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State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs), including lists of Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN), outline state strategies for protecting species and habitats in the United States. In developing the current, second revision SWAPs, states are increasingly pursuing coordinated landscape conservation approaches. Analyzing SGCN lists in the first revision SWAPs, we found evidence that they already support multistate conservation. Most states address a common set of vertebrate and invertebrate groups, include most of the imperiled species from these groups, do not prioritize endemics over non‐endemics, and often include most imperiled species that are shared with neighboring states. Also, a regional SGCN coordination effort was successful. Although 65% of animals on each SGCN list were assessed as at elevated risk of extirpation by state authorities, only 43% of the combined national list were at elevated risk of global extinction. Over 40% of the combined animal SGCNs are considered globally apparently secure. Plants, snails, freshwater shrimps, and freshwater insects were poorly represented in SGCN lists. For the current SWAP revisions, we recommend improving foundational data on taxonomy, range‐wide distribution, and conservation status; expanded taxonomic coverage in SGCN lists; supporting existing and establishing new interstate initiatives; and diversifying funding mechanisms that target regional cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landscape character assessment (LCA) is a crucial tool for conserving an area's unique character. However, in our literature review, we found no data linking LCA to historic coal mining settings. This systematic review explores the ways in which the landscape character assessment (LCA) methodology has been applied, as well as the factors that influence it, in the conservation of historic coal mine landscapes. It focuses on three areas: analyzing the ways in which LCA has been applied in landscape conservation, proposing recommendations for the application of LCA in historic coal mine setting landscapes, and summarizing the factors that influence LCA in landscape conservation in historic coal mine settings. Methods: This study used the Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method to perform the systematic review. The whole review was selected from 2030 potential articles; a total of 21 articles were included. Results: This study demonstrates that the LCA approach can be operationalized in the conservation of environmental landscapes in historic coal mines by combining cluster analysis and multi-scale assessment and incorporating other theories. The quality of the results can be affected by factors such as the accuracy and completeness of the data and the complexity and tractability of the model. Conclusions: Future research should focus on improving the data capture technology, model complexity, and design of actionable models. Additionally, we recommend the strategies of enhancing stakeholder engagement and raising public awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Human modification of landscapes poses a significant threat to wildlife, particularly in Africa where population growth and land conversion are expected to increase. Habitat loss and fragmentation have led to declines in wildlife populations, highlighting the need to identify and preserve critical habitats, including core use areas and connectivity between them. Most recently, the identification of habitat corridors has become a key objective. Objectives: Our study objectives are to (1) empirically quantify connectivity across the Kunene—Etosha landscape in Northwestern Namibia using GPS tracking data on wild African elephants, and (2) assess the landscape features (i.e., geologic, biotic, and human-made) influencing connectivity and corridor types (e.g., fast movement corridors versus slow multi-use movement corridors). Methods: We used GPS telemetry data from 66 elephants collared in Northwestern Namibia to empirically quantify connectivity using a graph theoretic approach and assess landscape features influencing connectivity. Based on the ‘movescape’ approach, we identify different types of corridors and examined how landscape features differed across these corridors using multiple regression models on locations classified into different types of use categories by machine learning algorithms. Results: Our results revealed strong variation in connectivity across the landscape, with paths of high connectivity near water sources between the study areas. We found that factors related to water sources and human presence primarily influenced connectivity. Water holes serve as hubs across the ecosystem for both male and female elephants with lower use areas peripheral to areas with water. Connectivity between Kunene and Etosha National Park was relatively rare among the collared elephants, but we highlight the key areas used to move between the two regions. Conclusion: Water was the key feature structuring space use, and human presence influenced connectivity between water points, highlighting the importance of landscape planning in relation to limited water sources and human activities. Our results suggest that focusing management efforts on areas where water is limited for both elephants and humans will be important to reduce conflict and maintain ecosystem connectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land consumption is a major environmental problem. In relation to it, over the past decades different studies have raised awareness of the importance of a less visible but equally damaging process: growing ‘Anthropogenic Landscape Fragmentation’. The objective of this study is to offer a global portrait of this phenomenon through a map. Following a methodology developed in previous studies, this research builds on the calculation of a widely used index for measuring Anthropogenic Landscape Fragmentation, the effective mesh size (meff). This index considers existing human settlements, as well as global railway and road networks. The maps illustrate the heterogeneity in the distribution of Anthropogenic Landscape Fragmentation worldwide. In addition, the study calculates average fragmentation values at the national level and explores the correlation of these values with other variables such as population density or the Human Development Index, revealing a positive trend but with a weak correlation.

