Evaluating the effectiveness of conservation priorities in mitigating agricultural threats to China’s vertebrates
Conservation priorities (CPs), considered at least 44 % of the terrestrial area globally, would be a critical tool for avoiding a dramatic collapse of biodiversity. Agriculture is widely recognized as the largest driver of biodiversity loss. However, in China, where the demand for food production an...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-02-01
|
| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25001153 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1823859382982541312 |
|---|---|
| author | Can Yang Geli Zhang Xi Zhang Yuzhe Li Zhichao Li Qinghao Wang Jinwei Dong |
| author_facet | Can Yang Geli Zhang Xi Zhang Yuzhe Li Zhichao Li Qinghao Wang Jinwei Dong |
| author_sort | Can Yang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Conservation priorities (CPs), considered at least 44 % of the terrestrial area globally, would be a critical tool for avoiding a dramatic collapse of biodiversity. Agriculture is widely recognized as the largest driver of biodiversity loss. However, in China, where the demand for food production and croplands is the highest, the threats posed by agricultural activities to endangered vertebrates–particularly across different taxonomic classes–have not been thoroughly assessed. Additionally, the effectiveness of CPs in addressing these threats needs quantification across the country. In this study, we utilized high-resolution cropland data and information on threatened vertebrates to analyze the threats posed by croplands, while also evaluating the effectiveness of CPs in China. Our findings indicate that croplands in the Middle-Lower Yangtze Plain and Northeast China represent the most significant threats to threatened birds, with 1,346 and 751 identified risk spots, respectively. Furthermore, croplands in Southwest China pose considerable threats to threatened mammals and amphibians, with 851 and 469 risk spots, respectively. Importantly, many of these risk spots are not covered by CPs, revealing a significant gap of 1.2 × 105 km2, primarily in the Middle-Lower Yangtze Plain (3.6 × 105 km2) and Southwest China (3.5 × 105 km2). These findings provide critical insights that can inform strategies aimed at achieving the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Framework in China. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2a273fd08b644732aa1f33b245c4189b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj-art-2a273fd08b644732aa1f33b245c4189b2025-02-11T04:33:40ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2025-02-01171113186Evaluating the effectiveness of conservation priorities in mitigating agricultural threats to China’s vertebratesCan Yang0Geli Zhang1Xi Zhang2Yuzhe Li3Zhichao Li4Qinghao Wang5Jinwei Dong6College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193 ChinaCollege of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193 China; Corresponding author.Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 ChinaInstitute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 ChinaInstitute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 ChinaCollege of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193 ChinaInstitute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 ChinaConservation priorities (CPs), considered at least 44 % of the terrestrial area globally, would be a critical tool for avoiding a dramatic collapse of biodiversity. Agriculture is widely recognized as the largest driver of biodiversity loss. However, in China, where the demand for food production and croplands is the highest, the threats posed by agricultural activities to endangered vertebrates–particularly across different taxonomic classes–have not been thoroughly assessed. Additionally, the effectiveness of CPs in addressing these threats needs quantification across the country. In this study, we utilized high-resolution cropland data and information on threatened vertebrates to analyze the threats posed by croplands, while also evaluating the effectiveness of CPs in China. Our findings indicate that croplands in the Middle-Lower Yangtze Plain and Northeast China represent the most significant threats to threatened birds, with 1,346 and 751 identified risk spots, respectively. Furthermore, croplands in Southwest China pose considerable threats to threatened mammals and amphibians, with 851 and 469 risk spots, respectively. Importantly, many of these risk spots are not covered by CPs, revealing a significant gap of 1.2 × 105 km2, primarily in the Middle-Lower Yangtze Plain (3.6 × 105 km2) and Southwest China (3.5 × 105 km2). These findings provide critical insights that can inform strategies aimed at achieving the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Framework in China.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25001153Conservation prioritiesBiodiversityCroplandVertebrateHuman-wildlife conflict |
| spellingShingle | Can Yang Geli Zhang Xi Zhang Yuzhe Li Zhichao Li Qinghao Wang Jinwei Dong Evaluating the effectiveness of conservation priorities in mitigating agricultural threats to China’s vertebrates Ecological Indicators Conservation priorities Biodiversity Cropland Vertebrate Human-wildlife conflict |
| title | Evaluating the effectiveness of conservation priorities in mitigating agricultural threats to China’s vertebrates |
| title_full | Evaluating the effectiveness of conservation priorities in mitigating agricultural threats to China’s vertebrates |
| title_fullStr | Evaluating the effectiveness of conservation priorities in mitigating agricultural threats to China’s vertebrates |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluating the effectiveness of conservation priorities in mitigating agricultural threats to China’s vertebrates |
| title_short | Evaluating the effectiveness of conservation priorities in mitigating agricultural threats to China’s vertebrates |
| title_sort | evaluating the effectiveness of conservation priorities in mitigating agricultural threats to china s vertebrates |
| topic | Conservation priorities Biodiversity Cropland Vertebrate Human-wildlife conflict |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25001153 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT canyang evaluatingtheeffectivenessofconservationprioritiesinmitigatingagriculturalthreatstochinasvertebrates AT gelizhang evaluatingtheeffectivenessofconservationprioritiesinmitigatingagriculturalthreatstochinasvertebrates AT xizhang evaluatingtheeffectivenessofconservationprioritiesinmitigatingagriculturalthreatstochinasvertebrates AT yuzheli evaluatingtheeffectivenessofconservationprioritiesinmitigatingagriculturalthreatstochinasvertebrates AT zhichaoli evaluatingtheeffectivenessofconservationprioritiesinmitigatingagriculturalthreatstochinasvertebrates AT qinghaowang evaluatingtheeffectivenessofconservationprioritiesinmitigatingagriculturalthreatstochinasvertebrates AT jinweidong evaluatingtheeffectivenessofconservationprioritiesinmitigatingagriculturalthreatstochinasvertebrates |