Conservation of more evolutionary unique amphibian communities in Türkiye: The role of protected areas

The alarming decline of amphibians, sometimes marked by sudden extinctions, underlines the urgent need for increased conservation efforts. Conservationists recognize that more action, particularly the setting of national targets, is needed to ensure the future persistence and recovery of species and habitats. Protecting habitats that harbor evolutionarily diverse species preserves divergent genetic information within ecosystems. Türkiye holds 36 amphibian species at the intersection of two continents, creating three biodiversity hotspots and phylogenetic transitional areas. In this study, we aimed to determine the hotspot regions and to evaluate the effectiveness of the protected areas in Türkiye in preserving amphibian populations. First, we estimated four community indexes (species richness and three evolutionary distinctiveness measures) for amphibian communities in Türkiye divided into 371 grid cells with a ca 50 × 50 km size. Then, the spatial extent of protected areas is evaluated from two perspectives: current (has a protection status) and candidate protected areas (Key Biodiversity Areas, not protected) coverage in those grid cells. Finally, these two approaches' effectiveness in protecting areas was assessed by modeling four diversity metrics using GLS models. Current protected areas protect about 6% of the total amphibian distribution in Türkiye, while Key Biodiversity Areas would cover 30% if declared protected areas. We estimated that the coastal areas of Türkiye are identified as hotspots based on the four measured amphibian community indexes. Our study also highlights that Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) can contribute to conserving high levels of amphibian richness and evolutionary distinctiveness of species across Türkiye. However, existing protected areas (PAs) networks were insufficient to protect amphibians.

Hidden hotspots of amphibian biodiversity in China

Identifying and protecting hotspots of endemism and species richness is crucial for mitigating the global biodiversity crisis. However, our understanding of spatial diversity patterns is far from complete, which severely limits our ability to conserve biodiversity hotspots. Here, we report a comprehensive analysis of amphibian species diversity in China, one of the most species-rich countries on Earth. Our study combines 20 y of field surveys with new molecular analyses of 521 described species and also identifies 100 potential cryptic species. We identify 10 hotspots of amphibian diversity in China, each with exceptional species richness and endemism and with exceptional phylogenetic diversity and phylogenetic endemism (based on a new time-calibrated, species-level phylogeny for Chinese amphibians). These 10 hotspots encompass 59.6% of China's described amphibian species, 49.0% of cryptic species, and 55.6% of species endemic to China. Only four of these 10 hotspots correspond to previously recognized biodiversity hotspots. The six new hotspots include the Nanling Mountains and other mountain ranges in South China. Among the 186 species in the six new hotspots, only 9.7% are well covered by protected areas and most (88.2%) are exposed to high human impacts. Five of the six new hotspots are under very high human pressure and are in urgent need of protection. We also find that patterns of richness in cryptic species are significantly related to those in described species but are not identical.

Vulnerability of protected areas to future climate change, land use modification, and biological invasions in China

Anthropogenic climate change, land use modifications, and alien species invasions are major threats to global biodiversity. Protected areas (PAs) are regarded as the cornerstone of biodiversity conservation, however, few studies have quantified the vulnerability of PAs to these global change factors together. Here, we overlay the risks of climate change, land use change, and alien vertebrate establishment within boundaries of a total of 1020 PAs with different administrative levels in China to quantify their vulnerabilities. Our results show that 56.6% of PAs will face at least one stress factor, and 21 PAs are threatened under the highest risk with three stressors simultaneously. PAs designed for forest conservation in Southwest and South China are most sensitive to the three global change factors. In addition, wildlife and wetland PAs are predicted to mainly experience climate change and high land use anthropogenetic modifications, and many wildlife PAs can also provide suitable habitats for alien vertebrate establishment. Our study highlights the urgent need for proactive conservation and management planning of Chinese PAs by considering different global change factors together.

