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Assessing connectivity and the contribution of private lands to protected area networks in the United States

Current targets for protected area network coverage call for increased protection but lack specificity in terms of criteria for parcel type, placement, and landscape connectivity. We assessed land conservation achieved by protected area networks in the contiguous United States, and assessed whether...

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Autores principales: Bargelt, Lindsey, Fortin, Marie-Josée, Murray, Dennis L.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7058307/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32134937
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0228946
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author Bargelt, Lindsey
Fortin, Marie-Josée
Murray, Dennis L.
author_facet Bargelt, Lindsey
Fortin, Marie-Josée
Murray, Dennis L.
author_sort Bargelt, Lindsey
collection PubMed
description Current targets for protected area network coverage call for increased protection but lack specificity in terms of criteria for parcel type, placement, and landscape connectivity. We assessed land conservation achieved by protected area networks in the contiguous United States, and assessed whether private lands contributed substantially to network coverage and connectivity given species dispersal abilities. On average, states have 4.1% (range: 0.2% to 15.8%, n = 48) protected area coverage with connectivity ≤10 km. Terrain ruggedness, percent farmland, and population density are the primary determinants of protected area placement, leading to biased representation of land features currently under protection. On average, private protected areas contribute <1.1% (range 0.0% to 9.2%) to current protected area coverage across the United States. We conclude that current levels of protection and connectivity are inadequate to support a functional protected area network, and that increased and strategic selection of private protected areas is necessary to meet conservation planning goals.
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spelling pubmed-70583072020-03-12 Assessing connectivity and the contribution of private lands to protected area networks in the United States Bargelt, Lindsey Fortin, Marie-Josée Murray, Dennis L. PLoS One Research Article Current targets for protected area network coverage call for increased protection but lack specificity in terms of criteria for parcel type, placement, and landscape connectivity. We assessed land conservation achieved by protected area networks in the contiguous United States, and assessed whether private lands contributed substantially to network coverage and connectivity given species dispersal abilities. On average, states have 4.1% (range: 0.2% to 15.8%, n = 48) protected area coverage with connectivity ≤10 km. Terrain ruggedness, percent farmland, and population density are the primary determinants of protected area placement, leading to biased representation of land features currently under protection. On average, private protected areas contribute <1.1% (range 0.0% to 9.2%) to current protected area coverage across the United States. We conclude that current levels of protection and connectivity are inadequate to support a functional protected area network, and that increased and strategic selection of private protected areas is necessary to meet conservation planning goals. Public Library of Science 2020-03-05 /pmc/articles/PMC7058307/ /pubmed/32134937 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0228946 Text en © 2020 Bargelt et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Bargelt, Lindsey
Fortin, Marie-Josée
Murray, Dennis L.
Assessing connectivity and the contribution of private lands to protected area networks in the United States
title Assessing connectivity and the contribution of private lands to protected area networks in the United States
title_full Assessing connectivity and the contribution of private lands to protected area networks in the United States
title_fullStr Assessing connectivity and the contribution of private lands to protected area networks in the United States
title_full_unstemmed Assessing connectivity and the contribution of private lands to protected area networks in the United States
title_short Assessing connectivity and the contribution of private lands to protected area networks in the United States
title_sort assessing connectivity and the contribution of private lands to protected area networks in the united states
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7058307/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32134937
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0228946
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