Habitat use by a tree frog species of Scinax (Amphibia, Hylidae) at an urban forest fragment from south-eastern Brazil

We studied the pattern of habitat use by the tree frog Scinax aff. perereca. Fieldworks were performed from August 1996 to August 1997 at Parque das Mangabeiras, Belo Horizonte, State of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. Calling males were observed in September, October and December 1996, February to April and June 1997. Females were found only in October 1996. Specimens were found perched on vegetation, on the ground or on stones near waterfall. At Parque das Mangabeiras, S. aff. perereca occupied nine types of substrata. The most frequently used substrata were shrubs, stones at the stream edges, and fallen trunks. The pattern of spatial occupation varied among months. Males were found calling in aggregations on the vegetation and spatial niche breadth was related to species abundance.

Diversity and habitat preference of medium and large-sized mammals in an urban forest fragment of southwestern Amazon

We assessed the species composition and abundance of medium and large-sized mammals in an urban forest fragment in the Brazilian Amazon, and recorded the preference of some species for particular phytophysiognomies. We placed nine transects with 20 sand plots each in three phytophysiognomies: open rainforest with a dominance of bamboos (OFB), open rainforest with palm trees (OFP), and dense rainforest (DF). We calculated species abundance as the number of records/plot.day, in a total of 2,700 plots.day. We recorded twelve mammal species; Sylvilagus brasiliensis (Linnaeus, 1758) and Dasyprocta fuliginosa (Wagler, 1831) were the most abundant. The results differed among phytophysiognomies: DF presented the highest mammal diversity, whereas the species composition of OFP was less similar than that of other phytophysiognomies. Rodents showed higher preference for OFP and Sylvilagus brasiliensis was more abundant in OFB. The study area showed high species richness, with the occurrence of mesopredators, but there was a predominance of common species adaptable to disturbed environments, which reflects the severe isolation degree of the forest fragment and the hunting pressure that is still present.

Search for Borrelia sp. in ticks collected from potential reservoirs in an urban forest reserve in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil: a short report

A total of 128 ticks of the genus Amblyomma were recovered from 5 marsupials (Didelphis albiventris) - with 4 recaptures - and 17 rodents (16 Bolomys lasiurus and 1 Rattus norvegicus) captured in an urban forest reserve in Campo Grande, State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Of the ticks collected, 95 (78.9%) were in larval form and 22 (21.1%) were nymphs; the only adult (0.8%) was identified as A. cajennense. Viewed under dark-field microscopy in the fourth month after seeding, 9 cultures prepared from spleens and livers of the rodents, blood of the marsupials, and macerates of Amblyomma sp. nymphs revealed spiral-shaped, spirochete-like structures resembling those of Borrelia sp. Some of them showed little motility, while others were non-motile. No such structures could be found either in positive Giemsa-stained culture smears or under electron microscopy. No PCR amplification of DNA from those cultures could be obtained by employing Leptospira sp., B. burgdorferi, and Borrelia sp. primers. These aspects suggest that the spirochete-like structures found in this study do not fit into the genera Borrelia or Leptospira, requiring instead to be isolated for proper identification.

Feeding preference of the sand flies Lutzomyia umbratilis and L. spathotrichia (diptera: Psychodidae, Phlebotominae) in an urban forest patch in the city of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil

Precipitin tests were performed on blood meals of 199 sand flies (161 Lutzomyia umbratilis, 34 L. spathotrichia, two Lutzomyia of group shannoni, one L. anduzei) in a non-flooded upland forest on the Campus of the Universidade Federal do Amazonas. This is the second largest forest fragment in an urban setting in Brazil. Results on L. umbratilis, which is considered to be the principal leishmaniasis vector in this region, indicated rodents as its predominant blood source in contrast to previous reports in which blood meal analysis indicated that this species fed principally on Xenarthra (particularly sloths)

Comparing remote sensing and ground-based methods of quantifying cover type and carbon storage in an urban forest

Understanding the canopy cover of an urban environment leads to better estimates of carbon storage and more informed management decisions by urban foresters. The most commonly used method for assessing urban forest cover type extent is ground surveys, which can be both timeconsuming and expensive. The analysis of aerial photos is an alternative method that is faster, cheaper, and can cover a larger number of sites, but may be less accurate. The objectives of this paper were (1) to compare three methods of cover type assessment for Los Angeles, CA: handdelineation of aerial photos in ArcMap, supervised classification of aerial photos in ERDAS Imagine, and ground-collected data using the Urban Forest Effects (UFORE) model protocol; (2) to determine how well remote sensing methods estimate carbon storage as predicted by the UFORE model; and (3) to explore the influence of tree diameter and tree density on carbon storage estimates. Four major cover types (bare ground, fine vegetation, coarse vegetation, and impervious surfaces) were determined from 348 plots (0.039 ha each) randomly stratified according to land-use. Hand-delineation was better than supervised classification at predicting ground-based measurements of cover type and UFORE model-predicted carbon storage. Most error in supervised classification resulted from shadow, which was interpreted as unknown cover type. Neither tree diameter or tree density per plot significantly affected the relationship between carbon storage and canopy cover. The efficiency of remote sensing rather than in situ data collection allows urban forest managers the ability to quickly assess a city and plan accordingly while also preserving their often-limited budget.