Impacts of climate change on herpetofauna diversity in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Although numerous studies on the impacts of climate change on biodiversity have been published, only a handful are focused on the intraspecific level or consider population-level models (separate models per population). We endeavored to fill this knowledge gap relative to the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau (QTP) by combining species distribution modeling (SDMs) with population genetics (i.e., population-level models) and phylogenetic methods (i.e., phylogenetic tree reconstruction and phylogenetic diversity analyses). We applied our models to 11 endemic and widely distributed herpetofauna species inhabiting high elevations in the QTP. We aimed to determine the influence of environmental heterogeneity on species' responses to climate change, the magnitude of climate-change impacts on intraspecific diversity, and the relationship between species range loss and intraspecific diversity losses under 2 shared socioeconomic pathways (SSP245 and SSP585) and 3 future periods (2050s, 2070s, and 2090s). The effects of global climatic change were more pronounced at the intraspecific level (22% of haplotypes lost and 36% of populations lost) than the morphospecies level in the SSP585 climate change scenario. Maintenance of genetic diversity was in general determined by a combination of factors including range changes, species genetic structure, and the part of the range predicted to be lost. This is owing to the fact that the loss and survival of populations were observed in species irrespective of the predicted range changes (contraction or expansion). In the southeast (mountainous regions), climate change had less of an effect on range size (>100% in 3 species) than in central and northern QTP plateau regions (range size <100% in all species). This may be attributed to environmental heterogeneity, which provided pockets of suitable climate in the southeast, whereas ecosystems in the north and central regions were homogeneous. Generally, our results imply that mountainous regions with high environmental heterogeneity and high genetic diversity may buffer the adverse impacts of climate change on species distribution and intraspecific diversity. Therefore, genetic structure and characteristics of the ecosystem may be crucial for conservation under climate change.

Habitat-specific conservation priorities of multidimensional diversity patterns of amphibians in China effectively contribute to the '3030' target

Amphibia is the most threatened animal group among all land vertebrates in the context of anthropogenic global change. Filling the conservation gaps for this taxonomic group could help achieve the ambitious target of covering 30 % of the land by 2030 ('3030' target) set by the 15-th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15). In this study, we compiled the most up-to-date occurrence records and corresponding species-specific traits and phylogenies of amphibians in China (particularly those newly described in the past decade) to explore the spatial distribution patterns of multidimensional diversity (including taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic) for different species groups (including all, endemic and threatened). Additionally, a new conservation gap index (CGI) was proposed and applied to the analysis of multi-objective conservation strategies. The results showed that the spatial distribution of taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of amphibians in China is markedly geographically diverse, with common hotspots for all three concentrated in the humid mountainous regions of southern China. The CGI, which is independent of arbitrary threshold selection and grid cell size, showed that the conservation gap for amphibians in China is largest in biomes such as tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests. The multi-objective conservation analysis revealed that the Yangtze River basin, Pearl River basin and Southeast Basin in China have pivotal roles in achieving the '3030' target due to their high taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity, relatively high proportion of threatened and endemic species, and low coverage of existing nature reserves. Notably, sustainable management of less-protected habitats, including farmlands and grasslands, can reduce the area requirement of strict protection for reaching the '3030' conservation goal. This study provides practical strategies for guiding amphibian conservation by systematically integrating multidimensional biodiversity information, habitat features and the spatial distributions of the existing natural reserves.

Optimizing protected areas to boost the conservation of key protected wildlife in China