The paper aims to propose a reflection on the barycentric role of the Venice Charter in the path that has affected the protection of landscape heritage in Italy. It is a triple recognition: of the landscape itself, that is, what these landscapes are, of the landscape as heritage and of the landscape as object of protection. The premises of this path are in l. 1497/39, which based recognition on purely aesthetic values. However, at present, the 2018 National Landscape Charter identifies landscape first and foremost as heritage, containing historical stratifications in which the values of people of the past and present coexist. So, recognition occurs through historical and identity values. Thus, the Venice Charter is barycentric because it marks that shift that will lead to the study of all forms of document as monuments of past societies and no longer just the monument as a document. The paper will consider Italian and European landscape charters and legislation to outline the context in which it was written and subsequent outcomes, up to the current state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Samar Island Natural Park's (SINP) forests over limestone are biodiversity-rich ecosystems that must be safeguarded from human activities and other threats. Utilizing Geographic Information System technology, the study mapped the distribution and occurrences of the 20 top priority plants within SINP's landscapes to aid biodiversity conservation. Results revealed that Shorea negrosensis and Hancea wenzeliana are the most abundant species in SINP, with 1,150 and 715 individuals, respectively. Cycas riuminiana, Draceana angustifolia, Lasianthus trichophlebus, Gymnostoma rumphianum, Polycias nodosa, Aquilaria cumingiana, Canarium hirsutum and Shorea contorta were scarcely observed with only one to five documented individuals. These locally rare priority species should be further studied, monitored, and prioritized for conservation. This study is essential for effective conservation planning as it pinpoints the location of the priority species and provides insights on their habitat preferences and survival strategies. The results will serve as a scientific basis for drafting conservation policies and ensuring that conservation considerations, and recovery of the priority species are integrated into decision-making processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landscape character assessment (LCA) is a crucial tool for conserving an area’s unique character. However, in our literature review, we found no data linking LCA to historic coal mining settings. This systematic review explores the ways in which the landscape character assessment (LCA) methodology has been applied, as well as the factors that influence it, in the conservation of historic coal mine landscapes. It focuses on three areas: analyzing the ways in which LCA has been applied in landscape conservation, proposing recommendations for the application of LCA in historic coal mine setting landscapes, and summarizing the factors that influence LCA in landscape conservation in historic coal mine settings. Methods: This study used the Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method to perform the systematic review. The whole review was selected from 2030 potential articles; a total of 21 articles were included. Results: This study demonstrates that the LCA approach can be operationalized in the conservation of environmental landscapes in historic coal mines by combining cluster analysis and multi-scale assessment and incorporating other theories. The quality of the results can be affected by factors such as the accuracy and completeness of the data and the complexity and tractability of the model. Conclusions: Future research should focus on improving the data capture technology, model complexity, and design of actionable models. Additionally, we recommend the strategies of enhancing stakeholder engagement and raising public awareness.

Land consumption is a major environmental problem. In relation to it, over the past decades different studies have raised awareness of the importance of a less visible but equally damaging process: growing 'Anthropogenic Landscape Fragmentation'. The objective of this study is to offer a global portrait of this phenomenon through a map. Following a methodology developed in previous studies, this research builds on the calculation of a widely used index for measuring Anthropogenic Landscape Fragmentation, the effective mesh size (meff). This index considers existing human settlements, as well as global railway and road networks. The maps illustrate the heterogeneity in the distribution of Anthropogenic Landscape Fragmentation worldwide. In addition, the study calculates average fragmentation values at the national level and explores the correlation of these values with other variables such as population density or the Human Development Index, revealing a positive trend but with a weak correlation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the world's mountains are significant hotspots of biodiversity and home to hundreds of millions of people, they are ideal locations in which to investigate and develop the conservation social sciences in a systematic way to help inform conservation decision-making and policy. Here, we discuss the development of a social science research agenda for the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, a transboundary environmental organization working in Canada and the United States. We suggest that this process is useful for others to undertake in similar conservation landscapes and mountain systems as we strive to better understand how people live in, play in, benefit from, and visit the globe's mountain regions. We outline an agenda for collaborative social science research in the Yellowstone to Yukon region related to 4 themes and offer 12 priority questions as launching points for interested researchers to explore in more detail. Through a review of relevant literature on the 4 themes, we identify research gaps that, if addressed, could usefully inform decision-making across the Yellowstone to Yukon region. Finally, we call on the research community to focus its curiosity and resources on answering these questions and encourage funders and institutions to support them in doing so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the world's mountains are significant hotspots of biodiversity and home to hundreds of millions of people, they are ideal locations in which to investigate and develop the conservation social sciences in a systematic way to help inform conservation decision-making and policy. Here, we discuss the development of a social science research agenda for the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, a transboundary environmental organization working in Canada and the United States. We suggest that this process is useful for others to undertake in similar conservation landscapes and mountain systems as we strive to better understand how people live in, play in, benefit from, and visit the globe's mountain regions. We outline an agenda for collaborative social science research in the Yellowstone to Yukon region related to 4 themes and offer 12 priority questions as launching points for interested researchers to explore in more detail. Through a review of relevant literature on the 4 themes, we identify research gaps that, if addressed, could usefully inform decision-making across the Yellowstone to Yukon region. Finally, we call on the research community to focus its curiosity and resources on answering these questions and encourage funders and institutions to support them in doing so.

