Conservation Network Research Articles

High carnivore richness despite human pressure and prey depletion in the south-west of the Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area

Abstract Transfrontier conservation landscapes, such as the Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TCA) in southern Africa, play a crucial role in preserving global biodiversity and promoting the sustainable development of local communities. However, resources to facilitate management could become scarce across large areas, leading to difficulties in obtaining baseline ecological information. Consequently, in the absence of sustainable management vast landscapes may experience loss of wildlife species, which could destabilize ecosystems. This effect is particularly significant if the loss involves top predators. Hence, understanding carnivore distributions is critical to informing management. We conducted a mammal survey in the Ondjou Conservancy in Namibia, an 8,729 km2 understudied area in the south-west of the KAZA TCA. We analysed camera-trapping data from a 2,304 km2 grid and identified high carnivore richness (18 species) despite widespread human activity and prey depletion. Using a multi-species occupancy framework we found that carnivore occurrence increased with increasing distance from the main village and with closer proximity to the Nyae Nyae Conservancy neighbouring the KAZA TCA, which has large and diverse carnivore populations. Carnivore occurrence was higher when local prey richness was high. The Ondjou Conservancy could function as an important buffer for the larger conservation network, yet rural communities in this area require support for fostering human–wildlife coexistence. Additionally, restoring the natural prey base will be critical to ensuring the long-term viability of carnivore populations in this and other human-impacted landscapes. With many remote areas of transfrontier conservation landscapes being understudied, our findings illustrate the conservation potential of such areas within large-scale conservation networks.

Identifying climate‐smart tropical Key Biodiversity Areas for protection in response to widespread temperature novelty

AbstractKey Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) are a cornerstone of 21st‐century area‐based conservation targets. In tropical KBAs, biodiversity is potentially at high risk from climate change, because most species reside within or beneath the canopy, where small increases in temperature can lead to novel climate regimes. We quantify novelty in temperature regimes by modeling hourly temperatures below the forest canopy across tropical KBAs between 1990 and 2019. We find that up to 66% of KBAs with tropical forests have recently transitioned to novel temperature regimes. Nevertheless, 34% of KBAs are providing refuge from novelty, 58% of which are not protected. By conducting the first pan‐tropical analyses of changes in below‐canopy temperature conditions in KBAs, we identify KBAs that are acting as climate refugia and should be considered for expansion of the conservation network in response to the post‐2020 Global Biodiversity Framework target to conserve 30% of land area by 2030.

Community perceptions and socio-economic implications of conservation corridors and networks in the Vhembe District, Limpopo, South Africa

Community perceptions and socio-economic implications of conservation corridors and networks in the Vhembe District, Limpopo, South Africa

Conservation Agricultural Practices Increase Soil Fungal Diversity and Network Complexity in a 13-Year-Duration Conservation Agriculture System in the Loess Plateau of China

Agricultural practices can affect the diversity and community structure of soil fungi. This study investigates the impact of long-term agricultural practices on soil fungal diversity in the Loess Plateau of northwestern China. Different tillage practices have been implemented for 13 years, and their impact on soil fungi is assessed using high-throughput Illumina Sequencing. This study found a total of 2071 fungal Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs), and these were assigned to 25 different phyla, 372 families, and 496 genera. The fungal communities were dominated by Ascomycota (52.1%), followed by Zygomycota (14.3%) and Basidiomycota (9.0%). In general, the soil exhibited higher fungal community abundance, richness, and diversity in winter than in summer. Notably, no-tillage or stubble retention resulted in greater diversity than conventional tillage, with no-tillage combined with stubble retention resulting in the highest fungal richness, diversity, and network complexity in both summer and winter. These findings indicate that no-tillage with stubble retention is beneficial for biological soil components, which favors the establishment of abundant and diverse soil fungal communities in the Loess Plateau of China. The present study expands the knowledge of fungal communities in agro-ecosystems and the long-term ecosystem benefits of tillage practices.

