Priority areas for the conservation of subtropical indigenous forest in southern Africa: a case study from KwaZulu-Natal

Southern Africa's subtropical forest biome, though small and highly fragmented, supports much of the region's biodiversity. With limited resources available for conservation and the exploitative use of forest escalating, identifying a network of priority forest reserves is important. We examine the distribution of forest birds, butterflies and mammals in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Using an iterative algorithm we explore the efficiency of existing protected areas, species richness and rarity hotspots, prime forest sites (selected by forest area) and complementary networks as alternative approaches to priority reserve selection, as well as the potential use of indicator taxa. Existing protected areas represent 98% of species but are relatively inefficient in terms of area. Alternative selection criteria represent a high proportion of species (86–92%) and provide efficient bases for developing fully representative reserve networks. All species are represented within a network of 22 complementary quarter degree cells. This network includes several larger forests and existing protected areas and is recommended for priority conservation. Complementary networks identified separately for birds, butterflies and mammals overlap little, but each represents a high proportion of the remaining taxa, supporting their potential as representative 'indicator' taxa. The evolutionary history of the three main forest types in KwaZulu-Natal explains observed spatial patterns of alternative reserve networks. Priority areas are concentrated in scarp and coastal forest belts, regions of comparatively recent evolutionary activity with high species richness. Afromontane forest is older and less diverse, but its inclusion in any reserve network is necessary for the full representation of forest diversity.     

重庆澎溪河湿地自然保护区生物多样性空间格局及热点区

生物多样性空间格局和热点区域的分析与探测是进行生物多样性保护规划和科学管理的有效途径。以重庆澎溪河湿地自然保护区为例,基于实地综合调查、历史资料、文献信息,利用生境质量指数、物种多样性和景观多样性评价指标,构建生物多样性综合指数。结合空间自相关分析,揭示保护区生物多样性空间分布格局及其空间自相关程度,并识别生物多样性热点区,探讨现有保护区对热点区域的保护有效性。结果表明: 保护区生物多样性空间格局呈现出随距河流及两岸消落带距离的增加而减少的趋势,生物多样性指数高值区主要集中在澎溪河、普里河、白夹溪及其沿岸地区。生物多样性在空间分布上具有显著的正相关性,局部空间自相关以高-高聚集和低-低聚集类型为主。生物多样性热点区域面积为457 hm²,占保护区总面积的11.1%。现有保护区核心区涵盖了51%的热点区域和50%的次热点区域,保护区结构和功能区布局有待进一步优化调整,建议将普里河段龙王堂区域,白夹溪小垭口、邓家湾、洞子岩、龙王塘、旧屋咀、铧头咀、新铺子与龙家院子等热点区域纳入核心区,将冷点区域划到核心区之外,完善保护区功能区划。研究结果可为保护区范围及功能区优化和管控、合理推进“三区变两区”调整提供定量的基础资料,对于提高物种保护效率、制定科学的保护策略具有指导意义。     

Systematic conservation assessment for the Mesoamerica, Chocó, and Tropical Andes biodiversity hotspots: a preliminary analysis

Using IUCN Red List species as biodiversity surrogates, supplemented with additional analyses based on ecoregional diversity, priority areas for conservation in Mesoamerica, Chocó, and the Tropical Andes were identified using the methods of systematic conservation planning. Species’ ecological niches were modeled from occurrence records using a maximum entropy algorithm. Niche models for 78 species were refined to produce geographical distributions. Areas were prioritized for conservation attention using a complementarity-based algorithm implemented in the ResNet software package. Targets of representation for Red List species were explored from 10 to 90% of the modeled distributions at 10% increments; for the 53 ecoregions, the target was 10% for each ecoregion. Selected areas were widely dispersed across the region, reflecting the widespread distribution of Red List species in Mesoamerica, Chocó, and the Tropical Andes, which underscores the region’s importance for biodiversity. In general, existing protected areas were no more representative of biodiversity than areas outside them. Among the countries in the region, the protected areas of Belize performed best and those of Colombia and Ecuador worst. A high representation target led to the selection of a very large proportion of each country except Colombia and Ecuador (for a 90% target, 83–95% of each country was selected). Since such large proportions of land cannot realistically be set aside as parks or reserves, biodiversity conservation in Mesoamerica, Chocó, and the Tropical Andes will require integrative landscape management which combines human use of the land with securing the persistence of biota. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Robustness of reserve selection procedures under temporal species turnover