Long-term monitoring and adaptive ecological management are essential to the conservation of biodiversity. Yet, achieving successful long-term ecological monitoring and management, especially at the landscape level, has proven challenging. In this paper, we address the hurdles faced in sustaining long-term monitoring and management for landscape-scale efforts by offering three promising conceptual and methodological developments that support such initiatives. Then, we introduce L-TEAM, a long-term ecological adaptive monitoring and management framework that integrates those three components using four tools: a conceptual model, clearly defined and measurable objectives, scientifically robust experimentation, and decision support tools. Finally, using a case study, we demonstrate L-TEAM's effectiveness in supporting the long-term monitoring and management of a landscape conservation project with diverse habitat types and multiple management objectives. This structured decision framework not only facilitates informed decision making in management practices, but also ensures the implementation of scientifically grounded long-term monitoring. Additionally, L-TEAM holds the potential to enhance our understanding of ecosystem functioning and biodiversity responses to disturbances and management actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Habitat fragmentation and isolation threaten the survival of several wide‐ranging species, such as tigers, through increased risk from diseases, disasters, climate change, and genetic depression. Identification of the habitat most likely to achieve connectivity among protected areas is vital for the long‐term persistence of tigers. We aimed to improve the mapping of potential transfrontier protected area corridors for tigers by connecting sites within the Terai Arc Landscape in Nepal and to those in India, highlighting targeted conservation actions needed along these corridors to maintain long‐term connectivity. We used least‐cost corridor modeling and circuit theory to identify potential corridors and bottlenecks in the study area. The landscape's resistance to tigers' movement was gathered from expert opinions to inform corridor modeling. We identified nine potential tiger corridors in the Terai Arc Landscape—Nepal that aligned strongly with the remaining intact habitats of the Siwalik landscape, which could facilitate tiger movement. Banke‐Bardia and Chitwan‐Parsa‐Valimiki complexes and Lagga‐Bhagga and Khata corridors were identified as high‐priority conservation cores and corridors. While our model exhibited congruence with most established corridors in the landscape, it has identified the need to enhance existing corridors to improve landscape connectivity. Several pinch points posing an increased risk to connectivity were identified. Most of these were located near the protected area boundaries and along the Nepal–India border. The Siwalik landscape holds the key to long‐term connectivity in the study area; however, immediate conservation attention is needed, particularly at pinch points, to secure this connectivity for tigers. Validation of identified corridors through empirical research and their conservation is a priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conversion of natural lands to residential and agricultural uses can limit carbon (C) storage. Conservation measures, such as purchasing land to prevent development, can preserve stored aboveground C. However, since it is difficult to know what would happen to the land in the absence of conservation interventions, the additional carbon benefit of these programs remains unknown. Therefore, we analyzed 73 coastal parcels (292,184 total acres) acquired by the California State Coastal Conservancy (SCC) and developed counterfactual scenarios to highlight the impact of conservation actions. We found that an additional 55 * 103 Mg aboveground C (1.357% of the total stored carbon) was protected. The methodology we develop here, which incorporates expert opinion and neighboring land conversion trends, effectively evaluates the impact of conservation purchases to prevent land conversion, and could be used to measure changes of various ecosystem services.

The socio-ecological consequences of the appropriation and dispossession processes originated by tourism megaprojects have been documented, as well as the beneficial changes and the way to reduce their negative impacts. In the coastal municipality of San Marcos, Guerrero, Mexico, a project of this nature will be developed, so the objective of the work was to analyze the possible effects that it may have on the socioecosystem. The "agency" and "social structure" were established, based on semi-structured interviews, field observations and land use cartography. The current scenario shows an agency defined by multiple labor identities, the cattle ranch among them. The social structure exhibits 3 driving forces, the agrarian policy supported by the "sistema de cargos", the economic-cultural ones mainly due to the use of grasslands, and the natural forces, represented by labor activities in the not "transformed" ecosystems, threatened by land use changes and pollution. Social risks conjecture a differential impact between urban and rural residents, and ecological risks, depending on whether they are ecosystems such as beaches, jungle or aquatic environments. The standardization of new practices is necessary together with a socioinstitutional perspective and the bottom-up organization to counteract the impacts of the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes an architect's self-funded attempts to revive the war-devastated Armenian village of Karaglukh. The project involved the building of five houses, an agricultural processing workshop, and a new church, along with the restoration of an old one. Both the architectural language and the construction techniques used were uncompromisingly traditional, employing local materials for continuity, connecting the old and the new and, most importantly, preserving the beauty of the landscape.

Long-term monitoring and adaptive ecological management are essential to the conservation of biodiversity. Yet, achieving successful long-term ecological monitoring and management, especially at the landscape level, has proven challenging. In this paper, we address the hurdles faced in sustaining long-term monitoring and management for landscape-scale efforts by offering three promising conceptual and methodological developments that support such initiatives. Then, we introduce L-TEAM, a long-term ecological adaptive monitoring and management framework that integrates those three components using four tools: a conceptual model, clearly defined and measurable objectives, scientifically robust experimentation, and decision support tools. Finally, using a case study, we demonstrate L-TEAM’s effectiveness in supporting the long-term monitoring and management of a landscape conservation project with diverse habitat types and multiple management objectives. This structured decision framework not only facilitates informed decision making in management practices, but also ensures the implementation of scientifically grounded long-term monitoring. Additionally, L-TEAM holds the potential to enhance our understanding of ecosystem functioning and biodiversity responses to disturbances and management actions.