Marine spatial planning for socio‐ecological management of animal‐associated microbiomes

AbstractBiodiversity changes and habitat shifts are two phenomena substantially reshaping marine life on our present and future planet. Although those phenomena are well recognized on the macrobial level, they currently do not receive similar attention on the microbial level. Generally, microbiome diversity and function, associated with and governing the health and fitness of their host organisms, are neglected in conservation efforts. This is especially problematic as previous research has highlighted that host‐associated microbes (microbiomes) may display distribution patterns that are not only correlated with host animal biogeographies but also with other factors such as prevailing environmental conditions. Here, marine spatial planning for socio‐ecological management of animal‐associated microbiomes is discussed, using deep‐sea sponge and coral‐associated microbiomes as an example of how to incorporate microbial diversity into conservation planning. We advocate for a holistic and integrative approach to marine spatial planning that incorporates the larger habitat, the host, the microbiome, as well as the socio‐economic and cultural perspective, throughout the whole decision‐making process. A general workflow containing the needed steps to establish microbiome‐integrated marine protected areas is presented, as well as the analytical steps and results underlying the implementation of the world's first microbiome‐considered marine conservation network on the Scotian Shelf off eastern Canada.

Seabirds and climate change in North‐West Europe: Identifying opportunities for an effective and efficient conservation response

AbstractClimate change poses a massive and growing threat to wildlife. Calls are growing for coordinated and collaborative responses to conserve species threatened by climate change, but how this works in practice remains largely unexplored. Focusing on seabirds in North‐West Europe, we carried out 32 semi‐structured stakeholder interviews to (1) explore existing conservation work linked to climate change, (2) identify barriers to work on climate change among conservation actors, and (3) identify key conservation actors and characterize their interactions. Interviewees identified a range of research, policy, and practical conservation work for seabirds related—directly or indirectly—to climate change. They highlighted the importance of general conservation work to facilitate seabird adaptation to climate change, and global mitigation of climate change (e.g., through decarbonization and ecosystem restoration). Interviewees identified several barriers to conservation work explicitly addressing climate change, pertaining to information, leadership, resources, and values/beliefs. We discovered that seabird conservation networks are generally well‐established and harmonious, but not tension‐free. There are also some misunderstandings over actor responsibilities that could lead to bystander effects. We present suggestions to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of seabird conservation in response to climate change.

Bridging climate refuges for climate change adaptation: A spatio-temporal connectivity network approach

Enhancing the spatio-temporal connectivity of dynamic landscapes is crucial for species to adapt to climate change. However, a spatio-temporal connectivity network approach considering climate change and species movement is often overlooked. Taking Tibetan wild ass on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau as an example, we simulated species distribution under current (2019) and future scenarios (2100), constructed spatio-temporal connectivity networks, and assessed the spatio-temporal connectivity. The results show that under the current, SSP2-4.5 and SSP3-7.0 scenarios, the suitable habitats for Tibetan wild ass account for 21.11%, 21.34%, and 20.95% of the total area, respectively, which show more fragmentation in 2100. 78.35% of habitats which are predicted to be suitable under current conditions will remain suitable in the future, which can be regarded as stable climate refuges. With the increase in future emission intensity, the number percentage of auxiliary connectivity corridors increases from 27.65% to 33.57%. This indicates that more patches will function as temporary refuges and the auxiliary connectivity corridors will gradually weaken the dominance of direct connectivity corridors. Under different SSP-RCP scenarios, the internal spatio-temporal connectivity is the highest, accounting for 42%–43%. Compared with the spatio-temporal perspective, the purely spatial perspective overestimates network connectivity by about 28% considering all current and future patches, and underestimates network connectivity by 16%–21% when only considering all current or future patches. In this study, a new approach of spatio-temporal connectivity network is proposed to bridge climate refuges, which contributes to the long-term effectiveness of conservation networks for species’ adaptation to climate change.

