Green infrastructure development at European Union's eastern border: Effects of road infrastructure and forest habitat loss

Angelstam, Per; Khaulyak, Olha; Yamelynets, Taras; Mozgeris, Gintautas; Naumov, Vladimir; Chmielewski, Tadeusz; Elbakidze, Marine; Manton, Michael; Prots, Bohdan; Valasiuk, Sviataslau

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.02.017

Cited by 38 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Implementing green infrastructure policy requires integrated spatial planning using evidence‐based knowledge about the states of landscapes in different regions and countries (Angelstam et al. , Valasiuk et al. ), and multi‐level cross‐sectorial integration (Elbakidze et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We used a threshold of 40% remaining forest land as habitat for the potential occurrence of species that need contiguous forest (see Angelstam et al. ). The second key threshold is when fragments begin increasing in inter‐patch distance and thus isolation.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Individuals of species can usually move across shorter distances outside their habitat patch, a local landscape may be perceived as contiguous as long as the proportion of habitat exceeds 40-50% (With andCrist 1995, Fahrig 2003). We used a threshold of 40% remaining forest land as habitat for the potential occurrence of species that need contiguous forest (see Angelstam et al 2017a). The second key threshold is when fragments begin increasing in inter-patch distance and thus isolation.…”

Section: Indicators Of Biodiversity Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Wood production and biodiversity conservation are rival forestry objectives in Europe's Baltic Sea Region

et al. 2018

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The policy term green infrastructure highlights the need to maintain functional ecosystems as a foundation for sustainable societies. Because forests are the main natural ecosystems in Europe, it is crucial to understand the extent to which forest landscape management delivers functional green infrastructures. We used the steep west–east gradient in forest landscape history, land ownership, and political culture within northern Europe's Baltic Sea Region to assess regional profiles of benefits delivered by forest landscapes. The aim was to support policy‐makers and planners with evidence‐based knowledge about the current conditions for effective wood production and biodiversity conservation. We developed and modeled four regional‐level indicators for sustained yield wood production and four for biodiversity conservation using public spatial data. The western case study regions in Sweden and Latvia had high forest management intensity with balanced forest losses and gains which was spatially correlated, thus indicating an even stand age class distribution at the local scale and therefore long‐term sustained yields. In contrast, the eastern case study regions in Belarus and Russia showed spatial segregation of areas with forest losses and gains. Regarding biodiversity conservation indicators, the west–east gradient was reversed. In the Russian, Belarusian, and Latvian case study regions, tree species composition was more natural than in Sweden, and the size of contiguous areas without forest loss was larger. In all four case study regions, 54–85% of the total land base consisted of forest cover, which is above critical fragmentation thresholds for forest landscape fragmentation. The results show that green infrastructures for wood production and biodiversity conservation are inversely related among the four case study regions, and thus rival. While restoration for biodiversity conservation is needed in the west, intensified use of wood and biomass is possible in the east. However, a cautious approach should be applied because intensification of wood production threatens biodiversity. We discuss the barriers and bridges for spatial planning in countries with different types of land ownership and political cultures and stress the need for a landscape approach based on evidence‐based collaborative learning processes that include both different academic disciplines and stakeholders that represent different sectors and levels of governance.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Indicators Of Biodiversity Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Wood production and biodiversity conservation are rival forestry objectives in Europe's Baltic Sea Region

et al. 2018

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“…A wide range of studies have indicated that intensified management and use of natural and cultural land covers (e.g., forests, woodlands, and grasslands) has caused reductions in the composition, structure, and function of biodiversity [3][4][5]. Additionally, urbanization and development of transport infrastructure may directly and indirectly affect both land cover patterns and ecological processes [6,7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defining Benchmarks for Restoration of Green Infrastructure: A Case Study Combining the Historical Range of Variability of Habitat and Species’ Requirements

