Effectiveness of the global protected area network in representing species diversity

Spatiotemporal ecosystem services: Response to structural changes (A case study in Lahijan, Iran)

Structure and function are the inherent characteristics of each ecosystem providing various services such as clean air, extreme weather mitigation, and mental and physical well-being. The objective of this study is to develop a unified model combining Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services, ecological network (EN), and correlation analysis to investigate changes in ecosystem structure, function, and process. In this context, carbon sequestration, soil reduction, and flood risk mitigation were quantified from 2000 to 2020 and predicted for 2040 using the cellular automata and Markov chain (CA-Markov) model. Finally, correlation analysis was used to analyze the relationship over time between the land use (LU) classes and the components of the forest EN that provide and exchange desired ecosystem services (ESs). Thus, the changes in LU in the region in recent years led to significant reduction of ESs in the region as well as changes in the interaction between services. These changes, on the one hand, reduced the area of cores and increased isolated forest patches and, on the other hand, led to the horizontal expansion of cities and agricultural lands. If this trend continues, the decline in services provided by the ecosystem will persist into the future. Consequently, it can be said that structural changes in the ecosystem can lead to changes in the ESs. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:1099-1111. © 2023 SETAC.

Preclinical evaluation of single domain antibody efficacy in mitigating local tissue damage induced by Bothrops snake envenomation

Camelid single-domain antibodies (VHH) represent a promising class of immunobiologicals for therapeutic applications due to their remarkable stability, specificity, and therapeutic potential. To enhance the effectiveness of antivenoms for snakebites, various methods have been explored to address limitations associated with serum therapy, particularly focusing on mitigating local damage and ensuring sustainable production. Our study aimed to characterize the pharmacological profile and neutralization capacity of anti-Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) monomeric VHH (Genbank accessions: KC329718). Using a post-envenoming mouse model, we used intravital microscopy to assess leukocyte influx, measured CK and LDH levels, and conducted a histopathology analysis to evaluate VHH KC329718's ability to neutralize myotoxic activity. Our findings demonstrated that VHH KC329718 exhibited heterogeneous distribution in muscle tissue. Treatment with VHH KC329718 reduced leukocyte influx caused by BthTX-I (a Lys-49 PLA2) by 28 %, as observed through intravital microscopy. When administered at a 1:10 ratio [venom or toxin:VHH (w/w)], VHH KC329718 significantly decreased myotoxicity, resulting in a 35-40 % reduction in CK levels from BthTX-I and BthTX-II (an Asp-49 PLA2) and a 60 % decrease in CK levels from B. jararacussu venom. LDH levels also showed reductions of 60%, 80%, and 60% induced by BthTX-I, BthTX-II, and B. jararacussu venom, respectively. Histological analysis confirmed the neutralization potential, displaying a significant reduction in tissue damage and inflammatory cell count in mice treated with VHH KC329718 post B. jararacussu venom inoculation. This study underscores the potential of monomeric anti-PLA2 VHH in mitigating myotoxic effects, suggesting a promising avenue for the development of new generation antivenoms to address current therapeutic limitations.

Identifying global conservation priorities for terrestrial vertebrates based on multiple dimensions of biodiversity

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity calls for an expansion of the current protected areas (PAs) to cover at least 30% of global land and water areas by 2030 (i.e., the 30×30 target). Efficient spatial planning for PA expansion is an urgent need for global conservation practice. A spatial prioritization framework considering multiple dimensions of biodiversity is critical for improving the efficiency of the spatial planning of PAs, yet it remains a challenge. We developed an index for the identification of priority areas based on functionally rare, evolutionarily distinct, and globally endangered species (FREDGE) and applied it to 21,536 terrestrial vertebrates. We determined species distributions, conservation status (global endangerment), molecular phylogenies (evolutionary distinctiveness), and life-history traits (functional rarity). Madagascar, Central America, and the Andes were of high priority for the conservation of multiple dimensions of terrestrial vertebrate biodiversity. However, 68.8% of grid cells in these priority areas had <17% of their area covered by PAs, and these priority areas were under intense anthropogenic and climate change threats. These results highlight the difficulties of conserving multiple dimensions of biodiversity. Our global analyses of the geographical patterns of multiple dimensions of terrestrial vertebrate biodiversity demonstrate the insufficiency of the conservation of different biodiversity dimensions, and our index, based on multiple dimensions of biodiversity, provides a useful tool for guiding future spatial prioritization of PA expansion to achieve the 30×30 target under serious pressures.

Hidden hotspots of amphibian biodiversity in China

Identifying and protecting hotspots of endemism and species richness is crucial for mitigating the global biodiversity crisis. However, our understanding of spatial diversity patterns is far from complete, which severely limits our ability to conserve biodiversity hotspots. Here, we report a comprehensive analysis of amphibian species diversity in China, one of the most species-rich countries on Earth. Our study combines 20 y of field surveys with new molecular analyses of 521 described species and also identifies 100 potential cryptic species. We identify 10 hotspots of amphibian diversity in China, each with exceptional species richness and endemism and with exceptional phylogenetic diversity and phylogenetic endemism (based on a new time-calibrated, species-level phylogeny for Chinese amphibians). These 10 hotspots encompass 59.6% of China's described amphibian species, 49.0% of cryptic species, and 55.6% of species endemic to China. Only four of these 10 hotspots correspond to previously recognized biodiversity hotspots. The six new hotspots include the Nanling Mountains and other mountain ranges in South China. Among the 186 species in the six new hotspots, only 9.7% are well covered by protected areas and most (88.2%) are exposed to high human impacts. Five of the six new hotspots are under very high human pressure and are in urgent need of protection. We also find that patterns of richness in cryptic species are significantly related to those in described species but are not identical.

