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Hoffmann MT, Ostapowicz K, Bartoń K, Ibisch PL, Selva N. Mapping roadless areas in regions with contrasting human footprint. Sci Rep 2024; 14:4722. [PMID: 38413813 PMCID: PMC10899609 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-55283-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024] Open
Abstract
In an increasingly human- and road-dominated world, the preservation of functional ecosystems has become highly relevant. While the negative ecological impacts of roads on ecosystems are numerous and well documented, roadless areas have been proposed as proxy for functional ecosystems. However, their potential remains underexplored, partly due to the incomplete mapping of roads. We assessed the accuracy of roadless areas identification using freely available road-data in two regions with contrasting levels of anthropogenic influence: boreal Canada and temperate Central Europe (Poland, Slovakia, Czechia, and Hungary). Within randomly selected circular plots (per region and country), we visually examined the completeness of road mapping using OpenStreetMap 2020 and assessed whether human influences affect mapping quality using four variables. In boreal Canada, roads were completely mapped in 3% of the plots, compared to 40% in Central Europe. Lower Human Footprint Index and road density values were related to greater incompleteness in road mapping. Roadless areas, defined as areas at least 1 km away from any road, covered 85% of the surface in boreal Canada (mean size ± s.d. = 272 ± 12,197 km2), compared to only 0.4% in temperate Central Europe (mean size ± s.d. = 0.6 ± 3.1 km2). By visually interpreting and manually adding unmapped roads in 30 randomly selected roadless areas from each study country, we observed a similar reduction in roadless surface in both Canada and Central Europe (27% vs 28%) when all roads were included. This study highlights the urgent need for improved road mapping techniques to support research on roadless areas as conservation targets and surrogates of functional ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika T Hoffmann
- Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, 31-120, Krakow, Poland.
- Institute of Geography and Spatial Management, Faculty of Geography and Geology, Jagiellonian University, 30-387, Krakow, Poland.
| | - Katarzyna Ostapowicz
- Norwegian Institute of Nature Research (NINA), FRAM-High North Centre for Climate and the Environment, 9296, Tromsø, Norway
- Institute of Geography and Spatial Management, Faculty of Geography and Geology, Jagiellonian University, 30-387, Krakow, Poland
| | - Kamil Bartoń
- Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, 31-120, Krakow, Poland
| | - Pierre L Ibisch
- Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, 16225, Eberswalde, Germany
| | - Nuria Selva
- Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, 31-120, Krakow, Poland
- Departamento de Ciencias Integradas, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Física, Matemáticas y Computación, Universidad de Huelva, 21071, Huelva, Spain
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 41092, Sevilla, Spain
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Deng X, Du H, Li Z, Chen H, Ma N, Song Y, Luo L, Duan Q. Sand fixation and human activities on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau for ecological conservation and sustainable development. Sci Total Environ 2024; 912:169220. [PMID: 38097086 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2023] [Revised: 12/03/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
The sand fixation ecosystem services and human activities on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) play a crucial role in local sustainable development and ecosystem health, with significant implications for surrounding regions and the global ecological environment. We employed an improved integrated wind erosion modeling system (IWEMS) model for the QTP to simulate sand fixation quantities under the unique low temperature and low pressure conditions prevalent on the plateau. Using the human footprint index (HFI), the intensity of human activities on the plateau was quantified. Additionally, an econometric model was constructed to analyze the impacts of the natural factors, the HFI, and policy factors on the sand fixation capacity. The results revealed that the average sand fixation quantity was 1368.0 t/km2/a, with a standard deviation of 1725.4 t/km2/a, and the highest value during the study period occurred in 2003. The average value of the HFI for 2020 was 6.69 with a standard deviation of 6.61, and the HFI exhibited a continuous growth trend from 2000 to 2020. Despite this growth, the average human activity intensity remained at a low level, with over 50 % of the area having an index value of <4.84. Overall, a strong negative correlation was observed between the sand fixation ecological capacity and the HFI on the QTP. However, extensive regions exhibited high values or low values for both indicators. The sand fixation capacity on the QTP is influenced by both natural and human factors. In light of these findings, suggestions are made for optimizing protected area design, rational control of human activity scales, and targeted human activity aggregation within certain regions as part of ecological conservation strategies. This study has implications for assessing sand fixation ecological functions in high-altitude regions and enhancing sand fixation capacity within the region, providing valuable practical guidance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaohong Deng
- Institute of County Economic Development & Institute of Rural Revitalization Strategy, School of Economics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
| | - Heqiang Du
- Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China.
| | - Zongxing Li
- Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China.
| | - Hong Chen
- Institute of County Economic Development & Institute of Rural Revitalization Strategy, School of Economics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
| | - Nan Ma
- Institute of County Economic Development & Institute of Rural Revitalization Strategy, School of Economics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
| | - Yulin Song
- Institute of County Economic Development & Institute of Rural Revitalization Strategy, School of Economics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
| | - Lihui Luo
- Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China.
| | - Quntao Duan
- Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China.
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Chen B, Jing X, Liu S, Jiang J, Wang Y. Intermediate human activities maximize dryland ecosystem services in the long-term land-use change: Evidence from the Sangong River watershed, northwest China. J Environ Manage 2022; 319:115708. [PMID: 35830783 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2021] [Revised: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Human activities cause widespread changes in landscape composition, which can affect ecosystem services produced by these landscapes. It is usually believed that ecosystem services can be maximized only when we eliminate all human activities. However, this belief is not the case, at least in dryland ecosystems. Here, a gradient of human activity intensity was used to investigate changes in the value of ecosystem services over 30-years of land-use change between 1990 and 2020 in the arid Sangong River watershed of northwest China. Spatial analyses were performed to determine how the value of dryland ecosystem services changed with human activity intensity. Stepwise regressions and linear programming models were also performed to examine how to optimize the value of ecosystem services (i.e., regulating services, provisioning services, supporting services, and cultural services). We found that landscapes of the Sangong River watershed became increasingly fragmented and that human activities gradually intensified, but the value of ecosystem services fluctuated rather than linearly decreasing over the past 30 years. Specifically, a unimodal relationship was observed between human activities and ecosystem services. The peak value of ecosystem services was 5799 USD ha-1 yr-1 under intermediate human activity intensity (i.e., human footprint index ranged from 0.2 to 0.4 at a scale of one). Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, population, and water consumption were the three most important driving factors of human activities and ecosystem services. Our results suggest that intermediate human activities may maximize dryland ecosystem services in long-term land-use change at the watershed scale, and highlight the importance of regulating economic development, population, and water consumption for the management of dryland ecosystem services.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingming Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 818 South Beijing Rd, Urumqi, 830011, China; Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Restoration in Jiangsu Province, Co-Innovation Center of Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Xin Jing
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730020, China
| | - Shensi Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 818 South Beijing Rd, Urumqi, 830011, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Jiang Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Restoration in Jiangsu Province, Co-Innovation Center of Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China
| | - Yugang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 818 South Beijing Rd, Urumqi, 830011, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China; Fukang Desert Ecosystem Observation and Experiment Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fukang, 831505, China.
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Gainsbury AM, Santos EG, Wiederhecker H. Does urbanization impact terrestrial vertebrate ectotherms across a biodiversity hotspot? Sci Total Environ 2022; 835:155446. [PMID: 35469884 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Revised: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 04/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Urbanization is increasing at an alarming rate altering biodiversity. As urban areas sprawl, it is vital to understand the effects of urbanization on biodiversity. Florida is ideal for this research; it has many reptile species and has experienced multiple anthropogenic impacts. Herein, we aim to evaluate human impacts on registered reptile richness across an urbanization gradient in Florida. The expectation is that highly urbanized areas would harbor a lower number of species. To represent urbanization, we used Venter et al. (2016) human footprint index. We downloaded georeferenced occurrence records from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility to collate species richness. We ran generalized linear regressions controlling for spatial autocorrelation structure to test the association between urbanization and reptile records across Florida. We found a positive association between urbanization and registered reptiles across Florida for total and non-native species richness; however, a lack of association occurred for native species. We performed rarefaction curves due to an inherent bias of citizen science data. The positive association was supported for non-native reptile species richness with greater species richness located at urban centers. Interestingly, total and native species richness were largest at low as well as moderate levels of urbanization. Thus, moderately urbanized areas may have the potential to harbor a similar number of reptile species compared to areas with low urbanization. Nevertheless, a difference exists in sample completeness between the urbanization categories. Thus, a more systematic monitoring of reptile species across an urbanization gradient, not only focusing on urban and wild areas but also including moderate levels of urbanization, is needed to provide informed conservation strategies for urban development planning. Advances in environmental sensors, environmental DNA, and citizen science outreach are necessary to implement if we are to effectively monitor biodiversity at the accelerated rate of urbanization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison M Gainsbury
- University of South Florida, St. Petersburg Campus, Department of Integrative Biology, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA.
| | | | - Helga Wiederhecker
- Catholic University of Brasilia, Campus Taguatinga, 71966-700 Brasilia, DF, Brazil
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Khelifa R, Mahdjoub H, Samways MJ. Combined climatic and anthropogenic stress threaten resilience of important wetland sites in an arid region. Sci Total Environ 2022; 806:150806. [PMID: 34626625 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2021] [Revised: 09/22/2021] [Accepted: 10/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Climate change and anthropogenic perturbation threaten resilience of wetlands globally, particularly in regions where environmental conditions are already hot and dry, and human impacts are rapidly intensifying and expanding. Here we assess the vulnerability of Ramsar wetlands of six North African countries (Western Sahara, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt) by asking three questions: (1) what are the recent anthropogenic changes that the wetlands experienced? (2) what are the projected future climatic changes? (3) how wetlands with different conservation priorities and globally threatened species are impacted by anthropogenic pressures? We used climatic data (historical and future projections) from WorldClim 2, drought index (SPEI), and human footprint index (HFI for 2000 and 2019) to estimate anthropogenic pressures, as well as waterbird conservation value (WCV: a metric indicating conservation priority of sites) and the breeding distribution of three threatened waterbird species (Aythya nyroca, Marmaronetta angustirostris, and Oxyura leucocephala) to understand how biodiversity is impacted by anthropogenic pressure. We found that temperature, precipitation, drought, and human footprint index (HFI) increased during earlier decades. Interestingly, areas with high HFI are projected to encounter lower warming but more severe drought. We also found that WCV was positively correlated with the magnitude of current HFI, indicating that sites of high conservation value for waterbirds encounter higher levels of anthropogenic pressure. The breeding range of the three threatened species of waterbirds showed a marked increase in HFI and is projected to experience a severe increase in temperature by 2081-2100, especially under the high emission scenario (SSP8.5) where environmental temperature becomes closer to the species critical maximum. Our results highlight the importance of integrating new conservation measures that increase the resilience of North African protected wetlands to reduce extinction risk to biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rassim Khelifa
- Zoology Department, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
| | - Hayat Mahdjoub
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Michael J Samways
- Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
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Elleason M, Guan Z, Deng Y, Jiang A, Goodale E, Mammides C. Strictly protected areas are not necessarily more effective than areas in which multiple human uses are permitted. Ambio 2021; 50:1058-1073. [PMID: 33159259 PMCID: PMC8035376 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-020-01426-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2020] [Revised: 09/16/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies protected areas into six categories, ranging from strict nature reserves to areas where multiple human uses are permitted. In the past, many researchers have questioned the effectiveness of multiple-use areas, fueling an unresolved debate regarding their conservation value. The literature so far has been inconclusive: although several studies have found that strictly protected areas are more effective, others have found the opposite, and yet others that the two types do not differ. To help resolve this debate, we reviewed the literature on protected areas and conducted our own analysis using > 19 000 terrestrial protected areas worldwide. We found that the differences between strictly protected areas and areas in which multiple human uses are permitted are often small and not statistically significant. Although the effectiveness of protected areas worldwide varies, other factors, besides their assigned IUCN category, are likely to be driving this pattern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moses Elleason
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Daxuedonglu 100, Nanning, 530004 China
| | - Zhuoli Guan
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Daxuedonglu 100, Nanning, 530004 China
| | - Yiming Deng
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Daxuedonglu 100, Nanning, 530004 China
| | - Aiwu Jiang
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Daxuedonglu 100, Nanning, 530004 China
| | - Eben Goodale
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Daxuedonglu 100, Nanning, 530004 China
| | - Christos Mammides
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Daxuedonglu 100, Nanning, 530004 China
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Jagiello Z, Dylewski Ł, Tobolka M, Aguirre JI. Life in a polluted world: A global review of anthropogenic materials in bird nests. Environ Pollut 2019; 251:717-722. [PMID: 31108305 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.05.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2018] [Revised: 05/01/2019] [Accepted: 05/06/2019] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Human pressure exerts a significant influence on animals and the environment. One of its consequences, plastic pollution is considered one of the major threats to fauna as well as a significant conservation issue. In this research, we examined the global pattern of one example of avian behavior in response to pollution-namely, the incorporation of anthropogenic materials into nests-as well as the existing knowledge on this subject. Based on 25 articles, we studied 51 populations, involving 24 bird species, and checked 10,790 nests; as a result, we found that incorporation of debris is correlated with increasing human influence on the environment, measured as the Human Footprint Index. Moreover, the probability of debris incorporation is higher in terrestrial than in marine species. We also identified knowledge bias in favor of marine as opposed to terrestrial species: namely, marine species attract more scientific attention than terrestrial. Furthermore, research approaches to these two ecosystems differ. Undeniably, the factors which influence debris incorporation by birds, the scale of this behavior, and particular forms of use of debris in bird nests are aspects which require long-term standardized research. This is the first global review paper on debris incorporation by birds to demonstrate a close link to human pressure as a driver.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zuzanna Jagiello
- Institute of Zoology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 71C, 60-625, Poznań, Poland; Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Complutense University of Madrid, José Antonio Novais, 12, 28040, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Łukasz Dylewski
- Institute of Zoology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 71C, 60-625, Poznań, Poland
| | - Marcin Tobolka
- Institute of Zoology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 71C, 60-625, Poznań, Poland
| | - José I Aguirre
- Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Complutense University of Madrid, José Antonio Novais, 12, 28040, Madrid, Spain
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