1. Shrub encroachment poses a significant challenge in many grassland ecosystems, particularly where disturbances such as heavy livestock grazing and uncontrolled fires are prevalent. Fire is frequently employed as a management tool to mitigate shrub encroachment and preserve native vegetation, as it influences both resprouting and seed germination. However, few studies have examined the effects of fire timing on resprouting and seed germination both in the field and ex situ.
2. We investigated the resprouting ability of Helichrysum shrubs after being completely, partially or not at all burned. In addition, we collected soil seed bank samples from each early burned, late burned and unburned area at depths of 0–2, 2–4 and 4–6 cm to assess plant species recruitment via seedlings. The data were analysed using a generalized linear regression model with a Gaussian link function.
3. We found significant differences in the number of resprouts and seedling abundance across early burned, late burned and unburned sites. Resprouting of both partially burned and completely burned shrubs was more abundant compared to unburned shrubs. The surface soil in unburned sites contained a greater abundance of Helichrysum seedlings compared to that of burned sites, suggesting that fire negatively affects seed germination, particularly in the upper soil layers. Overall seedling recruitment was lower in early and late burned areas, whereas resprouting was higher in areas burned later in the season.
4. Practical implication. The findings highlight the significance of fire timing in grassland management. We advocate for the implementation of planned early burning to mitigate shrub encroachment, promote biodiversity and save ecologically sensitive grasslands.

The global biodiversity crisis in agriculture is overlooked compared with that in wild systems. This must change if we are to safeguard domesticated plant diversity and meet global sustainable development and biodiversity goals. In this Perspective, we review tools developed through decades of wild biodiversity conservation and provide a framework for adapting and applying these for agrobiodiversity conservation. We focus on challenges and solutions around monitoring the status of agrobiodiversity, prioritizing its conservation, conserving it in situ and financing to ensure these actions can be maintained long term. Conserving global agrobiodiversity supports wider conservation efforts and is crucial for achieving food security, climate resilience and a sustainable future.

Globally, bush encroachment poses a great threat to the conservation of biodiversity and rangeland productivity. However, control methods of encroaching woody species have rarely been experimentally quantified. We assessed the impact of tree thinning intensities on tree mortality, and the herbaceous community in Borana rangelands, an Ethiopian savannah ecosystem. At two 1.4 ha areas of mono-specific Vachellia drepanolobium stands, we set up 20 m x 10 m experimental plots with four tree-thinning treatments (0%, 33%, 67%, and 100% tree removal), with three replications in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) across two sites. The 0% plot was left uncleared and used as control. Over two growing periods, we monitored resulting tree mortality, coppicing, seedling mortality, and recruitment as well as herbaceous layer attributes (diversity, biomass) and the rangeland conditions. Tree thinning intensity significantly increased abundance of the dominant desirable grass species. Total herbaceous and grass species richness, diversity and biomass were significantly improved under high (100%) and moderate (67%) tree removal intensity. We conclude that tree thinning at moderate intensity (67%) was most effective in enhancing mortality of encroached trees, and improving grass diversity, and herbaceous biomass. We stress that effective tree thinning requires post-thinning management and repeated bush control measures. Our findings contribute to development of recommendations on controlling bush encroachment, species restoration, and rangeland productivity in Ethiopian rangelands.

Land use/land cover (LULC) change, caused by human activities, can strongly affect wildlife species and their habitats. Yet, human impacts onto lakes and associated indicator bird species such as the lesser flamingos (Phoeniconaias minor) have rarely been investigated. We used remote sensing images from 1989 to 2019, with additional interviews and focus group discussions to investigate how LULC change and agricultural activities adjacent to the Momella lakes, Tanzania, have affected the flamingo habitat. Agricultural areas increased strongly over time, and most respondents earned their living through crop farming. The use of synthetic fertilizers, and limited knowledge about fertilizer effects on environmental health, were evident. We highlight that LULC data combined with socio-economic assessments is essential to understanding the dynamics and impacts of human activities on wildlife. We recommend training for sustainable farming practices around areas of high conservation values and integrating land use changes and socio-economic dynamics into conservation efforts.