Complementarity-based algorithms for the selection of reserve networks emphasize the need to represent biodiversity features efficiently, but this may not be sufficient to maintain those features in the long term. Here, we use data from the Common Birds Census in Britain as an exemplar data set to determine guidelines for the selection of reserve networks which are more robust to temporal turnover in features. The extinction patterns found over the 1981-1991 interval suggest that two such guidelines are to represent species in the best sites where they occur (higher local abundance) and to give priority to the rarer species. We tested five reserve selection strategies, one which finds the minimum representation set and others which incorporate the first or both guidelines proposed. Strategies were tested in terms of their efficiency (inversely related to the total area selected) and effectiveness (inversely related to the percentage of species lost) using data on eight pairs of ten-year intervals. The minimum set strategy was always the most efficient, but suffered higher species loss than the others, suggesting that there is a trade-off between efficiency and effectiveness. A desirable compromise can be achieved by embedding the concerns about the long-term maintenance of the biodiversity features of interest in the complementarity-based algorithms.     

Global diversity of land planarians (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida, Terricola): a new indicator-taxon in biodiversity and conservation studies

Biodiversity conservation requires prioritization of areas for in situ conservation. In that perspective, the present study documents the global diversity of a component of the soil macrofauna, the land planarians, and concerns an exploratory analysis of their possible role as indicators of biodiversity. Diversity is described by three quantitative methods: (1) hotspots of species richness, selecting areas richest in species, (2) hotspots of range-size rarity, identifying areas richest in narrowly endemic species, and (3) complementarity, prioritizing areas according to their greatest combined species richness. The biodiversity measures of species richness and range-size rarity show a great correspondence in the identification of hotspots of diversity; both measures identify the following seven areas as the most biodiverse for land planarians: Sao Paulo, Florianopolis, western Java, Tasmania, Sri Lanka, North Island/New Zealand, and Sydney. It is discussed to what extent the results for the land planarians correspond with those obtained in other studies that assessed biodiversity hotspots for taxa on a global scale. It is noteworthy that land planarians identify a few global hotspots of diversity that generally do not feature, or only have low rankings, in other studies: New Zealand, southeastern Australia, and Tasmania.     

Effectiveness of a large reserve network in protecting freshwater biodiversity: a test for the Iberian Peninsula

相似文献   

Selecting networks of nature reserves: methods do affect the long-term outcome

Data on vascular plants of boreal lakes in Finland were used to compare the efficiency of reserve selection methods in representing four aspects of biodiversity over a 63 year period. These aspects included species richness, phylogenetic diversity, restricted range diversity and threatened species. Our results show that the efficiency of reserve selection methods depends on the selection criteria used and on the aspect of biodiversity under consideration. Heuristic methods and optimizing algorithms were nearly equally efficient in selecting lake networks over a small geographical range. In addition, a scoring procedure was observed to be efficient in maintaining different aspects of biodiversity over time. However, the random selection of lakes seems to be the most inefficient option for a reserve network. In general, reserve selection methods seem to favour lakes that maximize one aspect of diversity at the time of selection, but the network may not be the best option for maintaining the maximum diversity over time. The reserve selection methods do affect the long-term outcome but it is impossible to recommend one method over the others unequivocally.     

三江平原湿地鸟类丰富度的空间格局及热点地区保护

全球气候变化和人类的开垦开发活动使湿地生物多样性遭到严重的干扰和破坏,导致生物多样性空间分布格局及热点地区的保护成为研究的热点。在对三江平原湿地鸟类预测的基础上,利用空间自相关方法分析三江平原湿地鸟类丰富度的空间分布格局,并找出湿地鸟类多样性的热点地区及优先保护顺序。研究结果表明,三江平原湿地鸟类丰富度高高集聚区主要分布在保护区及周边地区、河流和湖泊沿岸,是新建和扩建自然保护区的最佳区域。湿地鸟类丰富度高低集聚区主要分布在农田景观中,将它们设立成微型保护地块对于区域景观生态安全具有重要意义;利用湿地鸟类物种丰富度、国家级保护湿地鸟类、生境类型和结构、距最近保护区距离、破碎度、干扰度等指标,在研究区内共找到13个热点地区,总面积为1018.7km²,占研究区总面积的8%;利用系统聚类分析,将13个热点地区划分成3种优先保护顺序。构建的小区域范围内寻找生物多样性热点地区的方法,为相关政府部门更有效地进行湿地生物多样性的保护和管理提供科学依据。     

Anticipating potential biodiversity conflicts for future biofuel crops in South Africa: incorporating spatial filters with species distribution models