Integrating spatial-temporal soundscape mapping with landscape indicators for effective conservation management and planning of a protected area

Protected areas (PAs) possess generous biodiversity, making them great potential for human and wildlife well-being. Nevertheless, rising anthropogenic sounds may pose a serious challenge and threat to the habitats. Therefore, understanding the acoustic environments of PAs and implementing proper conservation strategies are essential for maintaining species richness within the territory. In this study, we investigate the spatial-temporal variations of soundscape distribution in the Dashanbao Protected Area (DPA) of China, ultimately discussing the planning and management strategies. Firstly, to systematically analyse the spatial-temporal soundscape distribution of the reserve, we generated single and multi-acoustic source maps by classifying geographical, biological, and anthropogenic sounds. In the region, we installed 35 recording points and collected sounds using the synchronic recording method. Secondly, we conducted Spearman correlation analyses to examine the relationships between the sound sources and i) temporal variations, ii) landscape feature indicators. Thirdly, we identified the dominant sound sources in the region and their conflict areas through the cross-analysis module of Grass Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Finally, we provided sound control strategies by discussing landscape indicators and land-use management policies. The results show that even though there is conservation planning in the DPA, anthropogenic sounds dominate in certain parts of the reserve depending on diurnal and seasonal cycles. This reveals deficiencies in the DPA's current planning concerning the soundscape and highlights the effectiveness of spatial-temporal mapping. Additionally, our correlation analyses demonstrate that landscape feature indicators can represent how sound environment is affected by landscape. The patch diversity (PD), landscape shape index (LSI), Shannon's Diversity Index (SHDI), woodland, shrubland, and water distance (WD) were identified as the primary predictors for both biological and anthropogenic sounds. None of the indicators exhibited a significant positive or negative correlation with geological sounds. Consequently, to enhance and conserve the acoustic quality of the region, spatial-temporal mapping with landscape indicators can be employed in the management and planning processes.

Risk from future climate change to Pakistan's protected area network: A composite analysis for hotspot identification

As climate change becomes a primary driver of global ecosystem deterioration and biodiversity loss, protected areas (PAs) are posed to play a crucial conservation role. At a global scale, 17 % of land is currently covered by PAs; a figure expected to reach 30 % by 2030 under the UN post-2020 global biodiversity framework. However, focusing only on the percent coverage of PAs without assessing their efficacy may not accomplish the intended conservation goals. Here, we present the first assessment of the risk from climate change to existing PAs and non-protected lands across Pakistan by combining data on the local exposure and vulnerability of 409 species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians to multidimensional changes in climate by mid (2040-2060) and late (2061-2080) century under two climate emission scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). We find that between 7 % (2050 RCP4.5) and 19 % (2080 RCP8.5) of the current network of PAs, mostly located in the eastern and southeastern parts of the country, are projected to be under future extreme risk (i.e., highly exposed areas containing highly vulnerable communities). Importantly, hotspots of risk within these PAs are projected to significantly expand over time and with increasing severity of the scenario. In contrast, PAs in the northern part of the country are projected to remain under moderate to low risk. Results are subject to variability across the country reflecting interesting differences in climate change exposure and species vulnerability between protected and non-protected lands. Importantly, significantly lower level of risks from future climate change are projected for PAs than non-protected lands across emission scenarios and periods suggesting potential candidate areas for the future expansion of the country's PA network. Our analysis provides novel insights that can help inform conservation decisions and management at a time when the country is investing in ambitious efforts to expand its network of protected areas.

Prediction of potential suitable habitats in the 21st century and GAP analysis of priority conservation areas of Chionanthus retusus based on the MaxEnt and Marxan models

Chionanthus retusus (C. retusus) has a high economic and medicinal value, but in recent years it has been included in the list of China's major protected plants and China's Red List of Biodiversity due to the serious destruction of its wild germplasm resources. Based on 131 sample points of C. retusus, this study simulated potential habitats and spatial changes of C. retusus in the 21st century using the Maxent model combined with the geographic information system ArcGIS, predicted prioritized protected areas by the Marxan model, and assessed current conservation status through GAP analysis. The results showed that (1) when the regularization multiplier was 1.5 and the feature combinations were linear, quadratic, and fragmented, the area under the curve of the subjects in the training and test sets were both above 0.9, the true skill statistic value was 0.80, and the maximum Kappa value was 0.62, meaning that the model had high accuracy; (2) Temperature seasonality, annual precipitation, min temperature for coldest month, and precipitation of wettest month had relatively strong influences on species' ranges. (3) The moderately and optimally suitable habitats of C. retusus were primly located in the areas of southwestern Shanxi, central Hebei, western Henan, Shandong, Shaanxi, Anhui and Hubei; (4) Under different future climate scenarios, the area of each class of suitable habitat will increase for varied amounts compared to the current period, with a general trend of expansion to the south; (5) The C. retusus priority protected areas were mainly located in most of Shandong, southern Liaoning, southwestern Shanxi, western Henan, and central Hebei, and its conservation vacancy area was relatively large compared to its protected area. These results will provide scientific strategies for implementing long-term conservation of C. retusus in China and similar regions under warming conditions in the 21st century.

