Land use and biodiversity congruences at local scale: applications to conservation strategies
2011
Vera, P. | Sasa, M. | Encabo, S. I. | Barba, E. | Belda, E. J. | Monrós, J. S.
The establishment of protected areas is traditionally considered indispensable to preserve biodiversity hotspots or areas inhabited by threatened species. The analysis of correlations between composition or richness of several taxonomic groups in a specific area has emerged as a useful mechanism to quickly identify areas of biological and conservation interest, and is currently used to select and design protected areas. The effect of habitat fragmentation on these correlations at a regional scale has been studied, but the effect of land use on the correlations obtained at local scale is poorly understood. We evaluated the relationships among different taxonomic groups frequently used in biological assessments for reserve design (vascular flora, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals), taking into account the effects of land use on these correlations. We compared richness and species composition of these groups in 1 km² quadrants within a total area of 75 km² in a low mountain Mediterranean area. Richness and composition were significantly correlated between several groups, both using the complete data set and also analyzing natural and disturbed areas separately. Species composition and species richness correlations were not congruent at the full landscape approach, nor natural and disturbed quadrants. Factors extrinsic to the communities also varied their influence in the assemblage of the community and species richness or not land uses were taken into account. According to our results, natural and human-disturbed areas should not be combined in cross-taxon congruences analysis at local scale.
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