La evaluación de la antropización de los paisajes en áreas naturales protegidas mediante indicadores cuantitativos: Estudio de caso en la Zona de Protección Ambiental Pico Azul-La Escalera, México

MEASURING VALUES FOR WETLANDS PROTECTION IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY FROM DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL CITIZEN GROUPS

Climate change on Mexican forests and natural protected areas

Human disturbance stands as a prominent factor influencing the ecological environment within natural protected areas. Presently, the issue of balancing human activities and ecological preservation has emerged as a critical concern in the construction of China's natural protected area system. Functional zoning serves as the cornerstone of natural protected area management and represents a pivotal tool in achieving this equilibrium. This study endeavors to introduce a set of functional zoning methods for natural protected areas based on human disturbance assessments. Utilizing Dalingshan Forest Park in Dongguan city which is known for its significant human disturbances as a case study, field surveys were conducted to identify various types of small-scale and understory-hidden human disturbances, such as residential areas, roads, tourist areas, forestry areas, and energy facilities. Subsequently, a microcosmic human disturbance model tailored to forested areas was developed using the analytic hierarchy process. By integrating the findings of macrocosmic human disturbance assessments conducted concurrently by the research group, a functional zoning plan for Dalingshan Forest Park was proposed. The results show that ecological conservation zones within the park should be established in three specific areas, primarily in regions with low-level microcosmic human disturbance (levels 1 and 2) and terrain fluctuations ≥110 m. In contrast, the rational use zone is notably influenced by tourist infrastructure and road networks, predominantly located in regions with high human activity, such as popular tourist destinations and areas with road classifications and vehicular traffic. The microcosmic human disturbance assessment method proposed in this study enhances the rationality and accuracy of natural protected area functional zoning. It provides a more scientifically grounded research approach for similar studies concerning natural protected area functional zoning and contributes valuable insights for the further advancement of China's efforts in the integration and optimization of natural protected areas.

The Natura 2000 network is the key tool for preserving biodiversity in the EU. However, such a system of territorial protection is under increasing anthropogenic pressure and sites with no national designation are managed rather insufficiently across Europe. Therefore, we investigated six selected large areas consisting of Natura 2000 sites in the Czech Republic, which are not designated as national large-scale protected areas, analysed their landscape development over the last 70 years, and considered their suitability for establishment as national protected areas. All studied Natura 2000 sites have suitable conditions to become national protected areas; lower anthropogenic pressure than in current nationally protected areas and also natural and close-to-natural land cover in the vast majority of the areas. Moreover, designation of these areas as nationally protected areas could contribute significantly to ensuring connectivity between protected areas and could enhance proper management of the areas, which is especially needed in some valuable but vulnerable regions.

基于文献计量的中国自然保护地监测研究

Análisis de dos áreas naturales protegidas en relación con el crecimiento del Área Metropolitana de Xalapa, Veracruz

Construction and evaluation of ecological networks among natural protected areas based on “quality-structure–function”: A case study of the Qinghai-Tibet area

The Capacity Building Workshops on Nature-Culture Linkages in Heritage Conservation (CBWNCL), held at the University of Tsukuba in Japan, gather Asia-Pacific heritage professionals with the aim of creating a platform of mutual-learning and exchange between the culture and nature sectors. In the first workshop on Agricultural Landscapes, from 14 case studies, 5 showed natural protected areas in tense relations with their rural landscape surroundings. However, these agricultural landscapes are essential for protecting natural values, as they form part of their larger ecosystems. In the second workshop on Sacred Landscapes, from 16 case studies, 5 case studies were also agricultural landscapes, and 8 case studies featured natural protected areas which embody spiritual values for their surrounding rural communities. In the third workshop on Disasters and Resilience, from 15 case studies, 7 presented the struggles faced by rural communities in the conservation of their natural environment and their cultural practices in a context of increasing disasters. By looking at the Japanese experience, we learned from the concepts of Satoyama and Satoumi, that the protection of nature can be interlinked with the maintenance of agricultural landscapes, that the continuity of spiritual practices is essential for identity and community cohesion, and that the maintenance of cultural practices represent community’s strength for post-disaster recovery. These lessons demonstrated that resilience lies in people and their community networks -beyond human, and underpinned on their natural and cultural heritage (both tangible and intangible)-, and that the stronger these networks are, and the more autonomy and decision-making power is recognized at local level, the higher level of resilience a landscape would show. This finding, however, raises concern, as these landscapes are facing pressures not only from urban development, but mostly from depopulation due to migration and ageing communities, processes that are eroding these networks and consequently, rural landscape resilience.

Natural protected areas (NPA) are portions of the Mexican territory where the original environment has not been modified and which are protected in order to conserve, restore, and develop biodiversity. Here, we evaluated the effectiveness of 18 NPA located within the Transmexican Volcanic Belt by analyzing deforestation and land use and land cover change (LULCC) between 2002 and 2014. An index of effectiveness (EI) was obtained by adding three parameters: (1) the percentage of the transformed area (TA%), (2) the rate of change inside the NPA (LULCC-R), and (3) the difference between the rate of change inside the NPA and outside (buffer). The sum of the three standardized parameters forms the EI, where NPA were classified as effective (index value > 2), weakly effective (index value between 1 and 2), and noneffective (index value < 1). In addition, we identified the most important transitions between categories of LULCC for each NPA. Only three NPA were classified as effective: Cienegas de Lerma (EI = 2.29), Volcan Nevado de Colima (EI = 2.08), and Iztaccihuatl-Popocatepetl (EI = 2.06). Eleven were weakly effective, and the remaining four were noneffective. Bosencheve was the least effective (with all parameters in 0). In terms of transition probabilities in each effectiveness class, effective NPA were characterized by transition probabilities of forest cover recovery. Weakly effective NPA presented exchange probabilities between forest cover and land use. Finally, in noneffective NPA, probabilities indicated transitions from forest cover to agricultural and livestock land use. Our results show that, in general, NPA are not currently effective in containing LULCC processes in the Transmexican Volcanic Belt.