TICI: a taxon-independent community index for eDNA-based ecological health assessment

Global biodiversity is declining at an ever-increasing rate. Yet effective policies to mitigate or reverse these declines require ecosystem condition data that are rarely available. Morphology-based bioassessment methods are difficult to scale, limited in scope, suffer prohibitive costs, require skilled taxonomists, and can be applied inconsistently between practitioners. Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding offers a powerful, reproducible and scalable solution that can survey across the tree-of-life with relatively low cost and minimal expertise for sample collection. However, there remains a need to condense the complex, multidimensional community information into simple, interpretable metrics of ecological health for environmental management purposes. We developed a riverine taxon-independent community index (TICI) that objectively assigns indicator values to amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), and significantly improves the statistical power and utility of eDNA-based bioassessments. The TICI model training step uses the Chessman iterative learning algorithm to assign health indicator scores to a large number of ASVs that are commonly encountered across a wide geographic range. New sites can then be evaluated for ecological health by averaging the indicator value of the ASVs present at the site. We trained a TICI model on an eDNA dataset from 53 well-studied riverine monitoring sites across New Zealand, each sampled with a high level of biological replication (n = 16). Eight short-amplicon metabarcoding assays were used to generate data from a broad taxonomic range, including bacteria, microeukaryotes, fungi, plants, and animals. Site-specific TICI scores were strongly correlated with historical stream condition scores from macroinvertebrate assessments (macroinvertebrate community index or MCI; R2 = 0.82), and TICI variation between sample replicates was minimal (CV = 0.013). Taken together, this demonstrates the potential for taxon-independent eDNA analysis to provide a reliable, robust and low-cost assessment of ecological health that is accessible to environmental managers, decision makers, and the wider community.

More than two-fifths of the protected land in a global biodiversity hotspot in southwest China is under intense human pressure

Habitat loss is the main threat to global biodiversity in the Anthropocene. To prevent this, protected areas are the most effective means for safeguarding biodiversity. However, extensive habitat protection under human pressure can undermine its effectiveness. Using the Hengduan Mountains, a global biodiversity hotspot in southwest China as an indicator, we assessed the extent and intensity of human pressure to highlight how these pressures have changed over time. We found that most ecoregions had high levels of intact habitat loss relative to areal protection by national nature reserves (NNRs). More than two-fifths of protected land is under intense human pressure, and lower elevation or smaller NNRs were subject to higher pressure. These increases have predominantly occurred in lower elevation NNRs, showing that elevation gradients correlate with increasing pressure. While protected areas are increasingly established, they are experiencing intense human pressure. Our findings provide useful insights for assessing resilience of protected areas and to prioritize areas where future conservation plans and actions should be focused in a changing world.

Predicting the future of threatened birds from a Neotropical ecotone area

Climate change affects ecosystems in different ways. These effects are particularly worrying in the Neotropical region, where species are most vulnerable to these changes because they live closer to their thermal safety limits. Thus, establishing conservation priorities, particularly for the definition of protected areas (PAs), is a priority. However, some PA systems within the Neotropics are ineffective even under the present environmental conditions. Here, we test the effectiveness of a PA system, within an ecotone in northern Brazil, in protecting 24 endangered bird species under current and future (RCP8.5) climatic scenarios. We used species distribution modeling and dispersal corridor modeling to describe the priority areas for conservation of these species. Our results indicate that several threatened bird taxa are and will potentially be protected (i.e., occur within PAs). Nonetheless, the amount of protected area is insufficient to maintain the species in the ecotone. Moreover, most taxa will probably present drastic declines in their range sizes; some are even predicted to go globally extinct soon. Thus, we highlight the location of a potentially effective system of dispersal corridors that connects PAs in the ecotone. We reinforce the need to implement public policies and raise public awareness to maintain PAs and mitigate anthropogenic effects within them, corridors, and adjacent areas, aiming to conserve the richness and diversity of these already threatened species.

Costs and benefits of protecting linear landscape elements: Applying systematic conservation planning on a case study in the Netherlands

Protecting and increasing linear landscape elements (LLEs) in agricultural lands is regarded as a possible solution for a transition to a more biodiverse agricultural system. However, optimizing the spatial configuration of LLEs protected areas is challenging, especially given the demand for land for food production. Systematic Conservation Planning (SCP) can address this challenge, by prioritizing cost-efficient protection areas. We used a SCP approach to look at the LLEs network in the Province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands, identifying the possible trade-off between optimizing species conservation, costs and the monetary values of ecosystem services (ES). For this we defined two scenarios. One scenario focuses on achieving species conservation targets at the minimum cost, and the other focuses on achieving targets while maximizing the benefits provided by ES. For each scenario, we further developed two land-management options, namely land-sharing and land-sparing. For each solution, we tested their cost-effectiveness by calculating implementation costs, economic benefits provided by ES, and cost/benefit ratios. First, our scenario analysis indicates that the economic benefits provided by ES always outweigh the implementation costs. Second, it shows that including ES as co-benefits in SCP (Maximize ES Scenario) yields more cost-efficient conservation solutions. Third, both land-sharing and land-sparing are possible cost-efficient approaches to achieve conservation targets. Our results are spatially explicit and identify crucial habitat areas for the conservation of the selected species, which represent 12-20% of the current unprotected network of LLEs. Our findings showcase net economic benefit of conserving species and LLEs, thus representing an additional reason for biodiversity conservation.

Climate change and anthropogenic activities shrink the range and dispersal of an endangered primate in Sichuan Province, China

The golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) is a rare and endemic species in China. The population of golden snub-nosed monkeys in Sichuan Province has an isolated genetic status, large population size, and low genetic diversity, making it highly vulnerable to environmental changes. Our study aimed to evaluate the potential impact of climate and land-use changes on the distribution and dispersal paths of the species in Sichuan Province. We used three general circulation models (GCMs), three greenhouse gas emission scenarios, and three land-use change scenarios suitable for China to predict the potential distributions of the golden snub-nosed monkey in the current and 2070s using the MaxEnt model. The dispersal paths were identified by the circuit theory. Our results suggested that the habitats of the golden snub-nosed monkey were reduced under all three GCM scenarios. The suitable habitats for the golden snub-nosed monkey would be reduced by 82.67%, 82.47%, and 75.17% under the RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5 scenarios, respectively, compared to the currently suitable habitat area. Additionally, we found that the density of future dispersal paths of golden snub-nosed monkeys would decrease, and the dispersal resistance would increase. Therefore, relevant wildlife protection agencies should prioritize the climatically suitable distributions and key dispersal paths of golden snub-nosed monkeys to improve their conservation. We identified key areas for habitat preservation and increased habitat connectivity under climate change, which could serve as a reference for future adaptation strategies.

