This article presents an open space concept of areas that are kept permanently free from buildings, technical infrastructure, and soil sealing. In the European Alps, space is scarce because of the topography; conflicts often arise between competing land uses such as permanent settlements and commercial activity. However, the presence of open spaces is important for carbon sequestration and the prevention of natural hazards, especially given climate change. A GIS-based analysis was conducted to identify an alpine-wide inventory of large-scale near-natural areas, or simply stated, open spaces. The method used identified the degree of infrastructure development for natural landscape units. Within the Alpine Convention perimeter, near-natural areas (with a degree of infrastructural development of up to 20%) account for a share of 51.5%. Only 14.5% of those areas are highly protected and are mostly located in high altitudes of over 1500 m or 2000 m above sea level. We advocate that the remaining Alpine open spaces must be preserved through the delimitation of more effective protection mechanisms, and green corridors should be safeguarded through spatial planning. To enhance the ecological connectivity of open spaces, there is the need for tailored spatial and sectoral planning strategies to prevent further landscape fragmentation and to coordinate new forms of land use for renewable energy production.
The Alps and the Dinaric Mountains are biodiversity hubs and, although they are subjected to heavy human-related pressures, they still show one of the lowest levels of landscape fragmentation in Europe. The DINALPCONNECT project has the aim of identifying the most important geographical areas for ensuring the biological processes and natural movements and the gene flow of wildlife species between the Alps and the Dinaric Mountains.
The current paper presents the results of the implementation of the Continuum Suitability Index (CSI) model in combination with the least-cost path (LCP) – GIS model in the DINALPCONNECT project area in order to detect the macro-regional ecological connectivity network stretching from the Alps to the Dinaric Mountains. The aim is to support regional decision-makers in defining the actions that will ensure both the ecological network and local human-wildlife coexistence as regards the most important linkages.
The results show that the main core areas (SACA1) of the overall ecological network represent 20% of the total project area. The calculated macro-regional LCP connects 51% of the surface of these areas and reveals great differences in legislation on protected areas between EU and Non-EU countries.
The results show that non-EU countries have the highest shares of SACA1 areas outside protected areas, contributing to important macro-regional connections. The CSI is proving to be a highly adaptable model on the macro-regional level, which can include current and future local issues concerning ecological connections. Therefore, the presented GIS analysis could be a valuable tool enabling regional decision-makers to better manage human and wildlife presence and to identify the best actions for the development of the ecological network.
The Alps and the Dinaric Mountains are European biodiversity hubs and still show one of the lowest levels of landscape fragmentation in Europe, although some parts of the two mountain ranges are subjected to heavy human-related pressures. The aim of the present study was to analyse the current state of landscape connectivity and identify the most important geographical areas for preservation of unimpeded movement of species and the flow of natural processes from northern Italy to northern Greece, using the Continuum Suitability Index (CSI) in combination with a least-cost path (LCP) model.Results show 21.2% of the of the area displays high level of permeability with functioning ecological linkages (named Strategic Connectivity Areas, SACA1) of which 82% are already under environmental protection. However, results indicate a noticeable difference in the proportion of SACA1 area under environmental protection between EU and non-EU countries. The proportion of the national territory assigned to SACA1 varies considerably among countries from 7.2% in Bosnia and Herzegovina to 31.3% in Albania. The identified macro-regional LCP covers 105,669 km2 interlinking 52% of the SACA1 surface. Almost half of the SACA1 are transboundary, indicating high importance of synchronised cross-border conservation efforts and spatial planning. Results of this structural connectivity model are useful for policy maker on the macro-regional scale, however future efforts should focus on functional connectivity on the local and regional scales.
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