefore, the perceptions and attitudes of key decision-makers (farmers) and other stakeholders (non-farmers, including citizens and consumers of the products of permanent grasslands, and ES) need to be understood to ensure the sustainability of PGs and the ES they provide. A systematic review of the literature identified 135 scholarly articles. Application of thematic analysis, allowed the organization, and synthesis of current research related to (different) stakeholder attitudes, and how these influence PG management and the delivery of ES. The results suggest that different stakeholders hold different views towards permanent grassland, with farmers in particular having to balance economic with other (potentially conflicting) drivers. The types of knowledge held by different groups of stakeholders, access to sources of information, as well as the influence of knowledge on behaviour; and environmental values (for example in relation to aesthetics or conservation of biodiversity) explained why certain motivations for attitudes and behaviours are held. A major gap, however, was identified in relation to PG as opposed to other types of landscape.

One of the greatest tragedies in Brazilian mining history occurred in November 2015 in Mariana, Minas Gerais state, when a dam from the mining company Samarco was breached. Millions of mine tailings from this upstream embankment were dumped over the Doce River basin, impacting an area of approximately 1469 ha of riparian vegetation. Our objective was to experimentally investigate whether plant recruitment and establishment are impaired in areas affected by tailings six years after the deposition. To achieve this goal, in 2021 we compared soil chemical properties between affected and unaffected areas, performed a soil seed bank experiment in controlled conditions, and conducted a greenhouse growth experiment using the two most abundant plant species. Affected soils presented lower fertility and organic matter content. At the same time, the mean abundance and richness of emerging plants did not differ between soils. Still, affected areas exhibited approximately 35% lower accumulated species richness (gamma diversity) than unaffected ones. The three most abundant species in both areas represented 34% of the individuals, being Marsypianthes chamaedrys (Vahl) Kuntze, Ludwigia octovalvis (Jacq.) P.H. Raven and Ageratum conyzoides L. In the growth experiment, plants growing in affected soils presented reduced height and stem diameter increment (L. octovalvis) or allocated fewer resources to root production than aerial parts (M. chamaedrys), potentially in response to soil infertility and density. Even after six years, our results showed that tailings- affected areas continue to experience negative impacts on plant recruitment, highlighting its adverse effects on ecosystem functions and services.

Urban greening actions across the world are being carried out to support resident, rare and locally extinct insect pollinators. In parallel, an array of best-practise resources have been designed to support build-environment practitioners and professionals seeking to or tasked with implementing greening actions for pollinators. Three main themes permeate these resources: (1) small greenspaces can provide large ecological benefits; (2) high-quality pollinator habitat should include a large share of indigenous plant species; and (3) considering stakeholders aspirations, motivations, experience, and concerns is critical for designing effective actions. Despite high interest in implementing these actions, few projects have evaluated their ecological benefits or demonstrated achievement of specific objectives. Even fewer have been specifically co-designed by practitioners and researchers to bridge the science-practice gap. Here, we demonstrate the success of a co-designed greening action in attracting indigenous pollinators to an urban greenspace. We compiled a plant-pollinator interactions dataset in a public park, within a densely urbanised municipality, that was purposefully greened with indigenous plant species to support existing and attract new indigenous pollinators. We then assessed: (1) how pollinator species richness and species-specific occupancy varied amongst plant species, and how these metrics compared between the existing greenspace plant species and the new added indigenous ones; (2) the effect of flower cover of the added indigenous plant species on the probabilities of occurrence of indigenous and introduced pollinators; and (3) the effect of the added indigenous plant species on the structure of the greenspace plant-pollinator ecological network. An addition of only six indigenous plant species resulted in a 2.5-fold increase in the number of indigenous pollinator species and other flower-visiting insects observed in the park. The added indigenous plants established interactions with all the indigenous pollinators and remarkably almost half of these were found interacting exclusively with the added indigenous plants. Additionally, the number of indigenous pollinators associated with a given plant species was on average 3.5 times higher for the added indigenous plants than for the baseline ones and the probabilities of occurrence of indigenous pollinators were on average invariable higher in the added indigenous than in the baseline plant species. The plant and insect community changes sparked by the greening action resulted in concomitant changes to the structure of the sites plant-pollinator network. We found an average 4.2-fold increase in the number of interactions linking the greened compared to the baseline network, with almost half of these interactions comprising those between the added indigenous plants and indigenous pollinators. By showing that replacing lawn with indigenous plants leads to positive ecological outcomes for indigenous pollinators and other flower-visiting insects - including increasing the overall greenspace biodiversity by attracting new indigenous insect species to the site - our findings contribute to the evidence base underpinning best-practise resources and provide encouragement to build-environment practitioners and professionals responsible for or endeavouring to support existing or bringing insect pollinators back into our cities. Our study establishes a pathway and acts as a catalyst for researchers and government officials seeking to collaboratively demonstrate that greening is a valuable and sound investment for achieving goals from local, regional and global biodiversity and sustainability plans and policies.