Land management by seasonal migratory herding, traditionally implemented by pastoralists, has allowed semi-arid rangeland ecosystems to remain productive and resilient to highly erratic, seasonal rainfall patterns. Changing pastoralist practices and rainfall patterns due to climate change have the potential to negatively influence the resilience of rangelands. To test the impact of different communal rangeland practices and increasing frequency of disturbance on the rangelands’ vegetation, we established a clipping experiment in three rangeland management types: rainy season rangeland, dry season rangeland and seasonal exclosures, in the Maasai Steppe, northern Tanzania. Across these rangeland management types, we tested two clipping frequencies monthly vs. once per growing period and either fenced or open to grazing (herbivory) over two consecutive growing periods. We found that rainy season rangeland exhibited lowest regrowth rates and highest proportion of bare ground across herbivory, clipping frequency and growing period. When rainfall was low, seasonal exclosures showed lowest proportion of bare ground across herbivory and clipping frequency and plots that were seasonally clipped and excluded herbivores generated significantly more grass biomass, higher grass regrowth rates and lowest proportion of bare ground compared to all other treatments. Excluding herbivores had little impact on the vegetation biomass and cover but had a positive impact on grass regrowth rates when rainfall was high. Seasonal clipping allowed for lower proportion of bare ground, and in most cases higher regrowth rates and higher biomass compared to monthly clipping. We conclude that traditional seasonal migratory herding is a relevant concept to sustain rangeland productivity and resilience under increasing intensity of disturbance if grazing pressure on rainy season rangelands is adapted to rainfall conditions and sufficient resting time after heavy defoliation is granted. Dry season grazing (including rainy season resting) proved to be the most sustainable concept to maintain regrowth and control erosion.

Human land use can have lasting impacts on landscape characteristic, yet there remains a lack of information on how former land use affects plant communities in protected African grasslands. In this study, we investigated how land uses prior to the creation of Kitulo National Park, Tanzania, shaped the presence and abundance of the native shrub, Helichrysum species. We evaluated both plant species composition and soil properties across the park by dividing our sample into three different zones of historical land use based on participatory mapping. We divided the park into three former land uses: (1) livestock grazed and cultivated; (2) grazed only and (3) wild grazing with limited human impact. We observed that former grazed cultivated land use had five times higher Helichrysum abundance than former ‘wild’ land use. Soil pH, magnesium and phosphorus levels varied significantly across zones of historical land use but not between sites with and without Helichrysum species. Helichrysum splendidum was more abundant in soils with low soil phosphorus and magnesium concentrations. Our study demonstrates that historic grazing and cropping land uses through changes in soil nutrient properties can explain current Helichrysum species spread in protected areas. As such, conservation management plans would benefit from integrating mapping of former land uses to target interventions for problematic encroaching shrubs.

L’utilisation des terres par l’homme peut avoir des effets durables sur les caractéristiques du paysage, mais on manque encore d’informations sur la manière dont l’ancienne utilisation des terres affecte les communautés végétales dans les prairies protégées d’Afrique. Dans cette étude, nous avons examiné comment l’utilisation des terres avant la création du parc national de Kitulo, en Tanzanie, a influencé la présence et l’abondance de l’espèce d’arbuste indigène, Helichrysum. Nous avons évalué la composition des espèces végétales et les propriétés du sol dans l’ensemble du parc en divisant notre échantillon en trois différentes zones d’utilisation historique des terres, sur la base d’une cartographie participative. Nous avons divisé le parc en trois anciennes utilisations des terres : (1) pâturage et culture ; (2) pâturage uniquement et (3) pâturage sauvage avec un impact humain limité. Nous avons observé que les terres anciennement soumises au pâturage et à la culture présentaient une abondance d’Helichrysum cinq fois supérieure à celle des terres anciennement soumises à l’utilisation « sauvage ». Les niveaux de pH, de magnésium et de phosphore du sol variaient considérablement entre les zones d’utilisation historique des sols, mais pas entre les sites avec et sans espèces d’Helichrysum. L’Helichrysum splendidum était plus abondante dans les sols présentant de faibles concentrations de phosphore et de magnésium. Notre étude démontre que l’utilisation historique des terres pour le pâturage et la culture, par le biais de changements dans les propriétés des nutriments du sol, peut expliquer la propagation actuelle des espèces d’Helichrysum dans les zones protégées. Ainsi, les plans de gestion de la conservation gagneraient à intégrer la cartographie des anciennes utilisations des terres afin de cibler les interventions sur les arbustes envahissants qui posent problème.

Nomadic pastoralism is still practiced by around one-third of the Mongolian population. Recent socio-economic constraints have challenged pastoral livelihoods and rising livestock numbers threaten overall rangeland health and biodiversity conservation. In the Mongolian Gobi, herder households fully depend on livestock production but little is known about their livelihood trends and potential compatibility with protected area goals. We combined interview data in the Great Gobi B strictly protected area (SPA) with secondary data on regional and national herder households to determine the importance of social networks, willingness to continue a herding lifestyle, and degree of involvement in protected area (PA) management. Our descriptive data confirm that herding is no longer centred on a subsistence lifestyle but rather around cashmere production. Contrary to sustainability goals, especially in protected areas, herder households continue to increase livestock numbers in response to high expenditures in the economic reality of a market economy. We conclude that herders in the Great Gobi B SPA are reaching neither socio-economically nor ecologically sustainable livestock numbers which challenge herders’ livelihoods and PA management alike. We recommend enhancing communication between the PA management and the herding community and increasing participatory conservation activities. National strategies are needed to resolve the current dilemma of increasing livestock numbers to meet livelihood demands and the growing threat to rangeland health.