To meet the challenge of biodiversity loss and reach the targets of the proposed Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, the Chinese government updated the list of national key protected wildlife in 2021 and has been continually expanding the protected areas (PAs). However, the status of protected wildlife in PAs remains unclear. In this study, we conducted a national assessment of the status of protected wildlife and suggested an optimization plan to overcome these shortcomings. From 1988 to 2021, the number of protected species almost doubled, and the area of PAs increased by 2.4 times, covering over 92.8% of the protected species. Nonetheless, 70.8% of the protected species are still not effectively protected by PAs, with some having less than 10% of their habitat included in PAs. Despite the significant addition of amphibians and reptiles to the latest protection list, they are the fewest species and are the least covered by PAs compared with birds and mammals. To fix these gaps, we systematically optimized the current PAs network by adding another 10.0% of China's land area as PAs, which resulted in 37.6% coverage of protected species' habitats in PAs. In addition, 26 priority areas were identified. Our research aimed to identify gaps in current conservation policies and suggest optimization solutions to facilitate wildlife conservation planning in China. In general, updating the list of key protected wildlife species and systematically optimizing PA networks are essential and applicable to other countries facing biodiversity loss.

Global Protected Areas as refuges for amphibians and reptiles under climate change

Protected Areas (PAs) are the cornerstone of biodiversity conservation. Here, we collated distributional data for >14,000 (~70% of) species of amphibians and reptiles (herpetofauna) to perform a global assessment of the conservation effectiveness of PAs using species distribution models. Our analyses reveal that >91% of herpetofauna species are currently distributed in PAs, and that this proportion will remain unaltered under future climate change. Indeed, loss of species' distributional ranges will be lower inside PAs than outside them. Therefore, the proportion of effectively protected species is predicted to increase. However, over 7.8% of species currently occur outside PAs, and large spatial conservation gaps remain, mainly across tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, and across non-high-income countries. We also predict that more than 300 amphibian and 500 reptile species may go extinct under climate change over the course of the ongoing century. Our study highlights the importance of PAs in providing herpetofauna with refuge from climate change, and suggests ways to optimize PAs to better conserve biodiversity worldwide.

Effects of climate and human activity on the current distribution of amphibians in China

In China, as elsewhere, amphibians are highly endangered. Anthropogenic environmental change has affected the distribution and population dynamics of species, and species distributions at a broad scale are strongly driven by climate and species' ability to disperse. Yet, current knowledge remains limited on how widespread human activity affects the distribution patterns of amphibians in China and whether this effect extends beyond climate. We compiled a relatively comprehensive database on the distribution of 196 amphibian species in China from the literature, public databases, and field data. We obtained 25,826 records on almost 50% of known species in China. To test how environmental factors and human activities influence the current distribution of amphibians (1960-1990), we used range filling, which is species realized ranges relative to their potential climate distribution. We used all species occurrence records to represent realized range and niche models to predict potential distribution range. To reduce uncertainty, we used 3 regression methods (beta regression, generalized boosted regression models, and random forest) to test the associations of species range filling with human activity, climate, topography, and range size. The results of the 3 approaches were consistent. At the species level, mean annual precipitation (climate) had the most effect on spatial distribution pattern of amphibians in China, followed by range size. Human activity ranked last. At the spatial level, mean annual precipitation remained the most important factor. Regions in southeastern of China that are currently moist supported the highest amphibian diversity, but were predicted to experience a decline in precipitation under climate change scenarios. Consequently, the distributions of amphibians will likely shift to the northwest in the future, which could affect future conservation efforts.

Determining the role of climate change in India's past forest loss

Tropical forests in India have declined at an alarming rate over the past century, with extensive literature focusing on the high contributions of agricultural expansions to deforestation, while the effects of climate change have largely been overlooked. Climate change effects, such as increasing temperatures, drought and flooding, have already occurred, and are projected to worsen. Climate velocity, a metric that accounts for spatial heterogeneity in climate, can help identify contiguous areas under greater climate stress and potential climate refuges in addition to traditional temporal trends. Here, we examined the relative contribution of climate changes to forest loss in India during the period 2001-2018, at two spatial (regional and national) and two temporal (seasonal and annual) scales. This includes, for the first time, a characterization of climate velocity in the country. Our findings show that annual forest loss increased substantially over the 17-year period examined (2001-2018), with the majority of forest loss occurring in the Northeast region. Decreases in temporal trends of temperature and precipitation were most associated with forest losses, but there was large spatial and seasonal variation in the relationship. In every region except the Northeast, forest losses were correlated with faster velocities of at least one climate variable but overlapping areas of high velocities were rare. Our findings indicate that climate changes have played an important role in India's past forest loss, but likely remain secondary to other factors at present. We stress concern for climates velocities recorded in the country, reaching 97 km year^-1 , and highlight that understanding the different regional and seasonal relationships between climatic conditions and forest distributions will be key to effective protection of the country's remaining forests as climate change accelerates.

The Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve Is Partially Effective in Mitigating Human Pressures

Protected areas play significant roles in protecting biodiversity by mitigating human activities. As an indicator for human activities, the human footprint (HF) can be used to assess the effectiveness of protected areas. We developed a HF dataset for the Sanjiangyuan region in China after localizing the global HF model. Then we used it to assess the effectiveness of Sanjiangyuan nature reserve (SNR) in mitigating human pressures. Our results suggest that the HF value for the Sanjiangyuan region was generally low from 1995 to 2015, with a fluctuating increasing trend. The SNR is partially effective in mitigating human pressures. For 2005–2010, the HF values decreased both within and outside the reserve with more decreases for the outside. For the three functional zones of the SNR, our results show that the HF values decreased during 2005–2010 for all of them, with the largest decrease in the experimental area, and increased during 2010–2015, with the lowest increase in the core areas. The results we obtained are consistent with ecological indicator-based assessments. It is a challenge for the government to balance conservation and development in establishing Sanjiangyuan National Park.

Design of Protected Area by Tracking and Excluding the Effects of Climate and Landscape Change: A Case Study Using Neurergus derjugini

This study aimed to use the applications of Ensemble Species Distribution Modelling (eSDM), Geographical Information Systems (GISs), and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) for the design of a protected area (PA) for the critically endangered yellow-spotted mountain newt, Neurergus derjugini, by tracking and excluding the effects of climate and landscape changes in western Iran and northeastern Iraq. Potential recent and future distributions (2050 and 2070) were reconstructed by eSDM using eight algorithms with MRI-CGCM3 and CCSM4 models. The GIS-based MCDA siting procedure was followed inside habitats with high eSDM suitability by eliminating the main roads, cities, high village density, dams, poor vegetation, low stream density, agricultural lands and high ridge density. Then, within the remaining relevant areas, 10 polygons were created as “nominations” for PAs (NPAs). Finally, for 10 different NPAs, the suitability score was ranked based on ratings and weights (analytical hierarchy process) of the number of newt localities, NPA connectivity, NPA shape, NPA habitat suitability in 2070, NPA size, genetic diversity, village density and distance to nearest PAs, cities, and main roads. This research could serve as a modern realistic approach for environmental management to plan conservation areas using a cost-effective and affordable technique.

Spatial Correlation between Ecosystem Services and Human Disturbances: A Case Study of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, China

Exploring the spatial relationship between ecosystem services (ES) and human disturbance intensity (HDI) is vital for maintaining regional ecological security. This study aims to explore the spatial correlation between ES and HDI in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and provide meaningful implications for coastal ecological planning. Multi-source remote sensing data, remote sensing software, and geographic information system provided initial data and technical support for this research. We integrated four human pressures (population, land-use, traffic, and energy) to map the HDI in the GBA for 2018. Coastal ES were comprehensively considered and spatially visualized by extracting the ES sources. The geographically weighted Pearson correlation coefficient and bivariate local Moran were used to quantitatively reflect and spatially visualize the detailed relationship between ES and HDI. Our study presents several key findings. First, the central and southern parts of the GBA are under strong HDI, dominated by a dense population and intense land utilization. Second, the kernel density of ES sources can better manifest the spatial distribution of ES objectively in comparison to the traditional model calculation. Provisioning services mainly originate from the periphery of the central cities; cultural services are highly concentrated in the heartland of the GBA; and regulating and maintenance services have high density in the outermost regions. Third, ES and HDI have a significant correlation, and the geographically weighted Pearson correlation coefficient and local indicator of spatial association cluster maps illustrate that unlike the global findings, the local correlation is spatially nonstationary as the local scale is affected by specific human activities, natural conditions, regional development, and other local factors. Four, high-capacity regions of ES provision are mainly under high HDI. Areas with high provisioning service values are mainly affected by population and traffic pressure, whereas regulating and maintenance services and cultural services are mainly dominated by high-density populations. Regulating and maintenance services are also affected by land-use pressure. We determine that human disturbance has negative spillover effects on ES, which should be the focus in regional ecological planning.

