European Wilderness in a Time of Farmland Abandonment

Ceauşu, Silvia; Carver, Steve; Verburg, Peter H.; Kuechly, Helga U.; Hölker, Franz; Brotons, Lluı́s; Pereira, Henrique M.

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-12039-3_2

Cited by 14 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…Given that the more accurate input map of paved roads and railway lines in Spain halved the estimated distance obtained from the EGM, we consider the European estimates to be very conservative. However, the observed patterns are consistent with previous measurements of landscape fragmentation, urban sprawl, and wilderness areas (24)(25)(26).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Assessing large-scale wildlife responses to human infrastructure development

Torres

Jaeger

Alonso

2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

181

147

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Habitat loss and deterioration represent the main threats to wildlife species, and are closely linked to the expansion of roads and human settlements. Unfortunately, large-scale effects of these structures remain generally overlooked. Here, we analyzed the European transportation infrastructure network and found that 50% of the continent is within 1.5 km of transportation infrastructure. We present a method for assessing the impacts from infrastructure on wildlife, based on functional response curves describing density reductions in birds and mammals (e.g., road-effect zones), and apply it to Spain as a case study. The imprint of infrastructure extends over most of the country (55.5% in the case of birds and 97.9% for mammals), with moderate declines predicted for birds (22.6% of individuals) and severe declines predicted for mammals (46.6%). Despite certain limitations, we suggest the approach proposed is widely applicable to the evaluation of effects of planned infrastructure developments under multiple scenarios, and propose an internationally coordinated strategy to update and improve it in the future.anthropogenic development | birds | Europe | mammals | road-effect zone

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Assessing large-scale wildlife responses to human infrastructure development

Torres

Jaeger

Alonso

2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

181

147

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“…Furthermore, rewilding as a low‐cost management strategy for abandoned farmland (Ceauşu et al. 2015) could enable redevelopment into predominantly nature‐shaped ecosystems, such as natural forests (Van Uytvanck et al. 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating and expanding the European Union's protected‐area network toward potential post‐2020 coverage targets

Müller

Schneider

Jantke

2020

Conservation Biology

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The Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD) strategic plan will expire in 2020, but biodiversity loss is ongoing. Scientists call for more ambitious targets in the next agreement. The nature-needs-half movement, for example, has advocated conserving half of Earth to solve the biodiversity crisis, which has been translated to protecting 50% of each ecoregion. We evaluated current protection levels of ecoregions in the territory of one of the CBD's signatories, the European Union (EU). We also explored the possible enlargement of the Natura 2000 network to implement 30% or 50% ecoregion coverage in the EU member states' protected area (PA) network. Based on the most recent land-use data, we examined whether ecoregions have enough natural area left to reach such high coverage targets. We used a spatially explicit mixed integer programing model to estimate the leastcost expansion of the PA network based on 3 scenarios that put different emphasis on total conservation cost, ecological representation of ecosystems, or emphasize an equal share of the burden among member states. To realize 30% and 50% ecoregion coverage, the EU would need to add 6.6% and 24.2%, respectively, of its terrestrial area to its PA network. For all 3 scenarios, the EU would need to designate most recommended new PAs in seminatural forests and other semi-or natural ecosystems. Because 15 ecoregions did not have enough natural area left to implement the ecoregion-coverage targets, some member states would also need to establish new PAs on productive land, allocating the largest share to arable land. Thirty percent ecoregion coverage was met by protecting remaining natural areas in all ecoregions except 3, where productive land would also need to be included. Our results support discussions of higher ecoregions protection targets for post-2020 biodiversity frameworks.Resumen: El plan estratégico del Convenio sobre la Diversidad Biológica (CBD) expirará en 2020, pero la pérdida de la biodiversidad continúa. Los científicos exigen objetivos más ambiciosos para el siguiente acuerdo. Por ejemplo, la corriente la-naturaleza-necesita-la-mitad ha abogado por la conservación de la mitad del planeta para resolver la crisis de la biodiversidad, lo que se ha traducido a la protección del 50% de cada ecoregión. Evaluamos los niveles actuales de protección de las ecoregiones en el territorio de uno de los signatarios de la CBD, la Unión Europea (UE). También exploramos el posible crecimiento de la red Natura 2000 para implementar una cobertura del 30% o 50% de las ecoregiones en la red deáreas protegidas (AP) de los estados miembros de la UE. Con base

