Habitat restoration opportunities, climatic niche contraction, and conservation biogeography in California's San Joaquin Desert
| Autor: | Michael Westphal, Joseph A. E. Stewart, Erin N. Tennant, David J. Germano, H. Scott Butterfield, Barry Sinervo, Jonathan Q. Richmond |
|---|---|
| Přispěvatelé: | Sheppard, James K |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Atmospheric Science 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences Conservation Biology Endangered species Social Sciences Introduced species 01 natural sciences Geographical locations California Models Natural Resources Land Use Conservation Science 2. Zero hunger Climatology Multidisciplinary Geography Ecology Eukaryota Lizards Agriculture Plants Habitats Phylogeography Habitat Medicine Desert Climate Research Article Conservation of Natural Resources Life on Land General Science & Technology Climate Change Science Human Geography 010603 evolutionary biology Models Biological Umbrella species Animals Grasses Restoration ecology Ecosystem 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Ecological niche Ecology and Environmental Sciences Endangered Species Organisms Biology and Life Sciences 15. Life on land Biological United States Climate Action Habitat destruction 13. Climate action Threatened species North America Earth Sciences People and places |
| Zdroj: | PLoS ONE, Vol 14, Iss 1, p e0210766 (2019) PloS one, vol 14, iss 1 PLoS ONE |
| ISSN: | 1932-6203 |
| Popis: | A recent global trend toward retirement of farmland presents opportunities to reclaim habitat for threatened and endangered species. We examine habitat restoration opportunities in one of the world’s most converted landscapes, California’s San Joaquin Desert (SJD). Despite the presence of 35 threatened and endangered species, agricultural expansion continues to drive habitat loss in the SJD, even as marginal farmland is retired. Over the next decades a combination of factors, including salinization, climate change, and historical groundwater overdraft, are projected to lead to the retirement of more than 2,000 km2 of farmland in the SJD. To promote strategic habitat protection and restoration, we conducted a quantitative assessment of habitat loss and fragmentation, habitat suitability, climatic niche stability, climate change impacts, habitat protection, and reintroduction opportunities for an umbrella species of the SJD, the endangered blunt-nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia sila). We use our suitability models, in conjunction with modern and historical land use maps, to estimate the historical and modern rate of habitat loss to development. The estimated amount of habitat lost since the species became protected under endangered species law in 1967 is greater than the total amount of habitat currently protected through public ownership and conservation easement. We document climatic niche contraction and associated range contraction away from the more mesic margins of the species’ historical distribution, driven by the anthropogenic introduction of exotic grasses and forbs. The impact of exotic species on G. sila range dynamics appears to be still unfolding. Finally, we use NASA fallowed area maps to identify 610 km2 of fallowed or retired agricultural land with high potential to again serve as habitat. We discuss conservation strategies in light of the potential for habitat restoration and multiple drivers of ongoing and historical habitat loss. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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