Niche divergence of evolutionarily significant units with implications for repopulation programs of the world's largest amphibians

The niche divergence and potential climate change-induced loss of evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) of flagship amphibian species in China, the Chinese giant salamander clade, were investigated. We tested niche-related ecological hypotheses and identified suitable habitats that are essential for the conservation of ESUs in response to future climate change according to ecological niche models (ENMs). We predicted the localized habitat loss crisis of ESUs induced by global climate heating using the predicted climate derived from two representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios 2.6 and 8.5, respectively. In our study, a niche conservatism pattern was found between the two distinctive northern and southern ESUs with sufficient distributional records, but their niches were not equivalent. Furthermore, there was neither abrupt environmental change in nor remarkable biogeographic barriers between the suitable habitats of the species, as indicated by random linear, blob and ribbon range-breaking tests. Under the low-emission scenario RCP2.6, the northern ESU had a moderate loss of suitable range, while the southern ESU had range expansion in the 2070s. The climatic velocities were low in the ranges of both ESUs. However, under the high-emission scenario RCP8.5, the climatic velocities were found to become larger in the suitable ranges of both ESUs. Moreover, the northern ESU had severe habitat loss, bringing it to the edge of extinction, while the southern ESU also had intensified range loss. Considering this, climatic velocity can be an effective indicator of range loss. We argued conclusively that conservation prioritization of ESUs should effectively take into account the underlying geographic and ecological mechanisms driving the speciation process. The conservation of ESUs should consider the conservation of both evolutionary potential and ecological adaptation capacity of each lineage. The present study provided practical guidelines for repopulation programs for endangered species and the conservation of evolutionary diversity.

Dataset of occurrences and ecological traits of amphibians from Upper Paraguay River Basin, central South America

There are many gaps in our biodiversity knowledge, especially in highly diverse regions such as the Neotropics. Basic information on species occurrence and traits are scattered throughout different literature sources, which makes it difficult to access data and ultimately delays advances in ecology, evolution, and conservation biology. We provide species occurrence and trait data for amphibian species in the Upper Paraguay River Basin, central South America. The compiled information is made available through two different datasets that hold (i) 17K species occurrence records and (ii) 30 species-level traits for 113 amphibian species. The first dataset includes the species occurrence records and informs specimen id, collection of housing, locality, geographical coordinates, geographic accuracy, collection date, and collector name. The second dataset covers species-level attributes on morphometry, diet, activity, habitat, and breeding strategy. These datasets improve accessibility to spatial and trait data for amphibian species in the Pantanal ecoregion, one of the largest wetlands on Earth.

