Biodiversity Conservation Planning Research Articles

Temporal changes in species richness, composition and diversity of the forest stands over 36-year period, Western Himalaya, India

This study investigates the temporal changes in species richness, composition, and diversity in forest stands spanning a 36-year period in the Western Himalaya. Four forest stands (subtropical Sal-forest, subtropical Chir-pine forest, temperate Banj-oak forest, and temperate Mixed-oak Forest) studied in 1980–1981 were resurveyed using similar methods. Over the past 36 years, 19 new species have been recorded in the four stands; eight species planted and eleven species naturally introduced. Dominant species continue to dominate in the forest stands. However, their contribution to the total tree density has decreased over the year. Species diversity, richness, and evenness increased in all forests except the Sal stand. Three species were newly introduced in the Sal stand, seven in the Chir-pine stand, eight in the Banj-oak stand, and seven in the Mixed-oak stand. The highest similarity in species composition was observed in the Sal stand (59 %), followed by the mixed-oak stand (57 %), Chir-pine stand (50 %), and Banj-oak stand (47 %). The results indicate an increase in tree density across all sites, with the Mixed-oak forest exhibiting the highest increase in tree density due to least biotic pressure. The findings of this study, based on two-time composition datasets, provide valuable insights into forest dynamics, supporting biodiversity conservation and management planning.

A path to human‐raccoon dog harmony: Identifying factors influencing the tolerance of urban residents in Shanghai towards a neglected species

Abstract Human‐wildlife interactions become increasingly common in urban areas across all continents and ecosystem types. Depending on the context, human‐wildlife interactions can be categorized as harmonious, neutrality, or in conflict and raises cultural, economic and ecological challenges in maintaining urban biodiversity. Understanding the mechanism behind the tolerance of residents to the presence of wildlife is vital to promoting a harmonious coexistence between humans and wildlife in urban environments. To advance our knowledge of this mechanism, we developed a questionnaire to survey residents in Shanghai, China about their knowledge of and attitude towards raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides), a species whose population is increasing in urban areas. Using 281 questionnaires, we conducted structural equation modelling to examine how relational values, including familiarity with raccoon dogs, perceived benefits and risks, together with residents' trust in wildlife management authorities, interactively influence the tolerance for this species. We found that the residents' familiarity with raccoon dogs positively influenced their tolerance, both directly and indirectly through increased perceived benefits and reduced perceived risks. Furthermore, trust in wildlife management authorities contributed to higher tolerance through perceived benefits. Our results suggested that education about the relational values of raccoon dogs to the public can reduce the traditional negative connotation for this species and promote the coexistence of people and raccoon dogs in Shanghai urban environment. Based on our understanding about how raccoon dogs were culturally constructed and the willingness of residents to share landscapes with the species, we advocate that relational values play an important role in future urban biodiversity conservation planning. We also advocate for education programs that familiarize the public with raccoon dogs as well as other species, which can turn urban human‐wildlife conflicts into harmonious relationships in Shanghai and other urban areas. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Conservation biogeography and diversity of tarantulas in Argentina

Abstract The loss of biodiversity due to the effects of a number of human activities is a cause for great concern. Protected areas are currently one of the main conservation tools worldwide and their correct selection and design play a key role. Since 2000, there have been protocols for systematic conservation planning, which emphasize the identification of priority conservation areas (PCAs) to ensure the persistence of species habitats and the environmental processes associated with them. Spiders of the family Theraphosidae (tarantulas) have biological characteristics that make them vulnerable to fragmentation in time and space and also are underrepresented in current conservation efforts. The geographical distribution of endemic species, such as tarantulas, represents a historical and ecological footprint of all biological entities; therefore, such endemic areas are recognized as priority areas for biodiversity conservation plans. The present work aims to develop an integrative biogeographical approach to conservation through the evaluation of multispecies distribution patterns, and the study of species richness and areas of endemism of tarantulas in Argentina with the ultimate goal of assessing their relationship to existing protected areas and proposing PCAs.

Lack of local genetic representation in one of the regions with the highest bird species richness, the Peruvian Amazonia.

