| dc.description.abstract | Climate change is a threat to biodiversity, and adaptation measures should be
considered in biodiversity conservation planning. Protected areas (PA) are
expected to be impacted by climate change and improving their connectivity
with biological corridors (BC) has been proposed as a potential adaptation
measure, although assessing its effectiveness remains a challenge. In Mesoamerica,
efforts to preserve the biodiversity have led to the creation of a regional network
of PA and, more recently, BC. This study evaluates the role of BC for
facilitating plant dispersal between PA under climate change in Mesoamerica. A
spatially explicit dynamic model (cellular automaton) was developed to simulate
species dispersal under different climate and conservation policy scenarios.
Plant functional types (PFT) were defined based on a range of dispersal rates
and vegetation types to represent the diversity of species in the region. The
impacts of climate change on PA and the role of BC for dispersal were assessed
spatially. Results show that most impacted PA are those with low altitudinal
range in hot, dry, or high latitude areas. PA with low altitudinal range in high
cool areas benefit the most from corridors. The most important corridors cover
larger areas and have high altitude gradients. Only the fastest PFT can keep up
with the expected change in climate and benefit from corridors for dispersal.
We conclude that the spatial assessment of the vulnerability of PA and the role
of corridors in facilitating dispersal can help conservation planning under a
changing climate. | |