Impacts by expansion of human settlements on nature reserves in China

Expansion of human settlements affects nature reserves in various ways. Planning ahead can help to divert or mitigate the impacts but a good understanding of these impacts is a prerequisite. In this study, we estimated the impacts caused by the expansion of human settlements on nature reserves in China by 2050 under different development and conservation scenarios. Our results show that 5016 km² of nature reserves may be encroached by the expansion of human settlements under the scenario of high growth and weak protection, a ten-fold increase compared to 2010. In addition, new settlements may fragment landscapes in 243 nature reserves and increase the level of fragmentation in 109 nature reserves. Furthermore, expansion of human settlements in surrounding areas may expose 164 nature reserves to threats of human activities and increase the threat levels to 540 nature reserves. The impacts will be lower if protection is stronger or economic growth is slower. Among all nature reserves, those administered at the county level will be affected the most. Nature reserves that protect forests and inland wetlands will be affected more than nature reserves protecting other objects. Nature reserves in East and South China will be influenced more than reserves in other regions. Findings from China show that the expansion of human settlements poses serious challenges to nature reserves in the future, especially in places where economic growth is fast and nature reserves are weakly protected. Proactive conservation strategies have to be developed and implemented forcefully to manage these impacts. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the potential conflict between human settlements and nature reserves.

A Bayesian-weighted approach to predicting the number of newly discovered rare species

In natural ecological communities, most species are rare and thus susceptible to extinction. Consequently, the prediction and identification of rare species are of enormous value for conservation purposes. How many newly found species will be rare in the next field survey? We took a Bayesian viewpoint and used observed species abundance information in an ecological sample to develop an accurate way to estimate the number of new rare species (e.g., singletons, doubletons, and tripletons) in an additional unknown sample. A similar method has been developed for incidence-based data sets. Five seminumerical tests (3 abundance cases and 2 incidence cases) showed that our proposed Bayesian-weight estimator accurately predicted the number of new rare species with low relative bias and low relative root mean squared error and, accordingly, high accuracy. Finally, we applied the proposed estimator to 6 conservation-directed empirical data sets (3 abundance cases and 3 incidence cases) and found the prediction of new rare species was quite accurate; the 95% CI covered the true observed value very well in most cases. Our estimator performed similarly to or better than an unweighted estimator derived from Chao et al. and performed consistently better than the naïve unweighted estimator. We recommend our Bayesian-weight estimator for conservation applications, although the unweighted estimator of Chao et al. may be better under some circumstances. We provide an R package RSE (rare species estimation) at https://github.com/ecomol/RSE for implementation of the estimators.

Species distribution models and empirical test: Comparing predictions with well-understood geographical distribution of Bothrops alternatus in Argentina

Species distribution models (SDMs) estimate the geographical distribution of species although with several limitations due to sources of inaccuracy and biases. Empirical tests arose as the most important steps in scientific knowledge to assess the efficiency of model predictions, which are poorly rigorous in SDMs. A good approach to the empirical distribution (ED) of a species can be obtained from comprehensive empirical knowledge, that is, well-understood distributions gathered from large amount of data generated with appropriate spatial and temporal samples coverage. The aims of this study were to (a) compare different SDMs predictions with an ED; and (b) evaluate if fuzzy global matching (FGM) could be used as an index to compare SDMs predictions and ED. Six algorithms with 5 and 20 variables were used to assess their accuracy in predicting the ED of the venomous snake Bothrops alternatus (Viperidae). Its entire distribution is known, thanks to thorough field surveys across Argentina, with 1,767 records. ED was compared with SDMs predictions using Map Comparison Kit. SDMs predictions showed important biases in all methods used, from 70% sub-estimation to 40% over-estimation of ED. BIOCLIM predicted ≈31% of B. alternatus ED. DOMAIN predicted 99% of ED, but over-estimated 40% of the area. GLM with five variables calculated 75% of ED, while Genetic Algorithm for Rule-set Prediction showed ≈60% of ED; the last two presenting overpredictions in areas with favorable climatic conditions but not inhabited by the species. MaxEnt and RF were the only methods to detect isolated populations in the southern distribution of B. alternatus. Although SDMs proved useful in making predictions about species distribution, predictions need validation with expert maps knowledge and ED. Moreover, FGM showed a good performance as an index with values similar to True Skill Statistic, so that it could be used to relate ED and SDMs predictions.

