Mapping drivers of change for biodiversity risk assessment to target conservation actions : human frequentation in protected areas
Pla, Magda (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Burgas, Albert (Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de l'Empordà)
Carrion, Gerard (Parc Natural de Cap de Creus (Organisme : Catalunya))
Hermoso, Virgilio (Universidad de Sevilla. Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología)
Feliu, Ponç, 1975- (Parc Natural de Cap de Creus (Organisme : Catalunya))
Romero, Sergi (Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de l'Empordà)
Casanovas, Pilar (Catalunya. Departament d'Acció Climàtica, Alimentació i Acció Rural)
Sainz de la Maza, Pau (Catalunya. Departament d'Acció Climàtica, Alimentació i Acció Rural)
Arnau del Amo, Pedro (Centre Internacional de Mètodes Numèrics en Enginyeria)
Pino i Vilalta, Joan (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)
Brotons, Lluís (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)

Data:	2024
Resum:	Mapping the drivers of change that pose negative pressures or threats to biodiversity can help to identify where biodiversity is most threatened and can be used to determine priority sites to target conservation actions. Overlapping drivers of change maps with distribution maps of sensitive species provides valuable information to identify where and when it would be better to target actions to minimize the risk. The overall aim of this study was to develop a methodology for the integration of risk mapping associated with high human frequentation to guide conservation actions in two case study: the Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) and Posidonia meadows (Posidonia oceanica), both sensitive to human frequentation. To achieve this, we used two types of geolocated mobile phone information from the STRAVA platform: mapped paths and roads number of visitors at hourly precisions and a sporting activities heatmap representative of a wider period, together with species ecological information and complementary human frequentation data. The final, monthly risk maps identified the areas for Kentish plover with null, low, moderate, high, very high risk attributed to different aspects of the breeding biology of the species, nests, nestlings, and adults. The risk thresholds for nests are lower than for nestlings and adults, thought nestlings were generally less sensitive to human frequentation than adults. Visitors number ranges between 250 and 700 approximately suppose a moderate risk for the three assessed periods, and more than 1200 visitors appeared to prevent the nesting of the species completely. The final risk maps for Posidonia meadows determine the areas with low, moderate, hight and very high risk for human marine activities. Human frequentation values in this case study are scaled between 0 and 1, the results shows that values above 0. 1 imply a high risk for the species. Both types of information can be used to target concrete, spatially explicit actions to minimize the risk caused by human frequentation. Furthermore, the first case study would allow to adapt the target actions to the species breeding phenology. The proposed risk assessment workflow is flexible and may be adjusted to match the available information and eventually could be adapted to other conservation objectives arising from different threats. In addition, data gathered from mobile mobility applications show great potential to accurately identify human frequentation, both spatially and temporally.
Nota:	This work was supported by PIPLATES (CIMNE) project funded by the Department of Territory of Catalan Government and "Monitoring of Environmental Change Factors in Catalonia" project funded by the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda of the Catalan Government.
Drets:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Llengua:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Matèria:	Biodiversity conservation ; Environmental change drivers ; Pressure ; Human frequentation ; Charadrius alexandrines ; Posidonia oceanica
Publicat a:	Heliyon, Vol. 10, issue 3 (February 2024) , art. e25312, ISSN 2405-8440

DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25312
PMID: 38322964

11 p, 6.0 MB

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