Peru ranks among the three countries with the highest bird species diversity globally and a majority of those species are found in the Peruvian Amazon. However, birds in this area are currently facing serious anthropogenic threats. Genetic and genomic methods are becoming important tools for avian biodiversity monitoring and conservation planning. Comprehensive molecular libraries that are publicly available are key to the effective deployment of these tools. We analyze the information gaps for four molecular markers in the most important genetic sequence databases, Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) and NCBI GenBank, for bird species of the Peruvian Amazonia. We found that 64% of Peruvian Amazonian bird species have gene sequences for COI, 59.5% have CYTB sequences, 16.4% have 12S sequences, and only 0.6% have 18S sequences. However, these numbers decrease drastically to 4.3% for COI sequences when we only consider specimens sampled in Peru. Our data also showed that 43.8% of Peruvian Amazonian endemic species (n = 32) are missing sequences of any screened marker uploaded to GenBank or BOLD. Our results will encourage and guide efforts of the scientific community to complete reference libraries for Peruvian avian species that will be useful for future DNA-based monitoring projects that include birds.

Efficiency of birds as bioindicators for other taxa in mountain farmlands

Biodiversity loss is a global issue, particularly in mountain regions, where land-use/land-cover and climate change dramatically impact on species and communities. Sound ecological research and up-to-date information on biodiversity are needed to support conservation efforts. However, this information is often difficult and costly to obtain. Therefore, bioindicators serve as surrogates to provide information on the entire biocenosis. Birds are considered excellent bioindicators as they occupy different ecological niches and trait spaces.We present a study about the efficiency of birds as bioindicators for the diversity of other taxa in a mountain region in the Central Alps. We surveyed bird communities at 115 sites across a gradient of different grasslands and crops and compared them with the diversity of other taxa (bats, butterflies, grasshoppers, arachnids, and vascular plants). We aimed to identify indicator bird species for grasslands and crops, to assess cross-community concordance between birds and other taxa, and to model the efficiency of bird indices and indicator species as bioindicators of the diversity across habitat types and taxa.We identified indicator bird species for different grassland and crop types and found that efficiency of bird indices and single species varied for habitat types and taxa. We highlight the importance of using carefully selected bioindicators in biodiversity monitoring and conservation planning, and the need for an integrated and interdisciplinary approach for biodiversity research. Moreover, by looking at a combination of different indices we can gain a more comprehensive understanding of ecosystem functioning. We also provide a framework for the use of bird-based monitoring programs and bird-derived indices to guide biodiversity conservation, and emphasise the importance of incorporating different bioindicators into biodiversity research and monitoring to provide a more comprehensive understanding of ecological biodiversity patterns and trends.

Zoogeographic regionalisation of terrestrial vertebrates of Mozambique

AbstractDuring the formative years of science‐based biodiversity conservation and planning, Mozambique was undergoing a prolonged post‐colonial liberation struggle (1964–1974) and subsequent civil war (1976–1992), resulting in a profound gap in biodiversity knowledge and conservation planning relative to other countries in the region. This study represents Mozambique's first post‐war (1992 to the present) zoogeographic regionalisation at a fine scale, using 20 years of terrestrial vertebrate data comprising 54 species and 27,199 records that cover 53% of the 0.5° grid cells of the country, with 35% of cells having sufficient data for subsequent quantitative analysis. Cluster and Indicator species (IndVal) analysis were used to delimit zooregions and to identify their characteristic species, respectively, while Redundancy analysis was used to relate environmental variables to vertebrate groups. These analyses divided Mozambique into six zooregions (Niassa, Tete, Gilé, Marromeu‐Gorongosa, Limpopo‐Zinave‐Banhine and Maputo). Our study reveals that the zooregions identified are not adequately protected by the current network of protected areas. An expanded network of protected areas is needed to ensure biodiversity conservation in Mozambique.

Non‐linear thresholds in the effect of area on three dimensions of diversity of herpetofauna in the West Indies

AbstractAimThe small‐island effect (SIE) describes an anomalous feature of the species–area relationship (SAR) on smaller compared to larger islands. However, previous studies on SIEs mainly focused on taxonomic diversity and overlooked phylogenetic and functional diversity. In this study, we explored SIEs in three dimensions of diversity. We expect to see the non‐linear thresholds in the effect of area on three dimensions of diversity as well as on community structures, because the dominant assembly processes vary across spatial scales.LocationThe West Indies.TaxonHerpetofauna.MethodsWe derived data on the presence/absence of 199 amphibian species on 163 islands and 614 reptile species on 748 islands in the West Indies. We built a species‐level phylogenetic tree and a species‐level functional tree to estimate six taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity indices. Four community metrics on behalf of the phylogenetic and functional community structure of each island were calculated using a null modelling framework and was quantified using the standardized effect size (SES). We explored the non‐linear thresholds in the effect of area for each of the diversity indices and SES values of community metrics by comparing six piecewise regression models with a linear regression model and a null model.ResultsWe found evidence of SIEs in four diversity indices representing all three dimensions of diversity. Besides, area thresholds were also found in the phylogenetic and functional community structure for both amphibians and reptiles. Random extinction, competitive exclusion and adaptive radiation are the dominant processes structuring reptile communities on small, intermediate and large islands respectively.Main ConclusionsTo conduct a comprehensive biodiversity conservation plan concerning taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity, we suggest it is necessary to explore the SIEs in various diversity indices representing all three dimensions of diversity and apply the lowest threshold value to make management strategies.

