Vegetation analysis and correlations between soil variables and habitat diversity in Qaroun and Wadi El-Rayan Protected Areas, Western Desert, Egypt.

Abstract Many islands are biodiversity hotspots but also extinction epicenters. In addition to strong cultural connections to nature, islanders derive a significant part of their economy and broader wellbeing from this biodiversity. Islands are thus considered as the socio-ecosystems most vulnerable to species and habitat loss. Yet, the extent and key correlates of protected area coverage on islands is still unknown. Here we assess the relative influence of climate, geography, habitat diversity, culture, resource capacity, and human footprint on terrestrial and marine protected area coverage across 2323 inhabited islands globally. We show that, on average, 22% of terrestrial and 13% of marine island areas are under protection status, but that half of all islands have no protected areas. Climate, diversity of languages, human population density and development are strongly associated with differences observed in protected area coverage among islands. Our study suggests that economic development and population growth may critically limit the amount of protection on islands.

Download Full-text

Biodiversity Monitoring in Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas: Scientific and Methodological Challenges

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d14010043 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 43

Author(s):

Carlo Nike Bianchi ◽

Annalisa Azzola ◽

Silvia Cocito ◽

Carla Morri ◽

Alice Oprandi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Marine Protected Areas ◽

Natural Capital ◽

Human Impacts ◽

Marine Ecosystem ◽

Spatial Modelling ◽

Habitat Diversity ◽

Ecosystem Change ◽

Environmental Status ◽

Genes To Ecosystems

Biodiversity is a portmanteau word to indicate the variety of life at all levels from genes to ecosystems, but it is often simplistically equated to species richness; the word ecodiversity has thus been coined to address habitat variety. Biodiversity represents the core of the natural capital, and as such needs to be quantified and followed over time. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are a major tool for biodiversity conservation at sea. Monitoring of both species and habitat diversity in MPAs is therefore mandatory and must include both inventory and periodic surveillance activities. In the case of inventories, the ideal would be to census all species and all habitats, but while the latter goal can be within reach, the former seems unattainable. Species inventory should be commeasured to investigation effort, while habitat inventory should be based on mapping. Both inventories may profit from suitability spatial modelling. Periodic surveillance actions should privilege conspicuous species and priority habitats. Efficient descriptor taxa and ecological indices are recommended to evaluate environmental status. While it seems obvious that surveillance activities should be carried out with regular recurrence, diachronic inventories and mapping are rarely carried out. Time series are of prime importance to detect marine ecosystem change even in the absence of direct human impacts.

Download Full-text

Species protection in areas conserved through community-driven direct democracy as compared with a large private land trust in California

Environmental Conservation ◽

10.1017/s0376892919000407 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 47 (1) ◽

pp. 30-38

Author(s):

Benjamin J Crain ◽

James N Sanchirico ◽

Kailin Kroetz ◽

Amy E Benefield ◽

Paul R Armsworth

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Protected Area ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Direct Democracy ◽

Large Scale ◽

Open Space ◽

Habitat Diversity ◽

Local Communities ◽

Private Land ◽

Natural Diversity

SummaryProtected area systems include sites preserved by various institutions and mechanisms, but the benefits to biodiversity provided by different types of sites are poorly understood. Protected areas established by local communities for various reasons may provide complementary benefits to those established by large-scale agencies and organizations. Local communities are geographically constrained, however, and it remains unclear how effectively they protect biodiversity. We explored this issue by focusing on protected areas established through direct democracy via local ballot initiatives whereby communities vote to tax themselves for open space preservation. We compared the effectiveness of local ballot-protected areas to areas protected by a large-scale conservation actor, The Nature Conservancy (TNC). We evaluated how well the two protected area types correspond with amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals and special status elements of natural diversity. Local ballot-protected areas differed from those of TNC in terms of size, location, proximity to urban areas and habitat diversity. In terms of potential habitat coverage, local ballot-protected areas outperformed TNC sites for all species groups with the exception of special status elements of natural diversity. While not necessarily targeting wildlife and habitats, we conclude that locally established protected areas can make an important contribution to biodiversity conservation.

Download Full-text

Habitat diversity relative to wave action on rocky shores: implications for the selection of marine protected areas

Aquatic Conservation Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems ◽

10.1002/aqc.1014 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 19 (6) ◽

pp. 645-657 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Laura K. Blamey ◽

George M. Branch

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Marine Protected Areas ◽

Habitat Diversity ◽

Wave Action ◽

Rocky Shores ◽

Selection Of

Download Full-text

Habitat diversity and plant indicators of El-Harra Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt

10.22192/ijarbs.2017.04.05.003 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 (5) ◽

pp. 25-43

Author(s):

Elsaied, A. ◽

Keyword(s):

Habitat Diversity ◽

Western Desert

Download Full-text

Analisis Vegetasi di Kawasan Petilasan Mbah Maridjan Taman Nasonal Gunung Merapi

BIOTROPIC The Journal of Tropical Biology ◽

10.29080/biotropic.2020.4.1.55-63 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 55-63

Author(s):

Amri Shabirin ◽

Yuliantika Puteri ◽

Hendrianis Syafira ◽

Tia Mayasari ◽

Mufti Nurkhasanah

Keyword(s):