O_LIForest degradation is posing a growing threat to biodiversity conservation, climate regulation and nature contributions to people worldwide. The EU Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR) recognise the need of healthy forests and has established indicators to assess the condition of forest ecosystems. Forest management practices, especially harvesting may contribute to improve these indicators by, for example, reducing tree density and promoting tree species diversification. C_LIO_LIHere, we assessed temporal trends in forest condition indicators (hereafter, indicators) across Iberian forests since the 80s and evaluated how harvesting occurrence and intensity modulated these trends. Using 46,354 plots from the Spanish Forest Inventory (1986-2022), we analysed trends in indicators depending on stand diversity (monospecific or mixed), protection status (protected or unprotected), origin of the stand (natural or planted), and biogeographical region (Mediterranean or temperate). C_LIO_LIOverall, indicators increased over time. Harvesting occurrence reduced the increases in aboveground carbon stocks, structural diversity, tree species diversity, and standing deadwood; however, it contributed to increase the proportion of native species in specific forest types. Medium to high harvesting intensity negatively impacted aboveground carbon stocks, while medium intensities increased tree species diversity but reduced the structural diversity. C_LIO_LISynthesis and applications. Our results suggest that indicators are increasing as stand develops in absence of disturbances such as harvesting. Tree harvesting cannot be considered as a silver bullet to achieve the objectives of the NRR, but it can contribute under certain conditions - specifically at low intensities for carbon stocks and at medium intensities for species diversity. The naturally positive trend of indicators underlines the need to establish thresholds values and minimum rates of changes that distinguish restoration outcomes from natural dynamics. Finally, our study also highlights the key role of forest inventories in monitoring forest condition over time and across diverse landscapes. C_LI

Assessing the cumulative effects of competing land uses on traditional indigenous livelihoods and culture is a critical component of ensuring the protection of indigenous peoples rights. Lack of appropriate methodologies for conducting cumulative impact assessment is a major concern in Sami indigenous communities across Sapmi, the traditional Sami territory covering the northern parts of Finland, Sweden, Norway and parts of north-western Russia. We report from a project in which a new type of GIS based impact assessment methodology was developed to assess effects of forestry on winter pastures of the Mudusjavri reindeer herding co-operative in northern Finland. Winter pasture quality was studied as a function of cumulative impacts from forestry. The aim was to develop a way to measure the level of harm caused by forestry on Sami culture and rights that are protected by national laws and international conventions - in order to assess whether the threshold for significant and hence unacceptable impact has been exceeded. An existing static model for lichen - the main natural winter fodder for reindeer - both for its biomass and growth was used along with mapped forest data to simulate the impacts of forestry on reindeer herding. Our assessment shows that the intensive industrial loggings that started in the 1950s have reduced the ground lichen biomass in Mudusjavris pastures by over 30% by 2020. The yearly lichen production has been reduced by 23 - 31% and the yearly lichen depending on the model version used. The respective cost of forestry for Mudusjavri reindeer herding is approximately 370 - 530 000 {euro}/year which is approximately half of the total turnover of the co-operative. Thus, our study indicates that significant harm has been caused on Sami reindeer herding by other land uses and especially forestry.

