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Yemshanov D, Simpson M, Liu N, Petty A, Koch FH, Neilson E, Chand C, Duffy G, Hoyles V, Mallon C. Restoration of linear disturbances from oil-and-gas exploration in boreal landscapes: How can network models help? JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2023; 348:119036. [PMID: 37857223 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
In western Canada, decades of oil-and-gas exploration have fragmented boreal landscapes with a dense network of linear forest disturbances (seismic lines). These seismic lines are implicated in the decline in wildlife populations that are adapted to function in unfragmented forest landscapes. In particular, anthropogenic disturbances have led to a decline of woodland caribou populations due to increasing predator access to core caribou habitat. Restoration of seismic lines aims to reduce the landscape fragmentation and stop the decline of caribou populations. However, planning restoration in complex landscapes can be challenging because it must account for a multitude of diverse aspects. To assist with restoration planning, we present a spatial network optimization approach that selects restoration locations in a fragmented landscape while addressing key environmental and logistical constraints. We applied the model to develop restoration scenarios in the Redrock-Prairie Creek caribou range in northwestern Alberta, Canada, which includes a combination of caribou habitat and active oil-and-gas and timber extraction areas. Our study applies network optimization at two distinct scales to address both the broad-scale restoration policy planning and project-level constraints at the level of individual forest sites. We first delineated a contiguous set of coarse-scale regions where restoration is most cost-effective and used this solution to solve a fine-scale network optimization model that addresses environmental and logistical planning constraints at the level of forest patches. Our two-tiered approach helps address the challenges of fine-scale spatial optimization of restoration activities. An additional coarse-scale optimization step finds a feasible starting solution for the fine-scale restoration problem, which serves to reduce the time to find an optimal solution. The added coarse-scale spatial constraints also make the fine-scale restoration solution align with the coarse-scale landscape features, which helps address the broad-scale restoration policies. The approach is generalizable and applicable to assist restoration planning in other regions fragmented by oil-and-gas activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denys Yemshanov
- Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Great Lakes Forestry Centre, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Canada.
| | - Mackenzie Simpson
- Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Great Lakes Forestry Centre, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Canada
| | - Ning Liu
- Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Great Lakes Forestry Centre, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Canada
| | - Aaron Petty
- Alberta Environment and Protected Areas, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Frank H Koch
- USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | - Eric Neilson
- Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Northern Forestry Centre, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Cynthia Chand
- Alberta Environment and Protected Areas, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - George Duffy
- Alberta Environment and Protected Areas, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Vita Hoyles
- Alberta Environment and Protected Areas, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Chris Mallon
- Alberta Environment and Protected Areas, Edmonton, AB, Canada
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2
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Schindler AR, Boehm HIA, Beckerman TF, Bonnot TW, DiDonato FM, Mosloff AR, Weegman MD, Kendrick SW. Long-term trends in grassland bird relative abundance on focal grassland landscapes in Missouri. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0281965. [PMID: 36893135 PMCID: PMC9997899 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0281965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 02/04/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023] Open
Abstract
North American grassland birds have widely declined over the past 50 years, largely due to anthropogenic-driven loss of native prairie habitat. In response to these declines, many conservation programs have been implemented to help secure wildlife habitat on private and public lands. The Grasslands Coalition is one such initiative established to advance the conservation of grassland birds in Missouri. The Missouri Department of Conservation conducted annual point count surveys for comparison of grassland bird relative abundance between focal grassland areas and nearby paired (i.e., containing no targeted management) sites. We analyzed 17 years of point count data with a generalized linear mixed model in a Bayesian framework to estimate relative abundance and trends across focal or paired sites for nine bird species of management interest that rely on grasslands: barn swallow (Hirundo rustica), brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater), dickcissel (Spiza americana), eastern meadowlark (Sturnella magna), grasshopper sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum), Henslow's sparrow (A. henslowii), horned lark (Eremophila alpestris), northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus), and red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus). Relative abundance of all species except eastern meadowlarks declined regionally. Relative abundance of barn swallows, brown-headed