Protected areas slow declines unevenly across the tetrapod tree of life

Protected areas (PAs) are the primary strategy for slowing terrestrial biodiversity loss. Although expansion of PA coverage is prioritized under the Convention on Biological Diversity, it remains unknown whether PAs mitigate declines across the tetrapod tree of life and to what extent land cover and climate change modify PA effectiveness1,2. Here we analysed rates of change in abundance of 2,239 terrestrial vertebrate populations across the globe. On average, vertebrate populations declined five times more slowly within PAs (-0.4% per year) than at similar sites lacking protection (-1.8% per year). The mitigating effects of PAs varied both within and across vertebrate classes, with amphibians and birds experiencing the greatest benefits. The benefits of PAs were lower for amphibians in areas with converted land cover and lower for reptiles in areas with rapid climate warming. By contrast, the mitigating impacts of PAs were consistently augmented by effective national governance. This study provides evidence for the effectiveness of PAs as a strategy for slowing tetrapod declines. However, optimizing the growing PA network requires targeted protection of sensitive clades and mitigation of threats beyond PA boundaries. Provided the conditions of targeted protection, adequate governance and well-managed landscapes are met, PAs can serve a critical role in safeguarding tetrapod biodiversity.

Incorporating global change reveals extinction risk beyond the current Red List

Global changes over the past few decades have caused species distribution shifts and triggered population declines and local extinctions of many species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species (Red List) is regarded as the most comprehensive tool for assessing species extinction risk and has been used at regional, national, and global scales. However, most Red Lists rely on the past and current status of species populations and distributions but do not adequately reflect the risks induced by future global changes. Using distribution maps of >4,000 endemic woody species in China, combined with ensembled species distribution models, we assessed the species threat levels under future climate and land-cover changes using the projected changes in species' suitable habitats and compared our updated Red List with China's existing Red List. We discover an increased number of threatened species in the updated Red List and increased threat levels of >50% of the existing threatened species compared with the existing one. Over 50% of the newly identified threatened species are not adequately covered by protected areas. The Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, rather than the Hengduan Mountains, is the distribution center of threatened species on the updated Red Lists, as opposed to the threatened species on the existing Red List. Our findings suggest that using Red Lists without considering the impacts of future global changes will underestimate the extinction risks and lead to a biased estimate of conservation priorities, potentially limiting the ability to meet the Kunming-Montreal global conservation targets.

Predicting climate heating impacts on riverine fish species diversity in a biodiversity hotspot region

Co-occurring biodiversity and global heating crises are systemic threats to life on Earth as we know it, especially in relatively rare freshwater ecosystems, such as in Iran. Future changes in the spatial distribution and richness of 131 riverine fish species were investigated at 1481 sites in Iran under optimistic and pessimistic climate heating scenarios for the 2050s and 2080s. We used maximum entropy modeling to predict species' potential distributions by hydrologic unit (HU) occupancy under current and future climate conditions through the use of nine environmental predictor variables. The most important variable determining fish occupancy was HU location, followed by elevation, climate variables, and slope. Thirty-seven species were predicted to decrease their potential habitat occupancy in all future scenarios. The southern Caspian HU faces the highest future species reductions followed by the western Zagros and northwestern Iran. These results can be used by managers to plan conservational strategies to ease the dispersal of species, especially those that are at the greatest risk of extinction or invasion and that are in rivers fragmented by dams.

The climatic risk of Amazonian protected areas is driven by climate velocity until 2050

Changes in species distribution in response to climate change might challenge the territorial boundaries of protected areas. Amazonia is one of the global regions most at risk of developing long distances between current and future analogous climates and the emergence of climate conditions without analogs in the past. As a result, species present within the network of Protected Areas (PAs) of Amazonia may be threatened throughout the 21st century. In this study, we investigated climate velocity based on future and past climate-analogs using forward and backward directions in the network of PAs of Amazonia, in order to assess the climatic risk of these areas to climate change and verify their effectiveness in maintaining the current climate conditions. Using current (1970-2000) and future (2041-2060) average annual air temperature and precipitation data with a resolution of 10 km, climate velocities across the entire Amazon biome and average climate velocities of PAs and Indigenous Lands (ILs) were evaluated. The results show that the effects of backward velocity will be greater than that of forward velocity in the Amazon biome. However, the PA network will be less exposed to backward velocity impacts than unprotected areas (UAs)-emphasizing the importance of these areas as a conservation tool. In contrast, for the forward velocity impacts, the PA network will be slightly more exposed than UAs-indicating that the current spatial arrangement of the PA network is still not the most suitable to minimize impacts of a possible climate redistribution. In addition, a large extent of no-analog climates for backward velocities was found in central Amazonia, indicating that high temperatures and changes in precipitation patterns in this region will surpass the historical variability of the entire biome, making it a potentially isolated and unsuitable climatic envelope for species in the future. Most of the no-analog climates are in PAs, however the climate risks in ILs should also be highlighted since they presented higher climate velocities than PAs in both metrics. Our projections contrast with the median latitudinal migration rate of 2 km/year observed in most ecosystems and taxonomic groups studied so far and suggest the need for median migration rates of 7.6 km/year. Thus, despite the important role of PAs and ILs as conservation tools, they are not immune to the effects of climate change and new management strategies, specific to each area and that allow adaptation to global changes, will be necessary.