Conservation has been challenged by biodiversity loss drivers. Also, fire disturbance can temporarily change ecosystems. Fire effects in soil nutrients and pH, plant abundance, reproduction, seed weight, seed germination, and plant growth were assessed. Four seed starting systems were used for germination and growth under laboratory conditions. We found significant differences in the means of iron, manganese, nickel, soil pH, and plant height, and a significant positive linear relationship between seed weight and plant height. Results indicate that fires increase soil pH and cause changes in micronutrients that can increase plant growth. Large size plants are produced from high weight seeds. Finally, ex situ conservation and species reintroduction were feasible conservation strategies that should be integrated with in situ conservation.

Widespread campaigns on forest restoration and various tree planting actions lower the awareness of the importance of grasslands for carbon sequestration or biodiversity conservation. Even lower attention is given to the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in remnants of ancient, so called old-growth grasslands. Old-growth grasslands in general harbour high biodiversity and even small patches of these can act as important refuges for many plant and animal species in urbanised or agriculture driven landscapes. Spontaneous succession of grassland is frequently viewed as a cost-effective tool for grassland restoration, but its applicability is strongly dependent on many local to landscape-scale factors and the recovery often slow. Thus, for the assessment of the effectiveness of spontaneous succession as a restoration tool, it is essential to compare the species diversity and functional attributes of old-growth and secondary grasslands. We studied the taxonomic and functional diversity in thirteen loess steppic grasslands (8 old-growth and 5 secondary) using differently sized plots ranging from 0.01 to 100m2. Our results indicated that there are remarkable differences in taxonomic and functional diversity between old-growth grasslands and secondary ones. We also point out that during secondary succession there is a likely functional saturation of the species assembly in the first few decades of recovery, and while patterns and structure of secondary grasslands became quite similar to those of old-growth grasslands, the species richness and diversity remains still much lower. Old-growth grasslands support considerable plant diversity, and species composition is slow to recover if destroyed for agricultural land use. This underlines the priority of protecting existing old-growth grassland remnants over restoration actions and the recovery of secondary grasslands.

The establishment of mixed forest stands can be seen as an option to improve soil nutrient conditions and to protect forest ecosystems from various impacts of climate change. Our study analyzed groups of pure mature European beech (Fagus sylvatica; B), Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii; D) and Norway spruce (Picea abies; S) stands as well as mixtures of beech with either Douglas fir (DB) or spruce (SB), i.e. 5 forest stands per site along Northern Germany with two regionally clearly differing sites conditions (i.e., 3 loess-influenced, loamy sites in the Solling region, southern Lower Saxony and 4 sandy lowland sites further north). In order to determine possible influences of the tree species and their mixtures on soil properties, the organic layer and the mineral topsoil were first chemically characterized for all 35 plots down to a depth of 30 cm (pH, C, N, P, CEC, exchangeable nutrient cation contents and stocks, base saturation-BS). Our results indicated, independent of sites condition, that pure S stands showed the lowest pH and BS, meanwhile B the highest BS. The impact of D varied depending on site condition. On sandy soils, pure D showed higher pH and BS than under pure S, while on loamy soils the pH under D and B was lower than under S. Regarding cations stocks under sandy soils conditions, S stands and its admixture SB depleted soil Ca and Mg stocks more than pure D and B. In contrast, under loamy soil conditions B showed depleted (lowest) soil exchangeable Ca and Mg stocks more than under S stands. Soil exchangeable K under mixed stands were among the highest compared to pure stands, independent of the site condition. Thus, mixed species stands generally decreased soil base cation depletion compared to pure conifer stands. Admixtures of Douglas-fir (DB) seem to lead to smaller changes in pH, CEC and BS than those of Norway spruce, this effect become more important at sandy soil sites. Therefore, forest management may consider mixtures of European beech and Douglas fir as a reasonable management option without apprehending negative effects on soil chemistry.