Invasive Plants ◽

Field Observation ◽

Random Sampling ◽

Stand Structure ◽

Habitat Diversity ◽

Tamarindus Indica ◽

Vegetation Analysis ◽

Observation Area ◽

Important Value Index

This research aims to determine the diversity of habitus and species that dominate in the region of Kinahrejo, Umbulharjo, Cangkringan, Sleman. The method used is square sampling by making a 7x7 meters square plot of 2 plots so that an area of 98 m2 is obtained. Vegetation analysis using the method of observation, and monitoring (field observation) directly with random sampling and using the principle of representative. Analysis the level of habitat diversity using the Shannon-wienner Index and determination of species that dominate using the calculation of the Important Value Index (INP). A total of 34 species consisting of mosses, shrubs, herbs, and stand-structure are occupy the observation area. The results of the research and analysis showed that Tamarindus indica, which included stand-structure habitus had the highest INP of 139.54% and the lowest INP was found in shrubs habitus. The highest Shannon-wienner index in shrubs habitus is 1.220928 and the lowest is in stand-structure habitus. It can be concluded, stand-structure habitus dominates the area while, the highest diversity is found in shurbs habitus. The eruption in 2010 caused damage to ecosystems and invasive plants to become dominant such as Acacia decurrens and shrubs.

Download Full-text

Limited reciprocal surrogacy of bird and habitat diversity and inconsistencies in their representation in Romanian protected areas

10.1101/2021.05.07.443068 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Julia Geue ◽

Paula J. Rotter ◽

Caspar Gross ◽

Zoltán Benkő ◽

István Kovács ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Species Distribution ◽

Landscape Heterogeneity ◽

Bird Species ◽

Habitat Diversity ◽

Distribution Data ◽

Multiple Sources ◽

Remotely Sensed Data ◽

Breeding Bird ◽

Distribution Maps

Because it is impossible to comprehensively characterize biodiversity at all levels of organization, conservation prioritization efforts need to rely on surrogates. As species distribution maps of relished groups as well as high-resolution remotely sensed data increasingly become available, both types of surrogates are commonly used. A good surrogate should represent as much of biodiversity as possible, but it often remains unclear to what extent this is the case. Here, we aimed to address this question by assessing how well bird species and habitat diversity represent one another. We conducted our study in Romania, a species-rich country with high landscape heterogeneity where bird species distribution data have only recently started to become available. First, we prioritized areas for conservation based on either 137 breeding bird species or 36 habitat classes, and then evaluated their reciprocal surrogacy performance. Second, we examined how well these features are represented in already existing protected areas. Finally, we identified target regions of high conservation value for the potential expansion of the current network of reserves (as planned under the new EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030). We found that bird species were a better surrogate for habitat diversity than vice versa. Highly ranked areas based on habitat diversity were represented better than areas based on bird species, which varied considerably between species. Our results highlight that taxonomic and environmental (i.e., habitat types) data may perform rather poorly as reciprocal surrogates, and multiple sources of data are required for a full evaluation of protected areas expansion.

Download Full-text

Vegetation Dynamics and Species Diversity in a Saharan Oasis, Egypt

Notulae Scientia Biologicae ◽

10.15835/nsb10310296 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 363-372 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Fawzy Mahmoud SALAMA ◽

Monier Mohammed ABD EL-GHANI ◽

Ahmed Abd El Rahman AMRO ◽

Ali El Saeid GAAFAR ◽

Ayat Abd El Monem ABD EL-GALIL

Keyword(s):

Species Diversity ◽

Date Palm ◽

Environmental Gradients ◽

Floristic Composition ◽

Outer Zone ◽

Western Desert ◽

Line Transect ◽

Middle Zone ◽

Soil Variables ◽

Kharga Oasis

The present study provides an analysis of the floristic composition, habitat types, vegetation structure and species diversity, elucidating the role of the environmental factors that affect species distribution in Kharga Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt. The vegetation was sampled from 89 permanently visited stands in 12 sites situated along N - S line transect across the oasis, and extending for about 185 km to cover as much as possible the physiognomic variation in habitats. Four main habitats were recognized and forming concentric zones (from inside to outside): farmlands and date-palm orchards represent the inner zone, the waste-salinized lands (not saltmarshes) in the middle zone, and the surrounding (bounding) desert in the outer zone. A total of 122 species from 35 families and 102 genera represented the flora of the study area. Poaceae, Asteraceae and Fabaceae were the major families, which constituted 47% of the total flora. Classification using Bray-Curtis cluster analysis produced 4 vegetation groups (A - D); each can be linked to a certain habitat. The arrangement of habitat zones along the first DCA axis can be noticed: outer zone (bounding desert), middle zone (waste-salinized lands) and inner zone (arable lands). On the other hand, farmlands and date-palm orchard groups were separated from each other along the second DCA axis. The relationship between the vegetation and soil variables was studied using Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA); it was indicated the most important environmental gradients those control the vegetation composition and the distribution pattern of species in Kharga Oasis, which were mainly related to gradients in soil moisture content and fine fractions. The present situation of Kharga Oasis urges the conservation of some old historic wells and the naturally growing open dom-palm forests before vanishing due to high human activities in the area.

Download Full-text