Species distribution models have been used to predict the distribution of invasive species for conservation planning. Understanding spatial transferability of niche predictions is critical to promote species-habitat conservation and forecasting areas vulnerable to invasion. Grain size of predictor variables is an important factor affecting the accuracy and transferability of species distribution models. Choice of grain size is often dependent on the type of predictor variables used and the selection of predictors sometimes rely on data availability. This study employed the MAXENT species distribution model to investigate the effect of the grain size on model transferability for an invasive plant species. We modelled the distribution ofRhododendron ponticumin Wales, U.K. and tested model performance and transferability by varying grain size (50 m, 300 m, and 1 km). MAXENT-based models are sensitive to grain size and selection of variables. We found that over-reliance on the commonly used bioclimatic variables may lead to less accurate models as it often compromises the finer grain size of biophysical variables which may be more important determinants of species distribution at small spatial scales. Model accuracy is likely to increase with decreasing grain size. However, successful model transferability may require optimization of model grain size.

Biological invasions threaten global biodiversity and natural resources. Anticipating future invasions is central to strategies for combating the spread of invasive species. Ecological niche models are thus increasingly used to predict potential distribution of invasive species. In this study, we compare ecological niches of Rhododendron ponticum in its native (Iberian Peninsula) and invasive (Britain) ranges. Here, we test the conservation of ecological niche between invasive and native populations of R. ponticum using principal component analysis, niche dynamics analysis, and MaxEnt‐based reciprocal niche modeling. We show that niche overlap between native and invasive populations is very low, leading us to the conclusion that the two niches are not equivalent and are dissimilar. We conclude that R. ponticum occupies novel environmental conditions in Britain. However, the evidence of niche shift presented in this study should be treated with caution because of nonanalogue climatic conditions between native and invasive ranges and a small population size in the native range. We then frame our results in the context of contradicting genetic evidence on possible hybridization of this invasive species in Britain. We argue that the existing contradictory studies on whether hybridization caused niche shift in R. ponticum are not sufficient to prove or disprove this hypothesis. However, we present a series of theoretical arguments which indicate that hybridization is a likely cause of the observed niche expansion of R. ponticum in Britain.

Urban sprawl causes changes in land use and a decline in many ecosystem services. Understanding the spatial patterns of sprawl and exploration of citizens’ perception towards the sporadic urban expansion and its impacts on an ecosystem to deliver services can help to guide land use planning and the conservation of the urban ecosystem. Here, we spatially examined land use changes in Multan, Pakistan, and investigated public perception about urban sprawl and its impacts on the quality and provision of ecosystem services, using a survey instrument. The spatial analysis of the historical land cover of Multan indicated an exponential expansion of the city in the last decade. Large areas of natural vegetation and agricultural land were converted to urban settlements in the past two decades. The citizens of Multan believe that the quality and provision of ecosystem services have declined in the recent past and strongly correlate the deteriorating ecosystem services with urban sprawl. Education and income levels of the respondents are the strongest predictors of urban ecosystem health literacy. Citizens associated with laborious outdoor jobs are more sensitive to the changes in ecosystem services. We concluded that the rapidly expanding cities, especially in the tropical arid zones, need to be prioritized for an increase in vegetation cover, and economically vulnerable settlements in these cities should be emphasized in climate change mitigation campaigns.

Integrated pest management adoption is quite low around the globe, particularly in developing countries, due to different factors. Here, we examine the factors affecting the intention of Pakistani farmers to adopt integrated pest management practices in vegetable production using a structured questionnaire. We interviewed 301 vegetable growers in Multan, Pakistan. The reliability and validity of the data, along with the underlying relationship between the observed variables, were identified through exploratory factor analysis. The majority of the farmers (79.4%) relied on pesticides for pest control. More than four out of 10 of the respondents (43.8%) reported that okra received the highest application of pesticides followed by potato (24.5%) and cauliflower (17.9%). Integrated pest management was currently non‐existent among the vegetable growers of the study area. The latent factors—“knowledge of the adverse effects of pesticide,” “belief in the efficacy of non‐chemical pest control measures,” “perceived barriers to the adoption of integrated pest management,” “progressive farming approach,” and “intention to adopt integrated pest management”—were subsequently confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis. The structural equation model suggested that the intention to adopt integrated pest management is significantly affected by farmers’ knowledge of the adverse effects of pesticides (β = 0.274, z‐value = 3.082, P = 0.002). An increase in farmers’ awareness of the harmful effects of pesticides could lead to integrated pest management adoption for pest control. The scale for intention to adopt integrated pest management developed in this study can be used in future studies and provide valuable insights to the policymakers for devising integrated pest management adoption campaigns in the study area.