Although one of the main purposes of protected areas is to provide viable habitats for species, the effectiveness of protected areas in retaining the landscape's ecological integrity is highly variable (Coetzee, 2017; Watson et al., 2014). As demand for landscape conservation from NGOs and governments increases and financial resources to support conservation remain limited, more careful consideration of the variability in ecological condition of the landscape is needed to design efficient protected area networks. Keywords: 30 × 30; additionality; Aichi targets; biodiversity conservation; counterfactual; landscape conservation; land-use conversion; reserve selection; 30 para el 30; adicionalidad; conservación de la biodiversidad; conservación del paisaje; conversión del uso de suelo; hipotético; objetivos de Aichi; selección de reserva; > ; , , "30 by 30" , , , , , EN 30 × 30 additionality Aichi targets biodiversity conservation counterfactual landscape conservation land-use conversion reserve selection 30 para el 30 adicionalidad conservación de la biodiversidad conservación del paisaje conversión del uso de suelo hipotético objetivos de Aichi selección de reserva > , , "30 by 30" , , , , , 1 10 10 10/04/22 20221001 NES 221001 INTRODUCTION With the world's biodiversity in peril (IPBES, 2019), many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and government conservation agencies are focusing on biological conservation through establishing protected areas. [Extracted from the article]

Cultural landscapes can host natural and cultural areas. However, often, this distinction is not clear cut and the attempts to clarify this blur the character of landscapes. Vernacular landscapes today act as a living legacy, subject to transformation, preservation, or abandonment. This study analyses these legacies in order to evaluate elements and interactions. The research uses GIS with spatial and thematic databases of cultural heritage and natural habitats, as well as open data, historical cartography, citizen participation, and fieldwork information sources. In combination with GIS tools, LiDAR images helped in the dataset evaluation process. A priority scale of conservation for different areas was outlined through a process cataloguing the natural and cultural assets with conservation and intervention rubrics. These settings are classified according to their cultural and natural value, conservation, surrounding environment, and potential threats. The experimental methodology of this study aims to add new options for characterising vernacular landscapes by adding soft participatory values to datasets. These prove to be reliable complementary information, improving accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The Kintaikyo Bridge, with its elegant wooden arches, has a unique pier shape and continues to be loved by residents and visitors alike. Although this bridge is an active footbridge and an important landscape element along with the Nishikigawa River and its river beach, the rationality or irrationality of the shape of its piers remains unknown. This paper is intended to clarify the river engineering characteristics of the piers for the first time by conducting 1/129 scale hydraulic model experiments. The shapes tested were a perfect spindle shape (which has been adopted as a common theory for many years) and a reconstructed current shape based on the spindle shape, and for comparison, an oval and a non-regular hexagon shape with the same width and area. The current shape, along with the spindle shape, suppressed the water level rise around the pier more than the others. As for the riverbed fluctuation, the current shape slightly increased the scour more than the others, but it also maximized the sedimentation around the scoured part. In other words, the current shape has the potential to facilitate the procurement of sediment for post-flood restoration. In addition, the current shape overwhelmingly reduced the statistical dispersion associated with the experiment, suggesting that it stabilizes the trend of riverbed fluctuation even during actual floods. Based on the results, the future conservation of the Kintaikyo Bridge was also discussed.

Context: The Sanjiangyuan region of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau—also known as the "Three Rivers' Headwaters"—is the origin of the Yellow, Yangtze, and Mekong Rivers and therefore the key water source for hundreds of millions of downstream residents. Protecting this region's ecosystems is a key priority for sustainable development in China and Asia. An important social dimension of Sanjiangyuan is the long-established and widespread presence of Tibetan Buddhism, particularly as manifested in the large number of monasteries throughout the region. However, the influence of cultural factors on environmental change remains largely understudied here. Objective: We focus on two types of spatial associations—point-point and point-area features—to quantitatively investigate the effects of Buddhist monasteries on land use/cover change (LUCC) in surrounding landscapes. Methods: We conduct a spatially-explicit analysis of Sanjiangyuan for two periods, 1990–2000 and 2010–2015, to identify and quantify the influence of the presence and spatial distributions of Buddhist monasteries on LUCC compared to village communities that lack monasteries. Results: We found that the presence of monasteries is highly correlated with the preservation of natural ecosystems, specifically of grasslands and forests. Within monastery buffer zones with radii between 1 and 10 km, 7.13–9.30% more grassland area and 7.14–7.47% more forest area remained around monasteries compared to villages. This contrast decreased with increasing distance to the monastery/village. Overall, built-up areas were also much smaller around monasteries than around villages, while unused land was more commonly transformed to forests and grasslands around monasteries. Conclusions: These findings strongly support the idea that Buddhist culture, as manifested through its physical institutions and communities, are instrumental in achieving desired landscape conservation outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examining the suitability of landscape patches for endangered species enhances critical insights and indicators into the processes of population structure, community dynamics, and functioning in ecosystems particularly in protected areas (PAs). While PAs are the cornerstone in biodiversity conservation, there is debate on their efficacy to retain their conservation superiority over unprotected areas under climate change. In the present study, we examined the spatial and temporal effectiveness of PAs at maintaining suitable habitat for the “vulnerable” Southern Ground-hornbill (SGH), Bucorvus leadbeateri compared with the unprotected areas in Zimbabwe. We used a landscape-scale analysis of 182 PAs, their surrounding buffer zones, and unprotected areas coupled with three machine learning models (maximum entropy: MaxEnt, random forest, and support vector machines) to simulate SGH habitat suitability. Bioclimatic, vegetation seasonality and terrain variables were used as predictors against SGH “presence-only” observations and the models were projected for 2050 as future climatic scenarios (i.e. representative concentration pathways: RCP2.6 and RCP8.5). The true skill statistic (TSS) and area under the curve (AUC) were used to evaluate the performance of the modeling framework. Our results show that the PAs network in Zimbabwe is extremely relevant for the conservation of SGH, with 8% of the suitable habitat within PAs projected to become unsuitable by 2050. Higher levels of protection status resulted in higher levels of suitable habitat for the SGH while the suitability of eastern-based PAs showed a decrease and the western-based PAs will potentially increase in suitability. Thus, conservation strategies should take the eastern PAs range contraction and associated westward shift into account. The established potential increase in suitability outside the PAs network (23%–31%) might increase conflicts between agriculture and conservation. We, therefore, suggest an expanded cross-boundary institutional alliance and policy development with all stakeholders to implement a holistic conservation plan. Our work demonstrates the importance of combining multi-source remotely sensed data in predicting habitat suitability for endangered species such as the SGH as key indicators of biological conservation and PAs’ effectiveness.