Identification of biodiversity hotspots for threatened mammal species under future climate

Climate change has led to changes in distribution, movement, and extinction risk for various wildlife species, raising concern among conservation biologists. Therefore, this study aimed to predict suitable habitats that help wildlife managers protect wildlife more effectively. To achieve our aim, we first evaluated the vulnerability of 183 terrestrial mammal species identified in Iran under climate change based on habitat, phenology and physiology, biotic interactions, and national protection status. Then, MaxEnt was used to predict the potential changes in the distribution of vulnerable species due to climate change in the next 70 years under two scenarios: SSP126 and SSP585. In the third step, a framework was employed to identify existing and future hotspots of mammal biodiversity, and the potential changes in these areas for the species were predicted in the next 70 years. The results showed that 69 terrestrial mammals were vulnerable to climate change. Subsequently, 15 species wereselected for modeling based on presence records and vulnerability to climate change. The species modeling results showed that 42 % of Iran’s habitats are currently suitable for the studied mammal species. In the future, under both climate scenarios, biodiversity hotspots for these species will be reduced, and approximately 37 % of Iran’s habitats will be suitable for the species. As a result, the current conservation network will have diminished capacity to protect the species from climate change.

On the development of criteria for determining the effectiveness of technical working groups: A case study about information processes in marine conservation and fisheries management in Belize

Use of scientific information in evidence-based decision-making is critically important in addressing coastal and ocean management concerns. In an ecosystem-based management context, ensuring that the “right” information (reliable) is available can be particularly challenging as the information often resides in different organizations with different management mandates. Many governmental and intergovernmental organizations have used a range of approaches, including technical advisory committees and working groups, to facilitate multidisciplinary input into the development of appropriate policies and management practices. This study examined the roles of multiple stakeholders participating in technical working groups that assist in decision-making for marine fisheries management in Belize, a coastal country in Central America. Through interviews with members of three working groups – the Spawning Aggregation Working Group, the Managed Access Working Group, and the National Hicatee Conservation and Monitoring Network – and decision-makers in the Belize Fisheries Department, information production processes and pathways for information uptake into policy were investigated. Major characteristics of communication at the science-policy interface associated with each working group were revealed. Important communication enablers and barriers were identified related to the operation of the working groups, such as membership commitment and resource availability, which influenced knowledge exchange within and outside the groups. Based on the results, a set of requirements for the creation and operation of effective working groups was formulated with regard to requisite inputs, the operational processes, and the types and uses of the information outputs of the groups. These requirements serve as a foundation for development of indicators of the effectiveness of working groups in environmental management contexts that support communication and decision-making at science-policy interfaces.

Optimization of composite ecological network patterns in Anhui Province based on multi-functional coupling of ecology-climate-economy

Amidst global climate warming and rapid urbanization, ecological and environmental issues are becoming increasingly prominent. Constructing a multi-functional coupled ecological network pattern is essential for promoting the synergy among ecological protection, climate regulation, and economic development. This study focuses on Anhui Province, characterized by diverse topographical features. Utilizing “source and sink” theory, the study employs a combination of Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis (MSPA), landscape connectivity indices, local spatial autocorrelation, and circuit theory to construct single-factor networks for biodiversity conservation, thermal environment mitigation, and economic development. The analysis of spatial elements such as “source” areas, corridors, ecological strategic points, and ecological nodes led to the formation of an optimized multi-level, multi-functional composite ecological network pattern based on ecology, climate, and economy. The results indicate that: (1) Anhui Province has 14 ecological “source” landscapes and 31 ecological “sink” landscapes. There are 29 climate “source” landscapes and 21 climate “sink” landscapes. Additionally, there are 30 economic “source” landscapes and 22 economic “sink” landscapes. The biological migration corridors are primarily concentrated in Northern and Central Anhui Province, while climate corridors are distributed throughout the province. Economic corridors are relatively dense and dispersed across various cities in Anhui Province, showing a trend of expansion in all directions; (2) In the multi-level “source and sink” landscape network, the total length of economic corridors surpasses climate corridors, which in turn surpass biological migration corridors. In terms of total area, climate corridors exceed biological migration corridors, which surpass economic corridors. The optimal widths for first class and secondary corridors are outlined as follows: biological migration corridors at 1000 m and 6000 m, climate corridors at 2000 m and 6000 m, and economic corridors at 1000 m and 2000 m; (3) Overlaying the multi-objective corridors identified 228 ecological key points and 501 disturbance points. Approximately 7.52 % of the area in economic “source” locations should be allocated to ecological and climate corridors. (4) The proposed multi-functional composite ecological network optimization scheme identifies critical areas for the restoration of the multi-functional composite network. The lengths of the main corridors for biological migration, climate, and economy are 2130.20 km, 2606.14 km, and 1134.63 km respectively. The total area for core and critical restoration zones is 1166.42 km2 for ecology, 2999.95 km2 for climate, and 2902.11 km2 for economy. Constructing a multi-functional composite ecological network can effectively enhance regional ecosystem services, alleviate urban heat island effects, and promote sustainable regional economic development. This study addresses existing gaps in ecological network research and provides scientific basis and technical support for the coordinated optimization of ecological protection, climate regulation, and economic development in Anhui Province and globally.