Conventional tillage (i.e. plowing) is often associated with soil degradation and a loss of biodiversity. In response, reduced tillage has increasingly been promoted as a sustainable alternative for its positive impacts on soil structure, water dynamics, and biodiversity. However, reduced tillage not only favors beneficial soil-dwelling organisms, but also pests. In this field study, we examined the effects of five years of reduced tillage on the physical properties of the soil and the dynamics of Agriotes wireworm populations (Elateridae), which are increasingly widespread pests. Our results show that tillage reduction led to stable edaphic conditions and a redistribution of organic matter, creating a favorable environment for wireworms. While our results demonstrate the beneficial effects of reduced tillage on aggregate stability, they also indicate a concomitant increase in soil bulk density, suggesting a reduction in water-holding capacity. Monitoring of wireworm populations revealed their aggregated distribution and their increase in abundance in infested areas year on year. Monitoring soil moisture revealed that tillage reduction improved water dynamics, enhancing infiltration and reducing evaporation. This could potentially favor the development of wireworms. Surprisingly, wireworm size distribution showed a higher proportion of young instars in plowed plots, evidencing that, firstly, the lack of soil cover does not prevent oviposition and that injury caused by plowing targets more the last instars rather than young larvae. While reduced tillage improves key soil health indicators, our findings suggest a potential trade-off in terms of increased pest pressure. Our study highlights the importance of adopting a holistic approach when designing sustainable cropping systems, as well as considering the services and dis-services they provide.

Ecological records from before and after the creation of natural parks are valuable for informing conservation and restoration actions. Such records are often unavailable, but high-resolution paleoecological studies may provide useful information. This paper presents a sub-decadal paleoecological reconstruction of vegetation and landscape in a national park in the Pyrenean highlands, established in the 1950s. The park lands were traditionally been used for small-scale cultivation, extensive grazing, forest exploitation and, since 1910, hydroelectricity generation following the damming of numerous glacial lakes. A significant finding is that present-like forests, with negligible changes in composition, have dominated the landscape during the study period. Major vegetation changes involved shifts in forest cover, influenced by both climatic and anthropic factors. Interestingly, the creation of the park in 1955 and the initial restrictions on forest exploitation in 1975 did not significantly affect vegetation cover or composition. Forest expansion did not occur significantly until the 1980s when the park was enlarged, and forest exploitation was further restricted. This expansion peaked in the mid-1990s coinciding with a warming trend and a decrease in fire incidence, before declining due to warmer and drier climates. This decline in forest cover occurred concurrently with the ongoing global forest dieback phenomenon and may be exacerbated by the predicted global warming in this century, which could also increase fire incidence due to the accumulation of dead wood. Under current conservation measures, the main threats are global warming, fire and, on a more local scale, the massification of tourism. Expanding the park and implementing forest restoration actions on degraded terrains surrounding the park could only be beneficial.

Land-use change and ecological invasion are two main drivers of biodiversity loss, and the restoration of semi-natural wet grasslands is needed to tackle invasive species and re-establish grassland biodiversity on former forest plantations. This study tested the effectiveness of two widely used management techniques (grazing by traditional Hungarian Grey cattle and mowing once a year in August) as a restoration method of wet meadows in a former forest plantation invaded by goldenrod species in Central Hungary. We compared the vegetation composition of grazed, mowed, and reference areas with semi-natural wet meadow vegetation based on plant biomass, species richness and cover of species groups of species origin, life span, growth form, and social behaviour types of Borhidi determining the grazing value and the nature conservation value of the grasslands. We found that grazing by Hungarian Grey cattle resulted in a vegetation that was more similar to the reference wet meadows than mowing once a year in late summer. Grazing was superior to mowing in terms of goldenrod control, total species richness and cover, as well as the abundance of natives, perennials, herbs, and legumes. However, in the grazed area, we detected more disturbance-tolerant and annual species than in the mowed area. Despite the improved vegetation condition in the grazed area, we identified substantial disparities between the grazed and reference areas after three years of grazing. Based on our results, we advise using continuous extensive grazing to restore and maintain semi-natural wet meadows.

