Supporting Adaptive Connectivity in Dynamic Landscapes

Megan K. Jennings, Katherine A. Zeller and Rebecca L. Lewison
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Megan K. Jennings: Biology Department, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182-4614, USA
Katherine A. Zeller: Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Missoula, MT 59801, USA
Rebecca L. Lewison: Biology Department, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182-4614, USA

Land, 2020, vol. 9, issue 9, 1-21

Abstract: A central tenet of landscape conservation planning is that natural communities can be supported by a connected landscape network that supports many species and habitat types. However, as the planning environment, ecological conditions, and risks and stressors change over time, the areas needed to support landscape connectivity may also shift. We demonstrate an approach designed to assess functional and structural connectivity of an established protected area network that has experienced landscape and planning changes over time. Here we present an approach designed to inform adaptive planning for connectivity with a complementary suite of analytical techniques. Using existing occurrence, movement, and genetic data for six focal species, we create a spatially explicit connectivity assessment based on landscape resistance, paired with a landscape feature geodiversity analysis. Although factors such as cost, conservation goals, and land management strategies must be taken into account, this approach provides a template for leveraging available empirical data and robust analyses to evaluate and adapt planning for protected area networks that can preserve and promote both functional and structural connectivity in dynamic landscapes.

Keywords: corridor; dynamic connectivity; ecological network; focal species; land facet; landscape conservation; linkage; multi-species (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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