scholarly journals Conservation priorities for terrestrial mammals in Dobrogea Region, Romania

ZooKeys ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 792 ◽  
pp. 133-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iulia V. Miu ◽  
Chisamera Gabriel B. ◽  
Viorel D. Popescu ◽  
Ruben Iosif ◽  
Andreea Nita ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Habitats Directive ◽  
Conservation Priorities ◽  
Terrestrial Mammals ◽  
Core Areas ◽  
Mammal Distribution ◽  
Intensive Sampling ◽  
Mammal Diversity

Based on species occurrence records of museum collections, published literature, and unpublished records shared by mammalian experts, we compiled a distribution database for 59 terrestrial mammals populating the extensively protected Dobrogea Region of Romania. The spatial patterns of mammal distribution and diversity was evaluated and systematic conservation planning applied to identify priority areas for their conservation. The spatial analyses revealed that intensive sampling was not directly correlated to mammal diversity but rather to accessibility for inventory. The spatial prioritisation analysis indicated a relatively aggregated pattern of areas with a high or low conservation value with virtually no connecting corridors between them. The significant overlap between Natura 2000 sites and national protected areas induced an over-optimistic vision of the effectiveness and representativeness of existing Natura 2000 network for species found in Annexes II and IV of the Habitats Directive. These results represent a key step in identifying core areas for the protection of mammal diversity and dispersal corridors for improved connectivity, and to guide future conservation efforts in increasing the effectiveness of the existing protected areas in the context of environmental changes.

scholarly journals The Comparative Analysis of Pressures and Threats to The Natura 2000 Sites for Wild Birds Protection - Case Studies in Wetlands in Romania and Bulgaria

2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 183-192
Author(s):  
Doina Cioacă
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Habitats Directive ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Natural Protected Areas ◽  
Birds Directive ◽  
Green Corridor ◽  
Natura 2000 Site

ABSTRACT The Natura 2000 concept and wetlands protection are relatively new for Romania and Bulgaria, because they are former communist countries and, after the 1990s, had too little value placed on nature conservation in favour of infrastructure development and agriculture. The development of the European ecological network Natura 2000 on these territories has come as an obligation for accession of these countries to The European Union on 01.01.2007. During the period 2006-2009 I made an analysis for the management of protected areas along the Danube Green Corridor, between Romania and Bulgaria, especially for wetlands, similar to the results of the WWF Germany project “Lower Danube - Green Corridor (LDGC): Freshwater protected area management and freshwater restoration in Bulgaria, Romania and trans-boundary conservation along the Lower Danube”. To have a complete view of the situation of the protected areas management between Romania and Bulgaria, along the Lower Danube Green Corridor, and the perspectives for the next years, I carried out some evaluation for more than 20 Natura 2000 sites, which are alike in many ways, such as: the object of protection (Sites of Community Importance, SCI, under the Habitats Directive; Special Protection Areas for birds, SPAs, under the Birds Directive; natural protected areas of national importance for these two countries, or other natural and semi natural areas with the potential to be protected), human activities, pressures and threats, and other aspects. Later, I used these results to make a comparative analysis of the Cernica area (Ilfov County, Romania), to add another argument to include it in the Natura 2000 Network from Romania, as ROSPA0122 Cernica Lake and Forest. This analysis showed that Cernica faces approximately the same pressures and threats as other protected areas and has almost the same efficiency in management planning as the highest assessed Natura 2000 SPAs, respectively Iezer-Călăraşi in Romania and Srebarna of Bulgaria, which is an argument to establish this area as a Natura 2000 site.

scholarly journals Evaluating European Conservation Areas and Proposal of New Zones of Conservation under the Habitats Directive. Application to Spanish Territories

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 398
Author(s):  
Víctor Rincón ◽  
Javier Velázquez ◽  
Javier Gutiérrez ◽  
Beatriz Sánchez ◽  
Ana Hernando ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Multicriteria Analysis ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Habitats Directive ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Conservation Areas ◽  
Natura 2000 Network ◽  
Geostatistical Methods ◽  
Castilla Y Leon

The European Union (EU) ensures the conservation of biodiversity through the Natura 2000 Network, which establishes the classification and selection of protected areas at European level. Unfortunately, member countries cannot make the best zoning decisions for biodiversity conservation because there are no clear and uniform parameters to designate Natura 2000 sites. Due to this, it is convenient to evaluate the importance of the criteria for biodiversity conservation through a general assessment, which could establish relevant criteria that can be analysed through geostatistical methods combined in multicriteria analysis. This paper aims to consider biodiversity importance values taking into account land use, so that it is possible to develop a zoning proposal which verifies or corrects the suitability of the designated areas for the Natura 2000 Network in Castilla y León, Andalucía and Madrid (Spain). The choice of these regions allows us to compare areas with a high variability of population density, making possible to compare the potential protected areas with respect to the population living in each area. This assessment has been performed using basic and easily adaptable criteria of biodiversity conservation, so it could be applied in other European territories. In this way, clear and uniform parameters for zoning will be used, being possible to detect the best protected areas. One of the most important purposes of the Natura 2000 Network is to increase connectivity between territories; our work proposes new areas that could be linked to currently protected territories, to favour the achievement of this purpose of the Natura 2000 Network.