The decline of biodiversity from anthropogenic landscape modification is among the most pressing conservation problems worldwide. In North America, long‐term population declines have elevated the recovery of the grassland avifauna to among the highest conservationpriorities. Because the vast majority of grasslands of the Great Plains are privately owned, the recovery of these ecosystems and bird populations within them depend on landscape‐scale conservation strategies that integrate social, economic, and biodiversity objectives. The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a voluntary program for private agricultural producers administered by the United States Department of Agriculture that provides financial incentives to take cropland out of production and restore perennial grassland. We investigated spatial patterns of grassland availability and restoration to inform landscape‐scale conservation for a comprehensive community of grassland birds in the Great Plains. The research objectives were to (1) determine how apparent habitat loss has affected spatial patterns of grassland bird biodiversity, (2) evaluate the effectiveness of CRP for offsetting the biodiversity declines of grassland birds, and (3) develop spatially explicit predictions to estimate the biodiversity benefit of adding CRP to landscapes impacted by habitat loss. We used the Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions program to evaluate hypotheses for the effects of habitat loss and restoration on both the occupancy and species richness of grassland specialists within a continuum‐modeling framework. We found the odds of community occupancy declined by 37% for every 1 SD decrease in grassland availability [loge(km2)] and increased by 20% for every 1 SD increase in CRP land cover [loge(km2)]. There was 17% turnover in species composition between intact grasslands and CRP landscapes, suggesting that grasslands restored by CRP retained considerable, but incomplete, representation of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. Spatially explicit predictions indicated that absolute conservation outcomes were greatest at high latitudes in regions with high biodiversity, whereas the relative outcomes were greater at low latitudes in highly modified landscapes. By evaluating community‐wide responses to landscape modification and CRP restoration at bioregional scales, our study fills key information gaps for developing collaborative strategies, and for balancing conservation of avian biodiversity and social well‐being in the agricultural production landscapes of the Great Plains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Protected areas fall far short of securing the space needed to sustain biodiversity and ecosystem function at a global scale and in the face of climate change. The prospects of conserving biodiversity in working landscapes help buffer the insularization effects of protected areas and hold great potential for biodiversity conservation on a landscape scale but depend on finding adequate space and a meaningful place in the lives of rural land users. Using a case study in southern Kenya, we show that the conservation of large open landscapes, biodiversity and the coexistence between wildlife and livestock can be achieved indirectly by reinforcing pastoral practices that depend on open space, mobility, social networks and institutional arrangements governing common‐pool resources. Pastoral practices and wildlife both depend on large multiscale interactions within interlinked social and ecological systems, which are threatened by land fragmentation, alienation and degradation. We show that large open spaces can be maintained by using a conservation approach starting from within community aspirations that emphasize the links between livelihoods, productivity, efficiency and resilience in pastoral economies and the secondary benefits of wildlife enterprises. Scaling up from an ecosystem to multi‐scale approach benefits pastoral communities by building resilience and new economic opportunities. In the process, the expanded scale conserves regional biodiversity and large free‐ranging herbivore and carnivore populations underpinning ecosystem function and the nationally important tourism industry centered on the Kenya–Tanzania boundary. The ‘inside‐out’ approach to the conservation of wildlife and biodiversity is place‐based, draws on local knowledge and informal governance arrangements and avoids the stigma of wildlife conservation driven by outside agencies. The human‐centered approach reinforces land health and spatial connectivity and encourages multi‐level and distributed governance arrangements embedded in large regional and national jurisdictions.

Increased large and high-intensity wildfires cause large socioeconomic and ecological impacts, which demand improved landscape management approaches in which both ecological and societal dimensions are integrated. Engaging society in fire management requires a better understanding of stakeholder perceptions of wildfires and landscape management. We analyze stakeholder perceptions about wildfire-landscape interactions in abandoned rural landscapes of southern Europe, and how fire and the land should be managed to reduce wildfire hazard and ensure the long-term supply of ecosystem services in these fire-prone regions. To do so, a structured online questionnaire was sent to the stakeholders of two transboundary biosphere reserves in Spain-Portugal. Our analysis also questioned to what extent fuel management strategies can be considered nature-based solutions (NbS) using the IUCN standard. Overall, stakeholders state that fire should be managed and support fire prevention in lieu of fire suppression policies. Rural abandonment is perceived as the main cause of large wildfires, with high-intensity fires impacting the study regions more than in the recent past, a trend which they expect to continue in the future in the absence of management. All the suggested fuel management strategies, except chemical treatments, were accepted by the stakeholders who perceive more positive than negative effects of fuel management on forest ecosystem services. Transboundary coordination was rated as inadequate or even nonexistent. We did not find differences among stakeholder sectors and biosphere reserves, indicating that in the study area, there is a general agreement on perceptions about wildfire and associated impacts at the landscape level. Finally, we showed that promoting agricultural and livestock uses, modifying forest species composition to increase fire resistance, and introducing large herbivores have the potential to become effective NbS in the regions. This study represents a first-step analysis representing a base for future co-design and implementation of NbS to improve fuel management, contributing to the understanding of the stakeholder support for their application in addressing the socioeconomic challenges in high fire-risk areas.