Liquid biofuel production will likely have its greatest impact through the large‐scale changes in land use that will be required to meet the production of this energy source. In this study, we develop a framework which integrates species distribution models, land cover, land capability and various biodiversity conservation data to identify natural areas with (i) a potentially high risk of transformation for biofuel production and (ii) potential impact to biodiversity conservation areas. The framework was tested in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, a region which has been earmarked for the cultivation of biofuels. We expressly highlight the importance of biodiversity conservation data that enhance the protected area network to limit potential losses by comparing the overlap of areas likely to become cultivated with (i) protected areas; (ii) biodiversity hot spots not currently protected; and (iii) ‘ecological corridors’ (areas deemed important for the migration of species and linkages between important biodiversity areas). Results indicate that the introduction of spatial filters reduced available land from 54% to 45%. Including all biodiversity scenarios reduced available land to 15% of the Eastern Cape should avoiding conflict with biodiversity conservation areas be prioritized. The assumption that agriculturally marginal land offers a unique opportunity to be converted to biofuel crops does not consider the biodiversity value attached to these areas. We highlight that decisions relating to large‐scale transformation and changes in land cover need to take account of broader ecological processes. Determining the spatial extent of threats to biodiversity facilitates the analysis of spatial conflict. This article demonstrates a proactive approach for anticipating likely habitat transformation and provides an objective means of mitigating potential conflict with existing land use and biodiversity.     

Reserve selection using nonlinear species distribution models

Reserve design is concerned with optimal selection of sites for new conservation areas. Spatial reserve design explicitly considers the spatial pattern of the proposed reserve network and the effects of that pattern on reserve cost and/or ability to maintain species there. The vast majority of reserve selection formulations have assumed a linear problem structure, which effectively means that the biological value of a potential reserve site does not depend on the pattern of selected cells. However, spatial population dynamics and autocorrelation cause the biological values of neighboring sites to be interdependent. Habitat degradation may have indirect negative effects on biodiversity in areas neighboring the degraded site as a result of, for example, negative edge effects or lower permeability for animal movement. In this study, I present a formulation and a spatial optimization algorithm for nonlinear reserve selection problems in grid-based landscapes that accounts for interdependent site values. The method is demonstrated using habitat maps and nonlinear habitat models for threatened birds in the Netherlands, and it is shown that near-optimal solutions are found for regions consisting of up to hundreds of thousands grid cells, a landscape size much larger than those commonly attempted even with linear reserve selection formulations.     

Practice of conserving plant diversity through traditional beliefs: a case study in Xishuangbanna, southwest China

Developing various strategies for the global biodiversity conservation is important for today's critically degraded environment, and there is a growing recognition that the effective conservation of biodiversity will depend on the long-term participation and understanding of local communities. In order to establish the connection between traditional beliefs and the conservation of biodiversity, a case study was undertaken in Xishuangbanna, one of the richest areas in biodiversity in China. The Dai nationality, a dominant ethnic group in Xishuangbanna, has both Polytheistic and Buddhist beliefs, which have close relationships with plant diversity. This paper recommends the following approaches to conserve plant diversity by the application of traditional beliefs: (1) depending on the religious belief system, establishing an Association of Religious Plant Conservation to organize local people to participate in the conservation by means of religious activities, to document the indigenous botanical knowledge and to train local people; (2) training local people to different levels to improve their capacity in conservation of plant diversity with science and religion working together; (3) demonstrating the conservation of plant diversity through the recovering of holy hill forests and plants in temple gardens.     

Strengthening the Natural and National Park system of Iberia to conserve vascular plants

The diversity of the Iberian vascular flora has been investigated using WORLDMAP versions 3.08 and 3.18. Two data sets scoring plant distributions as presences within the Iberian Peninsula were compiled; one for 2133 species at 50 × 50 km grid and the other for 801 species at 10 × 10 km map grids. Patterns of biodiversity were determined using the diversity measures of species richness, range-size rarity and character richness diversity. Using the diversity measures, combined with an area selection method, maps of priority areas were calculated using iterative procedures. Near minimum sets (NMSs) for both scales were calculated. Comparison of the NMS for the 10 × 10 km grid with the near minimum set for existing reserves (NMSER) showed that at least 2% more of the land surface would be required above and beyond the existing protected area network, currently comprising 6% of the area, to ensure representation of all species at least once as listed within the present data-base. It is demonstrated that reserve systems selected on a variety of different criteria are suboptimal when compared to particular groups of target organisms with a definite goal of representation for conservation. Calculating efficiency of existing reserve systems and accounting for all taxa identifies precisely the extra required areas for the protected area system to satisfy particular goals of representation.     

