Tree islands enhance biodiversity and functioning in oil palm landscapes.

In the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration1, large knowledge gaps persist on how to increase biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in cash crop-dominated tropical landscapes2. Here, we present findings from a large-scale, 5-year ecosystem restoration experiment in an oil palm landscape enriched with 52 tree islands, encompassing assessments of ten indicators of biodiversity and 19 indicators of ecosystem functioning. Overall, indicators of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, as well as multidiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality, were higher in tree islands compared to conventionally managed oil palm. Larger tree islands led to larger gains in multidiversity through changes in vegetation structure. Furthermore, tree enrichment did not decrease landscape-scale oil palm yield. Our results demonstrate that enriching oil palm-dominated landscapes with tree islands is a promising ecological restoration strategy, yet should not replace the protection of remaining forests.

Integrative taxonomy using the plant core DNA barcodes in Sumatra's Burseraceae.

The high diversity and limited floral information in tropical forests often pose a challenge for species identification. However, over the past decade, DNA barcoding has been employed in tropical forests, including Sumatran forests, to enhance floristic surveys. This technique facilitates the discrimination of morphologically similar species and addresses the limitations of conventional species identification, which relies on short-lived reproductive structures. This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of matK, rbcL, and the combination of both chloroplast markers for species identification in Burseraceae by employing genetic distance and species tree inference. In this study, we collected 197 specimens representing 20 species from five genera of Burseraceae. The highest percentage of specimens' identification (36%) at the species level was obtained using matK + rbcL, followed by matK (31%), and rbcL (7%). The matK dataset presented the highest interspecific divergence with a mean of 0.008. In addition, a lack of barcode gap was observed in both markers, suggesting potential limitations of the core barcodes for distinguishing Sumatran species within Burseraceae. The monophyly test confirmed five species as monophyletic using Bayesian species tree inferences for matK. Overall, our results demonstrate that matK outperforms rbcL in species identification of Burseraceae, whereas their combination did not enhance species delimitation. To improve the molecular species assignments of this family, future studies may consider including more DNA markers in conjuction with matK, and broadening the availability of reference sequences for species that have not yet been included in the databases. The outcomes of molecular species identification vary depending on the taxonomic group under investigation. Implementation of phylogenomics for species delimitation and diagnostic marker development is strongly recommended for tropical biodiversity assessments, especially for poorly studied clades.

A Non-Destructive High-Speed Procedure to Obtain DNA Barcodes from Soft-Bodied Insect Samples with a Focus on the Dipteran Section of Schizophora.

While the need for biodiversity research is growing, paradoxically, global taxonomical expertise is decreasing as a result of the neglected funding for young academics in taxonomy. Non-destructive approaches for DNA barcoding are necessary for a more efficient use of this dwindling expertise to fill gaps, and identify incorrect entries in sequence databases like BOLD or GenBank. They are efficient because morphological re-examination of species vouchers is still possible post-DNA barcoding. Non-destructive approaches for Diptera with a comprehensive species representation or the consideration of diagnostic fragile morphological characters are missing. Additionally, most non-destructive approaches combine a time intensive and non-destructive digestion step with common DNA extraction methods, such as commercial kits or CTAB DNA isolation. We circumvented those approaches and combined a modified non-destructive TE buffer high-speed DNA extraction, with a PCR inhibitor-resistant PCR reaction system, to a non-destructive DNA barcoding procedure for fresh and frozen samples of the Schizophora (Diptera). This method avoids morphological impairment and the application of harmful chemicals, is cost and time effective, restricts the need for laboratory equipment to a minimum, and prevents cross-contamination risk during DNA isolation. Moreover, the study indicates that the presented non-destructive DNA barcoding procedure is transferable to other soft-bodied insects. We suggest that PCR inhibitor-resistant master mixes enable the development of new-and the modification of existing-non-destructive approaches with the avoidance of further DNA template cleaning.