Despite increasing evidence indicating that invasive species are harming ecological systems and processes, impacts of multiple invasions, and the linkages between these events and changes in vegetation and soil are inadequately documented and remain poorly understood. Addressing multiple invasions would help to highlight high priority invaders and would aid in designing more effective control strategies, contributing to environmental restoration and sustainability. In this work, we tested the impact of three concurring invasive plant species, Amorpha fruticosa, Fraxinus pennsylvanica and Acer negundo, on soil conditions and native plant diversity. The research was conducted in riparian ecosystem and included the following treatments: (1) co-occurrence of the three invasive plant species, (2) occurrence of a single invasive species, and (3) control, i.e., absence of invasive species. Our findings revealed that the impact of invasive plants on soil properties and native plant diversity is magnified by their co-occurrence. Soil in mixed plots (those populated with all three invaders) contained much higher levels of nitrifying bacteria (NB), organic matter (Om), nitrogen (N), and carbon (C) as well as lower carbon to nitrogen ratio (C:N) levels, compared to single species invaded plots and control plots. Mixed plots were also characterized by reduced native plant diversity compared to single species invaded and control plots. Differences in soil conditions and native plant diversity revealed the interactive potential of invasive plants in depleting biodiversity, and thus in affecting ecological and biogeochemical processes. Our results highlight the need to study the impact of multispecies invasion and suggest that sites in riparian areas affected by co-occurring invaders, should be prioritized for ecosystem restoration.

Reforestation efforts have sought to counteract deforestation and to provide a nature-based solution against climate change. However, they often involve monoculture plantations of non-native species, which may have unintended ecological consequences. Yet, the long-term impacts of planting trees have been poorly estimated. Leveraging historical reforestation conducted in northern Italy during the 1920s by the fascist regime, we assessed the long-term impacts of red spruce (Picea abies) monoculture plantations on biodiversity of plants and soil fauna. We found that plant diversity in tree plantations was 50.3% lower than in native forests and 74.5% lower than in grasslands. Additionally, functional evenness was reduced by 30% in spruce plantations, suggesting lower ecological stability. In tree plantations, soil pH was significantly more acid and organic carbon content was 25% higher due to litter deposition and slower decomposition rates. Soil fauna diversity was marginally less affected, suggesting a faster recover over the last one-hundred years of arthropods as compared to plants. These findings highlight the need for monitoring reforestation interventions, suggesting strategies that incorporate diverse tree species rather than planting tree monocultures to support functionally and resilient ecosystems.

In recent decades, restoring abandoned wood pastures are being rediscovered as an effective way to preserve biodiversity. Their restoration include the control of invasive plant species. In our study, we compared the vegetation composition of wet meadow patches uninvaded and invaded by giant and Canadian goldenrod in a wood pasture located in Somogyfajsz, Hungary. We sampled the vegetation of the wet meadows of the pasture in 16 pairs of 1 x 1 m invaded and uninvaded quadrats in June 2020. We studied the effect of goldenrod invasion on nature conservation value in terms of species diversity, origin of species, and Social Behaviour Types, and forage quality and quantity. The study revealed that goldenrod invasion had negative effects on species richness and community-level biomass in wet meadows, leading to a significant reduction in species diversity and total cover. Goldenrod invasion also impacted the richness and cover of both native and exotic species, with a decrease in richness but not cover, highlighting the competitive ability of goldenrods and their potential to alter vegetation composition.

In forest regions worldwide, industrial forestry has left fragments of natural forests behind. This challenges biodiversity conservation and calls for ecological restoration for sustainable forest management and conservation. The functionality of protected areas need to be improved and forest ecosystems set in a state that better favors biodiversity, resilience and provisioning of ecosystem services. Sweden contributes a substantial share of the European forests, with dominance of non-industrial forest ownership and extensive forestry footprint, and hence with immediate need for advanced conservation and restoration. Protection through voluntary nature conservation agreements and regulated biotope protection areas exists since the 1990s, with schemes involving economic compensation to landowners to facilitate conservation and restoration. Across entire Sweden and all ecoregions, we assessed their accumulated capacity over a 30-year period, including forest types protected, type of restoration management, rotation intervals, and selection of tree species. These nearly 14,000 different areas covering over 70,000ha are small, ranging in size from 5ha but rarely larger than 20ha. Their contribution is important, particularly in south Sweden with low and fragmented forest cover among many different owners. Active restoration dominates over passive set asides, coniferous forest types are less represented than more rare forest types, many different tree species are favored, and different restoration types occur but with few types dominating. In recognizing their critical importance, we find that the practices are narrow and repetitive, and that a greater restoration diversification is needed. The decreasing trend in protection is alarming since these contribute key forest type representativeness and functionality.

