Content area
Full Text
Protected areas (PAs) are the primary strategy for slowing terrestrial biodiversity loss. Although expansion of PA coverage is prioritized underthe Convention on Biological Diversity, it remains unknown whether PAs mitigate declines across the tetrapod tree of life and to what extent land cover and climate change modify PA effectiveness12. Here we analysed rates of change in abundance of2,239 terrestrial vertebrate populations across the globe. On average, vertebrate populations declined five times more slowly within PAs (-0.4% per year) than at similar sites lacking protection (-1.8% per year). The mitigating effects of PAs varied both within and across vertebrate classes, with amphibians and birds experiencing the greatest benefits. The benefits of PAs were lower for amphibians in areas with converted land cover and lower for reptiles in areas with rapid climate warming. By contrast, the mitigating impacts of PAs were consistently augmented by effective national governance. This study provides evidence forthe effectiveness of PAs asa strategy for slowing tetrapod declines. However, optimizing the growing PA network requires targeted protection of sensitive clades and mitigation ofthreats beyond PA boundaries. Provided the conditions oftargeted protection, adequate governance and well-managed landscapes are met, PAs can serve a critical role in safeguarding tetrapod biodiversity.
(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)
Earth's modern biodiversity is the outcome of3.5billionyears of evolution. This deep evolutionary history underpins all living vertebrates and myriad ecosystem processeson which people depend for survival. Despite their reliance on biodiversity, humans continue to clear vast swaths of forest3 (4.7 Mha yr4) and drive global temperatures towards climate conditions that last prevailed during the Pliocene epoch4 (3 million years ago). Theseand other human activities have increased vertebrate extinctions 22-fold above the background rate, depleting biodiversity on Earth5. Recognizingthe interdependence of biodiversity and people, the United Nation's Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework includes the target of expanding coverage of terrestrial protected areas (PAs) and other conservation areas6 to 30% by 2030. Achieving the intent of this area-based target-halting widespread species declines and extinctions-hinges on the assumptions that (1) PAs mitigate biodiversity declines across the tree oflife;and(2) mitigation is resilient to land use and climate change in the surrounding region.
Establishing PAs has been the frontline response to biodiversity loss for four decades7. However, evidence that PA networks generally maintain terrestrial biodiversity across...