Combining molecular and landscape tools for targeting evolutionary processes in reserve design: An approach for islands

The importance of targeting ecological and evolutionary processes in reserve design has been widely acknowledged in the literature but rarely implemented on islands. Using Socotran reptiles as models, we aim to relate richness of widespread and restricted-range species directly with landscape variables and to compare the impact of setting conservation targets for lineages versus species. Socotra Island is a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site, containing high levels of endemism in relation to its area, especially of reptiles, the vertebrates with the most comprehensive available genetic data. We predicted the occurrences of reptile species using distribution models and used a novel approach to interpolate maps of spatial phylogenetic patterns. Patterns of intra and interspecifc diversity and differences between spatial outputs of lineage and species richness were related to eco-geographic variables. We evaluated differences in target achievement for each conservation unit within protected areas (PAs) under the current Zoning Plan (ZP) using gap and reserve design analyses. Although intraspecific richness was strongly correlated with interspecific richness, differences in their spatial distribution reached ~30% in some areas. Differences were more pronounced for wide-ranging than restricted-range taxa. Gap analysis indicates that most conservation units are under-represented in sanctuaries and that intra and interspecific richness were significantly higher outside PAs. This work will guide local-scale conservation planning as the ZP is due to be re-evaluated. This is one of the few studies on islands using genetic data from an entire class of vertebrates to incorporate lineage diversity in reserve design. This study provides an alternative methodological framework for supporting the use of landscape and genetic tools in reserve design, circumventing the use of phylogenetic distances and deterministic spatial interpolation of lineage diversity that can be widely applied to other systems.

Low ecological representation in the protected area network of China

Protected areas are considered as an essential strategy to halt the decline of biodiversity. Ecological representation in protected areas is crucial for assessment on the progress toward conservation targets. Although China has established a large number of protected areas since the 1950s, ecological representation of protected areas is poorly understood. Here, we performed the complementarity analysis to evaluate ecological representation of protected areas in China. We used a database of the geographical distribution for 10,396 woody plant species, 2,305 fern species, 406 amphibian species, 460 reptile species, 1,364 bird species, and 590 mammal species from 2,376 counties across China. We identified complementary sets of counties for all species or threatened species of plant and vertebrate species using a complementarity algorithm. We evaluated ecological representation of 3,627 protected areas and discerned conservation gaps by comparing the distribution of protected areas with complementary sets. The results show that the spatially representative and complementary sites for biodiversity are poorly covered, and a fairly large proportion of protected areas is not designed to efficiently represent biodiversity at the national scale. Our methodology can serve as a generic framework for assessment on ecological representation of protected areas at the national scale.

Human footprint in Tibet: Assessing the spatial layout and effectiveness of nature reserves

Humanity is causing dramatic changes to the Earth, and we may be entering a human-dominated era referred to as the Anthropocene. Mapping the human footprint and assessing the spatial layout and effectiveness of protected areas facilitate sustainable development. As the core region of the third pole, Tibet is an important area for biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services. In this study, five categories of human pressure were summed cumulatively to map the human footprint in Tibet for 1990 and 2010, and the spatial relationship between the human footprint and national and provincial nature reserves (NRs) in Tibet was analyzed. In addition, the human footprint map was also used to evaluate the effectiveness of national and provincial NRs for reducing the impact of human activities. A comprehensive assessment was undertaken for the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon (YZGC) NR. There were several key findings from this study. First, the human footprint scores (HFS) in Tibet for 1990 and 2010 were low, and increased by 32.35% during 1990-2010, which was greater than the global value of 9% for 1993-2009, indicating that Tibet is seriously threatened by human pressure. Grazing intensity and road disturbance intensity contributed significantly to the increase in the HFS. Second, the average HFS for 1990 in NRs was lower than that for the entire Tibet, but the spatial layout and extent of some reserves (e.g., the Qomolangma NR) needs to be optimized further. Third, the establishment of NRs in Tibet was effective in reducing human activities. No leakage phenomena were identified in the regions surrounding the YZGC reserve. However, the management of NRs in Tibet is still challenging in terms of reducing human activities.