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Aplicacíon de análisis de intervalos de biodiversidad en el diseño de una Reserva Natural Regional para en El Borde de Appalachia, Ohio, Estados Unidos
Author(s) -
Strittholt James R.,
Boerner Ralph E.J.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
conservation biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.2
H-Index - 222
eISSN - 1523-1739
pISSN - 0888-8892
DOI - 10.1046/j.1523-1739.1995.09061492.x
Subject(s) - appalachia , geography , thematic map , vegetation (pathology) , biodiversity , gap analysis (conservation) , plant community , environmental resource management , scale (ratio) , thematic mapper , settlement (finance) , elevation (ballistics) , natural (archaeology) , cartography , ecology , remote sensing , environmental science , satellite imagery , computer science , geology , archaeology , engineering , structural engineering , pathology , world wide web , biology , paleontology , payment , medicine , ecological succession
A biodiversity gap analysis is a method, now usually employing geographic information systems, for identifying deficiencies in existing biodiversity protection. Key principles of gap analysis were applied to a region of southcentral Ohio (U.S.A.) known as The Edge of Appalachia as part of a detailed, large‐scale (1:24,000) nature reserve design project. By combining Landsat thematic mapper imagery with ancillary data (bedrock geology, elevation, slope, aspect, and stream proximity), a rule‐based model was developed to differentiate and map the natural plant communities present in the 378‐km 2 study area. The model was then used to generate a map depicting the most likely presettlement plant community distributions for the area. These two maps were compared against the 5273 ha owned and managed by state and local conservation organizations. For the current natural plant community distributions, regional land‐protection efforts represented each plant community proportionally; however, comparison with the presettlement vegetation clearly identified serious historical losses of several plant community types. Our results suggest that future land acquisitions should emphasize those plant community types that were once more widespread in the region prior to European settlement, a time when natural processes were less compromised by human activity. Current and historical plant‐community mapping results were combined and evaluated using the ownership parcel as the fundamental mapping unit. From parcel‐based desirability maps a conservation plan was developed that addressed community deficiencies using a representation target of25% for each community type, as derived from the modeled presettlement landscape.