The relationship between acoustic indices, vegetation, and topographic characteristics is spatially dependent in a tropical forest in southwestern China
The soundscape of different habitats can be discriminated by multiple acoustic indices as they have previously been related to vegetation characteristics. However, the relationship between acoustic indices and topography still needs to be thoroughly evaluated, as well as the variance in the relation...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22007014 |
| _version_ | 1798041789498654720 |
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| author | Xuelian He Yun Deng Anran Dong Luxiang Lin |
| author_facet | Xuelian He Yun Deng Anran Dong Luxiang Lin |
| author_sort | Xuelian He |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The soundscape of different habitats can be discriminated by multiple acoustic indices as they have previously been related to vegetation characteristics. However, the relationship between acoustic indices and topography still needs to be thoroughly evaluated, as well as the variance in the relationship at different spatial scales within the same research system. Networks of forest dynamics plots constructed under the same protocol provide an ideal research platform for addressing the above issue. Our study investigated the relationship between acoustic indices, vegetation, and topographic characteristics at two spatial scales. We recorded soundscapes using autonomous recorders across a tropical forest dynamics plot network consisting of 22 plots in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, southwest China. To exclude recordings with geophony and with biotic sounds from non-avian species, especially from cicadas and frogs, the recordings were previewed aurally and visually, with 9110 min of “clear” bird acoustic recordings chosen for final analysis. We assessed the relative importance of tree species richness, six vegetation characteristics, and three topographic characteristics for five acoustic signal complexity indices, and three statistical indices which describe the properties of frequency spectrum, at 25 m and 50 m spatial scales. We found that topographic complexity was the most significant factor influencing acoustic indices. The variation explained by topographic complexity ranged from 13.2 % to 47.2 % for the seven best-fitted models at both spatial scales. Horizontal vegetation characteristics, including tree density and basal area, were also important variables related to acoustic indices. The Acoustic Diversity Index (ADI) and Bioacoustic Index (BIO) were not associated with vegetation or topographic characteristics at either spatial scale. Three out of seven significant relationships between acoustic indices and vegetation or topographic characteristics disappeared as the spatial scale increased from 25 m to 50 m. In contrast, the significant relationship between Acoustic entropy (H), the centroid (CENT) and skewness (SKEW) and topographic complexity remained stable. Our results suggest that both acoustic signal complexity indices and acoustic statistical indices showed a different relationship to vegetation and topographic characteristics in tropical forests, and the strength of these relationship was scale-dependent. This study revealed that topographic complexity might be an effective predictive variable for further ecoacoustic research. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:26:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5e1796a96d0c4ee18c52cb23d313c3b6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:26:32Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj.art-5e1796a96d0c4ee18c52cb23d313c3b62022-12-22T03:59:38ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2022-09-01142109229The relationship between acoustic indices, vegetation, and topographic characteristics is spatially dependent in a tropical forest in southwestern ChinaXuelian He0Yun Deng1Anran Dong2Luxiang Lin3CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China; National Forest Ecosystem Research Station at Xishuangbanna, Menglun, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China; National Forest Ecosystem Research Station at Xishuangbanna, Menglun, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, ChinaGuangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China; National Forest Ecosystem Research Station at Xishuangbanna, Menglun, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China; Southeast Asia Biodiversity Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China; Corresponding author at: CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.The soundscape of different habitats can be discriminated by multiple acoustic indices as they have previously been related to vegetation characteristics. However, the relationship between acoustic indices and topography still needs to be thoroughly evaluated, as well as the variance in the relationship at different spatial scales within the same research system. Networks of forest dynamics plots constructed under the same protocol provide an ideal research platform for addressing the above issue. Our study investigated the relationship between acoustic indices, vegetation, and topographic characteristics at two spatial scales. We recorded soundscapes using autonomous recorders across a tropical forest dynamics plot network consisting of 22 plots in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, southwest China. To exclude recordings with geophony and with biotic sounds from non-avian species, especially from cicadas and frogs, the recordings were previewed aurally and visually, with 9110 min of “clear” bird acoustic recordings chosen for final analysis. We assessed the relative importance of tree species richness, six vegetation characteristics, and three topographic characteristics for five acoustic signal complexity indices, and three statistical indices which describe the properties of frequency spectrum, at 25 m and 50 m spatial scales. We found that topographic complexity was the most significant factor influencing acoustic indices. The variation explained by topographic complexity ranged from 13.2 % to 47.2 % for the seven best-fitted models at both spatial scales. Horizontal vegetation characteristics, including tree density and basal area, were also important variables related to acoustic indices. The Acoustic Diversity Index (ADI) and Bioacoustic Index (BIO) were not associated with vegetation or topographic characteristics at either spatial scale. Three out of seven significant relationships between acoustic indices and vegetation or topographic characteristics disappeared as the spatial scale increased from 25 m to 50 m. In contrast, the significant relationship between Acoustic entropy (H), the centroid (CENT) and skewness (SKEW) and topographic complexity remained stable. Our results suggest that both acoustic signal complexity indices and acoustic statistical indices showed a different relationship to vegetation and topographic characteristics in tropical forests, and the strength of these relationship was scale-dependent. This study revealed that topographic complexity might be an effective predictive variable for further ecoacoustic research.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22007014Acoustic indicesForest dynamics plotSpatial scale dependenceVegetation characteristicsTopography |
| spellingShingle | Xuelian He Yun Deng Anran Dong Luxiang Lin The relationship between acoustic indices, vegetation, and topographic characteristics is spatially dependent in a tropical forest in southwestern China Ecological Indicators Acoustic indices Forest dynamics plot Spatial scale dependence Vegetation characteristics Topography |
| title | The relationship between acoustic indices, vegetation, and topographic characteristics is spatially dependent in a tropical forest in southwestern China |
| title_full | The relationship between acoustic indices, vegetation, and topographic characteristics is spatially dependent in a tropical forest in southwestern China |
| title_fullStr | The relationship between acoustic indices, vegetation, and topographic characteristics is spatially dependent in a tropical forest in southwestern China |
| title_full_unstemmed | The relationship between acoustic indices, vegetation, and topographic characteristics is spatially dependent in a tropical forest in southwestern China |
| title_short | The relationship between acoustic indices, vegetation, and topographic characteristics is spatially dependent in a tropical forest in southwestern China |
| title_sort | relationship between acoustic indices vegetation and topographic characteristics is spatially dependent in a tropical forest in southwestern china |
| topic | Acoustic indices Forest dynamics plot Spatial scale dependence Vegetation characteristics Topography |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22007014 |
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