In urban environments, attention has traditionally been paid to public open spaces. However, private open spaces constitute a significant percentage of the urban area and can thus play a significant role in enhancing biological diversity and facilitating direct interactions between humans and nature within urban settings. According to the 2018 European Union report, 46% of homeowners across Europe live in apartment buildings and yet, most studies that examine the effect of private open spaces on biodiversity focus primarily on yards of single-family housing. The objective of this study is to examine the biodiversity potential offered by shared residential yards focusing exclusively on wild plant species, with the aim of offering planning guidelines that address both the management practices of these lot spaces and their spatial arrangement and qualities. The study was conducted in the city of Givatayim, Israel, in shared residential yards. The basic units (lots and buildings on them) in the city were delineated using a novel approach through a separate characterization of lot sizes and building types, as well as their combination. This process resulted in typologies that cover all residential fabric in the city, allowing systematic sampling. In the spring of 2022, plant surveys were conducted in 56 randomly chosen yards. In these lots, potential open area was measured, and the level of non-maintenance (neglection) was also rated. 74 species of wild plants were found, representing a quarter of all wild plant species in the city. Our results show the combined positive effect of available open space and levels of non-maintenance in these yards on the richness and diversity of wild species. This study highlights the substantial area occupied by residential yards in the city and its role in maintaining biodiversity in urban environments. This study indicates the importance of considering these aspects in architectural and management policies in cities.

O_LIMany tropical regions in Southeast Asia have experienced extensive habitat modification, creating a mosaic of forested and agricultural land. The capacity of these human-modified tropical landscapes to support biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services is of considerable practical interest. C_LIO_LIDecomposition of plant material is a key process maintaining the nutrient cycle in both natural and agro-ecosystems, but few studies have documented the relative contributions of different guilds of decomposers, acting on different plant substrates, across different tropical land-uses. C_LIO_LIWe measured decomposition of leaf litter and cellulose across a gradient of anthropogenic habitat modification (forest, shrubland, and corn farmland) within Panua Nature Reserve, Sulawesi, Indonesia. The influence of fungi and the litter invertebrate community were investigated experimentally. C_LIO_LIDecomposition of both substrates was significantly lower in corn plantations than in forest sites. Partial exclusion of litter invertebrates, but not fungi, significantly reduced decomposition, but the feeding guild composition of the litter invertebrate community did not differ significantly across habitat types. C_LIO_LIOur results confirm that even small-scale agricultural areas adjacent to forest fragments can experience impaired ecosystem functions. These changes can be linked to reduced invertebrate activity, apparently independent of the functional structure of the litter invertebrate community. Effective management of human-modified landscapes will be needed to maintain nutrient cycling, even in areas where agroecosystems and tropical forests occur in close proximity. C_LI HighlightsO_LIHabitat modification alters litter and cellulose decomposition C_LIO_LISmall-scale agriculture near forest fragments can impair ecosystem functions. C_LIO_LIExclusion of litter invertebrates, but not fungi, significantly reduced decomposition. C_LIO_LIMaintaining nutrient cycling requires effective management of human-altered landscapes. C_LI

