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ARS Home » Plains Area » Las Cruces, New Mexico » Range Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #263386

Title: Scale in conservation planning

Author
item UNNASCH, ROBERT - Nature Conservancy
item Karl, Jason

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/15/2012
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Planning for conservation is an important part of achieving long-term persistence of biodiversity. One issue that is critical to any conservation planning effort and that is often overlooked is making sure planning happens at scales matching the biological organisms and ecological patterns being considered. In this chapter, we review some different concepts of scale related to ecological patterns and data and analyses. We show, by way of examples, how the different concepts of scale relate to each other and how choice of scale affects the results of conservation planning. These examples include: selection of conservation targets, identification and impacts of threats, delineation of conservation priority areas, and the influence and aggregation of local actions toward realizing broader conservation goals. We propose that planning for conservation at a given scale should include conservation targets, threats, and possible actions appropriate to that scale and be conducted within a framework of planning at a variety of scales.

Technical Abstract: Conservation planning has been widely embraced as a method to efficiently allocate limited resources to those aspects of biodiversity most in need of protection or management. However, in order to create successful strategies for long-term biodiversity protection and sustainability, explicit consideration of biological and ecological patterns at different scales is important. We propose that planning for conservation at a given scale should include conservation targets, threats, and possible actions appropriate to that scale and be conducted within a framework of planning at a variety of scales. Using a hierarchical (nested) framework of scales not only ensures that a wide range of conservation targets and threats can be addressed, but also helps translate conservation priorities between scales. In this chapter, we review concepts of scale and provide examples of how scaling issues can affect different aspects of conservation planning. These examples include: selection of conservation targets, identification and impacts of threats, delineation of conservation priority areas, and the influence and aggregation of local actions toward realizing broader conservation goals.