Applying systematic conservation planning to constitute a protection strategy for broad-leaved Korean pine forests in Changbai Mountains, China

The broad-leaved Korean pine(Pinus koraiensis) forest is one of the most biodiverse zonal communities in the North Temperate Zone and an important habitat for many endangered species.Broad-leaved Korean pine forests(BKPFs) are shrinking quickly due to deforestation and rapid urbanization. Thus, scientific protection strategies are urgently needed to change this status. Changbai Mountains contains one of the largest BKPFs and is considered a priority biodiversity conservation area in China. Guided by systematic conservation planning(SCP) methods and procedures, we chose representative species and communities in BKPFs ecosystem as priority conservation objects, and set quantitative conservation target, which is in the light of the biodiversity characteristic of BKPFs. The watershed area is used as planning unit. We used CPlan software to calculate the irreplaceability(Ir)value of each planning unit and the contribution value(Ti) of each conservation object to(1) assess the conservation efficiency;(2) identify the conservation gap of the existing conservation network. Then wecalculated a human disturbance index(HDI) for planning units in the conservation gaps and combine this with the Ir value to design three conservation scenarios to optimize the conservation network.Results show that planning units with high conservation value 14.16% of the total area, with3084.36 km2 were covered by the existing conservation network. 79.28% of planning units with high conservation value have not been protected which were concentrated mainly in the eight gap areas.Only 25.3% of protection objects achieved their conservation target with the existing conservation network. Conservation efficiency is low. Three conservation scenarios are constituted, each prioritizing a different aim:(1) ecological value;(2)species rescue; and(3) economical avoidance. The three conservation schemes potentially enable 93%,88% and 51% of conservation objects, respectively, to achieve identified conservation targets, thereby improving conservation efficiency significantly.

Surrogacy of bird species in systematic conservation planning and conservation assessments in Yunnan Province,China

Bird diversity is often used as surrogates for other species diversity,but there is a limited understanding of the extent of this surrogate in identifying representative priority conservation areas(PCAs).We used Yunnan Province in China as a case to measure the surrogacy of birds in systematic conservation planning.Here,we collected distribution records of mammals,amphibians,reptiles,and birds from public databases and literature,and applied systematic conservation planning methods to identify PCAs.We targeted four taxonomic groups at conservation targets of 17%,31%,and 50%of the total study area,and used the Jaccard similarity index to evaluate the surrogate extent of bird PCAs for the other three groups.Then,we overlapped different portfolios of PCAs with six categories of protected areas(PAs)in Yunnan,calculated the protection rates,and evaluated the effect of sustainable-use PAs on improving the protection rate of strict Nature Reserves.The results showed that bird PCAs generally had the highest surrogacy for representing PCAs of the other three taxa.At the 50%conservation target,the Jaccard indices between birds and the other taxa reached about 0.50.Moreover,amphibian PCAs had a good surrogacy for conserving reptiles,with a Jaccard index of 0.30,0.44 and 0.51 at the 17%,31%and 50%conservation targets,respectively.The existing PA system had quite low coverages for PCAs of these four taxa,and the average protection rates were 22.97%,19.78%and 16.52%at the three levels of conservation targets,respectively.The sustainable-use PAs can greatly complement the strict Nature Reserves by achieving average increased PA coverages of 10.00%,9.20%and 7.90%at the three conservation targets.Our findings provide a basis for surrogate-based conservation planning for areas with insufficient biodiversity information.

Research Progress of the Planning Methods of Prior Conservation Areas

The planning of prior conservation areas is an important part of nature re- serve system, ：it is of great significance for biodiversity conservation. The methods of priority planning include hot-spots analysis, gap analysis, systematic conservation planning analysis and multi-criteria decision analysis. The key issues of priority area planning include the determination of the protect objects, the analyses of the protec- tion value and protection cost, the win-win development of protection and economy, and the changes of the management strategies of the protected areas. In this study, the features and research progress of different conservation methods were analyzed, and based on the discussion on the key issues of the planning of the protected areas, the application prospect of different methods was analyzed.

