Abstract
The integration and connection of habitats in protected areas (PAs) are essential for the survival of plant and animal species and attaining sustainable development. Investigating the integrity of PAs can be useful in developing connections among patches and decreasing the fragmentation of a habitat. The current study has analyzed spatial and temporal changes to habitat to quantify fragmentation and structural destruction in PAs in Tehran Province, Iran. To achieve this purpose, the trends in land use/land cover (LULC) changes and the quantitative metrics of the landscape ecology approach have been examined. The results revealed that in Lar National Park, low-density pasture has the top increasing trend with 4.2% from 1989 to 2019; in Jajrud PA, built-up has the top increasing trend with 1.5% during the studied years; and among the land uses in TangehVashi Natural Monument, bare land has the top increasing trend with 0.6% from 1989 to 2019. According to the findings, habitat fragmentation and patch numbers have expanded in the studied areas due to the development of economic and physical activities. The results also indicate that the current trend of habitat fragmentation in PAs will have the highest negative impacts, especially in decreasing habitat integrity, changing the structure of patterns and spatial elements, and increasing the edge effect of patches.
Highlights
One of the main goals of the Millennium Development Report is to ensure environmental sustainability [1], which is responsible maintenance of natural resources and the avoidance of jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their needs [2]
The results revealed that PD, CWED, and TECI had been increased at the level of LULC classes, while COHESION, MESH, CONTAG, and SHDI have been decreased, which elucidates the decrease in integrity patches
The research’s main questions were: (1) What extent were the LULC changes in the studied areas during recent decades? (2) What is the level of habitat fragmentation in the studied areas? (3) What are the major impacts of habitat fragmentation on the ecosystem’s structure and functions in the studied areas? (4) what is the situation of habitat integrity in the studied sites? this study aimed to evaluate the state of habitat integrity in protected areas (PAs) through quantitative landscape metrics and compared the results of LULC changes and fragmentation in three different PAs, including a national park, protected area, and national natural monument
Summary
One of the main goals of the Millennium Development Report is to ensure environmental sustainability [1], which is responsible maintenance of natural resources and the avoidance of jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their needs [2]. One crucial area playing the main role in maintaining natural resources and achieving environmental sustainability is protected areas (PAs), which have high sensitivity because of their recognized natural, ecological, or cultural values [3,4], and they must be widely preserved. The core issue in PAs is habitat integrity, which helps maintain natural resources and biodiversity, especially when habitat is complementary [5,6,7]. It is built on the assumption that a decline in the values of an ecosystem’s functions is primarily caused by human activity [9]
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