new article on African protected areas

new article on African protected areas

October 10, 2014

Wegmann et al_Phil_Trans_PA_irreplaceabilityOur new article about the “Role of African protected areas in maintaining connectivity for large mammals” has been published in a special issue on Remote Sensing in Biodiversity and Conservation.

The African protected area (PA) network has the potential to act as a set of functionally interconnected patches that conserve meta-populations of mammal species, but individual PAs are vulnerable to habitat change which may disrupt connectivity and increase extinction risk. Individual PAs have different roles in maintaining connectivity, depending on their size and location. We measured their contribution to network connectivity (irreplaceability) for carnivores and ungulates and combined it with a measure of vulnerability based on a 30-year trend in remotely sensed vegetation cover (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index). Highly irreplaceable PAs occurred mainly in southern and eastern Africa. Vegetation cover change was generally faster outside than inside PAs and particularly so in southern Africa. The extent of change increased with the distance from PAs. About 5% of highly irreplaceable PAs experienced a faster vegetation cover loss than their surroundings, thus requiring particular conservation attention. Our analysis identified PAs at risk whose isolation would disrupt the connectivity of the PA network for large mammals. This is an example of how ecological spatial modelling can be combined with large-scale remote sensing data to investigate how land cover change may affect ecological processes and species conservation.


 

 

Theme Issue ‘Satellite remote sensing for biodiversity research and conservation applications’ compiled and edited by Nathalie Pettorelli, Kamran Safi, Woody Turner and Stefan Dech

you may also like:

Exploring the Desert: Farimah’s Internship at Gobabeb in Namibia

Exploring the Desert: Farimah’s Internship at Gobabeb in Namibia

We’re excited to share that our EAGLE MSc student, Farimah, is currently spending her internship at the renowned Gobabeb Namib Research Institute, nestled in the heart of the Namib Desert—one of the oldest and most unique desert ecosystems in the world. Farimah’s...

Field Impressions from the Beech Decline Survey

Field Impressions from the Beech Decline Survey

In late July, PhD student Julia Rieder and EAGLE student Henning Riecken (InnoLab) conducted field visits to several beech forest stands in Northern Bavaria. Their survey covered regions including the Rhön, the Steigerwald, and areas around Würzburg and Bayreuth, as...

EAGLE Advanced Course in Applied Programming for Urban Studies

EAGLE Advanced Course in Applied Programming for Urban Studies

Our EAGLE students recently wrapped up the Applied Programming for Urban course by our PhD student De-Cyuan Jheng — a hands-on, advanced continuation of last semester’s Spatial Python for Remote Sensing. Building on their foundational skills, this course further...

Summer Vibes, Science, and Socials: Our BBQ Event 2025!

Summer Vibes, Science, and Socials: Our BBQ Event 2025!

What happens when science meets grilled goodness and great company? A perfect summer evening — and that's exactly what we had at our annual Summer BBQ on July 24th! Kicking off at 4 pm under surprisingly sunny skies and a relaxed atmosphere, this year’s event blended...

Successful PhD defense by Adomas Liepa

Successful PhD defense by Adomas Liepa

We’re happy to announce that our PhD student Adomas Liepa has successfully defended his doctoral thesis, titled “Potential of Satellite Earth Observation in Seasonal Monitoring of Complex Agricultural Environments of East Africa”, on Thursday, July 24th at 11:00 AM....