Climate Change Adaptation Planning for Biodiversity Conservation:A Review

Climate change has been linked to well-documented changes in physiology, phenology, species distributions, and in some cases, extinction. Projections of future change point to dramatic shifts in the states of many ecosystems. Aceommodating these shifts to effectively conserve biodiversity in the context of uncertain climate regimes represents one of the most difficult challenges faced by conservation planners. A number of adaptation strategies have been proposed for managing species and ecosystems in a changing climate. However, there has been little guidance available on integrating climate change adaptation strategies into contemporary conservation planning frameworks. The paper reviews the different approaches being used to integrate climate change adaptation into conservation planning, broadly categorizing strategies as continuing and extending on ＂best practice＂ principles and those that integrate species vulnerability assessments into conservation planning. We describe the characteristics of a good adaptation strategy emphasizing the importance of incorporating clear principles of flexibility and efficiency, accounting for uncertainty, integrating human response to climate change and understanding trade-offs.

Between Tangibility and Intangibility——A Review on Conservation Planning and Its Implementation in the Historical City of NanJing

The conservation plan for the famous historical and cultural city of Nanjing was prepared since several yearsago.The plan,being an integral component to enrich comprehensive planning of the city,has been workingeffectively through the planning structure to direct the development of Nanjing.However,upon further analysis,au-thors of this article feel that this plan still has its own deficiences and drawbacks in exploring indepth the city’scultural origin,in selecting the essentials while discarding the dross and in blazing new trails based on the rich legacyof the past.These aspects need to be further investigated and to illustrate these points,two scenic belts are proposedto be included into the conservation plan.

Conservation priority for endemic birds of China's Mainland based on a phylogenetic framework

In this report, a conservation priority scenario for endemic birds of China's Mainland is proposed from a phylogenetic perspective. By utilizing and comparing seven phylogenetic diversity (PD) indices, the study shows that the top ifve endemic birds with high conservation priority are Ar-borophila ardens, A. gingica, A. ruifpectus, Lophophorus lhuysii and Alectoris magna respectively. The ranking of species, based on the IUCN Red List and PD indices, were compared by means of a Wilcox signed rank test and Pearson’s correlation, drawing the inference that the PD ranking of endemic birds for China's Mainland shows a distinct and statistically signiifcant difference from the IUCN rank-ing. Therefore, the ranking of conservation priority for endemic birds of China using PD indices might offer new insights on species conservation from an evolutionary-heritage perspective, serving as a complement to the IUCN ranking.

Research on Traditional Village Protection Development Planning Based on Value Characteristics——Taking Heshe Village in Jiangxi Province As An Example

Traditional villages are the foundation of human history, the crystallization of agricultural civilization, the important carder of homeland feelings, and the spiritual homeland of the Chinese nation. In the important period of attaching importance to the protection of traditional villages and making active plans for the protection and development of traditional villages, the planning of conservation has been stereotyped, which only cares about quantity and speed. Every traditional village has its unique value and soul, and ignoring its internal cultural connotation and value characteristics can result in the lack of scientific and comprehensive planning, making it unable not be implemented in practice. In this paper, taking Heshe Village in Jiangxi Province as an example, the value characteristics oriented planning strategy for traditional villages were proposed through the refinement of its value characteristics based on the scientific planning principles.

Reserve network planning for fishes in the middle and lower Yangtze River basin by systematic conservation approaches

Although China has established more than 600 wetland nature reserves, conservation gaps still exist for many species, especially for freshwater fishes. Underlying this problem is the fact that top-level planning is missing in the construction of nature reserves. To promote the development of nature reserves for fishes, this study took the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River basin(MLYRB) as an example to carry out top-level reserve network planning for fishes using approaches of systematic conservation planning. Typical fish species living in freshwater habitats were defined and considered in the planning. Based on sample data collected from large quantities of literatures, continuous distribution patterns of 142 fishes were obtained with species distribution modeling and subsequent processing, and the distributions of another eleven species were artificially designated. With the distribution pattern of species, Marxan was used to carry out conservation planning. To obtain ideal solutions with representativeness, persistence, and efficiency, parameters were set with careful consideration regarding existing wetland reserves, human disturbances, hydrological connectivity, and representation targets of species. Marxan produced the selection frequency of planning units(PUs) and a best solution. Selection frequency indicates the relative protection importance of a PU. The best solution is a representative of ideal fish reserve networks. Both of the PUs with high selection frequency and those in the best solution have low proportions included in existing wetland nature reserves, suggesting that there are significant conservation gaps for fish species in MLYRB. The best solution could serve as a reference for establishing a fish reserve network in the MLYRB. There is great flexibility for replacing selected PUs in the solution, and such flexibility facilitates the implementation of the solution in reality in case of unexpected obstacles. Further, we suggested adopting a freshwater management framework in the implementation of such solution.

