Terrestrial Biodiversity Analyses in Dalmatia (Croatia): A Complementary Approach Using Diversity and Rarity

Abstract

Here we present the methodology used for terrestrial biodiversity analysis and site selection in Phase B of the UNDP/GEF COAST project. The analysis was focused on the problem of biodiversity evaluation in four Croatian counties stretching from sea level to the highest mountain in Croatia. Data on habitats, vascular flora, and fauna (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, ground beetles, and underground invertebrates) were collected and analyzed for each of the four counties. Emphasis was given to the richness of endangered species and the rarity of endemic species. Based on the spatial analyses of habitat, fauna, and flora data, four to six areas were selected from each county and ranked according to their biodiversity importance. Overlap between areas important for richness and those important for rarity was highest for data on flora (65.5%) and lowest for data on fauna (16.7%). When different data sets were compared, the lowest overlap was between flora and fauna (17.1%) and largest between fauna and habitats (23.9%). Simultaneous overlap among all three data sets was found in just 6.5% of the overall selected areas. These results suggest that less specific data, with respect to taxa threat status, could better serve as surrogate data in estimating overall biodiversity. In summary, this analysis has demonstrated that Dalmatia is a region with a high overall biodiversity that is important in a broader European context.

Corine land cover changes during the period 1990–2000 in the most important areas for birds in Croatia

“…It is characterised by shallow bays, lagoons and straits and is the most important wintering areas for waders, divers, sea ducks and grebes. The area is characterised by extensive xeric grasslands and has been identified as important for overall biodiversity in recent analyses by Jelaska et al (2010). (4) Paško field (43 • 55 N, 16 • 25 E) is a complex of wet meadows with numerous springs of cold water at the head of the River Cetina.…”

Invasive alien plants in Croatia as a threat to biodiversity of South-Eastern Europe: Distributional patterns and range size

“…The Adriatic basin follows the Northwest-Southeast (NW-SE) direction similar to the Dinaric Alps, for a total length of 783 km. The eastern Croatian coast is one of the most diverse in the Mediterranean area [42], with high biodiversity [43].…”

Geographic patterns of vertebrate diversity and identification of relevant areas for conservation in Europe

“…The present study joins previous conservation biogeography efforts to identify critical areas to protect European vertebrate diversity (Araújo & Pearson, 2005;Jelaska et al, 2010); it aimed to document geographic patterns of species richness, rarity, vulnerability, and a combined index of the three former measures at the 50-km grain resolution for each major taxa. We also analyzed relationships between human influence and these biodiversity indices, highlighting key areas for vertebrate conservation.…”