A Method to Compare the Biodiversity Conservation Effectiveness between Regions based on a Reference Condition

Abstract

Assessment of conservation effectiveness in biodiversity ecological function zones (BEFZs) is important for biodiversity in China. However, a scientific and practical method for effectively comparing biodiversity conservation between different BEFZs is lacking. In this study, a reference condition index that can represent the optimum value of biodiversity in one BEFZ and a conservation effectiveness index that can reflect the effect of conservation measures were developed. Then a method to compare the biodiversity conservation effectiveness between different BEFZs on both temporal and spatial scales was developed. The method was applied to three BEFZs in China—Yili-Tianshan Mountain, San Jiang Plain Wetland and Minshan-Qionglai Mountain—which are located in different geographic environments. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) the reference condition index can reflect differences in the background of conservation capacity among BEFZs examined, allowing comparison of the biodiversity conservation effectiveness between different BEFZs; (2) the conservation effectiveness index is a useful quantitative measure of the biodiversity conservation effectiveness in BEFZs; and (3) application of this method to the three BEFZs indicated that the method can provide a powerful tool for the management of biodiversity conservation in BEFZs at a macroscale in China. Meanwhile, this method can also provide a reference for building strategies for protecting the ecological environments in other countries on a case-by-case basis.

Comparing the Effectiveness of Biodiversity Conservation Across Different Regions by Considering Human Efforts

“…We used the optimum habitat quality of national nature reserves inside the ecological function regions as the reference condition, and applied the ratio of human-induced habitat quality changes to the reference condition value to eliminate the background differentiation. In our previous study (Dong et al, 2018), the distance to the reference was used as a metric of conservation effectiveness. If the changes in the distance to the reference remained the same between different regions, the conservation effectiveness was assumed to be equivalent.…”

“…To eliminate ecological background differentiation, Dong et al (2018) developed a method of comparing the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation between different regions. They selected national natural reserves inside biodiversity ecological function regions as reference areas, and used the habitat quality of these reference areas as reference conditions reflecting the biological background.…”

The Integration of Conservation, Biodiversity, and Sustainability

“…A potentially more powerful approach is to use structural based indicators such as stand complexity or connectivity among forests [22]. Work also needs to be done to improve our ability to compare biodiversity conservation effectiveness among regions such as the reference condition index used to do so among Biodiversity Ecological function Zones in China described in this issue [48]. A research priority should be to further develop ways of quantifying biodiversity in other kinds of ecosystems for which conservation is a priority, and to develop an adaptive approach to managing these systems that allows for research, monitoring, and subsequently adapting the way those systems are managed.…”

Comparing the Effectiveness of Biodiversity Conservation across Different Regions at County Scale

“…To compensate for these shortcomings, Dong, et al [30] proposed a framework to compare the biodiversity conservation effectiveness among different regions. The core idea of the framework is that they constructed a reference condition index based on the concept of a reference ecosystem.…”