What is it about?

In fragmented forest landscapes, species live in forest remnants of different sizes, with more species found in larger than in smaller remnants. However, the surrounding landscape also affects how many species will persist inside forest remnants. By contrasting two landscape settings across tropical and subtropical regions, we show that the number of bird species can be boosted when the surrounding landscape is a terrestrial matrix and has greater tree cover nearby. The benefit of the surrounding landscape is particularly strong for smaller forest remnants, which are the most common in fragmented landscapes.

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Why is it important?

Beyond protecting forest remnants themselves, area-based conservation efforts would be greatly enhanced by improving matrix quality and expanding tree cover in otherwise hostile landscapes.

Perspectives

Habitat remnant size is not the whole story. Two forest remnants of the same size can support very different numbers of bird species - those surrounded by farmland with nearby trees may host more than twice as many species as isolated remnants within reservoirs. (Anderson S. Bueno - Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Farroupilha) We hope our work will inform more effective land use policy and encourage governments and landowners to invest in wildlife friendly farming practices that support both biodiversity and agricultural productivity. (Chase D. Mendenhall - Slippery Rock University)

Anderson Bueno
Instituto Federal de Educacao Ciencia e Tecnologia Farroupilha

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: High-quality surrounding landscapes mitigate avian extirpations from forest remnants, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, April 2026, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2521783123.
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