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Biodivers Conserv (2014) 23:19491963
DOI 10.1007/s10531-014-0697-3
ORIGINAL PAPER
Christine N. Meynard Mauricio Soto-Gamboa Paul A. Heady III
Winifred F. Frick
Received: 24 October 2013 / Revised: 9 April 2014 / Accepted: 12 April 2014 / Published online: 27 April 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014
Abstract Forestry plantations represent about 4 % of the global land cover and demand for wood is steadily increasing worldwide. Impacts of forest plantations on biodiversity are controversial; forest plantations could positively inuence biodiversity by producing a buffer zone between native forests and agriculture, while replacement of native forests with plantations could reduce biodiversity. Chile is one of the main producers of wood worldwide, and production is largely based on intensively managed monocultures of exotic tree species. Only a few studies have looked at the effects of forestry plantations on biodiversity in Chile, mainly focusing on pine plantations. The aim of this study was to characterize habitat use and richness of bats between native forests, eucalyptus plantations and grasslands in a biodiversity hotspot in southern Chile to determine how land use affects an important mammalian taxa. We found no difference in use or richness of bats in eucalyptus plantations versus native forests. Regional context within the larger Valdivian watershed (Andes, central valley, coastal range) had a stronger inuence on bat activity
Communicated by Melvin Gumal.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0697-3
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C. N. Meynard (&)
INRA, UMR CBGP (INRA/IRD/Cirad/Montpellier SupAgro), Campus international de Baillarguet, CS 30016, 34988 Montferrier-sur-Lez cedex, Francee-mail: [email protected]
M. Soto-Gamboa
Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales & Evolucin, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, 567, Isla Teja S/N, Valdivia 509 00 00, Chile
P. A. Heady III
Central Coast Bat Research Group, Aptos, CA 95001, USA
W. F. Frick
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
Bats of the Chilean temperate rainforest: patternsof landscape use in a mosaic of native forests, eucalyptus plantations and grasslands within a South American biodiversity hotspot
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1950 Biodivers Conserv (2014) 23:19491963
and richness than land use type (native forest, plantation, grassland), with the Andean region being the most diverse and where most bat activity is concentrated. Our...