The cultural dimension of many forests is not adequately considered by current forest definitions, policies, inventories, and management. Moreover, the concept of “protected area” as a synonym of “natural area” ignores that many forests today included in protected areas (PAs) have been managed and exploited for centuries. The abandonment of rural areas that occurred in the last 60 years in EU countries caused the expansion of forests, with the risk of a homogenization of forest typologies, the loss of cultural features, and the loss of biodiversity at the landscape scale. The aim of this study is to investigate the origin and evolution of forests within Italian PAs in the last 85 years through GIS-based spatial analyses. In 1936, only a minority of the surface included in current PAs was covered by forests, ranging from 32% in Natura 2000 sites to 35% in regional PAs. Forest surface in Italian PAs increased in the last 85 years (from +33.1% in regional PAs to +45.2% in national PAs), mainly due to secondary successions, with a growth rate in Natura 2000 sites equal to 8709 ha/year. In regional PAs, 40.1% of the current forest cover originated after 1936, and this percentage increases to 43% in Natura 2000 sites and to 44.7% in national PAs. The altitudinal range of 500–1000 m a.s.l. is the one most affected by forest spread. In addition, most of the forests in 1936 were regularly managed as coppice: 44% in national PAs, 56% in Natura 2000 sites, and 62% in regional PAs. The study confirms that most of the forest surface included in Italian PAs has a clear cultural origin and is the consequence of the abandonment of pastures and/or cultivations that occurred in the last 85 years. PA management should take into consideration that open areas are shrinking and that the diversity of habitats and forest communities is strongly linked to the persistence of traditional human activities. The current forest characteristics (species composition, vertical and horizontal structure) are also the result of past management, and only active management of forest resources can counteract the homogenization of forest communities and landscape structure.

基于动物适宜栖息地的北京市自然保护地保护成效评估

Introduction: In the last 50 years Tabasco has changed significantly its original vegetation; most of them were converted to pastureland and croplands. These changes have been threatening biodiversity. In response to this problem, system states of protected natural area was created, with the main goal of the conservation of natural systems and save guard the ecosystem. In fact the knowledge about bats in Tabasco is poor and its importance is not known in protected natural areas. This study is to identify and quantify the richness of bats species in each of the protected natural areas in Tabasco. Methods: The data of the presence of bat species were obtained through the research of literature studies of bats in different protected areas of the state of Tabasco and fieldwork. The literature research was performed in national and international articles. The field surveys were conducted during the period between January 2006 and December 2010. Every natural protected area was sampled one time by three consecutive nights. The bats capture was done through six mist nets. Results: We registered six families, 35 gender and 55 bat species in eight natural protected areas. The family Phyllostomidae is the one who had the highest number of species (37) and the frugivore e insectivore were the most diversity trophic guild. We recorded 13 bat species that have some categories of protection in the NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010. The most complementarity sites in natural protected areas were between Parque Estatal Agua Blanca and Reserva Ecológica Río Playa. The state park Agua Blanca and La Sierra are the natural areas with the highest richness in species, this shows the importance of the natural protected area in the conservation of bats. Discussion and Conclusions: The seven protected natural areas studied harbors 90 % of bat species recorded in the state, most of them in State Parks possibly the most studied ones. Although none is endangered, high percentage are species that live in large continuous forest or forest fragments and are sensitive to changes in coverage of natural vegetation. The diversity of bats reported in this study, is result to the different habitats that are represented in the different protected natural areas. This situation shows the importance of the maintaining of the different habitat types for the conservation of bat diversity in the state. We recommend systematic studies within and outside of protected areas such as inventories, studies on biology and ecology of bats. Key words: Chiroptera, Complementarity, inventory, Phyllostomidae, State Park

Are ecosystem service hotspots located in protected areas? Results from a study in Southern Italy

Compared with research on the rapid development of Chinese metropolitan regions, systematic studies on nature conservation in metropolitan regions are lacking. We still lack a deep understanding of the spatial relationship between natural protected areas and built-up areas in Chinese metropolitan regions. In this study, we selected four time points, 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2019, to analyze the evolution of the spatial patterns of natural protected areas and built-up areas in metropolitan regions with a population exceeding one million in China, and to analyze their coexistence status. A comprehensive indicator “Index of coexistence degree” (ICD) was established to evaluate the spatial coexistence relationship between natural protected areas and built-up areas, objectively quantifying this coexistence phenomenon. The study found that over the past 30 years, the coexistence of natural protected areas and built-up areas in China’s metropolitan regions has increased significantly: The number of natural protected areas in metropolitan regions has increased by 36 times, the area has increased by 12 times, the nearest distance between natural protected areas and built-up areas has decreased from 15 km to 0.7 km; The ICD value has increased from 0.012 in 1990 to 0.037 in 2019, and the number of cities with high ICD values increased from 1 to 32. Metropolitan regions in China should emphasize the development of natural protected areas in future, spatial pattern for better coexistence with nature is important for biodiversity and human well-being.

Metal mining and natural protected areas in Mexico: Geographic overlaps and environmental implications