Premium
NATURE RESERVES: DO THEY CAPTURE THE FULL RANGE OF AMERICA'S BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY?
Author(s) -
Scott J. Michael,
Davis Frank W.,
McGhie R. Gavin,
Wright R. Gerald,
Groves Craig,
Estes John
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
ecological applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.864
H-Index - 213
eISSN - 1939-5582
pISSN - 1051-0761
DOI - 10.1890/1051-0761(2001)011[0999:nrdtct]2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - nature reserve , ecology , range (aeronautics) , elevation (ballistics) , productivity , land cover , diversity (politics) , geography , agriculture , biodiversity , distribution (mathematics) , soil water , land use , environmental science , biology , materials science , sociology , anthropology , composite material , mathematical analysis , geometry , mathematics , macroeconomics , economics
Less than 6% of the coterminous United States is in nature reserves. Assessment of the occurrence of nature reserves across ranges of elevation and soil productivity classes indicates that nature reserves are most frequently found at higher elevations and on less productive soils. The distribution of plants and animals suggests that the greatest number of species is found at lower elevations. A preliminary assessment of the occurrence of mapped land cover types indicates that ∼60% of mapped cover types have <10% of their area in nature reserves. Land ownership patterns show that areas of lower elevation and more productive soils are most often privately owned and already extensively converted to urban and agricultural uses. Thus any effort to establish a system of nature reserves that captures the full geographical and ecological range of cover types and species must fully engage the private sector. For reprints of this Invited Feature, see footnote 1, p. 945.