Coverage of vertebrate species distributions by Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas and Special Protection Areas in the European Union
| Autor: | Iván Ramírez, Stuart H. M. Butchart, Andrea Santangeli, Luigi Maiorano, Atte Moilanen, Ian J. Burfield, Aija S. Kukkala |
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| Přispěvatelé: | Biosciences, C-BIG Conservation Biology Informatics Group, Centre of Excellence in Metapopulation Research, Department of Geosciences and Geography, Finnish Museum of Natural History |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
education Biodiversity Distribution (economics) Birds Directive 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Natura 2000 network Protected area network expansion Spatial conservation prioritization Systematic conservation planning Zonation software Environmental protection biology.animal media_common.cataloged_instance European union Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics media_common Nature and Landscape Conservation biology business.industry 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology Vertebrate 15. Life on land Geography 1181 Ecology evolutionary biology Protected area business |
| Popis: | The European Union (EU) has an extensive protected area network, including Special Protection Areas (SPAs) designated under the Birds Directive. Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) are sites of international significance for birds identified by BirdLife International. Here, we perform EU-wide terrestrial spatial conservation prioritizations to evaluate the coverage of IBAs by SPAs, and the coverage of bird and other vertebrate distributions by IBAs and SPAs. We then investigate the distribution of potential locations for expanding the SPA network that maximize bird species' representation, and the coverage of these locations by IBAs. On average, SPAs cover 23% of the EU-wide distribution of each bird species and 25% of the distributions of amphibians, reptiles and mammals together, while IBAs provide marginally greater coverage. Overall, 76% of terrestrial IBAs in the EU are completely or partially covered by SPAs, and 66% of the IBA network area is covered by SPAs. Our results suggest that SPA designation has been significantly informed by data on the location of IBAs. While IBAs are identified using data on particular bird species of conservation concern, they also tend to have high EU-wide representation of other vertebrates. The designation of new or expanded SPAs covering a relatively small amount of currently unprotected land (particularly in the southern EU) would substantially increase SPA coverage of bird species ranges. Our analysis provides insights on the current contribution that these sites make to conserving vertebrates across the EU, and future possibilities for efficiently expanding the network. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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