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Abstract
Current targets for protected area network coverage call for increased protection but lack specificity in terms of criteria for parcel type, placement, and landscape connectivity. We assessed land conservation achieved by protected area networks in the contiguous United States, and assessed whether private lands contributed substantially to network coverage and connectivity given species dispersal abilities. On average, states have 4.1% (range: 0.2% to 15.8%, n = 48) protected area coverage with connectivity ≤10 km. Terrain ruggedness, percent farmland, and population density are the primary determinants of protected area placement, leading to biased representation of land features currently under protection. On average, private protected areas contribute <1.1% (range 0.0% to 9.2%) to current protected area coverage across the United States. We conclude that current levels of protection and connectivity are inadequate to support a functional protected area network, and that increased and strategic selection of private protected areas is necessary to meet conservation planning goals.
Highlights
Protected areas are a longstanding cornerstone in conservation biology, serving as key components in maintaining and restoring structure and function of natural landscapes and ecosystems [1]
By treating each state as a distinct unit with a discrete network of protected areas, we obtained replicate samples to assess how landscape and anthropogenic metrics relate to protection and connectivity; our approach is not designed to measure protected area networks (PANs) spanning multiple states and is not a measure of inter-state connectivity
Given the breadth of organizations submitting data to National Conservation Easement Database (NCED) and World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), and the high percentage of reported areas, we inferred that our analysis was not likely to be compromised by reporting bias
Summary
Protected areas are a longstanding cornerstone in conservation biology, serving as key components in maintaining and restoring structure and function of natural landscapes and ecosystems [1]. Establishment of new protected areas is a priority, as the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity set a global target of protecting 17% of terrestrial land by 2020 [5]. Only 13% of the United States (US) is protected by areas > 1,000 ha [8], even though roughly 45% of the country’s contiguous land mass remains in a natural, albeit fragmented, state [9]. It follows that selection of land parcels for protection should be strategic and prioritize areas that retain ecological and evolutionary processes [10], and those
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