Manton

Angelstam

2018

Sustainability

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Animal husbandry in Europe that sustained once wide-spread semi-natural grasslands has been replaced by maximum sustained yield agriculture and forestry. This transformation coincides with declining populations of species dependent on semi-natural grasslands. A key task is therefore to define benchmarks for landscape restoration in terms of well-planned functional habitat networks, i.e., green infrastructure. Using a representative example of the European landscape gradient between agricultural and forest landscapes in southern Sweden as a case study, we analyzed the historic range of variability of the total area, quality, and size of grassland patches, and compared this to the requirements of focal grassland species. Spatial data covering the past two centuries indicated a 75-80% loss of total grassland area. Three factors affected the functionality of grasslands as green infrastructure. First, during the period 1927-1976, the loss of all grassland areas with high nature values was 41-59%. Second, as a measure of alteration, the number of semi-natural grassland types declined from 5 to 1. Third, to address habitat fragmentation, an analysis of changes in grassland patch size showed that patches sufficiently large to support local populations of complete focal grasslands species assemblages declined by 89-100%. The cumulative effect of loss, alteration, and fragmentation over the past two centuries indicates that the functionality of semi-natural grasslands has declined by at least 98%. However, this estimate does not consider land use changes before 1800, reduced connectivity, and altered biotic and abiotic processes in both semi-natural grasslands and the surrounding matrix. We stress the need to define the historic range of variability as a benchmark in relation to species' requirements to maintain semi-natural grasslands as green infrastructure. Finally, integrated land management and governance that support multi-functionality of grasslands is needed.

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“…For example, new practices such as blue‐green infrastructures, intended to alleviate human pressure on ecosystems, can promote alien species introduction and spread if not done properly (Angelstam et al. , Li et al. ); but considerations of the implications for biological invasions are often lacking in practice.…”

Section: Third Component: Mechanistic Understanding Of the Spread Of mentioning

confidence: 99%

A four‐component classification of uncertainties in biological invasions: implications for management

et al. 2019

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Although uncertainty is an integral part of any science, it raises doubts in public perception about scientific evidence, is exploited by denialists, and therefore potentially hinders the implementation of management actions. As a relatively young field of study, invasion science contains many uncertainties. This may explain why, despite international policies aimed at mitigating biological invasions, the implementation of national‐ and regional‐scale measures to prevent or control alien species has done little to slow the increase in extent of invasions and the magnitude of impacts. Uncertainty is therefore a critical aspect of invasion science that should be addressed to enable the field to progress further. To improve how uncertainties in invasion science are captured and characterized, we propose a framework, which is also applicable to other applied research fields such as climate and conservation science, divided into four components: the need (1) to clearly circumscribe the phenomenon, (2) to measure and provide evidence for the phenomenon (i.e., confirmation), (3) to understand the mechanisms that cause the phenomenon, and (4) to understand the mechanisms through which the phenomenon results in consequences. We link these issues to three major types of uncertainty: linguistic, psychological, and epistemic. The application of this framework shows that the four components tend to be characterized by different types of uncertainty in invasion science. We explain how these uncertainties can be detrimental to the implementation of management measures and propose ways to reduce them. Since biological invasions are increasingly tightly embedded in complex socio‐ecological systems, many problems associated with these uncertainties have convoluted solutions. They demand the consensus of many stakeholders to define and frame the dimensions of the phenomenon, and to decide on appropriate actions. While many of the uncertainties cannot be eliminated completely, we believe that using this framework to explicitly identify and communicate them will help to improve collaboration between researchers and managers, increase scientific, political, and public support for invasion research, and provide a stronger foundation for sustainable management strategies.

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Green infrastructure development at European Union's eastern border: Effects of road infrastructure and forest habitat loss

Cited by 38 publications

References 51 publications

Wood production and biodiversity conservation are rival forestry objectives in Europe's Baltic Sea Region

Wood production and biodiversity conservation are rival forestry objectives in Europe's Baltic Sea Region

Defining Benchmarks for Restoration of Green Infrastructure: A Case Study Combining the Historical Range of Variability of Habitat and Species’ Requirements

A four‐component classification of uncertainties in biological invasions: implications for management

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