Plant functional composition as an effective surrogate for biodiversity conservation

In biodiversity conservation frameworks, determining surrogates for biodiversity is crucial for improving the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation and management. As plant functional composition can indicate variations in ecosystem functions and services, it could be used as an effective surrogate in biodiversity conservation planning. However, to the best of our knowledge, this metric has been rarely used in biodiversity conservation planning. To explore whether plant functional composition can be used as an effective surrogate for biodiversity conservation, we used a linear mixed regression model to investigate the relationships between plant functional composition (i.e., community-weighted means (CWMs) from the sPlot database) and the species richness of birds, mammals, and amphibians, and between plant functional composition and terrestrial conservation priority ranks (considering biodiversity conservation alone, or biodiversity, carbon, and water conservation together). Thereafter, we quantified the changing trends in these relationships across biomes using the least square method. We found that CWMs significantly affected species richness and terrestrial conservation priority ranks, based on the marginal R2 and conditional R2 values from the linear mixed regression model. Further, CWMs significantly affected species richness and terrestrial conservation priority ranks across different biomes of forests and shrublands. However, the nature of these effects (i.e., positive or negative) was dependent on biome type. These results suggest that functional composition can be considered as a biodiversity surrogate for conservation planning, and that biome-specific relationships should be considered.

Optimizing an Urban Green Space Ecological Network by Coupling Structural and Functional Connectivity: A Case for Biodiversity Conservation Planning

Strengthening and optimizing the spatial structure and functional connectivity of green space ecological networks can not only relieve the tight urban space and provide biodiversity protection but also promote the virtuous cycle of the urban ecosystem and provide a new method for the resilient development of the urban landscape. In this study, the central area of Chengdu was taken as the study area; Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis (MSPA) with landscape metrics were combined to determine the optimal distance threshold and identify the ecological sources. Graph theory and circuit theory were applied to construct and optimize the green space ecological network with structural or functional connectivity, respectively. Based on the coupling effect, the optimization of the ecological network was put forward, and the network analysis method was used to evaluate the connectivity of three different types of ecological networks. The results were as follows: (1) The ecological network with structural connectivity was composed of 74 stepping stones, 43 protective sources, and 315 ecological corridors. The connectivity of green space structures gradually decreased from west to east and from periphery to center. (2) In the optimal ecological network with functional connectivity, 176 important ecological corridors were protected, and 40 pinch points and 48 protective sources were identified. The number of important corridors in the east and south was the largest, and the network structure was relatively complex. The barriers were divided into three different levels of ecological restoration areas. (3) The green ecological network with structural and functional connectivity has the best network connectivity. A green space ring network optimization pattern of one center, two belts, multi-points, multi-corridors, and multi-zones connected in a series was proposed. It was suggested to build a multi-level forest ecosystem in Longquan Mountain, develop eco-fruit agriculture and eco-tourism, enrich the biodiversity of the ecological source, and improve its anti-interference ability to the external environment. It is also important to increase ecological strategic points and stepping stones to strengthen the links between different ecological restoration areas, properly handle the use of cultivated land in different regions, strictly observe the red line of cultivated land, and maintain the integrity and diversity of ecological sources. Therefore, the optimization method of the green space ecological network in this study provides technical support for the effective determination of ecological protection areas, the accurate implementation of green space ecological networks, and a scientific planning strategy for decision-makers.

