Incorporating spatio-temporal connectivity for prioritized conservation of individual habitat patches in a dynamic landscape

Abstract

Habitat fragmentation has largely reduced biodiversity in the urban fringe. The prioritization of individual habitat patches can provide spatially explicit guidance for ecological conservation and restoration. Numerous studies discussed the effectiveness of purely spatial connectivity metrics to rank the conservation priority of habitats, but hardly resolved this issue in a dynamic landscape context. Meanwhile, spatio-temporal connectivity metrics were usually applied at the landscape scale, but are rarely extended to determine habitat priority at the patch scale. As such, we extend a generalized betweenness centrality metric into spatio-temporal connectivity networks to evaluate conservation priorities of individual habitat patches from a dynamic landscape perspective. The contribution rates of spatio-temporal connectivity metrics are examined at varying dispersal distances of the target species. Caidian District, the fringe of Wuhan City in central China, is taken as a case study. The results illustrate that a net decrease in habitat amounts and quality from 2005 to 2015 was mainly caused by urban expansion and agricultural production. The positive contribution rates of spatio-temporal connectivity metrics are observed at distance thresholds exceeding 200 m at the landscape scale, which allows us to capture the response of habitat priority to landscape dynamics. Accordingly, we develop a balanced conservation strategy for multiple species and the targeted conservation measures based on the coupled analysis of quality and conservation priority of habitat patches. Our findings are expected to provide solid support for biodiversity conservation in urban growth.