Improving landscape connectivity for the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey through cropland reforestation using graph theory |
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| Institution: | 1. Geography Department, Humboldt-University Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany;2. WWF Germany, Reinhardtstr. 18, 10117 Berlin, Germany;3. WWF Armenia, 11/1 Proshyan Str., Yerevan 0019, Armenia;4. SILVIS Lab, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison WI 53706, USA;5. WWF Caucasus Programme Office, Aleksidze Str. 11, 0193 Tbilisi, Georgia;6. Institute of Ecology, Ilia State University, Cholokashvili Ave 3/5, 0162 Tbilisi, Georgia;7. Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human-Environment Systems (IRI THESys), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany;1. Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8571, Japan;2. Makino Herbarium, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 1-1 Minami-Osawa, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0397, Japan;3. Sugadaira Research Station, Mountain Science Center, University of Tsukuba, 1278-294 Sugadaira-kogen, Ueda, Nagano 386-2204, Japan;4. Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Hokkaido Research Center, 7 Hitsujigaoka, Toyohira, Sapporo, Hokkaido 062-8516, Japan;5. Tomakomai Experimental Forest, Hokkaido University, Takaoka, Tomakomai, Hokkaido 053-0035, Japan;1. Institut national de Recherche en Sciences et Techniques pour l''Environnement et l''Agriculture (Irstea), UR EFNO, Domaine des Barres, 45290 Nogent-sur-Vernisson, France;2. INRA, UMR 1202 Biodiversity Genes and Communities, Laboratory of Forest Entomology and Biodiversity, 69 route d''Arcachon, 33612 Cestas, France;3. University of Bordeaux, UMR 1202 BIOGECO, Allée Geoffroy St-Hilaire, 33615 Pessac, France;4. University of Toulouse, INP-ENSAT, UMR DYNAFOR, BP 32607, 31326 Castanet Tolosan, France;5. INRA Toulouse, UMR DYNAFOR, Chemin de Borde Rouge, 31326 Castanet Tolosan, France;6. Institut national de Recherche en Sciences et Techniques pour l''Environnement et l''Agriculture (Irstea), UR EMAX, 3275 route de Cézanne, CS 40061, 13182 Aix-en-Provence Cedex 5, France |
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| Abstract: | Habitat fragmentation is a threat to biodiversity because it restricts the ability of animals to move. Maintaining landscape connectivity could promote connections between habitat patches, which is extremely important for the preservation of gene flow and population viability. This paper aims to evaluate the landscape connectivity of forest areas as it relates to the conservation of the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti), an emblematic and endemic endangered primate species. Specifically, this study seeks to model ways to improve connectivity via cropland reforestation scenarios which incorporate graph theory and genetic distances. The connectivity improvement assessment is performed at two nested scales. At the regional scale, the aim is to quantitatively assess the gain in connectivity from different reforestation scenarios, in which croplands are replaced by different kinds of forest habitats. At the local scale, the goal is to prioritize and to locate croplands based on the gain in connectivity that they would provide if they were reforested. The results indicate that the four reforestation scenarios have different impacts on connectivity; the fourth scenario, in which reforestation is accomplished with plant species that provide optimal monkey habitat, yields the greatest increase in connectivity (+24% versus less than +2% for the others). Prioritization of the 1482 cropland patches shows that the 10 best patches increase connectivity from 0.04% to 9.1% as the isolation threshold distance increases. This kind of graph theoretic approach appears to be a useful tool for connectivity assessment and the development of conservation measures for species impacted by human activities. |
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| Keywords: | Landscape connectivity Habitat fragmentation Reforestation Ecological network Graph theory |
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