Understanding the structure and composition of landscapes can empower agencies to effectively manage public lands for multiple uses while sustaining land health. Many landscape metrics exist, but they are not often used in public land decision-making. Our objectives were to (1) develop and (2) apply a process for identifying a core set of indicators that public land managers can use to understand landscape-level resource patterns on and around public lands. We first developed a process for identifying indicators that are grounded in policy, feasible to quantify using existing data and resources, and useful for managers. We surveyed landscape monitoring efforts by other agencies, gathered science and agency input on monitoring goals, and quantified the prevalence of potential indicators in agency land health standards to identify five landscape indicators: amount, distribution, patch size, structural connectivity, and diversity of vegetation types. We then conducted pilot applications in four bureau of land management (BLM) field offices in Arizona, California, and Colorado to refine procedures for quantifying the indicators and assess the utility of the indicators for managers. Results highlighted the dominance of upland and the limited extent of riparian/wetland vegetation communities, moderate connectivity of priority vegetation patches, and lower diversity of native vegetation types on BLM compared to non-BLM lands. Agency staff can use the indicators to inform the development of quantitative resource management objectives in land use plans, evaluate progress in meeting those objectives, quantify potential impacts of proposed actions, and as a foundation for an all-lands approach to landscape-level management across public lands. Highlights: Five landscape indicators are relevant to existing policy for multiple-use public lands. We quantified the indicators for priority vegetation types in three western states. Landscape indicators can inform objectives in land use plans for public lands. Indicator products must fit agency workflows and reporting requirements to be used. Limitations of current landcover data impede landscape monitoring on public lands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kintaikyo Bridge, with its elegant wooden arches, has a unique pier shape and continues to be loved by residents and visitors alike. Although this bridge is an active footbridge and an important landscape element along with the Nishikigawa River and its river beach, the rationality or irrationality of the shape of its piers remains unknown. This paper is intended to clarify the river engineering characteristics of the piers for the first time by conducting 1/129 scale hydraulic model experiments. The shapes tested were a perfect spindle shape (which has been adopted as a common theory for many years) and a reconstructed current shape based on the spindle shape, and for comparison, an oval and a non-regular hexagon shape with the same width and area. The current shape, along with the spindle shape, suppressed the water level rise around the pier more than the others. As for the riverbed fluctuation, the current shape slightly increased the scour more than the others, but it also maximized the sedimentation around the scoured part. In other words, the current shape has the potential to facilitate the procurement of sediment for post-flood restoration. In addition, the current shape overwhelmingly reduced the statistical dispersion associated with the experiment, suggesting that it stabilizes the trend of riverbed fluctuation even during actual floods. Based on the results, the future conservation of the Kintaikyo Bridge was also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: We describe how large landscape-scale conservation initiatives involving local communities, NGOs and resource managers have engaged with landscape scientists with the goal of achieving landscape sustainability. We focus on two landscapes where local people, practitioners and landscape ecologists have co-produced knowledge to design conservation interventions. Objective: We seek to understand how landscape ecology can engage with practical landscape management to contribute to managing landscapes sustainably. Methods: We focus on two large tropical landscapes: the Sangha Tri-National landscape (Cameroon, Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic) and the Batéké-Léfini Landscape (Gabon and Republic of Congo). We evaluate (1) a participatory method used in the Sangha Tri-National landscape that embeds interdisciplinary researchers and practitioners within a landscape to apply transdisciplinary learning to landscape conservation and (2) a participatory landscape zoning method where interdisciplinary teams of conservation practitioners analyse local land and resource use in the Batéké-Léfini landscape. Results: We find that landscape ecology's tradition of understanding the historical context of resource use can inform landscape conservation practice and natural resource mapping. We also find that the Sangha Group provides an example for landscape ecology on how to integrate local people and their knowledge to better understand and influence landscape processes. Conclusions: Place-based engagement as well as the uptake of co-produced knowledge by policy makers are key in enabling sustainable landscapes. Success occurs when researchers, local communities and resource managers engage directly with landscape processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practical problems of implementing the Regulation on Landscape Audits (European Landscape Convention, ELC) in Poland are discussed through the topic of landscape relief, on an example of landscape classification of three of Poland’s landscape parks. In the existing landscape typologies, various criteria are proposed, in which relief is usually considered to be one of the leading components. The study was carried out for the purposes of the Landscape Parks Conservation Plans, based on a comparison of the method under the Principles of Landscape Audits and the authors’ method. The results indicate that the landscape types set out in the regulation insuficiently take relief into account, leading to omitting the local specific nature of the terrain. The essential attributes of the terrain in the analysed parks are the morphometry of relief and its genesis. Relief helps to determine the landscape types that are more related to the terrain.