Optimization of multiple ecological infrastructures across the land–sea interface for coordination management: A case study around Laizhou Bay in China

Ecological infrastructure (EI), providing ecosystem services across the land-sea interface, has been proposed as a key element in sustainable terrestrial-marine ecosystem coordinated governance. Terrestrial and marine ecosystems should be regarded as an integrated unit for guaranteeing coastal ecological security. However, the existing EI construction framework focused on terrestrial ecosystems, and few studies consider the composite characteristics of the terrestrial-marine ecosystem in coastal areas. In the case study of Laizhou Bay, China, this study proposes an optimization method for multiple ecological infrastructures (MEIs) across the land-sea interface. The method is oriented towards achieving trans-regional scale cohesion, enhancing terrestrial-riverine-marine linkages, providing adequate pathways for marine ecological protection, and promoting coordinated conservation of terrestrial and marine ecosystems. The results showed that: (1) The new optimization framework synthetically considering the terrestrial multi-scale EI networks cohesion, hydrological corridors, and marine conservation network is available. (2) The preliminary ecological sources (PESs) are mainly distributed in the eastern mountainous areas, the estuary of the Yellow River, and six marine protected areas. The spatial imbalance of EI resulted in four marine protected areas in the southwest of the Bohai Sea insufficiently connected between sea-to-sea ecological sources. (3) The integrated MEIs includes four newly added ecological sources (two each for land and sea), eight trans-regional ecological corridors, 17 hydrological corridors, and 11 marine ecological corridors. Through optimization, the MEIs avoid fragmentation across multi-scale terrestrial regions, promote river-based connectivity between land and sea, and increase pathways for marine ecological protection, thereby ensuring effective circulation of regional ecological materials. (4) MEIs-conserved priority areas include 12.4 km2 ecological pinch points and 6.39 km2 marine biological protective points. Focusing on these conserved priority areas provides spatial references for the implementation planning of MEIs. Compared with traditional respective ecosystem networks, the MEIs across land-sea interface optimization approach is feasible for terrestrial-marine ecosystem coordinated management.

New otter conservation network in Central America

New otter conservation network in Central America

Forest fragments in urban matrices: a conservation network for Atlantic Forest birds

Forest fragments in urban matrices: a conservation network for Atlantic Forest birds

Ungulates conservation in the face of human development: Mining and roads' influences on habitat and connectivity in Iran's central plateau