cowbirds, dickcissels, eastern meadowlarks, Henslow's sparrows, and northern bobwhites was higher in focal than paired sites, though relative abundance trends were only improved in focal vs. paired areas for dickcissels and Henslow's sparrows. Relative abundance increased with increasing grassland cover at the local (250-m radius) scale for all species except horned larks and red-winged blackbirds and at the landscape (2,500-m radius) scale for all species except dickcissels, eastern meadowlarks, and northern bobwhites. Our results suggest focal areas contained greater relative abundances of several grassland species of concern, likely due to increased availability of grassland habitat at local and landscape scales. Further efforts to decrease landscape-scale fragmentation and improve habitat quality may be needed to achieve conservation goals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander R. Schindler
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
- School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Hadley I. A. Boehm
- School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States of America
- Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Columbia, MO, United States of America
| | - Tyler F. Beckerman
- School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States of America
| | - Thomas W. Bonnot
- School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States of America
| | - Frances M. DiDonato
- School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States of America
| | - Alisha R. Mosloff
- School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States of America
| | - Mitch D. Weegman
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
- School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States of America
| | - Sarah W. Kendrick
- Missouri Department of Conservation, Jefferson City, MO, United States of America
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3
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Stevens BS, Conway CJ, Luke K, Weldon A, Hand CE, Schwarzer A, Smith F, Watson C, Watts BD. Large-scale distribution models for optimal prediction of Eastern black rail habitat within tidal ecosystems. Glob Ecol Conserv 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
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4
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Living high and at risk: predicting Andean bear occurrence and conflicts with humans in southeastern Peru. Glob Ecol Conserv 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
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5
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Parsons EI, Gitzen RA, Pynne JT, Conner LM, Castleberry SB, Duncan SI, Austin JD, McCleery RA. Determining habitat requirements for the southeastern pocket gopher (Geomys pinetis) at multiple scales. J Mammal 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyab144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Pocket gophers provide vital ecosystem services; however, species like the southeastern pocket gopher (Geomys pinetis), endemic to the southeastern United States, are declining. Long-term conservation of this species requires greater understanding of its habitat characteristics. Our objective here was to determine habitat features associated with southeastern pocket gopher occurrence at the local (100 ha) and home-range (0.09 ha) scales. We assessed occurrence and carried out vegetation surveys at 177 sites across the species’ range during the growing season (March–September) 2016–2017. At the local scale, we found a negative relationship between occurrence and groundcover height and a quadratic relationship with canopy closure. At the home-range scale, occurrence was positively related to grass groundcover and had a quadratic relationship with canopy closure. Restoration of southeastern pocket gopher habitat should focus on creating or maintaining areas with intermediate canopy (~45–55%) and an understory dominated by grasses and forbs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth I Parsons
- School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, 602 Duncan Drive, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
| | - Robert A Gitzen
- School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, 602 Duncan Drive, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
| | - J T Pynne
- The Jones Center at Ichauway, 3988 Jones Center Drive, Newton, GA 39870, USA
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, 180 E Green Street, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - L Mike Conner
- The Jones Center at Ichauway, 3988 Jones Center Drive, Newton, GA 39870, USA
| | - Steven B Castleberry
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, 180 E Green Street, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Sarah I Duncan
- Department of Biology, Eckerd College, 4200 54th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33711, USA
| | - James D Austin
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, 110 Newins-Ziegler Hall, Gainseville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Robert A McCleery
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, 110 Newins-Ziegler Hall, Gainseville, FL 32611, USA
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6
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Balancing model generality and specificity in management-focused habitat selection models for Gunnison sage-grouse. Glob Ecol Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
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7