The EU Habitats Directive and the German Natura 2000 Network of Protected Areas as Tool for Implementing the Conservation of Relict Species

2009 ◽  
pp. 323-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Zimmermann ◽  
Mareike Vischer-Leopold ◽  
Götz Ellwanger ◽  
Axel Ssymank ◽  
Eckhard Schröder
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Habitats Directive ◽  
Natura 2000 Network ◽  
Relict Species ◽  
Eu Habitats Directive ◽  
The Eu

scholarly journals Identification of areas of very high biodiversity value to achieve the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 key commitments

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e10067
Author(s):  
Iulia V. Miu ◽  
Laurentiu Rozylowicz ◽  
Viorel D. Popescu ◽  
Paulina Anastasiu
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Conservation Planning ◽  
National Level ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Habitats Directive ◽  
Natura 2000 Network ◽  
Spatial Prioritization ◽  
Biogeographical Region ◽  
Very High ◽  
The Eu

Background The European Union strives to increase protected areas of the EU terrestrial surface to 30% by year 2030, of which one third should be strictly protected. Designation of the Natura 2000 network, the backbone of nature protection in the EU, was mostly an expert-opinion process with little systematic conservation planning. The designation of the Natura 2000 network in Romania followed the same non-systematic approach, resulting in a suboptimal representation of invertebrates and plants. To help identify areas with very high biodiversity without repeating past planning missteps, we present a reproducible example of spatial prioritization using Romania’s current terrestrial Natura 2000 network and coarse-scale terrestrial species occurrence. Methods We used 371 terrestrial Natura 2000 Sites of Community Importance (Natura 2000 SCI), designated to protect 164 terrestrial species listed under Annex II of Habitats Directive in Romania in our spatial prioritization analyses (marine Natura 2000 sites and species were excluded). Species occurrences in terrestrial Natura 2000 sites were aggregated at a Universal Traverse Mercator spatial resolution of 1 km2. To identify priority terrestrial Natura 2000 sites for species conservation, and to explore if the Romanian Natura 2000 network sufficiently represents species included in Annex II of Habitats Directive, we used Zonation v4, a decision support software tool for spatial conservation planning. We carried out the analyses nationwide (all Natura 2000 sites) as well as separately for each biogeographic region (i.e., Alpine, Continental, Pannonian, Steppic and Black Sea). Results The results of spatial prioritization of terrestrial Natura 2000 vary greatly by planning scenario. The performance of national-level planning of top priorities is minimal. On average, when 33% of the landscape of Natura 2000 sites is protected, only 20% of the distribution of species listed in Annex II of Habitats Directive are protected. As a consequence, the representation of species by priority terrestrial Natura 2000 sites is lessened when compared to the initial set of species. When planning by taxonomic group, the top-priority areas include only 10% of invertebrate distribution in Natura 2000. When selecting top-priority areas by biogeographical region, there are significantly fewer gap species than in the national level and by taxa scenarios; thusly, the scenario outperforms the national-level prioritization. The designation of strictly protected areas as required by the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 should be followed by setting clear objectives, including a good representation of species and habitats at the biogeographical region level.

scholarly journals Integration of Conservation Measures Concerning Natura 2000 Sites into Marine Protected Areas Regulations: A Study Related to Sardinia

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corrado Zoppi
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Marine Protected Areas ◽  
Spatial Planning ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Habitats Directive ◽  
Conservation Measures ◽  
Planning Approach ◽  
Birds Directive ◽  
Natura 2000 Site ◽  
Marine Areas

This study defines and discusses a spatial planning approach, which can be integrated into conservation measures, regarding the sites of the Natura 2000 Network—established under the provisions of Directive No. 92/43/EEC (the “Habitats” Directive), and Directive No. 2009/147/EC (the “Birds” Directive)—into the regulations of marine protected areas. The protected marine area of the Island of Tavolara and Cape Coda Cavallo, located in North-Eastern Sardinia (which is overlapped by a Natura 2000 Site) is the spatial context for the implementation of the proposed methodology. The comprehensive outcome of this study, that is, the implementation of the proposed spatial planning approach into regulations regarding the previously mentioned protected marine areas, is particularly relevant for the scientific and technical debate on spatial planning. This debate is related to protection of nature and natural resources, since the issue of integration of the conservation measures related to Natura 200 Network, into regulations of protected areas, is an open question, which needs further consideration and insights.