Urban forest health survey on Roznik in Ljubljana in 2013 by two methods

Urban forest health was surveyed on Roznik in Ljubljana (46.05141 N, 14.47797 E) in 2013 by two methods: ICP Forests and UFMO. ICP Forests is most commonly used monitoring programme in Europe - the International Co-operative Programme on the Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests, which is based on systematic grid. UFMO method - Urban Forests Management Oriented method was developed in the frame of EMoNFUr Project - Establishing a monitoring network to assess lowland forest and urban plantations in Lombardy and urban forest in Slovenia (LIFE10 ENV/IT/000399). UFMO is based on non-linear transects (GPS tracks). ICP forests monitoring plots were established in July 2013 in the urban forest Roznik in Ljubljana .The 32 plots are located on sampling grid 500 × 500 m. The grid was down-scaled from the National Forest Monitoring survey, which bases on national sample grid 4 × 4 km. With the ICP forests method the following parameters for each tree within the 15 plots were gathered according to the ICP forests manual for Visual assessment of crown condition and damaging agents: tree species, percentage of defoliation, affected part of the tree, specification of affected part, location in crown, symptom, symptom specification, causal agents / factors, age of damage, damage extent, and damage extent on the trunk. With the UFMO method, the following parameters for each tree that needed sylviculture measure (felling, pruning, sanitary felling, thinning, etc.) were recorded: tree species, breast diameter, causal agent / damaging factor, GPS waypoint and GPS track. For overall picture in the urban forest health problems, also other biotic and abiotic damaging factors that did not require management action were recorded.

Illinois Tree City USA : conference/awards ceremony : Managing the urban forest from inner city to outer edge.

The goal of the program is to encourage local communities to establish local community forestry programs and focus on continual growth and improvement of their local programs.

The Urban forest : people and tree living together : activities book.

Shipping list no.: 94-0198-P.

Assessing urban forest effects and values.

"Urban forest effects model."

Assessing urban forest effects and values : Casper's urban forest /

"December 2006"--T.p. verso.

Seed rain in areas with and without bamboo dominance within an urban fragment of the Atlantic Forest

Understanding the flow of diaspores is fundamental for determining plant population dynamics in a particular habitat, and a lack of seeds is a limiting factor in forest regeneration, especially in isolated forest fragments. Bamboo dominance affects forest structure and dynamics by suppressing or delaying the recruitment of and colonization by tree species as well as by inhibiting the survival and growth of adult trees. The goal of the present study was to determine whether dominance of the bamboo species Aulonemia aristulata (Döll) McClure in the forest understory influences species abundance and composition. We examined the seed rain at two noncontiguous sites (1.5 km apart) within an urban forest fragment, with and without bamboo dominance (BD+ and BD- areas, respectively). Sixty seed traps (0.5 m², with a 1-mm mesh) were set in the BD+ and BD- areas, and the seed rain was sampled from January to December 2007. Diaspores were classified according to dispersal syndrome, growth form and functional type of the species to which they belonged. There were significant differences between the two areas in terms of seed density, species diversity and dispersal syndrome. The BD+ area showed greater seed density and species diversity. In both areas, seed distribution was limited primarily by impaired dispersal. Bamboo dominance and low tree density resulted in fewer propagules in the seed rain. Our results suggest that low availability of seeds in the rain does not promote the maintenance of a degraded state, characterized by the presence of bamboo.

Changes in the community structure of urban and rural forest patches in Baltimore from 1998 to 2015

Urban forests are often highly fragmented with many exotic species. Altered disturbance regimes and environmental pollutants influence urban forest vegetation. One of the best ways to understand the impacts of land-use on forest composition is through long-term research. In 1998, the Baltimore Ecosystem Study established eight forest plots to investigate the impacts of urbanization on natural ecosystems. Four plots were located in urban forest patches and four were located in rural forests. In 2015, I revisited these plots to measure abundances and quantify change in forest composition, diversity, and structure. Sapling, shrub, and seedling abundance were reduced in the rural plots. Alpha diversity and turnover was lower in the rural plots. Beta diversity was reduced in the rural plots. The structure of the urban plots was mostly unchanged, except for a highly reduced sapling layer. Beta diversity in the urban plots was consistent across surveys due to high species turnover.