Role of African protected areas in maintaining connectivity for large mammals
| Autor: | Stefan Dech, Carlo Rondinini, Hooman Latifi, Duccio Rocchini, Martin Wegmann, Benjamin Leutner, Mirijana Bevanda, Kamran Safi, Luca Santini |
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| Přispěvatelé: | Martin Wegmann, Luca Santini, Benjamin Leutner, Kamran Safi, Duccio Rocchini, Mirjana Bevanda, Hooman Latifi, Stefan Dech, Carlo Rondinini |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2014 |
| Předmět: |
Satellite Imagery
Conservation of Natural Resources NDVI Land cover Conservation General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology Normalized Difference Vegetation Index Vegetation cover GIMMS Connettività Settore BIO/07 - ECOLOGIA Animals Ecosystem Computer Simulation AVHRR Mammals Extinction Ecology Conservazione della biodiversità Protected area network Dispersal Articles Africa Eastern Models Theoretical Geography Biological dispersal Mammal Animal Migration General Agricultural and Biological Sciences Protected area ndvi conservation gimms avhrr protected area network dispersal |
| Popis: | The African protected area (PA) network has the potential to act as a set of functionally interconnected patches that conserve meta-populations of mammal species, but individual PAs are vulnerable to habitat change which may disrupt connectivity and increase extinction risk. Individual PAs have different roles in maintaining connectivity, depending on their size and location. We measured their contribution to network connectivity (irreplaceability) for carnivores and ungulates and combined it with a measure of vulnerability based on a 30-year trend in remotely sensed vegetation cover (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index). Highly irreplaceable PAs occurred mainly in southern and eastern Africa. Vegetation cover change was generally faster outside than inside PAs and particularly so in southern Africa. The extent of change increased with the distance from PAs. About 5% of highly irreplaceable PAs experienced a faster vegetation cover loss than their surroundings, thus requiring particular conservation attention. Our analysis identified PAs at risk whose isolation would disrupt the connectivity of the PA network for large mammals. This is an example of how ecological spatial modelling can be combined with large-scale remote sensing data to investigate how land cover change may affect ecological processes and species conservation. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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