Socioeconomic development shows positive links to the conservation efficiency of China's protected area network

While the protected area (PA) covers >15% of the planet's terrestrial land area and continues to expand, factors determining its effectiveness in conserving endangered species are being debated. We investigated the links between direct anthropogenic pressures, socioeconomic settings, and the coverage of vertebrate taxa by China's PA network, and indicated that high socioeconomic status and low levels of human pressure correlate with high species coverage, with threatened mammals more effectively conserved than reptiles or amphibians. Positive links between conservation outcomes and socioeconomic progress appear linked to local livelihood improvements triggering positive perceptions of local PAs-aided further by ecological compensation and tourism schemes introduced in wealthy areas and reinforced by continued positive conservation outcomes. Socioeconomic development of China's less developed regions might assist regional PA efficiency and achievement of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, while also addressing potential shortcomings from an insufficient past focus on socioeconomic impacts for biodiversity conservation.

How to balance land demand conflicts to guarantee sustainable land development

Severe arable land loss and ecological problems raise attention to protect/develop land for food and ecology demand. Spatial conflict appears in front of multidemand for urbanization, food, and ecology. Our study took China as an example and explicitly outlined spatial preference of urbanization, food, and ecology. From the aspect of land amount, there are enough lands to support multidemand with a surplus of agriculture land of 45.5 × 10⁶ ha. However, spatial conflict widely appears among the multidemands. We tested the impacts of different priorities on urban pattern, crop yield, and ecology and found the priority of food > ecology > urbanization gave the best outcome. Our results verified the importance of including priority of land multidemand to avoid confusion and increase efficiency in the implementation of land policies.

Global conservation prioritization areas in three dimensions of crocodilian diversity

Crocodilians are a taxonomic group of large predators with important ecological and evolutionary benefits for ecosystem functioning in the face of global change. Anthropogenic actions affect negatively crocodilians' survival and more than half of the species are threatened with extinction worldwide. Here, we map and explore three dimensions of crocodilian diversity on a global scale. To highlight the ecological importance of crocodilians, we correlate the spatial distribution of species with the ecosystem services of nutrient retention in the world. We calculate the effectiveness of global protected networks in safeguarding crocodilian species and provide three prioritization models for conservation planning. Our results show the main hotspots of ecological and evolutionary values are in southern North, Central and South America, west-central Africa, northeastern India, and southeastern Asia. African species have the highest correlation to nutrient retention patterns. Twenty-five percent of the world's crocodilian species are not significantly represented in the existing protected area networks. The most alarming cases are reported in northeastern India, eastern China, and west-central Africa, which include threatened species with low or non-significant representation in the protected area networks. Our highest conservation prioritization model targets southern North America, east-central Central America, northern South America, west-central Africa, northeastern India, eastern China, southern Laos, Cambodia, and some points in southeastern Asia. Our research provides a global prioritization scheme to protect multiple dimensions of crocodilian diversity for achieving effective conservation outcomes.

DNA Barcode Library of Megadiverse Lepidoptera in an Alpine Nature Park (Italy) Reveals Unexpected Species Diversity

Species inventories are a prerequisite for biodiversity monitoring and conservation, particularly in protected areas. However, the possibilities of a standardized survey of species diversity using DNA barcoding have so far hardly been implemented, especially in species-rich groups. A first-time molecular-based and nearly complete inventory of the megadiverse insect order Lepidoptera in a protected area in the Alps (Cottian Alps, Italy) was intended to test the possibilities and reliability of DNA-based identifications. From voucher material collected between 2019 and 2022, we successfully sequenced 1213 morphospecies that grouped into 1204 BINs (barcode index numbers), whereas DNA barcoding failed for another 18 species. A total of 35 species shared a BIN with one or more taxa, but a majority of 19 species could still be discriminated by divergent sequences. A total of 12 morphospecies split into two BINs. These species and a further 22 taxa with unique BINs and barcode divergences >2% to the nearest neighbor require taxonomic re-assessment. Two additional cryptic species from the study area were described recently. Finally, 16 species are newly recorded for Italy. Our study, therefore, demonstrates the importance of DNA barcoding for both faunistics and the discovery of cryptic diversity, even in apparently well-studied protected areas.

Does the establishment of nature reserves increase rural residents' income? : Empirical evidence from China based on PSM-DID

Clarifying the impact of nature reserves on rural residents' income is of great significance to the organic integration of environmental protection and rural residents' income improvement. Based on the panel data of 600 counties from nine provinces in China, ranging from 2010 to 2019, this study employs the quasi-experimental method of Difference in Difference and Propensity Score Matching (PSM-DID) to examine how rural resident's income is influenced by the establishment of nature reserves. It is found that (1) Nature reserves, with a positive impact on rural resident's income, bring more earnings to the rural residents. (2) The impact varies with the heterogeneity of natural reserve types. That is, national and natural parks can increase rural residents' income, while the ones with wildlife or remote desert ecosystem play a limited role. (3) The increased income is mainly originated from the development of tourism, the improvement of facilities and the enhancement of ecosystem services. On this basis, multiple methods are proposed to promote rural residents' income and livelihood security of local communities. Policy recommendations are brought forth as well, including the focus on guaranteeing the livelihood security of rural residents nearby nature reserves where wildlife and remote desert ecosystem are protected.