Developing Ecosystem Maps Using Eco-Geological Information for the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources

Ecosystem maps are vital to represent ecological patterns and processes in a region. It enables the use of ecosystem goods and services as a robust unit for a variety of applications, including conservation planning, climate change adaptation and mitigation measures, resource management, and the economic estimation of ecosystem benefits. As different elements of eco-geological components, such as the geological, soil, and biotic assemblages organize an ecosystem;here, we developed an ecosystem map of the State of Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia, using geology, soil, elevation, and land-use data. Landsat ETM+ images, ASTER Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data, and digitized soil and geological data were integrated to develop a map of the types of ecosystem for 2005. We found 19 different natural ecosystems in the studied region that represented approximately 35% of the total land area. Among the natural ecosystems, peat-swamp forest represents highest (at ~10%), while montane ericaceous forest representing the lowest (at ~0.008%) and the hill dipterocarp quartz forest, lowland dipterocarp sandstone forest, upper dipterocarp quartz forest, and mangrove forest are representing approximately 6.4%, 4.6%, 3% and 2.6% of the total land area respectively. These data can be used to prioritize the areas deserving attention due to their value for biodiversity conservation and for the production of goods and supply of ecosystem services. In addition to a variety of ecological and environmental aspects, such an ecosystem map has potential use for the sustainable management of natural resources at the national, regional, continental, and global scales.

Using remotely sensed and climate data to predict the current and potential future geographic distribution of a bird at multiple scales: the case of Agelastes meleagrides, a western African forest endemic

Background:Understanding geographic distributions of species is a crucial step in spatial planning for biodiversity conservation, particularly as regards changes in response to global climate change.This information is especially important for species of global conservation concern that are susceptible to the effects of habitat loss and climate change. In this study, we used ecological niche modeling to assess the current and future geographic distributional potential of White.breasted Guineafowl (Agelastes meleagrides)(Vulnerable) across West Africa. Methods:We used primary occurrence data obtained from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and national parks in Liberia and Sierra Leone, and two independent environmental datasets (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer normalized difference vegetation index at 250 m spatial resolution, and Worldclim climate data at 2.5' spatial resolution for two representative concentration pathway emissions scenarios and 27 general circulation models for 2050) to build ecological niche models in Maxent. Results: From the projections, White.breasted Guineafowl showed a broader potential distribution across the region compared to the current IUCN range estimate for the species. Suitable areas were concentrated in the Gola rainforests in northwestern Liberia and southeastern Sierra Leone, the Tai.Sapo corridor in southeastern Liberia and southwestern Cote d'lvoire, and the Nimba Mountains in northern Liberia, southeastern Guinea, and northwestern Cote d'lvoire.Future climate.driven projections anticipated minimal range shifts in response to climate change. Conclusions: By combining remotely sensed data and climatic data, our results suggest that forest cover, rather than climate is the major driver of the species' current distribution. Thus, conservation efforts should prioritize forest protection and mitigation of other anthropogenic threats (e.g.hunting pressure) affecting the species.

Public policies and conservation plans of historic urban landscapes under the sustainable heritage tourism milieu: discussions on the equilibrium model on Kulangsu Island, UNESCO World Heritage site

Purpose The tensions and threats in historic urban landscapes brought about by heritage tourism are still regional,global,general,and dynamic issues.For Kulangsu,there is an obvious problem in the connection between the current conservation plan and public policy.To a large extent,public policy cannot effectively,specifically,and flexibly respond to the dynamic problems in the implementation of the conservation plan,which seems insufficient concerning the effect of these conservation plans and public policies on promoting the adaptive reuse and sustainable tourism of the historic urban in Kulangsu heritage sites.Thus,giving more consideration to the combination of public policies and conservation plans of historic urban landscapes under the heritage tourism milieu,ensuring a balanced,sustainable,and integrated development pattern still calls for new discussions in achieving good performance of sustainable heritage tourism.This study conceptually discusses the equilibrium model of historic urban landscapes with a range of strategies under a sustainable heritage tourism background and responds to the synthetic contradiction of the imbalances among public policy,conservation plans,and development practices.Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a range of prepared desktop studies(public policy studies,conservation plans),field surveys,participant observations,and randomised interviews to respond to the insufficiency of the current heritagepractices.Findings This study discusses the equilibrium model of sustainable heritage tourism at heritage sites.It takes Kulangsu Island,a UNESCO World Heritage site in Southeast China,as an example to discuss the equilibrium model,which encompasses a convergent parallel framework and three dimensions concerning heritage management and policymaking.The equilibrium model of historic urban landscapes is a dynamic framework that integrates social,economic,environmental,and cultural concerns into a holistic collaborative framework under a sustainable heritage tourism background.Originality/value In line with the requirements of the Historic Urban Landscape(HUL)approach and general principles in support of sustainable urban heritage management promoted by UNESCO and ICOMOS,the study points out the peculiarities and potential of the equilibrium mode in solving the current challenges of historic urban landscapes for sustainable heritage tourism.Finding ways of linking policymaking,conservation,development,heritage tourism,and different interest groups to a holistic framework can stimulate effective means and management mechanisms for the complicated and changeable issues of sustainable heritage tourism.

