Mapping critical natural capital at a regional scale: spatiotemporal variations and the effectiveness of priority conservation

Abstract

The spatially and temporally explicit mapping of critical natural capital (CNC) is an essential step toward supporting policies and practices for improving the CNC-derived human well-being. The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) is a natural habitat for wildlife and a critical water tower region for Asia. It is ecologically fragile, but still provides abundant CNC. The effectiveness of key protected areas in the QTP in terms of representing CNC remains largely unknown. In this study, we adapted a multi-criteria biophysical approach for CNC mapping from 2000 to 2015 that quantitatively integrates four CNC functional components, including carbon capture, soil protection, water and nutrient retention, and habitat provision. The CNC priority conservation areas and their conservation effectiveness are quantified based on CNC assessment and mapping. The results showed that: (1) CNC conservation priority areas accounted for 37.96% of the QTP, but only about one fifth accommodated in the national nature reserves (NNRs); (2) compared with the non-reserve areas and the whole QTP, NNRs have a better promotion effect on CNC with spatial heterogeneity; and (3) 60.81% of the core zones of NNRs showed a significant increase in CNC, which was 7.44% and 5.13% higher than those of the buffer area and the experimental area, respectively. The study contributes to the policy goals on the spatial optimization of nature conservation. Our method for assessing the CNC functional components can be easily adapted to broad spatial scales, as well as for tasks such as conservation priority-setting or effectiveness assessments for protected areas with CNC as key targets.

Keywords

• natural capital
• conservation priority
• protected areas
• spatiotemporal heterogeneity
• Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau