Abstract
Protected areas have two tasks on a global scale: First, to protect biodiversity and second, to ensure the continuity of ecosystem services. Identifying potential links between protected areas in a region and barriers between these links or restoration points is very important for the effective development and implementation of conservation strategies within the scope of biodiversity. In this study firstly, potential connectivity corridors between 10 different protected areas were determined to support the biological diversity in the Rize landscape, then the barriers that could block the ecological flows in these corridors were determined by using 100 m, 500 m, 300 m radii. Least Cost Path and Cost Weighted Distance methods were used for both analyses. The most suitable corridors have been identified between Kaçkar Mountains National Park-1st Degree Natural Protected Areas-Wildlife Protection and Development Area and Firtina Creek. Improvement scores were calculated by considering the radii determined for the barriers. As a result, the highest improvement scores at 100 m, 500 m 300 m radii were calculated as 21.1, 4.49, and 7.0, respectively, and according to these scores, it showed that there were barriers between Karadere, Handüzü Nature Park, Uzungöl Special Environmental Protection Area and Kaçkar Mountains National Park. The method used in this study is important in terms of generating protection strategies for protected areas in the Rize landscape. The results of this study will guide not only protected areas in Rize landscape, but also conservation priority planning studies.
Highlights
Protected areas play a critical role in protecting biodiversity
Analysing such risks and gains will be necessary to integrate 1st, link restoration into systematic conservation-planning analysis aimed at improving conservation investments (Margules & Pressey, 2000; Wilson et al, 2007). 2nd, barrier analysis can reveal risk-acquisition situations, allowing practitioners to distinguish a land according to its characteristics, directing the work to be done to more appropriate action points
The results of the barrier analysis of this study showed that there are barriers and new barriers between Kaçkar Mountains National Park, Handüzü Nature Park, Karadere and Uzungöl Special Environmental Protection Area (SEPA)
Summary
Protected areas play a critical role in protecting biodiversity. Well-planned, and managed protected areas help maintain ecosystem services by effectively protecting species and ecosystems. Connectivity of protected areas is a necessity for ecological and evolutionary processes (gene flow, migration, species movement, etc.) (Bingham et al, 2019; Castillo et al, 2020; Saura et al, 2018). It may be more appropriate to restore a barrier that blocks the movement corridor across public land than to permanently maintain a functioning corridor that runs through private land (Baldwin, Perkl, Trombulak, & Burwell, 2010) Analysing such risks and gains will be necessary to integrate 1st, link restoration into systematic conservation-planning analysis aimed at improving conservation investments (Margules & Pressey, 2000; Wilson et al, 2007). Analysing such risks and gains will be necessary to integrate 1st, link restoration into systematic conservation-planning analysis aimed at improving conservation investments (Margules & Pressey, 2000; Wilson et al, 2007). 2nd, barrier analysis can reveal risk-acquisition situations, allowing practitioners to distinguish a land according to its characteristics, directing the work to be done to more appropriate action points
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