Relative contributions of natural and anthropogenic factors to the distribution patterns of nature reserves in mainland China

Nature reserves (NRs) are designated as a result of the ecosystem, species, economy, population, and land use coordination. However, the extent to which these factors influence the geographical pattern of NRs is unclear. Here, 11 indices (seven natural and four anthropogenic) were examined to identify these relationships in over 2600 terrestrial NRs in mainland China at the provincial level. Correlation analysis between natural and anthropogenic factors and NRs showed that desert and grassland had a positive correlation with NR coverage and area, and a negative correlation with NR density. This result was reversed in the correlation analysis between forest wetland coverage, endangered species, wildlife and NR coverage, area, and density. Similar results were found in the correlation analysis of all anthropogenic factors (population density, agricultural land, roads, and per capita GDP) with the coverage, area, and density of NRs. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed that three significant natural indicators (desert ecosystems, grasslands ecosystems, and forested and wetlands ecosystems) could explain 64.2 % of the pattern of NRs. The largest contributor was desert coverage, explaining 48.3 % (P = 0.002) of all indicators, followed by grassland coverage, explaining 8.6 % (P = 0.012), and forest and wetland coverage, explaining 7.3 % (P = 0.008). Human activities were significantly positively correlated with forest and wetland coverage, flora, and fauna, and negatively correlated with desert and grassland coverage. Compared with sand and grassland in the western region, the forest wetlands and wildlife in the eastern and central provinces were under greater pressure from anthropogenic activities. Therefore, natural factors determine the general layout of NRs, while the influence of anthropogenic activities makes the distribution of NRs patchy. When establishing national parks, governments must design strategies to coordinate areas with high biodiversity and high levels of human activity.

Effect of free-ranging cattle on mammalian diversity: an Austral Yungas case study

Extensive cattle ranging is an important economic activity in mountains, with diverse effects on native mammal communities. The effects of cattle Bos taurus can be negative, positive or neutral, mostly depending on the stocking rate. We examined the effect of cattle on the diversity and abundance of native mammalian species in the Austral Yungas region of Argentina, considering environmental variables, land protection status, and human influence. Using 12,512 trap-nights from 167 camera-trap stations over 11 years (2009–2019), we calculated a relative abundance index using camera events and used generalized linear models to estimate the effect of cattle on small mammals, large herbivores, species of conservation concern and felids. Cattle had different effects on each group of native mammals. We observed a lower abundance of large native herbivores and the absence of small mammals in areas with high cattle abundance. The tapir Tapirus terrestris, jaguar Panthera onca and white-lipped peccary Tayassu pecari are rare in the Yungas and therefore potentially vulnerable to extinction there. Conservation of small felids and low cattle abundance could be compatible, but felids are threatened by other anthropogenic influences. Native mammalian diversity and richness were related to land protection status. The entire ecoregion is potentially suitable for cattle, suggesting the potential for further threats, and that cattle should be excluded from strictly protected areas. To ensure extensive cattle ranging is compatible with wildlife conservation in areas where exclusion is not possible, we recommend improved management of cattle and moderate stocking rates.

Heterogeneous Effects of Skill Training on Rural Livelihoods around Four Biosphere Reserves in China

The growing contradiction between protection and livelihood is a common challenge for most protected areas in developing countries. Skill training is an important way to increase household income and alleviate the dilemma between conservation and development. However, its effects on household income around protected areas have rarely been explored. This paper aims to evaluate the effect of skill training on the income of households around four Biosphere Reserves in China and explore its mechanism. Based on the information collected from 381 households through face-to-face interviews, this study adopted descriptive analysis and multiple regression to yield consistent results. The results showed that agricultural and off-farm skill training had no impact on the total household income. The results from the mechanism analysis found that participation in off-farm skill training had a significant and positive effect on the total income of the households outside protected areas and participation in agricultural training had a positive effect on agricultural income. The findings indicate that the local government and protected area administration should increase the publicity for skill training, enrich the types training, appropriately supply livelihood support projects that reconcile conservation and development, and strengthen the infrastructure development around protected areas to promote off-farm employment and the circulation and sale of agricultural products. However, the impacts of any associated intensification should be carefully monitored.

The effectiveness of a large protected area to conserve a global endemism hotspot may vanish in the face of climate and land-use changes

Endemic vertebrates are a crucial component of biodiversity, yet face disproportionally high extinction risk as climate and land-use changes drive habitat loss. Large protected areas are therefore deemed necessary to mitigate biodiversity loss. In 2021, China’s Giant Panda National Park (GPNP, 27,134 km2) was established in one of the global endemism hotspots. In this study we ask the question whether this large national park is able to conserve the many threatened endemic vertebrates occurring in the region in the face of climate and land-use changes, in order to assess the long-term effectiveness of the GPNP. We used species distribution modeling techniques to project the distributions of 40 threatened terrestrial (and freshwater) endemic vertebrates under land-use and climate change scenarios SSP2–4.5, SSP3–7.0 and SSP5–8.5 in 2081–2100, and assessed the extent to which their distributions are covered by the GPNP, now and in the future. We found that by 2081–2100, two thirds of the threatened endemic vertebrates are predicted to lose part (15–79%, N = 4) of or (nearly) their entire (80–100% loss, N = 23) range under all three climate and land-use change scenarios. Consequently, fewer species are predicted to occur in the GPNP than at present. Our findings confirm the high vulnerability of threatened endemic species to climate and land-use changes, despite protected areas. Habitat loss due to climate and land-use changes elevate extinction risk of species in endemism hotspots across the globe. Urgent, widespread and intensified mitigation measures and adaptation measures are required at a landscape scale for effective conservation efforts in the future.

Reconciling cities with nature: Identifying local Blue-Green Infrastructure interventions for regional biodiversity enhancement

Increasing urbanization degrades quantity, quality, and the functionality of spatial cohesion of natural areas essential to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning worldwide. The uncontrolled pace of building activity and the erosion of blue (i.e., aquatic) and green (i.e., terrestrial) landscape elements threaten existing habitat ranges and movability of wildlife. Local scale measures, such as nature-inspired engineered Blue-Green Infrastructure (BGI) are emerging mitigation solutions. Originally planned to promote sustainable stormwater management, adaptation to climate change and improved human livability in cities, such instruments offer interesting synergies for biodiversity in support of existing ecological infrastructure. BGI are especially appealing for globally declining amphibians, a rich and diverse vertebrate assemblage sensitive to urbanization. We integrated biological and highly resolved urban-rural land-cover data, ensemble models of habitat suitability, and connectivity models based on circuit theory to improve multi-scale and multi-species protection of core habitats and ecological corridors in the Swiss lowlands. Considering a broad spectrum of amphibian biodiversity, we identified distributions of amphibian biodiversity hotspots and four landscape elements essential to amphibian movability at the regional scale, namely i) forest edges, ii) wet-forest habitats, iii) soils with variable moisture and iv) riparian zones. Our work shows that cities can make a substantial contribution (e.g., up to 15% of urban space in the study area) to wider landscape habitat connectivity. We highlight the importance of planning BGI locally in strategic locations across urban and peri-urban areas to promote the permeability and availability of 'stepping stone' habitats in densely populated landscapes, essential to the maintenance of regional habitat connectivity and thereby enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.

