Scripts and datasets from : Broadleaved hedgerows as complementary habitats for small mammals in pine plantation forest landscapes

ARTICLE ABSTRACT: The global decline of natural forests is accompanied by the expansion of commercial tree plantations, which generally support lower biodiversity, particularly when monospecific and intensively managed. Broadleaved hedgerows have been proposed as a nature-based solution to enhance biodiversity within conifer-dominated plantation landscapes, but their effects on small mammal communities remain largely unquantified. We assessed small mammal communities across habitat types within a native pine plantation-dominated landscape in southwestern France. Using a temporal survey, we compared species richness and abundance among pine plantation edges, broadleaved hedgerows embedded within plantations and broadleaved forests. We further tested whether hedgerow characteristics influenced dominant species and whether seasonal and interannual demographic dynamics modified habitat-related patterns. Pine plantation edges and broadleaved hedgerows supported lower species richness than broadleaved forests and were dominated by two habitat generalists, Apodemus sylvaticus and Crocidura russula. This pattern was driven by the near absence of the forest-specialist Clethrionomys glareolus. Hedgerows did not increase species richness relative to plantations edges, but shifted community composition by favoring A. sylvaticus, while supporting fewer C. russula. Greater hedgerow structural and compositional complexity benefited to A. sylvaticus abundance, while seasonal and interannual rodent population dynamics modulated habitat-related differences. Our results indicate that pine plantations can act as environmental filters, excluding forest-specialist small mammals, while broadleaved hedgerows provide only limited support for the recovery of forest-specialist communities. Enhancing the ecological value of plantation-dominated landscapes will therefore require broadleaved hedgerows to be embedded within well-connected networks of high-quality broadleaved habitats.论文摘要： 全球天然林衰退的同时，商品性人工林面积持续扩张。这类人工林通常生物多样性水平较低，若为单一种植且集约经营时尤为突出。阔叶树篱（broadleaved hedgerows）被提议作为基于自然的解决方案，以提升针叶林主导的人工林景观内的生物多样性，但其对小型哺乳类群落的影响仍未得到充分量化。 我们在法国西南部以本土松类人工林为主的景观中，针对不同生境类型开展了小型哺乳类群落调查。通过时序调查，我们对比了松类人工林林缘、人工林内嵌的阔叶树篱以及阔叶林的物种丰富度与种群丰度。我们还进一步检验了树篱特征是否会影响优势物种，以及季节间和年际间的种群动态是否会改变生境相关的群落格局。 相较于阔叶林，松类人工林林缘与阔叶树篱的物种丰富度更低，且以两种生境广适种——林姬鼠（Apodemus sylvaticus）和白齿麝鼩（Crocidura russula）——为优势类群，这一格局主要源于森林特化种银行田鼠（Clethrionomys glareolus）几乎未在这些生境中出现。阔叶树篱相较于人工林林缘，并未提升物种丰富度，但通过更青睐林姬鼠、减少白齿麝鼩的种群占比，改变了群落组成。更高的树篱结构与组成复杂度有助于提升林姬鼠的种群丰度，而季节间与年际间的啮齿类种群动态则调节了生境间的差异。 我们的研究结果表明，松类人工林可充当环境过滤因子，排除森林特化型小型哺乳类，而阔叶树篱仅能为森林特化群落的恢复提供有限支撑。因此，提升以人工林为主的景观的生态价值，需要将阔叶树篱嵌入连通性良好的高质量阔叶林生境网络中。