The continuing loss and degradation of their natural habitats forces some wildlife species to increasingly extend their habitats into farmlands, thereby intensifying conflicts with people as resources diminish. Despite massive expansion in rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) plantations in recent decades, little is known about the diversity and distribution of wild mammals in rubber-dominated landscapes or the associated human-wildlife conflicts. We assessed the presence and diversity of mammalian wildlife and damage occurrence in such rubber landscapes in southern Thailand, in and around Tai Rom Yen National Park. We interviewed 180 farmers about wildlife visits to their farms and the resulting damage. We conducted 50 transect walks within and adjacent to a natural forest and deployed camera traps at the boundary between the plantations and the forest, as well as deeper into the forest, to assess wildlife presence. A total of 35 mammal species were recorded inside the forest. More than 70% of these were also present at the forest boundary, but species presence and diversity were far lower in the farmland. Elephants (Elephas maximus) were responsible for 90% of wildlife damage incidents within the rubber plantations, with 86% of these cases affecting young plants that had not yet been tapped. Although almost half of the survey respondents reported elephants visiting their farms, less than half of them reported damage. These results suggest that rubber-dominated landscapes surrounding protected areas have the potential to facilitate coexistence between people and certain wildlife species, particularly if young plants are better protected and plantation management is made more wildlife friendly.

Wastewater treatment systems, such as Constructed Wetlands (CWs) and Waste Stabilization Ponds (WSPs), have untapped biodiversity enhancement and development potential. Birds, insects, and reptiles, which are displaced by human development, might find refuge in these ecosystems. However, the lack of a detailed characterization of the biodiversity status of these wastewater treatment systems hinders their widespread adoption. Point counts, direct observations, and camera traps were used to assess bird diversity across five CWs and three WSPs in Tanzania in 2021. For insects and reptiles, pitfall and pan traps were laid along established transects, in addition, direct observations and fishnets were also used to assess the reptiles dwelling within the WSPs. Abundance, Shannon index, Simpson index, Margalef index, and evenness index were the diversity parameters used to analyze the diversity of birds, insects, and reptiles. Our results show that among the studied groups and between WSPs and CWs, birds had high species abundance (n = 1132), richness, Margalef index (D = 4.266), evenness (E = 0.815), Shannon diversity (H = 2.881) and Simpson index (λ =0.903). The abundance and diversity of studied groups differed significantly (P < 0.05) between WSPs and CWs. Our study also recorded four reptile species belonging to three orders. Molecular analyses confirmed that insect species belong to nine orders and 13 families, with the order Diptera dominating both CWs and WSPs, followed by Orthoptera, Hymenoptera, and Araneae. We conclude that CW and WSP wastewater treatment systems are important for hosting various populations of birds, reptiles, and insect species.

Little is known about preferred environmental conditions and non-chemical control of invasive Gutenbergia cordifolia. We assessed the effects of different A. annua crude extract concentrations, synthetic herbicide (glyphosate), fire regime and shade to G. cordifolia germination, shoot and root dry biomass, seedling height and leaf chlorophyll. High concentrations (75%) of A. annua crude extracts significantly reduced germination percentage of G. cordifolia by 25% (F_2,4=77.2, p < 0.001), and suppressed shoot and root dry biomass (F_2,4 = 80.3, p < 0.001; F_2,4=46.104, p < 0.001, respectively) as well as seedling height and leaf chlorophyll (F_2,4 = 12.02, p < 0.002; F_2,4 = 15.9, p < 0.001), respectively. Medium temperature (60 °C) and long exposure time (5 min) significantly increased G. cordifolia germination percentage (F_2,7 = 32.6, p < 0.001) while extreme temperatures (≥150 °C) at both (1 min) short and (5 min) long exposure time completely suppressed germination of G. cordifolia. Under high shade, while germination percentage was a third that of other treatments (F _{2, 4} = 20.9, p = 0.008), mean germination took twice as long (F_{2, 4} = 17.9, p = 0.010) and shoot fresh biomass was reduced by half (F _{2, 4} = 16.92, p = 0.004). Shoot and root dry biomass were reduced to more than a third under high shade, seedling height reduced to half but leaf chlorophyll content was not affected (F _2,4 = 6.3, p = 0.030; F _2,4 = 9.1, p = 0.020; F _2,4 = 18.3, p = 0.003; F _2,4 = 3.02, p = 0.120, respectively). We suggest using A. annua as a potential bio-herbicide and highlight considering fire and shade as suppressor tools to control G. cordifolia, but first include in-situ trials to assess their impacts to both native plants and animals.