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Reserve Selection (reserve + selection)
Selected AbstractsCost-Efficiency of Decaying Wood as a Surrogate for Overall Species Richness in Boreal ForestsCONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2006ARTTI JUUTINEN biodiversidad; gestión de bosques; indicadores de riqueza de especies; seleccion de sitios Abstract:,Decaying wood is one of the most important elements for species richness in boreal forests. We tested how well reserve selection based on the amount and quality of decaying wood results in a representation of four ecologically different taxa (beetles, birds, wood-inhabiting fungi, and vascular plants). We also compared the cost-efficiency of the use of dead-wood indicators with comprehensive species inventory. Our database included 32 seminatural old-forest stands located in northern Finland. Decaying wood was a relatively good indicator of saproxylic species but not overall species richness. Even though dead wood did not reflect accurately overall species richness, our results indicated that the use of decaying wood as an indicator in site selection was more cost-efficient than using information from large-scale species inventories. Thus, decaying wood is a valuable surrogate for species richness, but other cost-efficient indicators that reflect the requirements of those species which are not dependent on decaying wood should be identified. Resumen:,La madera en descomposición es uno de los elementos importantes para la riqueza de especies en bosques boreales. Probamos como resulta la selección de reservas con base en la cantidad y calidad de madera en descomposición en la representación de cuatro taxa ecológicamente distintos (escarabajos, aves, hongos habitantes en la madera y plantas vasculares). También comparamos la rentabilidad del uso de indicadores de madera muerta con inventarios integrales de especies. Nuestra base de datos incluyó 32 sitios de bosque maduro seminatural localizados en el norte de Finlandia. La madera en descomposición fue un indicador relativamente bueno de especies saproxílicas pero no de la riqueza total. Aunque la madera en descomposición no reflejó la riqueza total con precisión, nuestros resultados indicaron que el uso de madera en descomposición como un indicador en la selección de sitios fue más rentable que el uso de información de inventarios de especies de gran escala. Por lo tanto, la madera en descomposición es un sustituto valioso de la riqueza de especies, pero se deben identificar otros indicadores rentables que reflejen los requerimientos de aquellas especies que no dependen de la madera en descomposición. [source] Surrogacy and persistence in reserve selection: landscape prioritization for multiple taxa in BritainJOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2009Aldina M. A. Franco Summary 1A principal goal of protected-area networks is to maintain viable populations of as many species as possible, particularly those that are vulnerable to environmental change outside reserves. Ideally, one wants to be able to protect all biodiversity when selecting priority areas for conservation. 2Using the area-prioritization algorithm ZONATION, we identified the locations where UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) species of mammals, birds, herptiles, butterflies and plants occur in concentrated populations with high connectivity. Both these features are likely to be correlated with population persistence. The analyses were successful in maintaining a high proportion of the connectivity of narrow-range species, and large total amounts of the connectivity of wider-range species over 10% of the land surface of Great Britain. 3Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP , high priority) species of one taxonomic group were not particularly good surrogates (indicators) for BAP species of other taxonomic groups. Hence, maintaining population concentrations of one taxonomic group did not guarantee doing likewise for other taxa. 4Species with narrow geographic ranges were most effective at predicting conservation success for other species, probably because they represent the range of environmental conditions required by other species. 5Synthesis and applications. This study identifies landscape-scale priority areas for conservation of priority species from several taxonomic groups, using the Zonation software. ,Indicator groups' were only partially successful as predictors of priority areas for other taxonomic groups, and therefore, the identification of priority areas for biodiversity conservation should include information from all taxonomic groups available. Larger areas should be protected to account for species not included in the analyses. Conservation solutions based on data for many different species, and particularly those species with narrowly defined ranges, appear to be most effective at protecting other rare taxa. [source] Predicted impact of climate change on threatened terrestrial vertebrates in central Spain highlights differences between endotherms and ectothermsANIMAL CONSERVATION, Issue 4 2010P. Aragón Abstract Climate change can induce shifts in species ranges. Of special interest are range shifts in regions with a conflict of interest between land use and the conservation of threatened species. Here we focus on the 94 threatened terrestrial vertebrates occurring in the Madrid region (Central Spain) and model their distributions using data for the whole peninsular Spain to evaluate which vertebrate groups are likely to be more sensitive to climatic change. First, we generated predictive models to quantify the extent to which species distributions are explained by current climate. We then extrapolated the models temporally to predict the effects of two climate-change scenarios on species distributions. We also examined the impact on a recently proposed reserve relative to other interconnected zones with lower protection status but categorized as Areas of Community Importance by the European Union. The variation explained by climatic predictors was greater in ectotherms. The change in species composition differed between the proposed reserve and the other protected areas. Endothermic and ectothermic vertebrates had different patterns of changes in species composition but those of ectotherms matched with temperature departures predicted by climate change. Our results, together with the limited dispersal capacity of herptiles, suggest that trade-offs between different design criteria accounting for animal group differences are necessary for reserve selection. [source] Developing a blueprint for conservation of the endangered longleaf pine ecosystem based on centers of Coastal Plain plant endemismAPPLIED VEGETATION SCIENCE, Issue 1 2006Bruce A. Sorrie Abstract Question: Can the geographic patterning of endemic plant species inform reserve selection in a region of high endemism? Location: The Southeastern Coastal Plain of North America, focusing primarily on the imperiled longleaf pine (Pinus palustris P. Miller) ecosystem. Methods: We documented the high level of plant endemism in the region, and characterized the endemic taxa into distributional subregions. Results: A total of 1630 plant taxa are endemic to the Coastal Plain, a large proportion of which are endemic to phytogeographical subregions within the Coastal Plain, with particularly large numbers of narrow endemics occurring in the East Gulf Coastal Plain and Florida Peninsula. Conclusions: This pattern of local endemism presents challenges in conserving the full biota of the region: a reserve system focusing on few and large conservation areas has theoretical benefits for long-term management and viability, but will fail to capture many local endemics. We propose that the dispersed distribution of endemic species will require a mixture of large core reserves and smaller satellite reserves. [source] | ||||||||||