scholarly journals Identification of areas of very high biodiversity value to achieve the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 key commitments

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iulia V. Miu ◽  
Laurentiu Rozylowicz ◽  
Viorel D. Popescu ◽  
Paulina Anastasiu
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Conservation Planning ◽  
National Level ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Habitats Directive ◽  
Natura 2000 Network ◽  
Spatial Prioritization ◽  
Biogeographical Region ◽  
Very High ◽  
The Eu

AbstractBackgroundThe European Union strives to increase protected areas of the EU terrestrial surface to 30% by year 2030, of which one third should be strictly protected. Designation of the Natura 2000 network, the backbone of nature protection in the EU, was mostly an expert-opinion process with little systematic conservation planning. The designation of the Natura 2000 network in Romania followed the same non-systematic approach, resulting in a suboptimal representation of invertebrates and plants. To help identify areas with very high biodiversity without repeating past planning missteps, we present a reproducible example of spatial prioritization using Romania’s current terrestrial Natura 2000 network and coarse-scale terrestrial species occurrence.MethodsWe used 371 terrestrial Natura 2000 Sites of Community Importance (Natura 2000 SCI), designated to protect 164 terrestrial species listed under Annex II of Habitats Directive in Romania in our spatial prioritization analyses (marine Natura 2000 sites and species were excluded). Species occurrences in terrestrial Natura 2000 sites were aggregated at a Universal Traverse Mercator spatial resolution of 1 km2. To identify priority terrestrial Natura 2000 sites for species conservation, and to explore if the Romanian Natura 2000 network sufficiently represents species included in Annex II of Habitats Directive, we used Zonation v4, a decision support software tool for spatial conservation planning. We carried out the analyses nationwide (all Natura 2000 sites) as well as separately for each biogeographic region (i.e., Alpine, Continental, Pannonian, Steppic and Black Sea).ResultsThe results of spatial prioritization of terrestrial Natura 2000 vary greatly by planning scenario. The performance of national-level planning of top priorities is minimal. On average, when 33% of the landscape of Natura 2000 sites is protected, only 20% of the distribution of species listed in Annex II of Habitats Directive are protected. As a consequence, the representation of species by priority terrestrial Natura 2000 sites is lessened when compared to the initial set of species. When planning by taxonomic group, the top-priority areas include only 10% of invertebrate distribution in Natura 2000. When selecting top-priority areas by biogeographical region, there are significantly fewer gap species than in the national level and by taxa scenarios; thusly, the scenario outperforms the national-level prioritization. The designation of strictly protected areas as required by the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 should be followed by setting clear objectives, including a good representation of species and habitats at the biogeographical region level.

scholarly journals Rhodeus Sericeus Amarus Bloch, 1782; Monitoring Elements in the New Natura 2000 Context in Croatia

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-204
Author(s):  
Doru Bănăduc ◽  
Angela Curtean-Bănăduc
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Level ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Habitats Directive ◽  
General Context ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Sources Of Pollution ◽  
Community Interest ◽  
Set Up

AbstractThe action framework at the European Union level for the conservation of biodiversity was set up based on the Birds Directive (79/409/EEC) and Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC). One principal element of the implementation of these two significant Directives in Croatia is the set up of a Natura 2000 network of protected areas, a network which should be based on a specific monitoring plan at Croatian national level for each species which is considered of community interest. In this general context, this study suggests a set of monitoring elements for Rhodeus sericeus amarus for the Croatian Continental Biogeographical Region. The suggestions are based on eight selected criteria: Croatian national borders proximity sectors overlay; very good quality populations of Rhodeus sericeus amarus in terms of population density and structure (e.g. protected areas) in characteristic good habitats; habitats which need ecological reconstruction to allow this fish species populations structure ameliorate or natural repopulation; key sectors with importance for connectivity (e.g. lotic sectors between different important sectors, rivers confluence areas, etc.); sectors influenced by human impact like: industrial pollution point sources, sectors influenced by agricultural diffuse sources of pollution, sectors influenced by habitats modifications (watercourses remodeling, watercourses regulation, etc.), geographically extreme monitoring sections in the most-upstream and mostdownstream sections of the rivers, in this species range and in the near outer proximities of these extremes

scholarly journals Evaluation of habitat protection under the European Natura 2000 conservation network – the example for Germany

