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Wang Y, Huang H, Li L, Tian Y, Yuan C. Spatial distribution and priority conservation areas identification in Three-River-Source National Park considering the multifaceted values of plants. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024; 370:122594. [PMID: 39303594 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.122594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2024] [Revised: 09/15/2024] [Accepted: 09/16/2024] [Indexed: 09/22/2024]
Abstract
Spatially differentiated conservation effort for natural resources is critical to achieving a balance between protection and development in national parks. However, the extent of priority conservation areas for plants that integrate multispecies and multifaceted values is unclear. Here, we selected fine-resolution environmental variables with stronger impacts on wild plant survival to spatialize the distribution of all modeling-eligible species using species distribution models in Three-River-Source National Park, China. These were then combined with in situ conservation results for insufficient data species to identify priority conservation areas (PCAs) in terms of diversity, ecological and economic values, respectively. We analyzed the spatial characteristics of the priority conservation areas and searched for conservation gaps not covered by national nature reserves. The results showed that this study obtained more precise results on the spatial distribution of species by improving environmental variables and upgrading the spatial resolution. In Three-River-Source National Park, the species richness of wild plants showed a decreasing trend from southeast to northwest. There were significant differences in the spatial distribution of the priority conservation areas identified based on the three values, which was the basis for the spatially differentiated conservation and development of wild plant resources. In addition, the priority conservation areas obtained based on ecological value found Top17% priority conservation areas in the Hoh Xil Natural Reserve, which could not be revealed based on diversity or economic value. These results highlight the urgency of implementing multispecies and multifaceted values studies in national parks. In the future, studying conflicts between wildlife priority conservation areas and human activities, and expanding to national parks on a global scale, will be the focus that this study will continue to explore.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingqi Wang
- Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 9 Dengzhuang South Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100094, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.19(A) Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Huiping Huang
- Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 9 Dengzhuang South Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100094, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.19(A) Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing, 100049, China.
| | - Liping Li
- Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 9 Dengzhuang South Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100094, China
| | - Yichen Tian
- Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 9 Dengzhuang South Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100094, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.19(A) Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Chao Yuan
- Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 9 Dengzhuang South Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100094, China
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Yang N, Price M, Xu Y, Zhu Y, Zhong X, Cheng Y, Wang B. Assessing Global Efforts in the Selection of Vertebrates as Umbrella Species for Conservation. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:509. [PMID: 37106710 PMCID: PMC10135637 DOI: 10.3390/biology12040509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Revised: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023]
Abstract
The umbrella-species strategy has been proposed as an attainable tool to achieve multi-species and community conservation with limited investment. There have been many umbrella-related studies since the concept's inception; thus, a summary of global study efforts and recommended umbrella species is important for understanding advances in the field and facilitating conservation applications. Here, we collated 213 recommended umbrella species of terrestrial vertebrates from 242 scientific articles published during 1984-2021 and analyzed their geographic patterns, biological features, and conservation statuses to identify global trends in the selection of umbrella species. We found a considerable geographic bias: most studies and, consequently, recommended umbrella species are from the Northern Hemisphere. There is also a strong taxonomic bias, with grouses (order Galliformes) and large carnivores being the most popular umbrella species and amphibians and reptiles being largely overlooked. In addition, wide-ranging and non-threatened species were frequently recommended as umbrella species. Given the observed biases and trends, we caution that appropriate species need to be chosen for each location, and it is important to confirm that popular, wide-ranging species are effective umbrella species. Moreover, amphibians and reptiles should be investigated for their potential as umbrella species. The umbrella-species strategy has many strengths and, if applied appropriately, may be one of the best options in today's conservation research and funding landscape.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Yang
- Institute of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610225, China;
| | - Megan Price
- Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China;
| | - Yu Xu
- Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Biodiversity Conservation in Karst Mountainous Areas of Southwestern China, School of Life Sciences, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang 550001, China; (Y.X.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Yun Zhu
- Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Biodiversity Conservation in Karst Mountainous Areas of Southwestern China, School of Life Sciences, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang 550001, China; (Y.X.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Xue Zhong
- Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong 637009, China;
| | - Yuehong Cheng
- Wolong National Nature Reserve Administration Bureau, Wenchuan 623006, China;
| | - Bin Wang
- Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong 637009, China;
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Ward M, Rhodes JR, Watson JE, Lefevre J, Atkinson S, Possingham HP. Use of surrogate species to cost-effectively prioritize conservation actions. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2020; 34:600-610. [PMID: 31691376 PMCID: PMC7318674 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2019] [Revised: 10/15/2019] [Accepted: 10/27/2019] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Conservation efforts often focus on umbrella species whose distributions overlap with many other flora and fauna. However, because biodiversity is affected by different threats that are spatially variable, focusing only on the geographic range overlap of species may not be sufficient in allocating the necessary actions needed to efficiently abate threats. We developed a problem-based method for prioritizing conservation actions for umbrella species that maximizes the total number of flora and fauna benefiting from management while considering threats, actions, and costs. We tested our new method by assessing the performance of the Australian federal government's umbrella prioritization list, which identifies 73 umbrella species as priorities for conservation attention. Our results show that the federal government priority list benefits only 6% of all Australia's threatened terrestrial species. This could be increased to benefit nearly half (or 46%) of all threatened terrestrial species for the same budget of AU$550 million/year if more suitable umbrella species were chosen. This results in a 7-fold increase in management efficiency. We believe nations around the world can markedly improve the selection of prioritized umbrella species for conservation action with this transparent, quantitative, and objective prioritization approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Ward
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, School of Biological SciencesThe University of QueenslandBrisbaneQLD4072Australia
- School of Earth and Environmental SciencesThe University of QueenslandBrisbaneQLD4072Australia
| | - Jonathan R. Rhodes
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, School of Biological SciencesThe University of QueenslandBrisbaneQLD4072Australia
- School of Earth and Environmental SciencesThe University of QueenslandBrisbaneQLD4072Australia
| | - James E.M. Watson
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, School of Biological SciencesThe University of QueenslandBrisbaneQLD4072Australia
- School of Earth and Environmental SciencesThe University of QueenslandBrisbaneQLD4072Australia
- Wildlife Conservation SocietyGlobal Conservation Program2300 Southern Boulevard, BronxNew YorkNY10460U.S.A.
| | - James Lefevre
- Institute of Molecular BioscienceThe University of QueenslandBrisbaneQLD4072Australia
| | - Scott Atkinson
- United Nations Development Programme1 United Nations PlazaNew YorkNY10017U.S.A.
| | - Hugh P. Possingham
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, School of Biological SciencesThe University of QueenslandBrisbaneQLD4072Australia
- The Nature ConservancyMinneapolisMN55415U.S.A.
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Han Z, Zhang L, Jiang Y, Wang H, Jiguet F. Unravelling species co‐occurrence in a steppe bird community of Inner Mongolia: Insights for the conservation of the endangered Jankowski’s Bunting. DIVERS DISTRIB 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Zheng Han
- Jilin Engineering Laboratory for Avian Ecology and Conservation Genetics School of Life Sciences Northeast Normal University Changchun China
- CESCO UMR7204 MNHN‐CNRS‐Sorbonne Université, CP135 Paris France
| | - Lishi Zhang
- Animal’s Scientific and Technological Institute Agricultural University of Jilin Changchun China
| | - Yunlei Jiang
- Animal’s Scientific and Technological Institute Agricultural University of Jilin Changchun China
| | - Haitao Wang
- Jilin Engineering Laboratory for Avian Ecology and Conservation Genetics School of Life Sciences Northeast Normal University Changchun China
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization School of Life Sciences Northeast Normal University Changchun China
| | - Frédéric Jiguet
- CESCO UMR7204 MNHN‐CNRS‐Sorbonne Université, CP135 Paris France
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Falconer S, Ford AT. Evaluating policy-relevant surrogate taxa for biodiversity conservation: a case study from British Columbia, Canada. CAN J ZOOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2019-0178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Conservation efforts often lead to a small proportion of species receiving a disproportionate amount of attention. This bias in funding may help or hinder broader goals of biodiversity conservation depending on the surrogacy value of the well-funded species. Surrogate species are selected to represent other taxa in a shared environment when it would be costly or impractical to obtain information on individual taxa. We compared the surrogacy value of common groups of taxa implicated in conservation — game species, carnivores, non-game species, and other species. Using a publicly available data set of species–habitat associations, we compared the surrogacy value for 1012 species and 64 habitat types in British Columbia, Canada. We used a conditional entropy metric to quantify pairwise associations between species via their occurrence in different habitat types. Our analysis reveals that game and non-game species surrogacy groups do not significantly differ in either the frequency of captured pairwise associations or their coverage of species. These results suggest that funding game species conservation is likely conferring some benefits to non-game species, but optimal habitat-based conservation outcomes will come from a combination of taxa. This analysis provides an important step in influencing management decisions for the preservation of biodiversity in British Columbia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Falconer
- Department of Biology, The University of British Columbia – Okanagan Campus, 1177 Research Road, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada
- Department of Biology, The University of British Columbia – Okanagan Campus, 1177 Research Road, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada
| | - Adam T. Ford
- Department of Biology, The University of British Columbia – Okanagan Campus, 1177 Research Road, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada
- Department of Biology, The University of British Columbia – Okanagan Campus, 1177 Research Road, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada
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Johnson SA, Ober HK, Adams DC. Are keystone species effective umbrellas for habitat conservation? A spatially explicit approach. J Nat Conserv 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jnc.2017.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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