Are We Adequately Protecting Our Forests? Will they be protected under climate change conditions?
Forests regulate local and global climate and can help to mitigate climate change through carbon sequestration (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 2001). The genetic diversity found within forests is also incredibly important and its full potential has not been fully realised as of yet. Research is continuous on such subjects as important genes for use in plant breeding, important plants for the pharmaceutical industry, carbon sequestration, etc. Approximately 30% of the global land area is currently forested (Schmitt et al., 2009); however, deforestation and forest degradation is occurring at a rapid rate, threatening diversity among species and ecosystems in forests around the world (UNEP-WCMC, 2009). Deforestation and degredation results in rapid, substantial and quite often irreversible damages to ecosystems, destroying the vital ecosystem services they provide (Bodegom et al., 2009).
Forests are an incredibly valuable resource and their loss is devastating to many and will only affect more as the loss of forested land progresses. Climate change is recognized as one of the chief challenges of this century and is a massive challenge to forest conservation (Bodegom et al., 2009). As the climate changes, the amount of suitable habitat under protection will change, depending on the changes in the species’ range and the location of protected areas, there is an expectation of general northward shift in species' ranges (Hannah et al., 2005).This study will focus on the forests of western North America and the protected area status of their habitat under current conditions and their future protected status under climate change conditions.
The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has suggested that countries set aside at least 10% of their land into protected areas (Dudley and Parish, 2006). The Convention on Biological Diversity has set a target of 17% of the world’s terrestrial ecosystems (10% of marine ecosystems) to be protected by the year 2020 (Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 and the Aichi Targets, 2011). A protected area is defined as “A clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values” (Dudley, 2008). Protected areas are recognized as an important tool for conserving biodiversity (Mansourian et al., 2009). A large number of species, ecosystems and ecological processes are not adequately protected by the current protected areas network (Dudley and Parish, 2006). Inadequate protected areas are not confined only to places with a lack of conservation management, conservation gaps can exist even where there are protected areas (Dudley and Parish, 2006). This study aims to find these gaps and provide conservation managers with this information.
Forest protected areas are extremely valuable as they provide many ecosystem services, such as non-timber forest products, as well as conserve biodiversity (Mansourian et al., 2009). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded that forests are highly sensitive to modern climate change (Noss, 2001) and it is becoming evident that effective conservation strategies for protected areas need to mitigate for climate change (Araujo et al., 2011). Climate change and forests are dependent upon each other; climate change is a threat to forests in terms of loss of habitat and slow adaptation, while protecting forests from conversion and degradation helps moderate the effects of climate change (Bodegom et al., 2009). Protected areas are important in supporting forests and providing an opportunity for adaptation to changing climate by providing refuges and migration corridors (Mansourian et al., 2009). Under future climate change scenarios many of the current protected areas are expected to be unable to fulfill their role of protecting habitat for species that are targeted for conservation (Mansourian et al., 2009).
Many protected areas currently have no systematic planning process in place and will be very susceptible to the effects of climate change (Hannah et al., 2002). To improve conservation planning for native forest tree species and populations of western North America it is imperative to address climate change as a factor in their current and future location. GIS can be used to conduct spatial modeling of population distribution and frequencies, this data can then be used to assess their protected status. This analysis provides an assessment of the effectiveness of current protected areas for the conservation of native tree species as well as in the future under climate change conditions. Species and populations that are not adequately represented in protected areas are conservation gaps and require attention and possible action.
Forests are an incredibly valuable resource and their loss is devastating to many and will only affect more as the loss of forested land progresses. Climate change is recognized as one of the chief challenges of this century and is a massive challenge to forest conservation (Bodegom et al., 2009). As the climate changes, the amount of suitable habitat under protection will change, depending on the changes in the species’ range and the location of protected areas, there is an expectation of general northward shift in species' ranges (Hannah et al., 2005).This study will focus on the forests of western North America and the protected area status of their habitat under current conditions and their future protected status under climate change conditions.
The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has suggested that countries set aside at least 10% of their land into protected areas (Dudley and Parish, 2006). The Convention on Biological Diversity has set a target of 17% of the world’s terrestrial ecosystems (10% of marine ecosystems) to be protected by the year 2020 (Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 and the Aichi Targets, 2011). A protected area is defined as “A clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values” (Dudley, 2008). Protected areas are recognized as an important tool for conserving biodiversity (Mansourian et al., 2009). A large number of species, ecosystems and ecological processes are not adequately protected by the current protected areas network (Dudley and Parish, 2006). Inadequate protected areas are not confined only to places with a lack of conservation management, conservation gaps can exist even where there are protected areas (Dudley and Parish, 2006). This study aims to find these gaps and provide conservation managers with this information.
Forest protected areas are extremely valuable as they provide many ecosystem services, such as non-timber forest products, as well as conserve biodiversity (Mansourian et al., 2009). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded that forests are highly sensitive to modern climate change (Noss, 2001) and it is becoming evident that effective conservation strategies for protected areas need to mitigate for climate change (Araujo et al., 2011). Climate change and forests are dependent upon each other; climate change is a threat to forests in terms of loss of habitat and slow adaptation, while protecting forests from conversion and degradation helps moderate the effects of climate change (Bodegom et al., 2009). Protected areas are important in supporting forests and providing an opportunity for adaptation to changing climate by providing refuges and migration corridors (Mansourian et al., 2009). Under future climate change scenarios many of the current protected areas are expected to be unable to fulfill their role of protecting habitat for species that are targeted for conservation (Mansourian et al., 2009).
Many protected areas currently have no systematic planning process in place and will be very susceptible to the effects of climate change (Hannah et al., 2002). To improve conservation planning for native forest tree species and populations of western North America it is imperative to address climate change as a factor in their current and future location. GIS can be used to conduct spatial modeling of population distribution and frequencies, this data can then be used to assess their protected status. This analysis provides an assessment of the effectiveness of current protected areas for the conservation of native tree species as well as in the future under climate change conditions. Species and populations that are not adequately represented in protected areas are conservation gaps and require attention and possible action.
Research Objectives
- To assess the protected status of western North American forest tree species and populations by species, population and jurisdiction under current and future climate change conditions.
- To use the mapped and projected frequency for an overlay analysis of 58 native western North American tree species distributions occurring within and outside of protected areas under current and future climate change conditions to enable a calculation of how much of the total range is being protected.
- To conduct an overlay analysis to determine how many populations in each jurisdiction are being protected and how many still require protection to determine where the largest conservation gaps are occurring under current and future climate change conditions.
- To provide information and data that can aid in making effective conservation decisions and management planning.
Expected Outcomes For this study
- Jurisdictions with larger landbases and lower population densities are expected to be protecting the largest proportion of land and therefore a greater proportion of their forested land.
- Jurisdictions protecting the greatest amounts of their forested land are expected to also be protecting the majority of their species and populations adequately.
- Species with the largest and most continuous ranges are expected be better protected than those with smaller, more sparse ranges.
- Under climate change conditions, species will move northward and higher in elevation to maintain suitable habitat. Species with smaller range sizes are expected to be affected by this the most and will not be adequately represented in the protected area network. Species that maintain large range sizes are expected to remain adequately protected.