The escalating global demand for food has intensified agricultural practices, leading to substantial changes in land use. This transformation poses a threat to farmland biodiversity, compounded by the presence of pollutants from anthropogenic activities. While the impact of specific pollutants is known in controlled environments, their compounded effects under field conditions remain largely unexplored. We investigated correlations between farmland bird distribution, landscape features, land use patterns, and anthropogenic pressures, including nutrient pollution, acidifying compounds, and synthetic chemicals. Using distribution maps of the Netherlands at a 1x1 km{superscript 2} grid cell, we analyzed the association of farmland bird species richness and abundance with landscape characteristics and varying levels of exposures to unintended pollutants. We also compared species richness distribution patterns between 1998 and 2018. We found a strong negative relationship between farmland bird species richness and abundance with atmospheric deposition of inorganic nitrogen (NHx, NOy). Furthermore, mixed associations were observed between farmland birds and local toxic pressure variation in surface waters, with consistent relationships to industrial chemicals (negative) and products of combustion (positive). Lastly, change in species richness from 1998 and 2018, showed that many of the relationships observed now were already evident two decades ago, with recent declines in species richness concentrated in landscapes hosting a considerable number of species, and low nitrogen deposition grid cells. We conclude that although it is likely that there is some direct negative effects of pollutants on farmland birds, it is reasonable to also assume that the identified relationships are proxies for the overarching intensity of farming, human disturbance, and broader landscape changes. Our study highlights a) a possible role of synthetic pollutants and acidifying eutrophicating substances in farmland bird decline b) the need for well-designed field studies to complement correlative evidence from big data approaches such as ours to enhance our understanding and c) the broader implications for sustainable land management, emphasizing the importance of a holistic approach in addressing the intricate relationships between pollutants and landscape changes.

1As the effects of climate change are becoming more evident, different countries around the world are adopting new policies to intervene on the regulation of greenhouse gasses emission. Recent frameworks acknowledge the potential contribution that forest ecosystems can give to carbon sequestration. These are indicating reforestation programmes as effective climate change mitigation options. Yet, there are possibilities that reforestation may have counteractive effects on biodiversity. However the long term consequences of reforestation for biodiversity are poorly understood. Reforestation policies have already been widely implemented around the world. For instance, in northern Italy and central Europe plantations of spruce trees (Picea abies) have been highly promoted during the last century. The objective of our research is to address the long term consequences of reforestation by answering the following questions. What is the spruce plantations impact on plant diversity? Does the spruce plantation impact environmental factors like luminosity and ground surface temperature and do these environmental factors affect plant diversity? We hypothesize that the spruce plantation causes a reduction of plant diversity. Indeed, we expect that the spruce plantation affects different environmental factors that have an important role in determining plant composition and abundance. To answer our research questions, we have conducted a study in two different sites of the Como Prealps. The potential vegetation of the selected area is represented by mixed forests of deciduous trees dominated by beech trees (Fagus sylvatica). Historically, the land has also been used for grazing and mowing. However, some stands of the potential vegetation are here replaced by spruce plantations, the presence of which is linked to national forestry policies of the twentieth century. For our research we have conducted a total of 100 vegetation surveys to collect data on plant diversity and environmental factors, namely luminosity and ground surface temperature. We then compared plant diversity among land-use treatments (i.e., habitat types): the spruce plantation, the natural mixed forest and the semi-natural grassland-pasture. For our analysis we have used linear regression models to test the impact of the different habitat types on plant diversity. We have also measured covariance and correlation to analyse the relationship between the environmental factors and plant diversity. The analysis on plant diversity reveals the long-lasting impact of spruce monoculture plantation on plant diversity. The number of plant species decreases by 57percent from the grassland-pasture to the spruce plantation and by 41percent compared to the natural mixed forest. Likewise, the diversity of plant functional forms decreases in the spruce plantation as compared to mixed forests and grassland-pasture. At last, although luminosity and ground surface temperature do not vary from the mixed forest to the spruce plantation, we have measured a positive relationship between the number of plant species and the two environmental parameters. Our research provides novel evidence that the spruce plantation negatively impacts plant diversity still one hundred years after. As biodiversity loss and climate change are two interwoven processes, they must not be treated separately. For what concerns future reforestation programmes, we recommend that they include biodiversity-friendly measures and address win-win solutions, for their effectiveness in climate change mitigation would otherwise be compromised.