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      The role of monumental trees for the preservation of saproxylic biodiversity: re-thinking their management in cultural landscapes

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          Abstract

          Ancient trees present structural and functional characteristics fundamental for sustaining complex and unique assemblages of species. They are a resource globally threatened by both intensive land uses and lack of recruitment. Their disappearance would involve not only the loss of majestic organisms with high intrinsic value, but may also result in the disappearance of rare and endangered species. Italy is currently implementing a new list of noteworthy ancient trees (i.e. monumental trees) and the preliminary results of this new inventory have been analysed as a case study of a national initiative. The provisional list included 950 complete records, corresponding to 65 genera and 118 species. The most abundant species was Quercus pubescens Willd while the most common genera were Quercus, Larix, Cedrus, Fagus and Platanus. Age and size were the most used criteria for inclusion of trees in the census. The fundamental novelty of the new inventory is that it is based on a set of well-defined criteria of monumentality and that it clearly recognised the ecological value of ancient trees. Preserving a tree for its ecological role requires a profound cultural shift. The value of microhabitats, structures that have historically been considered defects, should be recognised and managed accordingly. Ancient trees are often part of disappearing cultural landscapes: to preserve the richness and diversity of these habitats, new policies and regulations are needed. The preservation of landscapes, where there is still a high density of ancient trees, should be a priority for all European countries in order to conserve their unique associated fauna and for their irreplaceable functional value for biodiversity conservation.

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          Grazing ecology and forest history

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            New Policies for Old Trees: Averting a Global Crisis in a Keystone Ecological Structure

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              The future of scattered trees in agricultural landscapes.

              Mature trees scattered throughout agricultural landscapes are critical habitat for some biota and provide a range of ecosystem services. These trees are declining in intensively managed agricultural landscapes globally. We developed a simulation model to predict the rates at which these trees are declining, identified the key variables that can be manipulated to mitigate this decline, and compared alternative management proposals. We used the initial numbers of trees in the stand, the predicted ages of these trees, their rate of growth, the number of recruits established, the frequency of recruitment, and the rate of tree mortality to simulate the dynamics of scattered trees in agricultural landscapes. We applied this simulation model to case studies from Spain, United States, Australia, and Costa Rica. We predicted that mature trees would be lost from these landscapes in 90-180 years under current management. Existing management recommendations for these landscapes--which focus on increasing recruitment--would not reverse this trend. The loss of scattered mature trees was most sensitive to tree mortality, stand age, number of recruits, and frequency of recruitment. We predicted that perpetuating mature trees in agricultural landscapes at or above existing densities requires a strategy that keeps mortality among established trees below around 0.5% per year, recruits new trees at a rate that is higher than the number of existing trees, and recruits new trees at a frequency in years equivalent to around 15% of the maximum life expectancy of trees. Numbers of mature trees in landscapes represented by the case studies will decline before they increase, even if strategies of this type are implemented immediately. This decline will be greater if a management response is delayed.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Nature Conservation
                NC
                Pensoft Publishers
                1314-3301
                1314-6947
                July 31 2017
                July 31 2017
                : 19
                : 231-243
                Article
                10.3897/natureconservation.19.12464
                43875a76-b29a-4afb-8fd9-99fb8cdebc37
                © 2017

                http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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