Green Infrastructure Design Based on Spatial Conservation Prioritization and Modeling of Biodiversity Features and...

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Conservation Biology
• Spatial Planning

Background:

• Green infrastructure (GI) is politically supported in Europe for biodiversity and ecosystem services (ES).
• Current spatial planning tools often overlook the spatial nature of GI.
• European Environment Agency (EEA) reports highlight a gap in modern spatial tool recognition for GI.

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline a toolbox of methods for GI design that explicitly incorporates biodiversity and ES.
• To demonstrate the utility of spatial conservation prioritization (SCP) methods for GI design.
• To advocate for the operationalization of GI for biodiversity conservation and ES provision.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing open-access data on species occurrence, habitats, and environmental variables.
• Synthesizing data through statistical species distribution modeling to create biodiversity maps.
• Integrating biodiversity maps with ES maps as a foundation for GI design.
• Applying spatial conservation prioritization (SCP) methods for cost-effective allocation of conservation efforts.

Main Results:

• Statistical species distribution modeling can generate maps of biodiversity features.
• Maps of biodiversity and ES can inform effective GI design.
• SCP methods offer a cost-effective approach to allocating conservation efforts for GI.
• SCP methods ensure GI addresses multiple biodiversity features and ES simultaneously.

Conclusions:

• Modern spatial planning tools, particularly SCP, are crucial for effective GI design.
• SCP methods provide a more comprehensive and cost-effective approach than traditional corridor-based GI.
• Implementing SCP methods can operationalize GI for combating biodiversity loss and promoting ES.