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Conservation of Biodiversity in Changing
Climates:
Conserving the Stage, Not the Actors
Kevin Ruddock
The Nature Conservancy
Collaborators:
Dr. Peter August, URI NRS
Christopher Damon, URI EDC
Pam Rubinoff, URI CRC
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Our Challenge: What can we protect now to
ensure
diverse and viable natural systems in the future?
Will our portfolio of protected
lands preserve biodiversity?
The future is uncertain and
change is unavoidable.
What can we protect now to
ensure biodiversity in the
future?
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Protect Rare Species
Protect Unique Ecosystems
Expand or Connect
Existing Reserves
How do we prioritize land protection for
biodiversity?
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Challenge: Changing climate and incomplete
knowledge
The landscape has changed
and will continue to do so.
We are not interested in
creating ‘museums of the
past’.
Climate change will accelerate changes, shift species
ranges and
alter community composition.
0
20
40
60
80
100
1650 1700 1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 2000
Year
Perc
en
t
Maine
Vermont
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Rhode Island
Connecticut
New England
population, % of 1990
pop'n.
Forest Cover and Population Trends in New EnglandForest Cover and Population Trends in New England
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Arenas for Evolution, not Museums of the Past
Species may change but the geologic patterns of
topography and soil will not change significantly in the same
time scale.
Species Based
Pitch Pine / Scrub Oak
Barren
Geology Based
Excessively drained loamy
sand on flat hilltop
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Mapping ELU Variety to Capture
Biodiversity
For every location in the state a ‘quality’ score is calculated
based on the number of unique types of ELU within 1,500
feet.
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‘Quality’: A measure of biodiversity as ELU variety
‘good’ quality and
not connected
‘poor’ quality and
not connected
‘good’ quality
and connected
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Conclusions
• ELU variety correlated with increased biodiversity at many
scales
• ELUs can be one of many criteria used to evaluate lands for
local conservation. Others include:
Public access
Ability to deliver ecosystem services (water protection, aesthetics)
Cultural/social values
• ELUs provide insight into future biodiversity
Disturbance regimes and invasive species might overwhelm positive
effects