Combining Spatial–Temporal Remote Sensing and Human Footprint Indices to Identify Biodiversity Conservation Hotspots

Considering Inner Mongolia as the study area, the ecological theory of climate change, and human activities affecting a wide range of biodiversity patterns, MODIS multi-timeseries remote sensing image data were used and the interannual variation index was obtained by the method of fitting the curve to obtain the annual phenological and seasonal indicators. At the same time, the Landsat 8 standard deviation image was calculated to obtain the spatial variation index and generate spatial–temporal remote sensing indices to quantify the threat of climate change to biodiversity. In addition, the impact of human activities on biodiversity was quantified by generating a map of the human footprint in Inner Mongolia. The spatial–temporal remote sensing index and the human footprint index were integrated to identify areas protected from climate change and human activities, respectively. Eventually, the hotspot areas of biodiversity conservation in Inner Mongolia were obtained and priority protected area planning was based on the hotspot identification results. In this study, remote sensing technology was used to identify biodiversity conservation hotspots, which can overcome the limitations of insufficient species data from the past, improve the reliability of large-scale biodiversity conservation analyses, and be used for targeted management actions that have practical significance for biodiversity conservation planning.

A dark side of conservation biology: Protected areas fail in representing subterranean biodiversity

Abstract Biodiversity conservation is a central imperative of the 21st century. Subterranean ecosystems deliver critical nature's contributions to people and harbour a broad diversity of poorly understood specialised organisms. However, the subterranean biome is still largely overlooked in global biodiversity targets. We assessed how well subterranean biodiversity is represented in protected areas (Natura 2000 and Emerald networks) in two global hotspots of subterranean biodiversity (the Pyrenees and the Alps). For this, we used two comprehensive databases of terrestrial subterranean taxa, that is, leiodids (beetles) from the Pyrenees and spiders from the Alps, and identified priority areas in each region using both species richness and geographic rarity patterns. Our results show the incapacity of surface‐protected area networks to represent subterranean biodiversity, as more than 70% and 90% of the identified priority areas (and 40% and 22% of the species) are not effectively covered by protected areas in the Pyrenees and the Alps, respectively. These findings call for developing an urgent plan for subterranean biodiversity conservation within the European Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.

Hydrological changes regulate fish metacommunity structures and β-diversity patterns in the floodplain lake, China

The metacommunity structures are continuously dynamic, and understanding the temporal species distribution patterns and biodiversity variations will elucidate the metacommunity theory. To examine whether the idealized metacommunity structuring, diversity patterns, and potential driving mechanisms vary among different seasons, we assessed seasonal fish data (i.e., normal, wet, and dry seasons) in the Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China, by incorporating the Elements of Metacommunity Structure (EMS), β-diversity partitioning, and variance partitioning. The results suggested fish metacommunity displayed quasi-structures, with the quasi-Clemensian paradigm in the normal season and the quasi-Gleasonian paradigm in the wet and dry seasons, indicating the unity of species groups and individualistic species responded weakly to latent environmental gradients, respectively. The highest fish β-diversity occurred in the normal season and the lowest in the wet season with a humped trend. The species abundance replacement process contributed more to the total β-diversity than the nestedness-resultant component among seasons. The variation of the highest Local Contribution to Beta Diversity (LCBD) across seasons indicated the significance of protecting unique habitats. The relative importance of environment and spatial factors on fish metacommunity structure depended on discharge alternation, with a more significant role of spatial structuring occurring in the wet season, whereas predominant environmental filtering in the normal and dry seasons. The seasonal shifts in EMS patterns, β-diversity, and metacommunity assembly rules result from the change in hydrological conditions in the Poyang Lake. This work helps understand seasonal metacommunity dynamics and provides essential information for systematic biodiversity conservation planning in freshwater lakes.

Policy innovation through local, sustainable development evaluation

The global political agenda has included some high-profile environmental summits over the past few months. Three of these events stand out. The 2022 United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, was held from 6–20 November 2022. This was followed from 7–19 December 2022 by the UN Biodiversity Conference in Montréal, Canada, and the UN-Water Summit at UN Headquarters in New York City from 22–24 March 2023. Of these three events, the Biodiversity Summit made the most impact as delegates committed to protecting 30% of land and 30% of coastal and marine areas by 2030. This pledge is remarkable because it re-establishes political commitments to protect biodiversity, which is a key component of climate action. At the same time, many observers of the summit questioned how nation-states will implement this goal. Like the SDGs, the “30 by 30” commitment is long on aspirations but short on operationalization details. This observation is not a criticism of the agreement per se but a recognition of the challenges preventing ambitious biodiversity conservation plans from being fully implemented.

Spatial-temporal shifting patterns and in situ conservation of spotted seal (Phoca largha) populations in the Yellow Sea ecoregion.