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Friedrichs ◽  
Virgilio Hermoso ◽  
Vanessa Bremerich ◽  
Simone D. Langhans
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Habitats Directive ◽  
Distribution Data ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Conservation Action ◽  
Habitat Protection ◽  
Conservation Network

AbstractThe world’s largest network of protected areas - Natura 2000 (N2000) - has been implemented to protect Europe’s biodiversity. N2000 is built upon two cornerstones, the Birds Directive, which lists 230 bird species and the Habitats Directive, which lists next to a variety of species 230 habitat types, to be protected. There is evidence of the positive impact of the Directives on the EU’s biodiversity, although the overall improvement reported for species in favourable condition in the last assessment was low. However, most of the assessments are species focused, while habitats have received very little attention. Here we developed a generic workflow, which we exemplified for Germany, to assess the status of habitat coverage within the N2000 network, combining information from publicly available data sources. Applying the workflow allows identifying gaps in habitat protection, followed by the prioritization of potential areas of high protection value, using the conservation planning software Marxan. We found that, in Germany, N2000 covers all target habitats. However common habitats were proportionally underrepresented relative to rare ones, which contrasts with comparable studies for species. Moreover, the German case study suggests that especially highly protected areas (i.e. covered by more than 90% with N2000 sites) build an excellent basis towards a cost-effective and efficient conservation network. Our workflow provides a generic approach to deal with the popular problem of missing habitat distribution data outside of N2000 sites, information which is however crucial for managers to plan conservation action appropriately across Europe. To avoid a biased representation of habitat types within N2000, our results underpin the importance of defining qualitative and quantitative conservation targets which will allow assessing the trajectory of habitat protection in Europe as well as adjusting the network accordingly - a future necessity in the light of climate change.

scholarly journals Identifying priority core habitats and corridors for effective conservation of brown bears in Iran

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Mohammadi ◽  
K. Almasieh ◽  
D. Nayeri ◽  
F. Ataei ◽  
A. Khani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Brown Bear ◽  
Population Connectivity ◽  
Habitat Associations ◽  
Area Network ◽  
Zagros Mountains ◽  
Range Limit ◽  
Brown Bears ◽  
Core Areas ◽  
Effective Conservation

AbstractIran lies at the southernmost range limit of brown bears globally. Therefore, understanding the habitat associations and patterns of population connectivity for brown bears in Iran is relevant for the species’ conservation. We applied species distribution modeling to predict habitat suitability and connectivity modeling to identify population core areas and corridors. Our results showed that forest density, topographical roughness, NDVI and human footprint were the most influential variables in predicting brown bear distribution. The most crucial core areas and corridor networks for brown bear are concentrated in the Alborz and Zagros Mountains. These two core areas were predicted to be fragmented into a total of fifteen isolated patches if dispersal of brown bear across the landscape is limited to 50,000 cost units, and aggregates into two isolated habitat patches if the species is capable of dispersing 400,000 cost units. We found low overlap between corridors, and core habitats with protected areas, suggesting that the existing protected area network may not be adequate for the conservation of brown bear in Iran. Our results suggest that effective conservation of brown bears in Iran requires protection of both core habitats and the corridors between them, especially outside Iran’s network of protected areas.

scholarly journals Conservation Status of Marine Biodiversity in Oceania: An Analysis of Marine Species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beth A. Polidoro ◽  
Cristiane T. Elfes ◽  
Jonnell C. Sanciangco ◽  
Helen Pippard ◽  
Kent E. Carpenter
Keyword(s):  
Threatened Species ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Red List ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Conservation Priorities ◽  
Conservation Action

Given the economic and cultural dependence on the marine environment in Oceania and a rapidly expanding human population, many marine species populations are in decline and may be vulnerable to extinction from a number of local and regional threats. IUCN Red List assessments, a widely used system for quantifying threats to species and assessing species extinction risk, have been completed for 1190 marine species in Oceania to date, including all known species of corals, mangroves, seagrasses, sea snakes, marine mammals, sea birds, sea turtles, sharks, and rays present in Oceania, plus all species in five important perciform fish groups. Many of the species in these groups are threatened by the modification or destruction of coastal habitats, overfishing from direct or indirect exploitation, pollution, and other ecological or environmental changes associated with climate change. Spatial analyses of threatened species highlight priority areas for both site- and species-specific conservation action. Although increased knowledge and use of newly available IUCN Red List assessments for marine species can greatly improve conservation priorities for marine species in Oceania, many important fish groups are still in urgent need of assessment.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document