Madeira Island is an Atlantic island that was colonized by Portuguese in the year 1420. The first vineyards introduced in the island were Malmsey, imported from Greece, in the XV century leading to the production of liquorish wine, Madeira Wine. Recently, table wine is also produced. The present study aims to understand the contribution of Madeira Wine production on touristic experiences as well its role on landscape maintenance, local identity, natural resources conservation, job creation and economy. A questionnaire survey was delivered to tourists, and two semi-structured interviews: to a local wine producer- Quinta do Barbusano and a Chef- Dúlio Freitas respectively, on December 2018. In Quinta do Barbusano two red wines, two white wines and one Rosé are produced. Since 2018, Quinta do Barbusano promotes a new product “Wine tourism”, offering wine tastings, farm’s visits and a lunch providing regional gastronomy, using local products. Secondary data was also consulted, such as governmental and national Official statistical data, concerning Madeira Wine production and Madeira Wine commercialization. The results presented in this study reflect that Madeira Wine production can play a key role in sustainable tourism. The authors also featured as research limitations the need to improve survey sample size, as well the number of interviews in order to reach particularly relevant actors in this field.

Understanding landscape as a socio-ecological system where systematic interactions occur among diverse ecosystems and human society is necessary for a sustainable landscape and resource management. However, many countries with rapid economic growth, including South Korea, depend on conventional planning and policy decisions to meet increasing demands for the use of specific natural resources. Such resource-oriented planning and policy which neglect considerations for the surrounding landscape can result in conflicts of interest and regulation. We designed a landscape conservation value (LCV) map of Jeju Island, Korea to overcome rising managerial and policy issues with the provision of systematic perspectives of landscape. With a consideration for natural and human-modified characteristics of the landscape, we used landform and land cover data to create fundamental landscape types. Then, the LCV was assigned to each type by a board of landscape experts. Within a study region, we observed relatively high values in registered protected areas and unique landscapes, and areas where high and low values are aligned. The resultant LCV map can identify areas that potentially require an integrated approach to prevent adverse effects caused by a conventional approach.

Indigenous Peoples' lands cover over one‐quarter of Earth's surface, a significant proportion of which is still free from industrial‐level human impacts. As a result, Indigenous Peoples and their lands are crucial for the long‐term persistence of Earth's biodiversity and ecosystem services. Yet, information on species composition on these lands globally remains largely unknown. We conducted the first comprehensive analysis of terrestrial mammal composition across mapped Indigenous lands based on data on area of habitat (AOH) for 4460 mammal species assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. We overlaid each species' AOH on a current map of Indigenous lands and found that 2695 species (60% of assessed mammals) had ≥10% of their ranges on Indigenous Peoples' lands and 1009 species (23%) had >50% of their ranges on these lands. For threatened species, 473 (47%) occurred on Indigenous lands with 26% having >50% of their habitat on these lands. We also found that 935 mammal species (131 categorized as threatened) had ≥ 10% of their range on Indigenous Peoples' lands that had low human pressure. Our results show how important Indigenous Peoples' lands are to the successful implementation of conservation and sustainable development agendas worldwide. Article impact statement: Indigenous Peoples' lands are important for the successful implementation of international conservation and sustainable development agendas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though landscape corridors increase dispersal of many animals and plants, it remains unknown whether these positive effects extend to the process of colonization and establishment of new populations in fragments. Working in experimentally fragmented landscapes, we tested how two aspects of habitat fragments altered by corridors – connectivity and edge‐to‐area ratio – determine patterns of colonization by a solitary, cavity‐nesting bee Megachile rotundata. We found that though connectivity initially affected rates of nest‐site occupation, edge‐to‐area ratio ultimately determined the final patterns of patch occupation and nest building, likely due to habitat selection by our focal species. Bee colonization was also higher in patches with higher abundances of their preferred food resources, flowers from the Fabaceae family. Our results show the importance of considering the effects of both connectivity and edge on population dynamics in habitat‐based conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract International agreements aim to conserve 17% of Earth's land area by 2020 but include no area‐based conservation targets within the working landscapes that support human needs through farming, ranching, and forestry. Through a review of country‐level legislation, we found that just 38% of countries have minimum area requirements for conserving native habitats within working landscapes. We argue for increasing native habitats to at least 20% of working landscape area where it is below this minimum. Such target has benefits for food security, nature's contributions to people, and the connectivity and effectiveness of protected area networks in biomes in which protected areas are underrepresented. We also argue for maintaining native habitat at higher levels where it currently exceeds the 20% minimum, and performed a literature review that shows that even more than 50% native habitat restoration is needed in particular landscapes. The post‐2020 Global Biodiversity Framework is an opportune moment to include a minimum habitat restoration target for working landscapes that contributes to, but does not compete with, initiatives for expanding protected areas, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Tropical landscape connectivity and matrix quality near large stands of primary forest are important factors that dictate biodiversity trends in communities. Suitable matrix management surrounding primary forest may help conserve biodiversity, but areas with poor matrix management need attention to determine their long-term viability to support native levels of biodiversity. We examined variations in species and functional diversity and community composition using point-count surveys placed in preserved (PRES), transition (TRA), and disturbed (DIS) areas according to percent land cover of forest and cattle pasture along a human disturbance gradient in the northern Neotropics during an 8 month period from 2019–2020. We expected the gradient of human disturbance to drive species diversity loss of forest specialists from PRES to DIS, resulting in changes to functional diversity and community composition. We detected 228 species overall, with 163 in PRES (40 unique species), 159 in TRA (9 unique species), and 152 in DIS (20 unique species). TRA supported an avian community with shared aspects of PRES and DIS, leading to the highest functional, Shannon (85.8 estimated species), and Simpson (57.9 estimated species) diversity. Higher diversity of open-area specialists in TRA and DIS has led to shifts in functional traits and different species and functional community compositions relative to PRES. Land management in Neotropical human-modified landscapes must focus on increasing habitat quality in remnant forest fragments in the vicinity of large stands of primary forest to prevent species and ecosystem service loss from preserved areas and the distancing of local community compositions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International agreements aim to conserve 17% of Earth's land area by 2020 but include no area‐based conservation targets within the working landscapes that support human needs through farming, ranching, and forestry. Through a review of country‐level legislation, we found that just 38% of countries have minimum area requirements for conserving native habitats within working landscapes. We argue for increasing native habitats to at least 20% of working landscape area where it is below this minimum. Such target has benefits for food security, nature's contributions to people, and the connectivity and effectiveness of protected area networks in biomes in which protected areas are underrepresented. We also argue for maintaining native habitat at higher levels where it currently exceeds the 20% minimum, and performed a literature review that shows that even more than 50% native habitat restoration is needed in particular landscapes. The post‐2020 Global Biodiversity Framework is an opportune moment to include a minimum habitat restoration target for working landscapes that contributes to, but does not compete with, initiatives for expanding protected areas, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent declines in large herbivores have led to significant conservation efforts globally. However, the niche-specific megaherbivores residing outside protected areas face more imminent extinction threats. Swamp deer, the obligate grassland-dwelling endemic cervid is the most extinction-prone megaherbivore in the Indian subcontinent. Limited information on distribution and habitat status pose significant conservation and management challenges for the remaining fragmented populations in north, north-east and central India. To this end, we combined exhaustive field surveys and Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) modeling to generate the most detailed distribution map for the northern swamp deer subspecies. We used primary data from more than 6000 km2 field surveys and eight ecologically relevant covariates for model predictions. Grassland cover, annual mean temperature and distance from water were the major factors that predicted the species distribution. Models predicted swamp deer distribution in only ~3% of the entire landscape, covering both protected (~1.4%) as well as non-protected (~1.6%) areas. Our validation surveys in some of these predicted areas confirmed swamp deer presence and indicated ~85% model accuracy. Finally, we identified four ‘‘Priority Conservation Areas’’ still retaining adequate grassland habitat and species presence that require immediate attention to ensure landscape-level population connectivity. These results highlight the importance of the marginalized grassland ecosystems of northern India that still retain high biodiversity. We suggest a swamp deer-centric conservation approach to protect these human-dominated habitats and emphasize in generating such information for other endemic, habitat-specialist species across the globe.

Proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) habitats throughout its range are becoming increasingly fragmented and degraded. Discerning patterns of abundance and distribution, and elucidating factors that affect the survival of this species in altered landscapes are vital for its conservation. We assessed population trends over 10 years in the Klias Peninsula of western Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Our findings revealed that population size and distribution remained generally stable between 2004 and 2014, and little further habitat loss occurred over this interval. However, a positive correlation in proboscis monkey abundance was found with increasing proximity to areas where more large emergent trees remained along the riverbanks. This indicates that habitat quality is an ongoing conservation concern. Furthermore, we found that only about half of the available proboscis monkey habitat in this region is fully protected. The rest is within commercial and native-titled lands that are, by law, required to be converted to agriculture. For example, we identified key proboscis monkey habitat within and around the Padas Damit Class IV Amenity Forest Reserve, an area where we also found the highest densities of proboscis monkeys in the region. However, significant areas in close proximity or contiguous with this forest reserve have subsequently been converted to oil palm. Such development not only causes outright habitat loss but also risks disrupting connectivity of proboscis monkey habitat, especially along rivers. This in turn poses a threat not only to long-term viability of the local proboscis monkey population, but also to another vital aspect of the economy of the Klias region that depends on the draw of proboscis monkey-viewing for wildlife-based tourism. We suggest that mechanisms to safeguard the contiguity of remaining proboscis monkey habitat within this area should be implemented at the landscape level to ensure persistence of the local population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The number of planned and installed hydroelectric power plants has increased dramatically in the last 15 years in Turkey. The local natural and socio-cultural domains of the subject landscapes, however, have mostly been ignored in the decision-making and implementation processes for these plant projects. As a consequence, hydroelectric plants installed in the water-rich regions of the country had adverse effects on river landscapes. Local and national water and landscape stakeholders have confronted each other in several platforms as a result of their conflicting needs and interests. River landscapes in the province of Van, located in eastern Anatolia, are also faced with similar threats and disagreements as a result of multiple, river-type hydropower plants that are to be installed in the near future. A collaborative decision-making approach that would allow for active stakeholder participation and that would support negotiation and consensus among the stakeholders offers the potential to cope with the issues and to support the sustainability of the river landscape in Van. This article is an examination of the limitations and opportunities of a collaborative approach to hydroelectric energy generation planning in Van. With this aim, following a description of the landscape characteristics, the area was evaluated for its importance in landscape conservation and attractiveness for hydroelectric energy generation. The stakeholders' roles, their influence, and conflicts in hydropower planning were analyzed and assessed using qualitative procedures. Next, possible landscape changes and impacts that the hydroelectric plants may cause were identified. Based on the identified limitations and opportunities for active stakeholder participation in hydropower and landscape conservation, recommendations were provided for collaborative decision-making processes that would aim for sustainability of the river landscapes in Van.