Systematic Conservation Assessment for Most of the Colombian Territory as a Strategy for Effective Biodiversity Conservation

Colombian ecosystems maintain key ecological processes that support thousands of species, including human beings. With the expansion of the country’s population, and the implementation of a government’s development plan based on an economy centred on extraction patterns, the conservation of these ecosystems is at serious risk. It is a priority to implement effective strategies that ensure the protection of the country’s biological diversity as well as the mitigation and prevention of threats and to contribute to its proper use. Colombia’s development strategies as well as its peoples’ wellbeing depend on the suitable condition of its natural assets. The identification of surrogates of conservation, the formulation of conservation goals, the prioritization of key areas and the formulation of conservation strategies based on the preservation, restoration and sustainable use of the territory and its biodiversity are proposed for 60% of the emerged land (~ 700,000 Km2). This research aims at giving proper guidelines to manage the territory and finding common points between development and biodiversity conservation, as well as to use this input for the development and implementation of a National Decision-making Support System (DSS) that will potentially have an impact on Colombia’s environmental policies and territorial planning schemes.

Changes in the Ecological Characteristics of Key Biodiversity Areas in the BRI Region

Key Biodiversity Areas(KBAs)are ecological conservation priorities proposed by IUCN and widely recognized by most countries.Evaluating the changes in the ecological characteristics in KBAs is important for biodiversity conservation and the construction of Protected Areas(PAs).There are various ecosystem types in the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI)region,which has an extremely high value of biodiversity conservation,and the KBAs should be the prime targets of ecological protection efforts.Using the data of land cover,NDVI and Nighttime Light(NTL),we analyzed the ecological conditions of the KBAs in the BRI region,and their temporal and spatial variations,from the perspectives of vegetation coverage and human activities.The conclusions are:(1)There is generally no significant difference in the land cover of the KBAs,among which forest,wilderness and grassland are the main types;(2)The NDVI of the KBAs showed an increase,indicating that the vegetation was gradually improving,while a few KBAs presenting vegetation degradation were mainly distributed in the Indochina Peninsula,Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Central and Western Asia;and(3)The NTL in the KBAs was very low,indicating that the human pressure on the natural ecosystems was limited,and only a few KBAs distributed in Central and Eastern Europe,India,and the Indochina Peninsula have high human activity intensity which also showed an increase.This study emphasizes that we should make full use of the biome succession law,and limit the interference of human activities on natural ecosystems for ecological protection of the KBAs,so as to continuously make new breakthroughs in the construction of Protected Areas(PA)in the BRI region.

Preliminary Report on the Anurans of Mount Hilong-hilong, Agusan Del Norte, Eastern Mindanao, Philippines

Mount Hilong-hilong is a key biodiversity area, spanning several municipalities in the provinces of the Caraga Region （Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur）, northeastern Mindanao Island, southern Philippines. The Hilong-hilong massif remains one of the most signiifcant forested areas in Mindanao, threatened with habitat modification （forest removal, degradation） and other anthropogenic disturbances related to renewable resource extraction. Amphibians are key indicator species for environmental quality and are useful focal taxa for conservation efforts. Relying on historical museum database information and new survey work on Mount Hilong-hilong, we provide species accounts and describe microhabitat preferences of the anurans （frogs and toads） present in the area. Twenty-seven species representing seven anuran families were studied in detail at elevations between 700 to 1300 meters above sea level; 16 of these species are Mindanao faunal region endemics. Qualitative overlap in microhabitat use was observed, suggesting that, for the species recorded, intact forest may ensure species persistence to some levels of anthropogenic disturbance. A more extensive herpetofaunal survey is needed to fully estimate the herpetofaunal diversity of Mount Hilong-hilong. Because amphibians represent ifne-scale indicators of environmental quality and microendemism, we recommend appropriate ifne-scaled regional strategies geared towards the conservation of amphibians in the Caraga area, northeast Mindanao Island.

Species Account of Anura ns from the Western Slope of Mt. Kita nglad, Mindanao Island, Philippines

The Mt. Kitanglad Range is one of the country’s important key biodiversity sites;however, information about anuran diversity in this protected area remains depauperate. Herein we provided accounts of anuran species from high-elevation forests, in three sites of the western slope of Mt. Kitanglad range. The combined belt-transect sampling and microha bitat searches accounted for 13 species representing five families. The most represented family was Rhacophoridae with five representative species of the genus Philautus. Twelve out of the 13 species documented in the current survey are endemic. Four previously unaccounted species(Pelophr yne brevipes, Pulchrana grandocula, Sanguirana mearnsi, and Philautus surrufus) were added and brought the total anurans known from Mt. Kitanglad to 26 species. Most of the species were also recorded in forested sites, suggestive of their lesser affinity to non-forested ecosystems. The additional species detected during our survey may also imply that full understanding of anuran diversity of Mt. Kitanglad remains far from complete.

生物多样性维护功能评估及其空间尺度效应分析——以陕西省为例

生物多样性维护功能评估是生态系统综合评估的重要内容。基于物种丰富度的海拔梯度格局规律来修正生物多样性维护服务能力指数模型,并探讨该模型在省级、市级和生物多样性优先区三种不同尺度水平的评估响应。结果显示:(1)三种尺度识别的生物多样性极重要区面积和空间分布差异较大,省级尺度评估的极重要区集中于秦巴山地,市级尺度评估时极重要区分布广泛且布局分散,优先区尺度评估时极重要区与自然保护区重叠面积最大。(2)三种尺度评估识别的精准度由大到小依次为:优先区尺度(19.5%)>省级尺度(11.7%)>市级尺度(11.2%),优先区尺度评估识别的精准度明显高于行政区尺度的评估。(3)优先区尺度评估识别的极重要区面积为28032.3 km^(2),占陕西省国土面积的13.7%;极重要区内土地利用结构和物种重要性综合评估结果优于行政区尺度的评估结果。