The disproportionately high value of small patches for biodiversity conservation

IF 7.7 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

Conservation Letters Pub Date : 2022-03-21 DOI:10.1111/conl.12881

Federico Riva, Lenore Fahrig

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引用次数: 36

Abstract

Small habitat patches have been historically neglected in conservation, primarily because extinction risk is higher in small patches. Nevertheless, sets of small patches usually harbor more species than one or a few larger patches of equal total area. Resolving this inconsistency is key to policy and practice in biodiversity conservation. Our analysis of 32 datasets (603 patches and 2290 taxa) provides two novel lines of evidence confirming that small patches have disproportionately high value for biodiversity. First, sets of small patches harbor more species than large patches even when considering only species of conservation concern. Second, sets of small patches harbor more species than large patches even when the small patches are very small compared to the large patches. Therefore, higher extinction risk in small than large patches does not decrease the cumulative value of small patches for biodiversity. We contend that acknowledging the conservation value of small patches, even very small patches, will be a necessary step for stemming biodiversity loss in the Anthropocene.

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小块的生物多样性保护价值高得不成比例

小生境斑块在历史上一直被忽视，主要是因为小生境斑块的灭绝风险更高。然而，一组小斑块通常比一个或几个面积相等的大斑块含有更多的物种。解决这种矛盾是生物多样性保护政策和实践的关键。我们对32个数据集(603个斑块和2290个分类群)的分析提供了两条新的证据线，证实小斑块对生物多样性具有不成比例的高价值。首先，即使只考虑物种保护问题，小斑块比大斑块拥有更多的物种。其次，小斑块比大斑块拥有更多的物种，即使小斑块与大斑块相比非常小。因此，小斑块的灭绝风险高于大斑块，并不会降低小斑块的生物多样性累积价值。我们认为，承认小块、甚至非常小块的保护价值，将是遏制人类世生物多样性丧失的必要步骤。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Conservation Letters BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION-

CiteScore

13.50

自引率

2.40%

发文量

审稿时长

>12 weeks

期刊介绍： Conservation Letters is a reputable scientific journal that is devoted to the publication of both empirical and theoretical research that has important implications for the conservation of biological diversity. The journal warmly invites submissions from various disciplines within the biological and social sciences, with a particular interest in interdisciplinary work. The primary aim is to advance both pragmatic conservation objectives and scientific knowledge. Manuscripts are subject to a rapid communication schedule, therefore they should address current and relevant topics. Research articles should effectively communicate the significance of their findings in relation to conservation policy and practice.