Historical maps improve the identification of forests with potentially high conservation value

The EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 aims to better protect natural ecosystems with high biodiversity and climate change mitigation potential. To achieve this goal, it is crucial to identify forests worth protecting, such as those characterized by long continuity and old age. Here, we propose a robust...

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Podrobná bibliografie
Vydáno v:	Conservation letters Ročník 17; číslo 5
Hlavní autoři:	Grabska‐Szwagrzyk, Ewa, Jakiel, Michał, Keeton, William, Kozak, Jacek, Kuemmerle, Tobias, Onoszko, Kamil, Ostafin, Krzysztof, Shahbandeh, Mahsa, Szubert, Piotr, Szwagierczak, Anna, Szwagrzyk, Jerzy, Ziółkowska, Elżbieta, Kaim, Dominik
Médium:	Journal Article
Jazyk:	angličtina
Vydáno:	Washington John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.09.2024 Wiley
Témata:	19th century Age Biodiversity Carpathian Mountains Central European region Climate change Climate change mitigation Conservation areas Ecosystems Europe Field investigations Field tests Forest conservation forest continuity Forest management Forests Green Deal historical maps Land use persistent forests Protected areas Remote sensing stakeholders Topographic databases Topography Europe Central European region
ISSN:	1755-263X, 1755-263X
On-line přístup:	Získat plný text
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Shrnutí:	The EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 aims to better protect natural ecosystems with high biodiversity and climate change mitigation potential. To achieve this goal, it is crucial to identify forests worth protecting, such as those characterized by long continuity and old age. Here, we propose a robust approach that combines historical maps from the mid‐19th century with remote sensing data to identify areas that have been forested for over 150 years, aiming to reduce the need for detailed and time‐consuming field investigations in potential conservation areas. We tested this approach in a 20,000 km2 region in the Polish Carpathians, an area likely containing many unprotected forests of high conservation value, where historical maps from the mid‐19th century are representative of much of Central Europe. Our results showed that an area of approximately 4200 km2 has been continuously forested since at least the mid‐19th century. Currently, 50% of these forests are outside protected areas, representing an important conservation opportunity. More generally, our approach can support the identification of valuable forests worth protecting before they are lost and provide useful insights for policymakers and stakeholders in the ongoing debate on the challenges of improving forest conservation in the Carpathians, and Europe more widely.
Bibliografie:	SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Correspondence-1 content type line 14 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1755-263X 1755-263X
DOI:	10.1111/conl.13043