The early stage of seedling establishment is critical to successful ecological restoration and reforestation, and it is partially influenced by herbivory. Aerial vertebrate predators, including birds and bats, can affect plant growth by controlling phytophagous insects. This study explored the effects of excluding birds and bats on the arthropod community during the initial stages of reforestation plots planted with Dipterocarpus alatus in deciduous dipterocarp forest using an exclusion experiment. We hypothesized that birds and bats negatively affect the density and biomass of large-sized arthropods (≥ 1 cm), which are their potential prey, and that excluding these predators may affect seedling growth and leaf damage. The density and biomass of large arthropods significantly increased in the permanent exclosures compared to the control group. No significant difference between the nocturnal and diurnal exclosures was observed. Top-down effects on the biomass of large-sized phytophagous and predatory arthropods were pronounced during the dry season, coinciding with the presence of migratory insectivorous birds. Mesopredator release primarily driven by ants compensated for the absence of birds and bats, preventing immediate increases in herbivory or impacts on seedling growth. These findings highlight the importance of ecological redundancy among predator communities in maintaining herbivory control. Promoting diverse habitats that support both invertebrate and vertebrate predators may enhance the long-term resilience and effectiveness of pest control in ecological restoration efforts.

Predation is a strong driver of prey behaviour and sympatric species are likely exposed to similar selective predatory pressures. We test the hypothesis that this leads to similar anti-predator behaviours using the widespread Neotropical snake tribe Pseudoboini as our model. We reviewed and compiled documented defensive behaviours for all species, adding new unreported behaviours for three species. We used a cluster analysis to generate a matrix of defensive behaviour dissimilarity between species. We then used a phylogenetic generalized linear mixed model to test how behaviour dissimilarity changed with geographical overlap, similarity in ecological traits, and phylogenetic relatedness. Only 41 species had available data on defensive behaviour, with only 22 of those represented in the phylogeny. We found that similarity in defensive behaviour is significantly (albeit not strongly) correlated with geographical overlap, but only for species with similar body sizes. Phylogenetic relatedness by itself was a poor predictor of behaviour dissimilarity. This corroborates our hypothesis that defensive behaviours are spatially structured at larger scales but that this can be modulated by morphological differences. Testing inter-species ecogeographical differences of defensive behaviour and its implications can be broadly applied to other taxa.

Carbon credits have become increasingly important for supporting sustainable forest management and mitigating climate change. However, carbon projects can be challenging for local communities and smallholders to implement due to high expenses and complicated protocols. Forest projects often suffer from inefficiency, lack of transparency, and uneven benefit distribution. This study suggests a blockchain-based framework for aggregating forest carbon projects. This framework is the first in the forest sector to provide a reward mechanism for local communities or smallholders with a direct integration into an accredited registry protocol of Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification. The system combines digital identities, smart contracts, and automated incentives to improve transparency, responsibility, and trust among stakeholders. Two types of tokens are introduced: (i) Carbon Coin represents verified carbon credits within the system; and (ii) Forest Coin functions as a security token used to proportionally distribute project revenue among stakeholders. The revenue distribution was demonstrated in scenarios of afforestation, reforestation, and conservation. In addition, a web application was developed so that users can monitor project details. Unlike most blockchain carbon platforms that focus on investment and trading, this framework addresses upstream challenges, prioritising equitable benefit-sharing. The framework supports project aggregation and prioritises community ownership, advancing inclusive access to the carbon market. This study demonstrates how technological advantages can be transferred to community-driven ecological conservation.