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“…Low levels of mechanization can also be due to economics in areas such as the former socialist countries (Müller et al 2009 ) or to local socio-economic factors such as farm size or existing conservation policies. The continuation of low intensity agriculture has nevertheless maintained ecosystems in a modified state throughout many areas of Europe (Ceaușu et al 2015 ).…”

Section: Wilderness Metrics In Abandonment Areasmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Current populations of megafauna spatially coincide with high values of wilderness metrics and with projected areas of abandonment, especially in mountainous areas, thus raising the possibility of migration into the newly available space (Ceaușu et al 2015 ). Moreover, rewilding will increase connectivity of natural habitats, supporting the adjustment of ranges to climate change (Lindner et al 2010 ).…”

Section: Wilderness Metrics In Abandonment Areasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping opportunities and challenges for rewilding in Europe

Ceauşu

Hofmann

Navarro

et al. 2015

Conservation Biology

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100

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Farmland abandonment takes place across the world due to socio-economic and ecological drivers. In Europe agricultural and environmental policies aim to prevent abandonment and halt ecological succession. Ecological rewilding has been recently proposed as an alternative strategy. We developed a framework to assess opportunities for rewilding across different dimensions of wilderness in Europe. We mapped artificial light, human accessibility based on transport infrastructure, proportion of harvested primary productivity (i.e., ecosystem productivity appropriated by humans through agriculture or forestry), and deviation from potential natural vegetation in areas projected to be abandoned by 2040. At the continental level, the levels of artificial light were low and the deviation from potential natural vegetation was high in areas of abandonment. The relative importance of wilderness metrics differed regionally and was strongly connected to local environmental and socio-economic contexts. Large areas of projected abandonment were often located in or around Natura 2000 sites. Based on these results, we argue that management should be tailored to restore the aspects of wilderness that are lacking in each region. There are many remaining challenges regarding biodiversity in Europe, but megafauna species are already recovering. To further potentiate large-scale rewilding, Natura 2000 management would need to incorporate rewilding approaches. Our framework can be applied to assessing rewilding opportunities and challenges in other world regions, and our results could guide redirection of subsidies to manage social-ecological systems.Mapeo de Oportunidades y Retos para el Retorno de la Vida SilvestreResumenEl abandono de tierras agrícolas ocurre en todo el mundo debido a factores socio-económicos y ecológicos. En Europa, las políticas ambientales y agrícolas tienen el objetivo de prevenir el abandono y frenar la sucesión ecológica. La reintroducción o el retorno de la vida silvestre (“rewilding”) representa una estrategia alternativa a esto. Desarrollamos un marco de trabajo para evaluar las oportunidades de reintroducción en diferentes dimensiones de naturaleza a lo largo de Europa. Mapeamos la luz artificial, la accesibilidad para humanos con base en la infraestructura de transporte, la proporción de productividad primaria (es decir, la productividad del ecosistema incautado por los humanos por medio de la agricultura o la silvicultura) y la divergencia de vegetación natural potencial en áreas que se proyecta estarán abandonadas para el 2040. A nivel continental, los niveles de luz artificial fueron bajos y la divergencia de vegetación natural potencial fue alta en las áreas de abandono. La importancia relativa de las medidas de naturaleza difirió regionalmente y estuvieron conectadas fuertemente a los contextos ambientales y socio-económicos locales. Las grandes áreas de abandono proyectado estuvieron localizadas frecuentemente en o alrededor de sitios Natura 2000. Con base en estos resultados, argumentamos que el mane...

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European Wilderness in a Time of Farmland Abandonment

Cited by 14 publications

References 77 publications

Assessing large-scale wildlife responses to human infrastructure development

Assessing large-scale wildlife responses to human infrastructure development

Evaluating and expanding the European Union's protected‐area network toward potential post‐2020 coverage targets

Mapping opportunities and challenges for rewilding in Europe

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