Understanding the habitat shifting pattern is a prerequisite for implementing in situ conservation of migratory species. Spotted seals (Phoca largha) inhabiting the Yellow Sea ecoregion (YSE) comprise a small population with independent genes and represent a charismatic flagship species in this region. However, this population has declined by 80% since the 1940s, and increased support from the countries around the YSE is urgently needed to address the potential local extinction risk. A time-series niche model and life-history weighted systematic conservation planning were designed on the basis of a satellite beacon tracking survey (2010-2020) of the YSE population. The results showed clustering and spreading shifting patterns during the breeding and migratory seasons, respectively. The closed-loop migration route formed in the YSE indicated that this population might be geographically isolated from populations in other breeding areas around the world. The conservation priority area (CPA), with an area of 19632 km2 (3.58% of the total YSE area), was the most effective response to the potential in situ risk. However, nearly 80% of the CPA was exposed outside the existing marine protected areas (MPAs). Future establishment of MPAs in China should strategically consider the conservation gap identified herein, and it is recommended for Korea's closed fishing season to be spatially set in the western Korean Peninsula from May to August. This study also exemplified that the lack of temporal information would lead to the dislocation of niche modeling for migratory species represented by spotted seals. Attention should be paid to protecting small and migratory populations in marine biodiversity conservation planning.

From national monitoring to transnational indicators: reporting and processing of aquatic biology data under the European Environment Agency’s State of the Environment data flow

Biological monitoring data from aquatic ecosystems are collected from European countries on a yearly basis by the European Environment Agency (EEA) through the Water Information System for Europe (WISE). The WISE-SoE (State of Environment) data flows provide indicators of pressures, states and impacts of surface waters and groundwaters on a pan-European scale. The WISE-2 Biology was established to obtain a harmonised flow of biology data reported annually as Ecological Quality Ratios (EQRs) from European surface waters, as a supplement to the mandatory 6-yearly reporting of ecological status of water bodies for the Water Framework Directive. The purposes of this paper are 1) to describe the compilation of national aquatic biology monitoring data indicators and to inform about the public availability of these data, 2) to give an overview of the reported data and indicate the potential for assessments based on these data, and 3) to illustrate the potential for further use of the underlying species abundance data in biodiversity research and assessment. WISE-2 data are reported for the following biological quality elements: phytoplankton, phytobenthos, macrophytes, macroalgae, angiosperms, benthic invertebrates and fish in rivers, lakes, transitional and/or coastal waters. The EQR values represent the deviation from reference conditions. The final processed and quality-checked data are published in EEA’s database Waterbase - Biology, which currently holds data from more than 13,000 waterbodies in 26 countries from the reporting years 2011–2021. Examples of time series aggregated by geographic regions give an indication of the type of trends that can be obtained from the reported data at the nEQR scale. However, the current results are representative only for certain geographic regions with high coverage of water bodies. Within the European research project EuropaBON (Europa Biodiversity Observation Network), the use of WISE-2 data can be leveraged to support biodiversity policy and conservation planning. EuropaBON’s online database provides an overview of how biodiversity monitoring schemes across Europe flows through different integration nodes, to produce Essential Biodiversity Variables and other policy-relevant indicators. Here, we use the EuropaBON visualisation tool to illustrate the WISE-2 as a European integration node for 157 biology datasets via the national integration nodes.

Designing an Ecological Network in Yichang Central City in China Based on Habitat Quality Assessment

Habitat fragmentation seriously threatens urban biodiversity conservation and ecosystem integrity. Constructing an ecological network and improving the connection level between habitat patches can effectively alleviate the general ecological environmental problems of rapid urban development. In this paper, three focal animal species were selected in the central urban area of Yichang City in China. Based on the habitat quality assessment results of the InVEST model, the ecological network of the three focal species was designed by combining morphological spatial pattern analysis and least-cost path models, and a multi-species comprehensive ecological network of the study area was designed. The consensus identified 31 ecological sources, 64 ecological corridors and 151 ecological nodes. The results can provide support for biodiversity conservation and green space planning in the study area, and also provide a reference for the construction and optimization of ecological networks for biodiversity conservation in urbanized areas.

Tree species composition along environmental and disturbance gradients in tropical sub-montane forests, Tanzania.