Italian perspective on the planned preventive conservation of architectural heritage

This paper tells us a complex story on the historic evolution of preventive conser vation of architectural heritage in Italy.Firstly,it introduces Cesare Brandi's Theory of Resto ration,pointing out the peculiar sense of the word Restoration in Brandi's system other than the common sense in the international discourse,the limits of Brandi's theory to architectural conservation and his prophecy on preventive restoration.Then it talks about the differentframework and practices of preventive conservation in the field of built heritage compared to the museum sector,the milestone of Giovanni Urbani's pilot project on programmed conser.vation and the leading role of the Risk Map of Cultural Heritage.Finally,based on the discus-sions of the durable change in the architectural conservation field after the Venice Charter,including the teaching in Milan School,the debate and re-definition of architectural conserva-tion and the advance definitions of conservation,prevention,maintenance and restoration in the 2004 National Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape,it gives us an agenda for futuretrends of planned conservation with aims to conserve the material authenticity and promote.the co-evolutional strategy.

Impact of legislative precision in the managgement of the Casbah

The historic centre of Algiers(Casbah)presents a state of severe decay.Laws and legislative measures have been promulgated in the past three decades to provide an adequate framework for the conservation of the old city.This paper investigates the law and subsequent legal instruments used in heritage management and the impact of legislative provisions on the management of the living historic centre of the Casbah of Algiers.Before the issuance of Algerian Law n'98-04 relating to the protection of cultural heritage,the role of the various entities managing the Casbah was rather unclear.This law provides more details about the structure of urban heritage management.Additionally,a new heritage protection tool came into existence(the PPSMvsS,i.e.,the Permanent Plan for Safeguarding and Enhancement of the Safeguarded Sector).Difficulties encountered in the field concerning the application of legislative tools caused considerable delays in preservation actions on the ground.This paper provides an analysis of the contradictions between text enforcement and conservation plans to understand the main reasons that led to the degradation of the historic area.Accordingly,the paper proposes a number of solutions to be implemented by the Algerian authorities.

An integrated approach to understanding the linkages between ecosystem services and human well-being

In order to use science to manage human-nature interactions,we need much more nuanced,and when possible,quantitative,analyses of the interplay among ecosystem services(ES),human well-being(HWB),and drivers of both ecosystem structure and function,as well as HWB.Despite a growing interest and extensive efforts in ES research in the past decade,systematic and quantitative work on the linkages between ES and HWB is rare in existing literature,largely due to the lack of use of quantitative indicators and integrated models.Here,we integrated indicators of human dependence on ES,of HWB,and of direct and indirect drivers of both using data from household surveys carried out atWolong Nature Reserve,China.We examined how human dependence on ES and HWB might be affected by direct drivers,such as a natural disaster,and how human dependence on ES and direct and indirect drivers might affect HWB.Our results show that the direct driver(i.e.,Wenchuan Earthquake)significantly affected both households’dependence on ES and their well-being.Such impacts differed across various dimensions of ES and well-being as indicated by subindices.Those disadvantaged households with lower access to multiple forms of capital,more property damages,or larger revenue reductions also experienced greater losses in HWB.Diversifying human dependence on ES helps to mitigate disaster impacts on HWB.Our findings offer strong empirical evidence that the construction of quantitative indicators for ES and HWB,especially integrated models using them,is a viable approach for advancing the understanding of linkages between ES and HWB.

Frugivory and seed dispersal in the Galápagos:what is the state of the art?