Anthropogenic activities such as mining and road construction pose significant threats to ungulate species in the central Iranian plateau. We conducted a comprehensive study focusing on three key ungulates: wild goat (Capra aegagrus), urial (Ovis vignei), and jebeer gazelle (Gazella bennetti). These species rely heavily on migration corridors for functional connectivity, making them vulnerable to the habitat fragmentation caused by human development. Our research integrates ensemble habitat suitability modelling and connectivity analysis to assess the impacts of mining and road construction on the core habitats of these ungulates and their habitat connectivity. Ensemble models predicted large suitable habitats for all three species; however, a considerable portion of these habitats was compromised by the development of mining roads, highlighting the urgency of conservation actions. We found that wild goat habitats were patchy and fragmented, whereas urial and jebeer habitats were more expansive and better connected. Analysis of core habitats identified critical areas for the species survival. For instance, an important core area for wild goats was located in the central part of the landscape, whereas the core habitat for urials was situated in the eastern part. Multiple core areas were identified for jebeer gazelles, highlighting the diverse habitat preferences of the species. We found extensive overlap between the core habitats of the three species and conservation areas (approximately 80%). Connectivity simulations revealed strong conservation network coverage (between 81 and 91%), emphasizing the importance of conservation areas. Our findings underscore the immediate need for conservation interventions to mitigate the impacts of road development on ungulate habitats and migration corridors in central Iran. This research contributes vital information for informed decision-making in conservation planning and sustainable development in the region.

3D ocean assessments reveal that fisheries reach deep but marine protection remains shallow

The wave of new global conservation targets, the conclusion of the High Seas Treaty negotiations, and the expansion of extractive use into the deep sea call for a paradigm shift in ocean conservation. The current reductionist 2D representation of the ocean to set targets and measure impacts will fail at achieving effective biodiversity conservation. Here, we develop a framework that overlays depth realms onto marine ecoregions to conduct the first three-dimensional spatial analysis of global marine conservation achievements and fisheries footprint. Our novel approach reveals conservation gaps of mesophotic, rariphotic, and abyssal depths and an underrepresentation of high protection levels across all depths. In contrast, the 3D footprint of fisheries covers all depths, with benthic fishing occurring down to the lower bathyal and mesopelagic fishing peaking in areas overlying abyssal depths. Additionally, conservation efforts are biased towards areas where the lowest fishing pressures occur, compromising the effectiveness of the marine conservation network. These spatial mismatches emphasize the need to shift towards 3D thinking to achieve ocean sustainability.

Theory-guided deep neural network for boiler 3-D NOx concentration distribution prediction

Timely and accurate three-dimensional (3-D) NOx concentration distribution prediction is essential for achieving low-emission and efficient operation in power plants. This study proposed a theory-guided data-driven prediction method for the 3-D NOx concentration distribution prediction. Firstly, the method created a foundational dataset by fusing numerical simulation data from the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with operational data from the distributed control system (DCS). Then, the data was classified into three load condition categories, and the center operating conditions for each category were computed separately. Subsequently, the K-means algorithm was employed to extract representative data to address the computational challenges associated with big data. Finally, a Theory-Guided Deep Neural Network model (TG-DNN) was established leveraging the principle of carbon element mass conservation and deep neural network. Experimental results demonstrate that the method effectively monitors the 3-D NOx concentration distribution, potentially facilitating efficient production processes.

Expanding China’s protected areas network to enhance resilience of climate connectivity

Expanding the network of connected and resilient protected areas (PAs) for climate change adaptation can help species track suitable climate conditions and safeguard biodiversity. This is often overlooked when expanding PAs and quantifying their benefits, resulting in an underestimate of the benefits of expanding PAs. We expanded PAs through terrestrial mammalian species distribution hotspots, Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs), and wilderness areas. Then, we constructed climate connectivity networks using a resistance-based approach and further quantified the network resilience to propose resilient climate response strategies in China. The results showed that existing PAs suffered from location biases with important biodiversity areas. The existing PAs represented about half of the KBAs and wilderness areas, yet only 12.08% of terrestrial mammalian species distribution hotspots were located within existing PAs. Compared with the existing PA network, the network efficiency and resilience of the expanded PAs’ climate connectivity increased to 1.80 times and 1.78 times, respectively. With 56% of the nodes remaining, the network efficiency of the expanded PAs was equivalent to that of the existing PAs with all nodes. The network resilience of preferentially protecting and restoring low human footprint patches was approximately 1.5–2 times that of the random scenario. These findings highlighted that confronted with the unoptimistic situation of global warming, nature conservation based on existing PAs was no longer optimal. It was critical to construct a connected and resilient conservation network relying on both important biodiversity areas and low human footprint patches.