Understanding the environmental and disturbance determinants of tree species dominance and community composition in an ecosystem, is important for informing management and conservation decisions, through maintaining or improving the existing forest composition and structure. This study was carried out to quantify the relationship between forest tree composition structure and environmental and disturbance gradients, in a tropical sub-montane forest of Eastern Usambara. Vegetation, environmental, and anthropogenic disturbance data for 58 plots across Amani and Nilo nature forest reserves were obtained. Agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) were used to identify plant communities and analyze the influence of environmental variables and anthropogenic disturbances on tree species and community composition respectively. Four communities were identified and CCA results showed that the variation was significantly related to elevation, pH, Annual mean temperature, temperature seasonality, phosphorus nutrients and pressures from adjacent villages and roads. Likewise, environmental factors (climate, soil and topography) explained the most variation (14.5%) of tree and community composition in relation to disturbance pressure (2.5%). The large and significant variation in tree species and community patterns explained by environmental factors suggests a need for site-specific assessment of environmental properties for biodiversity conservation plans. Similarly, the intensification of human activities and associated impacts on natural environment should be minimized to maintain forest species composition patterns and communities. The findings are useful in guiding in policy interventions that focus on minimizing human disturbances in the forests and could aid in preserving and restoring the functional organization and tree species composition of the sub-tropical montane forests.

Species-level dataset is required for setting biodiversity conservation priorities for freshwater macroinvertebrates in Melbourne streams

Family-level identification of freshwater macroinvertebrates is often used to monitor the health of streams due to the lower cost and higher accuracy of identification compared to identifying species. While data on the presence of families from stream monitoring programs can also be used for biodiversity conservation planning, the ability of family-level datasets to accurately reflect regional biodiversity patterns for freshwater macroinvertebrates in Australia remains untested. This study compares family-level and species-level datasets for freshwater insects identified using morphological features and collected over 16 years from 140 sites in Greater Melbourne, Australia. Similar to the results of other studies, our results show a strong positive relationship between family- and species-level taxon richness. However, using the planning software Marxan to compare conservation priorities in our study region, we found that a data analysis of the family-level dataset underestimated the minimum sampling effort required to accurately reflect species diversity. It also identified sub-optimal conservation priority sites and overlooked regionally rare species. We recommend that aquatic macroinvertebrate monitoring programs aimed at understanding regional biodiversity patterns and conservation priorities should routinely include species-level identification, which is now becoming feasible with advances in molecular methods.

Multi-temporal evaluation and optimization of ecological network in multi-mountainous city

In karst multi-mountainous areas, there are a large number of urban remnant mountains (URMs) in urban built-up areas, which are an important part of urban green space system and have important and unique ecosystem service functions. However, the densifying development inside the city has been leading to the reduction of the number and area of the URMs and the decrease of the connectivity of the urban green space system, resulting in the fragile urban ecological environment. The construction and optimization of ecological network (EN) is an effective way to protect important urban ecological patches and improve the stability of urban green space ecosystem. Taking the central area of Anshun, a typical multi-mountainous city, as the study area, based on the land use data of 2007, 2012 and 2017, the ecological sources were identified by morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) and the potential ecological corridors were extracted by the minimum cumulative resistance model (MCR), and the ENs of the three periods were identified. 18 ecological sources were selected for each of the three periods, with a total area of 833.67 hm2, 713.25 hm2 and 806.85 hm2, respectively and the intersection area of ecological sources reached 650.58 hm2. The ecological corridors and ecological sources dwindled with time. The Gravity model was used to extract the important EN corridor, the InVEST model was used to quantify the comprehensive habitat quality. The EN was optimized by adding extra ecological sources, mending ecological breakpoints and extracting habitat quality map patches. It is suggested to add 6 ecological sources and 34 ecological corridors, protect ecological nodes and build stepping stone patches. The results of this study could not only provide a scientific and reasonable basis for the ecological protection and the development of ecological protection strategies in the urban central area of Anshun, but also enrich the theoretical research of urban biodiversity conservation planning and ecological restoration practice in multi-mountainous cities.

Climate change reduces the conservation benefits of tropical coastal ecosystems

<h2>Summary</h2> Marine protected areas (MPAs) are among the most effective management responses to human environmental impacts. However, their capacity to sustain biodiversity and associated ecosystem services under climate change is uncertain. Understanding how climate shifts impact ecosystem functioning and socioeconomic well-being is vital for biodiversity conservation and adaptation planning. Here, we show that climate change could render the current MPAs network in 12 nations in the Western Indian Ocean ineffective in supporting conservation and socioeconomic outcomes. Approximately half of the coral reefs and MPAs in countries most at risk of food insecurity will likely experience significant biodiversity losses. Only 4% of reefs and 6% of MPAs were located within areas less likely to experience climate shifts. Biodiversity hotspots for coral and reef fish were generally over-represented in the most at-risk areas. Conservation actions planned to anticipate climate risks can help to maintain biodiversity and socioeconomic benefits.