The Galápagos are considered a model oceanic archipelago,with unique flora and fauna currently threatened by alien invasive species.Seed dispersal is an important ecosystem function with consequences for plant population dynamics and vegetation structure.Hence,understanding the seed dispersal abilities of the assemblages of frugivores will inform scientists and managers of the dynamics of plant invasions and improve management planning.Here we provide the first comprehensive review of published information on frugivory and animal seed dispersal in the Galápagos.We collected data from a variety of sources,including notes of the first naturalist expeditions,gray literature available only in Galápagos collections,and peer-reviewed journal articles.Plant–animal frugivorous interactions were retrieved from 43 studies and compiled into an interaction matrix describing 366 unique interactions.Most studies focused on fruit consumption as a driving force for natural selection,but seed fate was seldom considered.Although most(71%)of the interactions involved native plants,more than one-quarter(28%)involved introduced species.Interactions involving birds are considerably more common than those of reptiles and mammals,probably reflecting a research bias towards birds.Despite the historical importance of the archipelago as the laboratory for evolutionary and ecological research,understanding of its seed dispersal systems is limited.We end the review by suggesting 3 priority areas of research on frugivory and seed dispersal in the Galápagos:(i)target research to close knowledge gaps;(ii)the use of a network approach to frame seed dispersal at the community level;and(iii)evaluation of the effect of seed dispersal as a selective pressure acting upon plants and frugivores.Finally,the output of this research has to be properly delivered to the Galápagos National Park Services to help increase management effectiveness.

Incorporating within- and between-patch resource selection in identification of critical habitat for brood-rearing greater sage-grouse

Introduction:Incorporating information on animal behavior in resource-based predictive modeling(e.g.,occurrence mapping)can elucidate the relationship between process and spatial pattern and depict habitat in terms of its structure as well as its function.In this paper,we assigned location data on brood-rearing greater sage-grouse(Centrocercus urophasianus)to either within-patch(encamped)or between-patch(traveling)behavioral modes by estimating a movement-based relative displacement index.Objectives were to estimate and validate spatially explicit models of within-versus between-patch resource selection for application in habitat management and compare these models to a non-behaviorally adjusted model.Results:A single model,the vegetation and water resources model,was most plausible for both the encamped and traveling modes,including the non-behaviorally adjusted model.When encamped,sage-grouse selected for taller shrubs,avoided bare ground,and were closer to mesic areas.Traveling sage-grouse selected for greater litter cover and herbaceous vegetation.Preference for proximity to mesic areas was common to both encamped and traveling modes and to the non-behaviorally adjusted model.The non-behaviorally adjusted map was similar to the encamped model and validated well.However,we observed different selection patterns during traveling that could have been masked had behavioral state not been accounted for.Conclusions:Characterizing habitat that structured between-patch movement broadens our understanding of the habitat needs of brood-rearing sage-grouse,and the combined raster surface offers a reliable habitat management tool that is readily amenable to application by GIS users in efforts to focus sustainable landscape management.

Discrimination on the Concept of Historic City in China

In 1982,the State Council announced a list of historic cities in China,aiming to set up a conservation measure to conserve the cultural heritages from the perspective of a city.The historic city is a concept in relation to urban administrative governance.Its conservation scope and specific contents should be defined in conservation planning.Since the conservation planning of historic city is a part of the city master planning,its planning area should be the same as that in the master planning,with focus on the central urban area.The conservation planning of a historic city should define its objects in view of the interconnection between city history and culture and thus specify its conservation scope and contents accordingly.

Can science save the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)? Unifying science and policy in an adaptive management paradigm

The giant panda(Ailuropoda melanoleuca David,1869)is an iconic species for global conservation,yet field research has only recently advanced to the point where adaptive management is possible.Here,we review recent developments in giant panda conservation science and propose a strategic plan for moving panda conservation forward.Because of scientific,funding,political,and logistical hurdles,few endangered species management programs have embraced adaptive management,wherein management decisions are shaped iteratively by targeted scientific research.Specific threats,such as habitat destruction,anthropogenic disturbance and fragmented nonviable populations,need to be addressed simultaneously by researchers,managers and policy-makers working in concert to understand and overcome these obstacles to species recovery.With the backing of the Chinese Govern-ment and the conservation community,the giant panda can become a high-profile test species for this much touted,but rarely implemented,approach to conservation management.

Decision with Grey Correlation and AHP

On the basis of the theories of grey system correlation degree and analytic hierarchy process,this paper studies the problem of plan decision for the exploitation of water conservancy project.According to the data army of correlation degree,the optimized plan can be selected objectively and scientifically.Practical example given in this paper have proved the validity of the method.