Geography

Surrogate species protection in Bolivia under climate and land cover change scenarios

Document Type

Article

Abstract

The Amazon rainforest covers more than 60% of Bolivia's lowlands, providing habitat for many endemic and threatened species. Bolivia has the highest rates of deforestation of the Amazon biome, which degrades and fragments species habitat. Anthropogenic habitat changes could be exacerbated by climate change, and therefore, developing relevant strategies for biodiversity protection under global change scenarios is a necessary step in conservation planning. In this research we used multi-species umbrella concept to evaluate the degree of habitat impacts due to climate and land cover change in Bolivia. We used species distribution modeling to map three focal species (Jaguar, Lowland Tapir and Lesser Anteater) and assessed current protected area network effectiveness under future climate and land cover change scenarios for 2050. The studied focal species will lose between 70% and 83% of their ranges under future climate and land-cover change scenarios, decreasing the level of protection to 10% of their original ranges. Existing protected area network should be reconsidered to maintain current and future biodiversity habitats.

Publication Title

Journal for Nature Conservation

Publication Date

12-1-2016

Volume

34

First Page

107

Last Page

117

ISSN

1617-1381

DOI

10.1016/j.jnc.2016.10.002

Keywords

climate change, conservation prioritization, distribution modeling, land cover change, umbrella species

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