Effect of Planning for Connectivity on Linear Reserve Networks

Although the concept of connectivity is decades old, it remains poorly understood and defined, and some argue that habitat quality and area should take precedence in conservation planning instead. However, fragmented landscapes are often characterized by linear features that are inherently connected...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Conservation biology 2013-08, Vol.27 (4), p.796-807
Main Authors: LENTINI, PIA E., GIBBONS, PHILIP, CARWARDINE, JOSIE, FISCHER, JOERN, DRIELSMA, MICHAEL, MARTIN, TARA G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied ecology
Australia
Biodiversity conservation
Biological and medical sciences
Connectivity
connectivity metrics
conservación basada en objetivos
Conservation biology
Conservation of Natural Resources - methods
Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife
corredor
corridor
Decision Support Techniques
Demography
Ecosystem
elementos lineale
Environmental conservation
Forest conservation
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
Geography
Habitat conservation
Landscape conservation
Landscapes
linear feature
Marxan
Marxan, medidas de conectividad
medidas de conectividad
Models, Biological
Parks, reserves, wildlife conservation. Endangered species: population survey and restocking
planificación sistemática de la conservación
Plants
Protected areas
Range management
sensibilidad
sensitivity
Species Specificity
systematic conservation
target-based conservation
target‐based conservation, traveling stock route
Terrestrial ecosystems
traveling stock route
Vegetation
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Summary:Although the concept of connectivity is decades old, it remains poorly understood and defined, and some argue that habitat quality and area should take precedence in conservation planning instead. However, fragmented landscapes are often characterized by linear features that are inherently connected, such as streams and hedgerows. For these, both representation and connectivity targets may be met with little effect on the cost, area, or quality of the reserve network. We assessed how connectivity approaches affect planning outcomes for linear habitat networks by using the stock-route network of Australia as a case study. With the objective of representing vegetation communities across the network at a minimal cost, we ran scenarios with a range of representation targets (10%, 30%, 50%, and 70%) and used 3 approaches to account for connectivity (boundary length modifier, Euclidean distance, and landscape-value [LV]). We found that decisions regarding the target and connectivity approach used affected the spatial allocation of reserve systems. At targets ≥50%, networks designed with the Euclidean distance and LV approaches consisted of a greater number of small reserves. Hence, by maximizing both representation and connectivity, these networks compromised on larger contiguous areas. However, targets this high are rarely used in real-world conservation planning. Approaches for incorporating connectivity into the planning of linear reserve networks that account for both the spatial arrangement of reserves and the characteristics of the intervening matrix highlight important sections that link the landscape and that may otherwise be overlooked. Aunque el concepto de conectividad tiene varias décadas sigue poco entendido y definido y hay quienes discuten que la calidad de hábitat y área debería partir del planeamiento de conservación. Sin embargo los paisajes fragmentados caracterizados generalmente están por caracteres lineales que están inherentemente conectados, como arroyos e hileras de arbustos. Para éstos, tanto la representación como los objetivos de conectividad pueden ser enfrentados con pocos efectos en el costo, área, o calidad de los sistemas de la reserva. Evaluamos como las aproximaciones de conectividad afectan los resultados de planeación para sistemas de hábitats lineales utilizando el sistema de rutas de ganado de Australia como un estudio de caso. Con el objetivo de representar a las comunidades vegetales a través del sistema con un costo míni
ISSN:0888-8892
1523-1739
DOI:10.1111/cobi.12060