Open AccessLow ecological representation in the protected area network of China
Author(s) -
Xu Haigen,
Cao Mingchang,
Wang Zhi,
Wu Yi,
Cao Yun,
Wu Jun,
Le Zhifang,
Cui Peng,
Ding Hui,
Xu Wanggu,
Peng Hua,
Jiang Jianping,
Wu Yuhu,
Jiang Xuelong,
Zhang Zhiyun,
Rao Dingqi,
Li Jianqiang,
Lei Fumin,
Xia Nianhe,
Han Lianxian,
Cao Wei,
Wu Jiayu,
Xia Xin,
Li Yimin
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
ecology and evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.17
H-Index - 63
ISSN - 2045-7758
DOI - 10.1002/ece3.4175
Subject(s) - threatened species , biodiversity , complementarity (molecular biology) , ecology , geography , iucn protected area categories , protected area , nature reserve , china , global biodiversity , mammal , distribution (mathematics) , environmental resource management , biology , environmental science , habitat , mathematical analysis , genetics , mathematics , archaeology
Protected areas are considered as an essential strategy to halt the decline of biodiversity. Ecological representation in protected areas is crucial for assessment on the progress toward conservation targets. Although China has established a large number of protected areas since the 1950s, ecological representation of protected areas is poorly understood. Here, we performed the complementarity analysis to evaluate ecological representation of protected areas in China. We used a database of the geographical distribution for 10,396 woody plant species, 2,305 fern species, 406 amphibian species, 460 reptile species, 1,364 bird species, and 590 mammal species from 2,376 counties across China. We identified complementary sets of counties for all species or threatened species of plant and vertebrate species using a complementarity algorithm. We evaluated ecological representation of 3,627 protected areas and discerned conservation gaps by comparing the distribution of protected areas with complementary sets. The results show that the spatially representative and complementary sites for biodiversity are poorly covered, and a fairly large proportion of protected areas is not designed to efficiently represent biodiversity at the national scale. Our methodology can serve as a generic framework for assessment on ecological representation of protected areas at the national scale.