Mixed effects of a national protected area network on terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity.

ABSTRACT: Protected areas are considered fundamental to counter biodiversity loss. However, evidence for their effectiveness in averting local extinctions remains scarce and taxonomically biased. We employ a robust counterfactual multi-taxon approach to compare occupancy patterns of 638 species, including birds (150), mammals (23), plants (39) and phytoplankton (426) between protected and unprotected sites across four decades in Finland. We find mixed impacts of protected areas, with only a small proportion of species explicitly benefiting from protection-mainly through slower rates of decline inside protected areas. The benefits of protection are enhanced for larger protected areas and are traceable to when the sites were protected, but are mostly unrelated to species conservation status or traits

SUBMITTER: Santangeli A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10499833 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature