Mukhlish Jamal Musa Holle

Measuring ecosystem gas fluxes is crucial to understanding the dynamics of ecosystem water and energy cycling. A common method to measure ecosystem gas fluxes (CO ₂ , CH ₄ , N ₂ O) and to compare experimental treatments is the use of closed‐loop chambers. However, the output data require extensive processing before analysis, making the workflow prone to bias and limiting comparability between studies. While there are various methods to process flux data, they lack reproducibility and automation. The fluxible R package provides a reproducible way to process raw gas concentration data from closed‐loop chambers into an analysis‐ready dataset of ecosystem gas fluxes. The processing steps include (1) separating the measurements, (2) fitting a linear, quadratic, or exponential model, (3) assessing the quality of the fit, (4) plotting the fluxes for visual inspection and (5) calculating the fluxes. In addition to reproducibility, fluxible focuses on homogeneity and automation in data processing, thus reducing the time investment for users while improving comparability across studies.

Plant functional trait-based approaches are powerful tools to assess the consequences of global environmental changes for plant ecophysiology, population and community ecology, ecosystem functioning, and landscape ecology. Here, we present data capturing these ecological dimensions from grazing, nitrogen addition, and warming experiments conducted along a 821 m a.s.l. elevation gradient and from a climate warming experiment conducted across a 3,200 mm precipitation gradient in boreal and alpine grasslands in Vestland County, western Norway. From these systems we collected 28,762 plant and leaf functional trait measurements from 76 vascular plant species, 88 leaf assimilation-temperature responses, 577 leaf handheld hyperspectral readings, 2.26 billion leaf temperature measurements, 3,696 ecosystem CO₂ flux measurements, and 10.69 ha of multispectral (10-band) and RGB cm-resolution imagery from 4,648 individual images obtained from airborne sensors. These data augment existing longer-term data on local climate, soils, plant populations, plant community composition, and ecosystem functioning from within the same experiments and study systems and from similar systems in other mountain regions globally.

Background: The tropical rainforest biome plays a significant role in providing habitats for terrestrial biodiversity and delivering ecosystem service values, contributing to agricultural production. However, the increasing demand for tropical commodities with high economic value threatens this humid ecosystem and its biodiversity. To our knowledge, no studies have systematically mapped the relationship between the impacts of agricultural production on biodiversity and the effects of biodiversity on agricultural production in tropical rainforest areas. Methods: Since we were interested in systematically mapping the evidence measuring the impact of tropical agriculture on biodiversity (Map 1), and the vice versa relations, the influence of biodiversity on tropical agriculture production (Map 2), we developed a respective set of search strings, eligibility criteria, and subsequently performed independent searching, screening, and data coding processes. We searched articles from six peer-reviewed databases and 22 gray literature sources. Articles were screened based on the inclusion criteria at the title, abstract, and full-text levels. Individual articles that passed full-text screening were coded and synthesized to create heatmaps. Selected information of interest was also extracted and visualized in the graphics which were clustered based on the year of publication, geographical distribution, type of rainforest, exposure, outcome, farm commodity, and study comparators. Review findings: Two heatmaps were generated from a contrasting number of references, with heatmap 1 extracted from 222 studies and heatmap 2 derived from 10 times fewer references (n = 20). In heatmap 1, impacts of land conversion to aboveground biodiversity and wild species and ecosystem functions in natural ecosystems were the most common relationships examined, with 115 articles and 62 articles, respectively. Conversely, heatmap 2 showed evidence that focused predominantly on the examination of the links between the impacts of genetic resource diversity on environmental factors and soil management in tropical agricultural production, with four articles each exploring these relations. Conclusions: These systematic maps reveal that while studies investigating the impacts of tropical agricultural production on biodiversity were abundant, studies examining the impacts of biodiversity on tropical agricultural production were lacking despite both systematic maps experiencing an increasing trend of publication during 2000–2020. Map 1 emphasized the examination of the effects of land conversion on aboveground biodiversity, and on wild species and ecosystem functions. Map 2 highlighted the influence of crop genetic resources on environmental factors, and on soil management as the most frequently studied. The evidence cluster identified here can be the starting point for further systematic review study (to assess, for example, their cause–effect significance).

Conservation literature addresses a broad spectrum of interdisciplinary questions and benefits most by representing a diverse range of authors, particularly those from countries where much conservation work is focused. In other disciplines, it is well known that barriers and biases exist in the academic publishing sphere, which can impact research dissemination and an author’s career development. Here, we used a Discrete Choice Experiment to determine how different journal attributes impact authors’ choices of where to publish in conservation. We identified three demographic groups across 1038 respondents who have previously published in conservation journals, each exhibiting different publishing preferences. Only two attributes showed a consistent response across groups: cost to publish negatively impacted journal choice, including for those in high-income countries, and authors had a consistent preference for double-blind review. Authors from middle-income countries were willing to pay more for society-owned journals, unlike authors from higher-income countries. Journals with a broad geographical scope, which were Open Access, and which had higher impact factors were preferable to two of the three demographic groups. However, we found journal scope and Open Access were more important in dictating journal choice than impact factor. Overall, our findings demonstrate that different demographics experience different preferences or limitations depending on attributes such as a journal’s Open Access policy. However, the scarcity of published authors from low-income countries highlights further, pervasive barriers to representation in conservation research. Based on our findings, we provide recommendations to conservation-related journals to reduce barriers to publishing and ultimately benefit conservation science.

The adverse effects that conservation can have on Indigenous Peoples and local communities have been known for decades. In recognition, governments and conservation organizations have adopted joint statements of intent and rolled out various individual measures to safeguard human rights. Nevertheless, a gap remains between policy and practice, as evidenced by numerous recent examples of human rights infringements because of the (in)actions of conservation. We present ethnographic research with people living adjacent to Pegunungan Cyclops, an IUCN category I(a) strict protected area in Papua Province, Indonesia, aiming to understand their experiences of conservation and provide some nuance regarding the gap between policy and practice in human rights and conservation. We uncovered feelings of injustice, discontent, confusion, an overall lack of consultation between local inhabitants and park managers and decades of contradictory policies and projects characterized by implementation problems stemming from scant resources. We also show how national struggles over rights and recognition are conflated and intertwined with local ones and how national and provincial policies can alter governance regimes, tenure arrangements and power relations locally. Despite the issues, our informants also recalled favourably instances in which partnerships between local inhabitants and other actors were well received because they were implemented through detailed consultation, producing management actions that better aligned with traditional practices. For people in the Cyclops Mountains today, the emerging avenues provided by the social forestry programme in Indonesia could be the most beneficial way to secure greater access to their lands, and conservationists can play a role in supporting this process.

Many 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. Decomposition 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. We 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. Decomposition 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. Our 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. Highlights Habitat modification alters litter and cellulose decomposition Small-scale agriculture near forest fragments can impair ecosystem functions. Exclusion of litter invertebrates, but not fungi, significantly reduced decomposition. Maintaining nutrient cycling requires effective management of human-altered landscapes.

With the aim to identify future challenges and opportunities in vegetation science, we brought together a group of 22 early career vegetation scientists from diverse backgrounds to perform a horizon scan. In this contribution, we present a selection of 15 topics that were ranked by participants as the most emergent and impactful for vegetation science in the face of global change. We highlight methodological tools that we expect will play a critical role in resolving emerging issues by providing ways to unveil new aspects of plant community dynamics and structure. These tools include next generation sequencing, plant spectral imaging, process‐based species distribution models, resurveying studies and permanent plots. Further, we stress the need to integrate long‐term monitoring, the study of novel ecosystems, below‐ground traits, pollination interactions and global networks of near‐surface microclimate data at fine spatio‐temporal resolutions to fully understand and predict the impacts of climate change on vegetation dynamics. We also emphasize the need to integrate traditional forms of knowledge and a diversity of stakeholders into research, teaching, management and policy‐making to advance the field of vegetation science. The conclusions reached by this horizon scan naturally reflect the background, expertise and interests of a representative pool of early career vegetation scientists, which should serve as basis for future developments in the field.

Background: Agriculture produces food for billions of humans and creates livelihoods for farmers. However, the current food production systems, driven by the increasing food demand and the ever-growing human population, are undermining ecological resources, primarily those related to biodiversity. Accordingly, agricultural production in tropical rainforest countries has been a trade-off, as regions harbor high biodiversity while also being pressured by agricultural land expansion. Consequently, threats to biodiversity are inevitable and will likely affect the ecosystem service provisions necessary for the agricultural process. Presently, no study reviews and maps the evidence of relationships between biodiversity and agriculture in the tropical rainforest landscape. Therefore, such a study is necessary to identify the knowledge gaps and provide scientific evidence to the relevant policymakers for safeguarding biodiversity within agricultural policies. This study aims to collect available published literature that evaluates the relations of agricultural production and biodiversity. We will focus on the agriculture and priority crops in the countries producing the commodities situated in the tropical rainforest landscape.Methods: Generic search terms derived from research question elements will be used to search relevant articles. These terms are in English, and the searches will encompass global tropical rainforest countries. Peer-reviewed and gray literature articles retrieved from search engines and databases will be screened first using the title and abstract and second at the full-text level. The latter screening process will involve data coding to retrieve relevant characteristics from each eligible study and finally collate these characteristics into an evidence map, which will provide a current state of knowledge and further support evidence-informed policy formulation. The map presentation in the final report will also be complemented by a narrative synthesis explaining the trends, pinpointing the knowledge gluts and gaps, serving relevant information, and searchable databases for associated stakeholders.