Landscape fragmentation of the Natura 2000 network and its surrounding areas

Habitat loss from anthropogenic development has led to an unprecedented decline in global biodiversity. Protected areas (PAs) exist to counteract this degradation of ecosystems. In the European Union, the Natura 2000 (N2k) network is the basis for continent-wide conservation efforts. N2k is the worl...

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Autores principales:	Alexandra Lawrence, Fabian Friedrich, Carl Beierkuhnlein
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/f549013c4a7841708c2ec0390d5af544
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:f549013c4a7841708c2ec0390d5af5442021-11-04T06:07:16ZLandscape fragmentation of the Natura 2000 network and its surrounding areas1932-6203https://doaj.org/article/f549013c4a7841708c2ec0390d5af5442021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8530314/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203Habitat loss from anthropogenic development has led to an unprecedented decline in global biodiversity. Protected areas (PAs) exist to counteract this degradation of ecosystems. In the European Union, the Natura 2000 (N2k) network is the basis for continent-wide conservation efforts. N2k is the world’s largest coordinated network of protected areas. However, threats to ecosystems do not stop at the borders of PAs. As measured by a landscape fragmentation metric, anthropogenic development can affect the interiors of PAs. To ensure the long-term viability of the N2k network of PAs, this paper attempts to quantify the degree to which N2k sites are insulated from development pressures. We use a comprehensive dataset of effective mesh density (seff) to measure aggregate fragmentation inside and within a 5 km buffer surrounding N2k sites. Our results show a strong correlation (R² = 0.78) between fragmentation (seff) within and around N2k sites. This result applies to all biogeographical regions in Europe. Only a narrow majority (58.5%) of N2k sites are less fragmented than their surroundings. Remote and mountainous regions in northern Europe, the Alps, parts of Spain, and parts of eastern Europe show the lowest levels of fragmentation. These regions tend to hold the largest N2k sites as measured by area. In contrast, central and western Europe show the highest fragmentation levels within and around N2k sites. 24.5% of all N2k sites are classified as highly to very-highly fragmented. N2k PA age since initial protection does not correlate with the difference in exterior and interior fragmentation of N2k PAs. These results indicate that PAs in Europe are not sheltered from anthropogenic pressures leading to fragmentation. Hence, we argue that there is a high potential for improving PA efficacy by taking pre-emptive action against encroaching anthropogenic fragmentation and by targeting scarce financial resources where fragmentation pressures can be mitigated through enforced construction bans inside PAs.Alexandra LawrenceFabian FriedrichCarl BeierkuhnleinPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 16, Iss 10 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Alexandra Lawrence Fabian Friedrich Carl Beierkuhnlein Landscape fragmentation of the Natura 2000 network and its surrounding areas
description	Habitat loss from anthropogenic development has led to an unprecedented decline in global biodiversity. Protected areas (PAs) exist to counteract this degradation of ecosystems. In the European Union, the Natura 2000 (N2k) network is the basis for continent-wide conservation efforts. N2k is the world’s largest coordinated network of protected areas. However, threats to ecosystems do not stop at the borders of PAs. As measured by a landscape fragmentation metric, anthropogenic development can affect the interiors of PAs. To ensure the long-term viability of the N2k network of PAs, this paper attempts to quantify the degree to which N2k sites are insulated from development pressures. We use a comprehensive dataset of effective mesh density (seff) to measure aggregate fragmentation inside and within a 5 km buffer surrounding N2k sites. Our results show a strong correlation (R² = 0.78) between fragmentation (seff) within and around N2k sites. This result applies to all biogeographical regions in Europe. Only a narrow majority (58.5%) of N2k sites are less fragmented than their surroundings. Remote and mountainous regions in northern Europe, the Alps, parts of Spain, and parts of eastern Europe show the lowest levels of fragmentation. These regions tend to hold the largest N2k sites as measured by area. In contrast, central and western Europe show the highest fragmentation levels within and around N2k sites. 24.5% of all N2k sites are classified as highly to very-highly fragmented. N2k PA age since initial protection does not correlate with the difference in exterior and interior fragmentation of N2k PAs. These results indicate that PAs in Europe are not sheltered from anthropogenic pressures leading to fragmentation. Hence, we argue that there is a high potential for improving PA efficacy by taking pre-emptive action against encroaching anthropogenic fragmentation and by targeting scarce financial resources where fragmentation pressures can be mitigated through enforced construction bans inside PAs.
format	article
author	Alexandra Lawrence Fabian Friedrich Carl Beierkuhnlein
author_facet	Alexandra Lawrence Fabian Friedrich Carl Beierkuhnlein
author_sort	Alexandra Lawrence
title	Landscape fragmentation of the Natura 2000 network and its surrounding areas
title_short	Landscape fragmentation of the Natura 2000 network and its surrounding areas
title_full	Landscape fragmentation of the Natura 2000 network and its surrounding areas
title_fullStr	Landscape fragmentation of the Natura 2000 network and its surrounding areas
title_full_unstemmed	Landscape fragmentation of the Natura 2000 network and its surrounding areas
title_sort	landscape fragmentation of the natura 2000 network and its surrounding areas
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/f549013c4a7841708c2ec0390d5af544
work_keys_str_mv	AT alexandralawrence landscapefragmentationofthenatura2000networkanditssurroundingareas AT fabianfriedrich landscapefragmentationofthenatura2000networkanditssurroundingareas AT carlbeierkuhnlein landscapefragmentationofthenatura2000networkanditssurroundingareas
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Landscape fragmentation of the Natura 2000 network and its surrounding areas

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