Global protected areas seem insufficient to safeguard half of the world's mammals from human-induced extinction

Protected areas are vital for conserving global biodiversity, but we lack information on the extent to which the current global protected area network is able to prevent local extinctions. Here we investigate this by assessing the potential size of individual populations of nearly 4,000 terrestrial mammals within protected areas. We find that many existing protected areas are too small or too poorly connected to provide robust and resilient protection for almost all mammal species that are threatened with extinction and for over 1,000 species that are not currently threatened. These results highlight that global biodiversity targets must reflect ecological realities by incorporating spatial structure and estimates of population viability, rather than relying simply on the total area of land protected.

Protected areas (PAs) are a cornerstone of global conservation and central to international plans to minimize global extinctions. During the coming century, global ecosystem destruction and fragmentation associated with increased human population and economic activity could make the long-term survival of most terrestrial vertebrates even more dependent on PAs. However, the capacity of the current global PA network to sustain species for the long term is unknown. Here, we explore this question for all nonvolant terrestrial mammals for which we found sufficient data, ∼4,000 species. We first estimate the potential population size of each such mammal species in each PA and then use three different criteria to estimate if solely the current global network of PAs might be sufficient for their long-term survival. Our analyses suggest that current PAs may fail to provide robust protection for about half the species analyzed, including most species currently listed as threatened with extinction and a third of species not currently listed as threatened. Hundreds of mammal species appear to have no viable protected populations. Underprotected species were found across all body sizes, taxonomic groups, and geographic regions. Large-bodied mammals, endemic species, and those in high-biodiversity tropical regions were particularly poorly protected by existing PAs. As new international biodiversity targets are formulated, our results suggest that the global network of PAs must be greatly expanded and most importantly that PAs must be located in diverse regions that encompass species not currently protected and must be large enough to ensure that protected species can persist for the long term.

The minimum land area requiring conservation attention to safeguard biodiversity

Ambitious conservation efforts are needed to stop the global biodiversity crisis. In this study, we estimate the minimum land area to secure important biodiversity areas, ecologically intact areas, and optimal locations for representation of species ranges and ecoregions. We discover that at least 64 million square kilometers (44% of terrestrial area) would require conservation attention (ranging from protected areas to land-use policies) to meet this goal. More than 1.8 billion people live on these lands, so responses that promote autonomy, self-determination, equity, and sustainable management for safeguarding biodiversity are essential. Spatially explicit land-use scenarios suggest that 1.3 million square kilometers of this land is at risk of being converted for intensive human land uses by 2030, which requires immediate attention. However, a sevenfold difference exists between the amount of habitat converted in optimistic and pessimistic land-use scenarios, highlighting an opportunity to avert this crisis. Appropriate targets in the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework to encourage conservation of the identified land would contribute substantially to safeguarding biodiversity.

Spatial priorities for freshwater biodiversity conservation in light of catchment protection and connectivity in Europe

Freshwater ecosystems host disproportionately high numbers of species relative to their surface area yet are poorly protected globally. We used data on the distribution of 1631 species of aquatic plant, mollusc, odonate and fish in 18,816 river and lake catchments in Europe to establish spatial conservation priorities based on the occurrence of threatened, range-restricted and endemic species using the Marxan systematic conservation planning tool. We found that priorities were highest for rivers and ancient lakes in S Europe, large rivers and lakes in E and N Europe, smaller lakes in NW Europe and karst/limestone areas in the Balkans, S France and central Europe. The a priori inclusion of well-protected catchments resulted in geographically more balanced priorities and better coverage of threatened (critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable) species. The a priori exclusion of well-protected catchments showed that priority areas that need further conservation interventions are in S and E Europe. We developed three ways to evaluate the correspondence between conservation priority and current protection by assessing whether a cathment has more (or less) priority given its protection level relative to all other catchments. Each method found that priority relative to protection was high in S and E Europe and generally low in NW Europe. The inclusion of hydrological connectivity had little influence on these patterns but decreased the coverage of threatened species, indicating a trade-off between connectivity and conservation of threatened species. Our results suggest that catchments in S and E Europe need urgent conservation attention (protected areas, restoration, management, species protection) in the face of imminent threats such as river regulation, dam construction, hydropower development and climate change. Our study presents continental-scale conservation priorities for freshwater ecosystems in ecologically meaningful planning units and will thus be important in freshwater biodiversity conservation policy and practice, and water management in Europe.

Evaluation of Protected Areas in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, West Africa, Using a Remote Sensing-Based Approach

This study assesses the representation of defined ecoregions, slope profiles, and species richness of threatened mammals in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)-listed protected areas in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. It also evaluates the exposure of protected area categories to the cumulative degree of human modification and their vulnerability to future agricultural expansion. Spatial gap and statistical analyses were performed using quantitative data from publicly available online global databases. Analyses indicated key conservation priorities for both countries: (1) to increase the protection of the Guinean forest–savanna mosaic, West Sudanian savanna, and Eastern Guinean forests, especially of the Eastern Guinean forests’ ecoregion associated with the Guinean forests of the West Africa biodiversity hotspot; (2) to increase the protected area coverage of flat lands and low slopes; and (3) to enhance the size and connectivity of existing protected areas, including restoring degraded habitats. The study emphasizes that improving the ability of tropical protected areas to conserve nature and mitigate anthropogenic threats should be a global conservation priority. Improving the data quality and detail within the World Database on Protected Areas and ground-truthing them are recommended urgently to support accurate and informative assessments.

