Environmental correlates of the conservation value of boreal headwater streams and their riparian forests
Jyväsjärvi, J., Virtanen, R., Suurkuukka, H., Paasivirta, L., Salmela, J., Pentinsaari, M., Rinne, A. and Muotka, T. (2018). Environmental correlates of the conservation value of boreal headwater streams and their riparian forests. 5th European Congress of Conservation Biology. doi: 10.17011/conference/eccb2018/107694
Tekijät
Päivämäärä
2018Tekijänoikeudet
© the Authors, 2018
Headwater streams and their riparian forests are considered as biodiversity hotspots and key habitats for the conservation of aquatic and terrestrial biota [1, 2]. However, most previous research has focused on single organism groups and studies providing a more comprehensive assessment of the conservation status of both stream and riparian fauna and flora do not exist. We used data ranging from near-pristine to strongly modified boreal headwater streams and their riparian forests to assess which in situ and larger scale environmental factors are the best determinants of the overall conservation value of sites. We then evaluated validity of the selected variables in predicting the conservation value of 15 independent test sites. Specifically, we asked whether GIS-derived environmental variables can provide more (or equally) accurate predictions of the conservation value compared to more laborious in situ variables. Our data comprised species-level information on stream-dwelling bryophytes, diatoms and macroinvertebrates and riparian birds, vascular plants, bryophytes, polyphores and insects (nematocerans, trichopterans, and coleopterans). We calculated the overall conservation score (0-1) for each study site by averaging standardized i) total species richness, ii) rarity-weighted species richness (RWR) and Pielou’s evenness (J’) (calculated for each organism group separately) and total number of endangered taxa (summed across all 10 organism groups). Next, we used hierarchical partitioning to evaluate the independent contribution of 25 in situ environmental variables and 19 GIS-variables in determining the conservation status of the study sites. Among the in situ variables, the cover of coniferous trees, amount of decaying wood and forest shading contributed most (28%, 25%, and 11%, respectively) to the conservation score. Drainage intensity (20%), average tree diameter (18%; 100 m buffer) and a number of forest ditches draining into the stream (17%) were the best GIS predictors. Both in situ and GIS variables had, however, only moderate (23.7% and 24.6%, respectively) prediction success when the selected environmental variables were fitted to independent data. Our results therefore suggest that although it is possible to identify environmental variables strongly related to conservation value of a site, using this information for predictive purposes remains challenging. This might be due to fact that different biodiversity facets tend to show variable responses to environmental gradients, resulting in no net change in the overall conservation score regardless of alteration of site integrity. Nevertheless, our study underlines the importance of the protection of mature riparian forests and avoidance of peatland drainage to maintain headwater streams and their riparian surroundings as key habitats for biodiversity conservation.
1Marczak L.B. et al. 2010. Ecol Appl., 20, 126-134.
2Finn D.S. et al. 2011. J. N. Am. Benthol. Soc., 30, 963-980.
...
Julkaisija
Open Science Centre, University of JyväskyläKonferenssi
ECCB2018: 5th European Congress of Conservation Biology. 12th - 15th of June 2018, Jyväskylä, Finland
Alkuperäislähde
https://peerageofscience.org/conference/eccb2018/107694/Metadata
Näytä kaikki kuvailutiedotKokoelmat
- ECCB 2018 [712]
Lisenssi
Samankaltainen aineisto
Näytetään aineistoja, joilla on samankaltainen nimeke tai asiasanat.
-
Spatial variation of benthic macroinvertebrate biodiversity in boreal streams : biogeographic context and conservation implications
Heino, Jani (University of Jyväskylä, 2002)Biodiversity patterns of most lotic animal and plant groups remain poorly known, which hinders the implementation of effective conservation, monitoring, and restoration programs. The major aims of this thesis were (i) to ... -
Community structure of macroinvertebrates, bryophytes and fish in boreal streams : patterns from local to regional scales, with conservation implications
Paavola, Riku (University of Jyväskylä, 2003)Voitaisiinko luonnonsuojelualueiden valinnassa käyttää nykyistä helpompia menetelmiä? Tällainen voisi olla esimerkiksi ns. ilmentäjälajien käyttö niiden valinnassa, jos eri eliöyhteisöjen rakenteet olisivat yhteneviä sekä ... -
The role of novel forest ecosystems in the conservation of wood-inhabiting fungi in boreal broadleaved forests
Juutilainen, Katja; Mönkkönen, Mikko; Kotiranta, Heikki; Halme, Panu (John Wiley & Sons Ltd., 2016)The increasing human impact on the earth’s biosphere is inflicting changes at all spatial scales. As well as deterioration and fragmentation of natural biological systems, these changes also led to other, unprecedented ... -
Solving Conflicts among Conservation, Economic, and Social Objectives in Boreal Production Forest Landscapes : Fennoscandian Perspectives
Mönkkönen, Mikko; Burgas Riera, Daniel; Eyvindson, Kyle; Le tortorec, Eric; Peura, Maiju; Pohjanmies, Tähti; Repo, Anna; Triviño, María (Springer, 2018)This chapter discusses challenges and possibilities involved in preserving biological diversity and the diversity of ecosystem services in the boreal zone and yet at the same time maintaining intensive timber extraction ... -
Allocation and size of conservation measures in a production boreal forest landscape: insights from applying the Delphi technique
Filyushkina, Anna; Nordström, Eva-Maria; Ranius, Thomas (Open Science Centre, University of Jyväskylä, 2018)This study aims to assess the effects of spatial allocation and size of individual conservation measures on provision of ecosystem services and preservation of biodiversity in a production forest landscape. Since it is ...
Ellei toisin mainittu, julkisesti saatavilla olevia JYX-metatietoja (poislukien tiivistelmät) saa vapaasti uudelleenkäyttää CC0-lisenssillä.