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Bautista C, Revilla E, Berezowska-Cnota T, Fernández N, Naves J, Selva N. Spatial ecology of conflicts: unravelling patterns of wildlife damage at multiple scales. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20211394. [PMID: 34465240 PMCID: PMC8437235 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Human encroachment into natural habitats is typically followed by conflicts derived from wildlife damage to agriculture and livestock. Spatial risk modelling is a useful tool to gain the understanding of wildlife damage and mitigate conflicts. Although resource selection is a hierarchical process operating at multiple scales, risk models usually fail to address more than one scale, which can result in the misidentification of the underlying processes. Here, we addressed the multi-scale nature of wildlife damage occurrence by considering ecological and management correlates interacting from household to landscape scales. We studied brown bear (Ursus arctos) damage to apiaries in the North-eastern Carpathians as our model system. Using generalized additive models, we found that brown bear tendency to avoid humans and the habitat preferences of bears and beekeepers determine the risk of bear damage at multiple scales. Damage risk at fine scales increased when the broad landscape context also favoured damage. Furthermore, integrated-scale risk maps resulted in more accurate predictions than single-scale models. Our results suggest that principles of resource selection by animals can be used to understand the occurrence of damage and help mitigate conflicts in a proactive and preventive manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Bautista
- Institute of Nature Conservation of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IOP PAN), Adama Mickiewicza 33, 31-120 Kraków, Poland
| | - Eloy Revilla
- Estación Biológica de Doñana CSIC (EBD-CSIC), Americo Vespucio 26, 41092 Sevilla, Spain
| | - Teresa Berezowska-Cnota
- Institute of Nature Conservation of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IOP PAN), Adama Mickiewicza 33, 31-120 Kraków, Poland
| | - Néstor Fernández
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstraße 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.,Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Am Kirchtor 1, 06108 Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Javier Naves
- Estación Biológica de Doñana CSIC (EBD-CSIC), Americo Vespucio 26, 41092 Sevilla, Spain
| | - Nuria Selva
- Institute of Nature Conservation of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IOP PAN), Adama Mickiewicza 33, 31-120 Kraków, Poland
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Frommhold M, Heim A, Barabanov M, Maier F, Mühle R, Smirenski SM, Heim W. Breeding habitat and nest-site selection by an obligatory "nest-cleptoparasite", the Amur Falcon Falco amurensis. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:14430-14441. [PMID: 31938530 PMCID: PMC6953660 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2019] [Revised: 10/07/2019] [Accepted: 11/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The selection of a nest site is crucial for successful reproduction of birds. Animals which re-use or occupy nest sites constructed by other species often have limited choice. Little is known about the criteria of nest-stealing species to choose suitable nesting sites and habitats. Here, we analyze breeding-site selection of an obligatory "nest-cleptoparasite", the Amur Falcon Falco amurensis. We collected data on nest sites at Muraviovka Park in the Russian Far East, where the species breeds exclusively in nests of the Eurasian Magpie Pica pica. We sampled 117 Eurasian Magpie nests, 38 of which were occupied by Amur Falcons. Nest-specific variables were assessed, and a recently developed habitat classification map was used to derive landscape metrics. We found that Amur Falcons chose a wide range of nesting sites, but significantly preferred nests with a domed roof. Breeding pairs of Eurasian Hobby Falco subbuteo and Eurasian Magpie were often found to breed near the nest in about the same distance as neighboring Amur Falcon pairs. Additionally, the occurrence of the species was positively associated with bare soil cover, forest cover, and shrub patches within their home range and negatively with the distance to wetlands. Areas of wetlands and fallow land might be used for foraging since Amur Falcons mostly depend on an insect diet. Additionally, we found that rarely burned habitats were preferred. Overall, the effect of landscape variables on the choice of actual nest sites appeared to be rather small. We used different classification methods to predict the probability of occurrence, of which the Random forest method showed the highest accuracy. The areas determined as suitable habitat showed a high concordance with the actual nest locations. We conclude that Amur Falcons prefer to occupy newly built (domed) nests to ensure high nest quality, as well as nests surrounded by available feeding habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Frommhold
- Institute for Environmental Sciences and GeographyUniversity of PotsdamPotsdam‐GolmGermany
| | - Arend Heim
- Institute of GeographyUniversity of LeipzigLeipzigGermany
| | - Mikhail Barabanov
- Institute of Biochemistry and BiologyUniversity of PotsdamPotsdamGermany
| | | | - Ralf‐Udo Mühle
- Ecological Field Station GuelpeUniversity of PotsdamHavelaueGermany
| | | | - Wieland Heim
- Institute of Landscape EcologyUniversity of MuensterMuensterGermany
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9
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Stevens BS, Conway CJ. Predictive multi‐scale occupancy models at range‐wide extents: Effects of habitat and human disturbance on distributions of wetland birds. DIVERS DISTRIB 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Bryan S. Stevens
- Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences University of Idaho Moscow ID USA
| | - Courtney J. Conway
- U.S. Geological Survey Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit University of Idaho Moscow ID USA