Balancing the Conservation and Poverty Eradication: Differences in the Spatial Distribution Characteristics of Protected Areas between Poor and Non-Poor Counties in China

Understanding the spatial distribution characteristics of protected areas is the basis to balance the conservation and regional development. With the increasing number and area of protected areas, China has also made decisive progress in the fight against poverty. However, the spatial distribution characteristics of various types of protected areas in poor counties in China are still unclear and lacking further analysis on the differences compared to non-poor counties. Here, we first integrated the spatial distribution data of 8133 protected areas in China and overlaid them with 832 poor counties. Then we explored the spatial distribution characteristics of protected areas and the relationship with socio-economic and natural environment in poor and non-poor counties. The results showed that the area coverage of nature reserves in poor counties in China was significantly higher than that in non-poor counties (p < 0.001), while the area coverage of natural parks in non-poor counties was significantly higher than that in poor counties (p < 0.05). The area coverages of protected areas in poor counties in Northeast (p < 0.05), Southwest (p < 0.001), Central (p < 0.05), and East China (p < 0.01) were significantly higher than that in non-poor counties. Furthermore, the area coverage of nature reserves in poor counties was significantly positively correlated with mean elevation (p < 0.001), and the area coverage of natural parks in non-poor counties was significantly positively correlated with road network density (p < 0.05) and negatively correlated with the proportion of farmland (p < 0.001). This study can provide a reference to help China and other similar countries in the establishment of protected area systems to balance the conservation and poverty eradication for regional sustainable development.

Increasing taxonomic diversity and spatial resolution clarifies opportunities for protecting US imperiled species

Continental- and regional-scale assessments of gaps in protected area networks typically use relatively coarse range maps for well documented species groups, creating uncertainty about the fate of unexamined biodiversity and providing insufficient guidance for land managers. By building habitat suitability models for a taxonomically diverse group of 2216 imperiled plants and animals, we revealed comprehensive and detailed protection opportunities in the conterminous United States. Summing protection-weighted range-size rarity (PWRSR, the product of the percent of modeled habitat outside of protected areas and the inverse of modeled habitat extent) uncovered novel patterns of biodiversity importance. Concentrations of unprotected imperiled species in places such as the northern Sierra Nevada, central and northern Arizona, the Rocky Mountains of Utah and Colorado, southeastern Texas, southwestern Arkansas, and Florida's Lake Wales Ridge have rarely if ever been featured in continental- and regional-scale analyses. Inclusion of diverse taxa (vertebrates, freshwater mussels, crayfishes, bumble bees, butterflies, skippers, and vascular plants) partially drove these new patterns. When analyses were restricted to groups typically included in previous studies (birds, mammals, and amphibians), up to 53% of imperiled species in other groups were left out. The finer resolution of modeled inputs (990 m) also resulted in a more geographically dispersed pattern. For example, 90% of the human population of the conterminous United States lives within 50 km of modeled habitat for one or more species with high PWRSR scores. Over one-half of the habitat for 818 species occurs within federally lands managed for biodiversity protection; an additional 360 species have over one-half of their modeled habitat on federal multiple use land. Freshwater animals occur in places with poorer landscape condition but with less exposure to climate change than other groups, suggesting that habitat restoration is an important conservation strategy for these species. The results provide fine-scale, taxonomically diverse inputs for local and regional priority-setting and show that although protection efforts are still widely needed on private lands, notable gains can be achieved by increasing protection status on selected federal lands.

Surprisingly high economic costs of biological invasions in protected areas

Biological invasions are one of the main threats to biodiversity within protected areas (PAs) worldwide. Meanwhile, the resilience of PAs to invasions remains largely unknown. Consequently, providing a better understanding of how they are impacted by invasions is critical for informing policy responses and optimally allocating resources to prevention and control strategies. Here we use the InvaCost database to address this gap from three perspectives: (i) characterizing the total reported costs of invasive alien species (IAS) in PAs; (ii) comparing mean observed costs of IAS in PAs and non-PAs; and (iii) evaluating factors affecting mean observed costs of IAS in PAs. Our results first show that, overall, the reported economic costs of IAS in PAs amounted to US$ 22.24 billion between 1975 and 2020, of which US$ 930.61 million were observed costs (already incurred) and US$ 21.31 billion were potential costs (extrapolated or predicted). Expectedly, most of the observed costs were reported for management (73%) but damages were still much higher than expected for PAs (24%); in addition, the vast majority of management costs were reported for reactive, post-invasion actions (84% of management costs, focused on eradication and control). Second, differences between costs in PAs and non-PAs varied among continents and environments. We found significantly higher IAS costs in terrestrial PA environments compared to non-PAs, while regionally, Europe incurred higher costs in PAs and Africa and Temperate Asia incurred higher costs in non-PAs. Third, characterization of drivers of IAS costs within PAs showed an effect of environments (higher costs in terrestrial environments), continents (higher in Africa and South America), taxa (higher in invertebrates and vertebrates than plants) and Human Development Index (higher in more developed countries). Globally, our findings indicate that, counterintuitively, PAs are subject to very high costs from biological invasions. This highlights the need for more resources to be invested in the management of IAS to achieve the role of PAs in ensuring the long term conservation of nature. Accordingly, more spatially-balanced and integrative studies involving both scientists and stakeholders are required.