Conservation-Protection of Forests for Wildlife in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley
Conservation-Protection of Forests for Wildlife in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley
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DOI：
10.3390/f11010075
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发表时间：
2020-01-01
期刊：
影响因子：
2.9
通讯作者：
Twedt, Daniel J.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Elliott, A. Blaine;Mini, Anne E.;Twedt, Daniel J.
几乎无处不在的低地硬木森林，历史上占主导地位的密西西比冲积谷已大大减少面积。此外，水文和森林管理方面的变化也改变了剩余森林的结构和组成。为了减轻这些变化对森林野生动物的不利影响，保护计划强调恢复和重新造林，以增加内部（核心）森林栖息地的面积，同时假定在这个生态区的现存森林的损失可以忽略不计。我们评估了密西西比冲积谷内土地的养护保护状况，因为如果没有保护，现有的森林将被转换为其他用途。我们发现，只有10%的土地总面积目前受到保护，虽然28%的现存森林是在目前的保护区。对于森林斑块，我们根据森林斑块面积、地理位置和水文条件对森林鸟类保护的益处，优先考虑其额外的保护需求。根据这些标准，我们发现4712个森林斑块值得保护，但只有109个森林斑块符合我们期望的保护阈值，即距离边缘>250 m的核心森林>2000公顷。总体而言，35%的森林斑块的保护，保护区内的保护。即便如此，对于那些被确定为最需要保护的森林斑块，目前只有不到10%的面积受到保护。所述的养护保护优先事项填补了土地信托基金和其他养护伙伴为支持既定的鸟类养护目标而进行战略性森林保护的未得到满足的需求。
The nearly ubiquitous bottomland hardwood forests that historically dominated the Mississippi Alluvial Valley have been greatly reduced in area. In addition, changes in hydrology and forest management have altered the structure and composition of the remaining forests. To ameliorate the detrimental impact of these changes on silvicolous wildlife, conservation plans have emphasized restoration and reforestation to increase the area of interior (core) forest habitat, while presuming negligible loss of extant forest in this ecoregion. We assessed the conservation-protection status of land within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley because without protection, existing forests are subject to conversion to other uses. We found that only 10% of total land area was currently protected, although 28% of extant forest was in the current conservation estate. For forest patches, we prioritized their need for additional conservation-protection based on benefits to forest bird conservation afforded by forest patch area, geographic location, and hydrologic condition. Based on these criteria, we found that 4712 forest patches warranted conservation-protection, but only 109 of these forest patches met our desired conservation threshold of >2000 ha of core forest that was >250 m from an edge. Overall, 35% of the area of forest patches warranting conservation-protection was protected within the conservation estate. Even so, for those forest patches identified as most in need of conservation-protection, less than 10% of their area was currently protected. The conservation-protection priorities described fill an unmet need for land trusts and other conservation partners pursuing strategic forest protection in support of established bird conservation objectives.