Optimization of conservation network based on phylogenetic diversity–A case of some vascular plants on the Qinghai - Tibet Plateau

Optimization of conservation network based on phylogenetic diversity–A case of some vascular plants on the Qinghai - Tibet Plateau

Habitat changes explain shifts in bird community composition in abandoned military training areas: Lessons for conservation

Military training areas are important biodiversity refuges and may serve as viable components of regional conservation networks, mainly due to the blocking of ecological succession by the disturbance regime creating a heterogeneous open habitat mosaic hosting many threatened species. However, European armies have undergone downsizing over the past decades and numerous military training areas have been abandoned. The assessment of the consequences of this abandonment for biodiversity would show us whether these abandoned areas still provide conservation benefits. For this purpose, we carried out bird surveys in 30 abandoned military training areas in Czechia. The surveys were performed in two periods (2009 and 2020–2021) to track small-scale changes in land cover and bird abundance after the areas were abandoned in the 1990s. We tested (i) whether changes in bird abundance were related to land cover changes and (ii) whether the observed bird species’ responses to the land cover changes can be explained by species-specific characteristics. Multivariate spatial analyses uncovered significant shifts in land cover composition towards a higher representation of dense shrub, forest and built-up areas at the expense of open areas represented by grassland and sparse shrub. These land cover changes explained a small but significant part of bird abundance variation across the areas. Correspondingly, species benefiting from these land cover changes were associated with dense scrub or forest, such as the Common Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, or Eurasian Blackcap, whereas species suffering from these changes were associated with grassland, such as the European Stonechat and Eurasian Skylark. Phylogenetically informed interspecific analysis aiming to explain changes in bird abundance between periods confirmed that population declines were linked to open habitat preference, while population increases were linked to the preference for dense shrub and forest. In addition, we found that protected species increased their abundance, most likely due to the existence of conservation management that kept their habitats available. These patterns indicate that military training areas transform toward later successional stages after their abandonment with corresponding changes in bird community composition. However, these changes may not necessarily be negative provided that species of conservation concern enjoy the support of conservation management.

Use of ecosystem services and land ownership to prioritize conservation areas on Jeju Island, Republic of Korea

In the face of ecological challenges, sustainable implementation of conservation strategies necessitates a delicate balance between ecosystem services, biodiversity, land ownership, and cost considerations. This study presents a conservation strategy for Jeju Island, Republic of Korea, an area renowned for its unique ecological features. We developed the strategy by evaluating 12 scenarios involving the establishment of protected areas (PAs) and the use of other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs). The purpose of this evaluation was not to enhance ecosystem services and biodiversity directly but rather to identify strategies that could achieve these goals in a financially feasible way, considering the various cost and land ownership factors. Our findings revealed that conservation prioritization targets are primarily located in the central and eastern regions of Jeju Island, where ecosystem services are concentrated, and levels of biodiversity are high. The expansion of conservation targets from 17% to 30% entailed increased costs, largely due to the increased inclusion of private lands and agricultural areas. The introduction of OECMs provided a means to improve ecological network and representation within conservation networks. We also found that applying penalties to improve the boundary lengths of PAs could lead to more cost-effective conservation strategies. Although expanding conservation targets to 30% led to significant shifts in land ownership patterns and increased conservation costs, the benefits to biodiversity and provision of ecosystem services were substantial. This study provided valuable insights into the determination of conservation planning through the harmonization of biodiversity prot ection, provision of ecosystem services, and consideration of economic costs related to patterns of land use and ownership. The results can aid policymakers and stakeholders in making informed decisions about resource allocation in biodiversity conservation.