西南喀斯特地区生物文化多样性的演化与耦合: 以贵州兴义坡岗自然保护区为例

本文以具有典型喀斯特环境特点的贵州兴义坡岗自然保护区为例开展实地调查和文献研究。通过层次分析法和人与自然耦合系统模型构建, 从文化景观视角探讨了喀斯特地区自然与文化系统的历史演化过程中, 国家生态政策制度与乡规民约等乡土保护体系对生物文化多样性的驱动作用。研究结果表明: 坡岗保护区经历了管护主体和保护利用态度的转变, 保存了典型的喀斯特自然生态系统, 当地世居的少数民族群体在长期生存与适应过程中创造了极具特色的传统民族文化。坡岗自然保护区丰富的生物多样性与文化多样性形成一个地理重合、协同进化且相互作用的维持系统。生物文化多样性耦合体系主要存在国家政策制度类与乡规民约等乡土文化类两种驱动因素。应加强西南喀斯特地区的生物文化多样性的保护, 推动该地区生物多样性与文化多样性的协同发展; 除了政策与制度类驱动因子的直接作用, 还需要注重村规民约以及生态传统知识等乡土文化的驱动作用, 以避免保护区自然与文化保护体系的割离。     

Agroforestry: a refuge for tropical biodiversity?

As rates of deforestation continue to rise in many parts of the tropics, the international conservation community is faced with the challenge of finding approaches which can reduce deforestation and provide rural livelihoods in addition to conserving biodiversity. Much of modern-day conservation is motivated by a desire to conserve 'pristine nature' in protected areas, while there is growing recognition of the long-term human involvement in forest dynamics and of the importance of conservation outside protected areas. Agroforestry -- intentional management of shade trees with agricultural crops -- has the potential for providing habitats outside formally protected land, connecting nature reserves and alleviating resource-use pressure on conservation areas. Here we examine the role of agroforestry systems in maintaining species diversity and conclude that these systems can play an important role in biodiversity conservation in human-dominated landscapes.     

Spatiotemporal variation of Diptera changes how we evaluate High Nature Value (HNV) wet grasslands

Proposed strategies to protect biodiversity within agricultural systems are often based on botanical criteria with plant species richness generally considered the prime indicator of conservation potential. While wet grasslands dominated by rushes (Juncus spp.) are commonly considered to be of lesser ecological value than those which are more botanically diverse (e.g. Carex dominated wet grasslands), their value for invertebrates such as Diptera has not yet been fully explored. Data from two Diptera families (Sciomyzidae and Syrphidae) were examined at spatial, temporal and spatiotemporal scales to determine the contribution of two different (Juncus and Carex dominated) wet grassland habitats towards the maintenance of Diptera diversity. The two habitats were significantly different in terms of community structure for both families and temporal variation was a significant component of dipteran diversity. Spatiotemporal analysis showed that species turnover between habitats at different times made the most significant contribution to overall Diptera diversity. Temporal variation of both families suggests that the relative importance of each habitat type to overall diversity fluctuates depending on sampling period, with both habitats supporting diversity at different times. Our results indicate that lowland wet grasslands characterised by Juncus cover need to be recognised as ecologically important for the maintenance of dipteran diversity. We discuss the possible implications for the diversity of Diptera in wet grasslands if these commonly perceived marginal areas (both agriculturally and ecologically) are ignored in conservation strategies. The necessity of recognising spatiotemporal variation when evaluating habitats using invertebrates as indicators is also discussed.     

Design of reserve networks and the persistence of biodiversity

Sophisticated computational methods have been developed to help us to identify sets of nature reserves that maximize the representation of regional diversity, but, until recently, the methods have not dealt explicitly and directly with the main goal of reserve networks, that of the long-term maintenance of biodiversity. Furthermore, the successful application of current methods requires reliable information about species distributions, which is not always available. Recent results show that data quality, as well as the choice of surrogates for biodiversity, could be critical for successful reserve design. Because of these problems and a lack of communication between scientists and managers, the impact of computational site-selection tools in applied conservation planning has been minimal.     