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10
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Jiménez‐Franco MV, Kéry M, León‐Ortega M, Robledano F, Esteve MA, Calvo JF. Use of classical bird census transects as spatial replicates for hierarchical modeling of an avian community. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:825-835. [PMID: 30766672 PMCID: PMC6362445 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2018] [Revised: 09/24/2018] [Accepted: 10/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
New monitoring programs are often designed with some form of temporal replication to deal with imperfect detection by means of occupancy models. However, classical bird census data from earlier times often lack temporal replication, precluding detection-corrected inferences about occupancy. Historical data have a key role in many ecological studies intended to document range shifts, and so need to be made comparable with present-day data by accounting for detection probability. We analyze a classical bird census conducted in the region of Murcia (SE Spain) in 1991 and 1992 and propose a solution to estimating detection probability for such historical data when used in a community occupancy model: the spatial replication of subplots nested within larger plots allows estimation of detection probability. In our study, the basic sample units were 1-km transects, which were considered spatial replicates in two aggregation schemes. We fit two Bayesian multispecies occupancy models, one for each aggregation scheme, and evaluated the linear and quadratic effect of forest cover and temperature, and a linear effect of precipitation on species occupancy probabilities. Using spatial rather than temporal replicates allowed us to obtain individual species occupancy probabilities and species richness accounting for imperfect detection. Species-specific occupancy and community size decreased with increasing annual mean temperature. Both aggregation schemes yielded estimates of occupancy and detectability that were highly correlated for each species, so in the design of future surveys ecological reasons and cost-effective sampling designs should be considered to select the most suitable aggregation scheme. In conclusion, the use of spatial replication may often allow historical survey data to be applied formally hierarchical occupancy models and be compared with modern-day data of the species community to analyze global change process.
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Affiliation(s)
- María V. Jiménez‐Franco
- Departamento de Biología AplicadaUniversidad Miguel Hernández de ElcheElcheSpain
- Departamento de Ecología e HidrologíaUniversidad de MurciaMurciaSpain
| | - Marc Kéry
- Swiss Ornithological InstituteSempachSwitzerland
| | - Mario León‐Ortega
- Departamento de Ecología e HidrologíaUniversidad de MurciaMurciaSpain
| | | | - Miguel A. Esteve
- Departamento de Ecología e HidrologíaUniversidad de MurciaMurciaSpain
| | - José F. Calvo
- Departamento de Ecología e HidrologíaUniversidad de MurciaMurciaSpain
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11
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Assessing the multi-scale predictive ability of ecosystem functional attributes for species distribution modelling. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0199292. [PMID: 29912933 PMCID: PMC6005496 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0199292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2017] [Accepted: 06/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Global environmental changes are rapidly affecting species' distributions and habitat suitability worldwide, requiring a continuous update of biodiversity status to support effective decisions on conservation policy and management. In this regard, satellite-derived Ecosystem Functional Attributes (EFAs) offer a more integrative and quicker evaluation of ecosystem responses to environmental drivers and changes than climate and structural or compositional landscape attributes. Thus, EFAs may hold advantages as predictors in Species Distribution Models (SDMs) and for implementing multi-scale species monitoring programs. Here we describe a modelling framework to assess the predictive ability of EFAs as Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) against traditional datasets (climate, land-cover) at several scales. We test the framework with a multi-scale assessment of habitat suitability for two plant species of conservation concern, both protected under the EU Habitats Directive, differing in terms of life history, range and distribution pattern (Iris boissieri and Taxus baccata). We fitted four sets of SDMs for the two test species, calibrated with: interpolated climate variables; landscape variables; EFAs; and a combination of climate and landscape variables. EFA-based models performed very well at the several scales (AUCmedian from 0.881±0.072 to 0.983±0.125), and similarly to traditional climate-based models, individually or in combination with land-cover predictors (AUCmedian from 0.882±0.059 to 0.995±0.083). Moreover, EFA-based models identified additional suitable areas and provided valuable information on functional features of habitat suitability for both test species (narrowly vs. widely distributed), for both coarse and fine scales. Our results suggest a relatively small scale-dependence of the predictive ability of satellite-derived EFAs, supporting their use as meaningful EBVs in SDMs from regional and broader scales to more local and finer scales. Since the evaluation of species' conservation status and habitat quality should as far as possible be performed based on scalable indicators linking to meaningful processes, our framework may guide conservation managers in decision-making related to biodiversity monitoring and reporting schemes.
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