Toward process‐based conservation prioritizations for freshwater ecosystems

Abstract

Over the last two decades, systematic conservation planning has been increasingly applied in terrestrial and marine systems. The approach has traditionally been lagging in freshwater environments, partly because considering unique ecological processes, such as connectivity and propagation of threats along river networks, is a key factor for conservation success in freshwater landscapes. This review highlights advances in freshwater planning in the last decade, but also discusses areas in need of increased efforts. Including riverine connectivity and disturbances are largely resolved topics. Both processes have been included in major conservation planning software packages and applied globally. Theoretical advances to connectivity in wetlands and groundwater systems have started to appear, but no encompassing framework has emerged. Spatial solutions to conservation planning in lakes do not yet exist. Some headway has been made when dealing with functional connectivity and genetic processes. For the latter, approaches have been developed to deal with cryptic biodiversity and to investigate the adequacy of conservation plans to include genetic diversity. Functional connectivity has been included in conservation plans in ephemeral waterscapes, and initial steps have been made to include migratory species in conservation prioritizations. Conservation planning in socio‐ecological landscapes is catching up with biophysical prioritizations. Multiple protection tiers have been realized in river conservation planning frameworks, and freshwater scientists are leading the charge in both multi‐objective planning and in including direct functional responses. We conclude that tight integration between ecological sciences and optimization approaches is needed to further process‐based conservation planning.

Validating anthropogenic threat maps as a tool for assessing river ecological integrity in Andean–Amazon basins

“…Understanding the geographical pattern of the anthropogenic threats and their spatial relationships with ecological integrity of rivers is a basic but often neglected aspect of freshwater conservation planning (Clavero et al, 2010). Since anthropogenic threat maps are assumed to be a good proxy of the condition of freshwater ecosystems (Linke, Turak & Nel, 2011), they are used in conservation planning at regional scales that may involve prioritization for protection of rivers with a good ecological condition over disturbed and expensive rivers to manage or restore (Neeson et al, 2016; Linke, Hermoso & Januchowski-Hartley, 2019). Nevertheless, the success of such planning depends on how effective threat maps are as a surrogate of the ecological condition of rivers.…”

Peer Review #2 of "Validating anthropogenic threat maps as a tool for assessing river ecological integrity in Andean–Amazon basins (v0.1)"

“…Understanding the geographical pattern of the anthropogenic threats and their spatial relationships with ecological integrity of rivers is a basic but often neglected aspect of freshwater conservation planning (Clavero et al 2010). Since anthropogenic threat maps are assumed to be a good proxy of the condition of freshwater ecosystems (Linke et al 2011), they are used in conservation planning at regional scales that may involve prioritization for protection of rivers with a good ecological condition over disturbed and expensive rivers to manage or restore (Neeson et al 2016;Linke et al 2019)…”

Theory and practice to conserve freshwater biodiversity in the Anthropocene

“…Tognelli et al () and Zolderdo et al () highlight how these protected areas can act as refugia for species, which may then move out to populate areas nearby and so provide regional benefits. Both Tognelli et al () and Linke, Hermoso, and Januchowski‐Hartley () found that expanding the species of interest increased the area that needed to be considered for conservation, but there was significant overlap in prioritized locations. By planning for all scenarios, Tognelli et al () were able to develop a more robust protection plan that incorporated current conservation concerns and future climate considerations.…”

“…Tognelli et al (2019) and Zolderdo et al (2019) highlight how these protected areas can act as refugia for species, which may then move out to populate areas nearby and so provide regional benefits. Both Tognelli et al (2019) and Linke, Hermoso, and Januchowski-Hartley (2019) found that expanding the species of interest increased the area that needed to be considered for conservation, but there was significant overlap in…”