Biodiversity conservation in cocoa production landscapes: an overview

Cocoa agroforests that retain a floristically diverse and structurally complex shade canopy have the potential to harbour significant levels of biodiversity, yet few studies have documented the plant and animal species occurring within these systems or within landscapes dominated by cocoa production. In this special issue, we bring together nine studies from Latin America, Africa and Asia that document the contribution of cocoa agroforestry systems to biodiversity conservation, and explore how the design, management and location of these systems within the broader landscape influence their value as habitats, resources and biological corridors. Tree diversity within the cocoa production systems is variable, depending on management, cultural differences, location and farm history, among other factors. Animal diversity is typically highest in those cocoa agroforests that have high plant diversity, structurally complex canopies, and abundant surrounding forest cover. In general, both plant and animal diversity within cocoa agroforests is greater than those of other agricultural land uses, but lower than in the original forest habitat. There are several emerging threats to biodiversity conservation within cocoa production landscapes, including the loss of remaining forest cover, the simplification of cocoa shade canopies and the conversion of cocoa agroforestry systems to other agricultural land uses with lower biodiversity value. To counter these threats and conserve biodiversity over the long-term, land management should focus on conserving native forest habitat within cocoa production landscapes, maintaining or restoring floristically diverse and structurally complex shade canopies within cocoa agroforests, and retaining other types of on-farm tree cover to enhance landscape connectivity and habitat availability.     

Why and how might genetic and phylogenetic diversity be reflected in the identification of key biodiversity areas?

‘Key biodiversity areas'' are defined as sites contributing significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity. The identification of these sites builds from existing approaches based on measures of species and ecosystem diversity and process. Here, we therefore build from the work of Sgró et al. (2011 Evol. Appl. 4, 326–337. (doi:10.1111/j.1752-4571.2010.00157.x)) to extend a framework for how components of genetic diversity might be considered in the identification of key biodiversity areas. We make three recommendations to inform the ongoing process of consolidating a key biodiversity areas standard: (i) thresholds for the threatened species criterion currently consider a site''s share of a threatened species'' population; expand these to include the proportion of the species'' genetic diversity unique to a site; (ii) expand criterion for ‘threatened species'' to consider ‘threatened taxa’ and (iii) expand the centre of endemism criterion to identify as key biodiversity areas those sites holding a threshold proportion of the compositional or phylogenetic diversity of species (within a taxonomic group) whose restricted ranges collectively define a centre of endemism. We also recommend consideration of occurrence of EDGE species (i.e. threatened phylogenetic diversity) in key biodiversity areas to prioritize species-specific conservation actions among sites.     

Should conservation of biodiversity involve private land? A Q methodological study in Poland to assess stakeholders’ attitude

Biodiversity conservation is gradually shifting its dependency on public protected areas to take a more holistic ecosystem and landscape approach that includes private lands in addition to public lands. However, effective practice of biodiversity conservation on private land also depends on landowners’ attitude and their willingness to participate and cooperate. This study focuses on Poland where conservation on private land is a relatively new concept but it is slowly gaining recognition, especially after its accession into the European Union. It investigates and classifies the diverse attitudes among stakeholder groups in Poland toward biodiversity conservation on private land that are part of protected areas. Four primary stakeholder groups were considered: conservation and park authorities, local administrative officials, local conservation based NGOs and private landowners. The study was conducted across three sites that represented three different forms of protected areas in Poland: a national park, a landscape park and a Natura 2000 site. Q methodology, a research method from psychology and other social sciences, was used to classify human subjectivity in stakeholders’ attitude in a more systematic manner. The analysis yielded three predominant factors which highlighted the diversity in attitudes among the stakeholder groups based on their knowledge, concerns and experience in the subject. Additionally, it underlined the common recognition among all stakeholder groups for better policy support, stronger collaboration among stakeholder and more financial or compensatory support for landowners to make private land conservation more feasible. Understanding the differences in attitudes will help bridge the gap between conservation priority and conservation opportunity—a current challenge in the field of biodiversity conservation.     

Conservation strategies for poorly surveyed taxa: a dung beetle (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae) case study from southern Africa

Despite being the focus of an international research effort spanning decades, the spatial distribution of southern African scarab beetles remains poorly documented. As well as reinforcing the magnitude of the challenge facing biodiversity scientists, this raises real concerns about best practice conservation strategies in the absence of detailed distribution information. However, dung beetles appear to be well represented in established conservation areas. This apparent contradiction could be ascribed to anthropogenic transformation, successful conservation efforts, the presence of dung generalists and reserve-biased or mesic-biased dung beetle collection efforts. It is suggested that all of the above contribute to the observed pattern to varying degrees. The implications of selecting areas that are either rich in species, contain rare species or contain taxonomically distinct species from a group whose taxonomy is well known but for which inadequate distribution data exist are explored. Best practice, in the face of inadequate data, appears to revolve around a subtle interplay between advantages and disadvantages associated with data interpolation techniques, reserve selection algorithms that use criteria more robust than database rarity (such as taxonomic distinctiveness) and the long-term economic costs of proceeding with the data at hand versus investing in biological surveys.