@article{García-Millán2022,

title = {Identification of Priority Forest Conservation Areas for Critically Endangered Lemur Species of Madagascar},

author = {V. E. García-Millán and D. Rodríguez-Rodríguez and A. Martín Oncina and A. Andrianarimisa and L. O. Randriamiharisoa and G. Martorell-Guerrero and A. Bóveda and D. Abdul-Malak},

url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/land11091455},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.3390/land11091455},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-09-01},

urldate = {2022-09-01},

journal = {Land},

volume = {11},

number = {1455},

issue = {9},

abstract = {Forests have extraordinary importance for the conservation of endemic species in Madagascar. However, they are disappearing fast due to a number of pressures, notably unsustainable agricultural practices leading to aggravated status of biodiversity. Here, we used a number of ecological and spatial criteria to identify and prioritise unprotected forest areas for the conservation of the eight critically endangered species of lemur belonging to the Lemuridae family in Madagascar. By combining spatial information layers on the distribution areas of the studied lemurs, forest extension and conservation status, and potential human impacts (such as roads, human settlements and agriculture lands), it was possible to identify the most appropriate sites for the expansion of the conservation areas of critically endangered lemur species. Seven new sites, totalling over 33,000 ha, were identified as priority sites for the protection of those species. All of them were adjacent to or inside (just one site) existing protected areas (PAs), which likely makes their protection both feasible and socioeconomically efficient by enlarging those PAs. Legally protecting these sites would not only take Madagascar one little step ahead for meeting oncoming global biodiversity targets for 2030 but could also make a substantial contribution to the mid-term survival of the studied lemur species.},

keywords = {Biodiversity, Conservation and management, Environmental conservation, Forest, Geotechnology, Protected areas},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Marín2021b,

title = {Mapping forest condition in Europe: Methodological developments in support to forest biodiversity assessments},

author = {A. I. Marín and D. Abdul-Malak and A. Bastrup-Birk and G. Chirici and A. Barbati and S. Kleeschulte},

url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107839},

doi = {10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107839},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-05-29},

journal = {Ecological Indicators},

volume = {128},

abstract = {Forest condition, biodiversity, and ecosystem services are strongly interlinked. The biodiversity levels depend to a large extent on the integrity, health, and vitality of forests at the same time as losses of forest biodiversity lead to decreased forest productivity and sustainability. Under this conceptual framework, this study presents a methodology for mapping forest condition at European scale supporting the attainment of the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Target 5 “the rate of loss of all natural habitats, including forests, is at least halved and where feasible brought close to zero, and degradation and fragmentation is significantly reduced” and the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), as well as the EU forest strategy since the sustainable forest management is oriented to support the provision of forest services and to enhance the condition of biodiversity forests’ host.



The work presents the developments of an operational indicator at European scale. This spatially explicit information on forest condition can be the baseline map with a 1 km resolution to monitor the state and changes of condition by exposition to pressures and threats. This condition indicator considers structural, functional, and compositional aspects of forest with relevance for health and vitality of species and habitats hosted by forest ecosystems.



The methodology implemented used harmonized, published and open datasets. It provided confident results for the assessment of the condition within hemiboreal, temperate and alpine forests, showing the Carpathian, Dinaric Alps and Alps, among others, as hotspots with pre-dominantly good condition. The results were validated with data derived from the reporting for the EU Habitat Directive and explicit dataset on known primary forests in Europe. However, this method underestimated the forest condition in the Mediterranean and Boreal forest types due to data gaps, regional specific characteristics, and design limitations.



This study illustrates an operational and transferable approach for addressing the assessment of ecosystem forest condition at European scale being considered as a support tool for European countries when mapping and assessing their national territory, as potential common approach to map forest ecosystems that allows for consistent aggregation and comparisons across scales.},

keywords = {Biodiversity, Conservation and management, Ecosystem, Environmental conservation, Forest},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Hatziiordanou2019,

title = {Indicators for mapping and assessment of ecosystem condition and of the ecosystem service habitat maintenance in support of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020},

author = {L. Hatziiordanou and E. Fitoka and E. Hadjicharalampous and N.E. Votsi and D. Palaskas and D. Abdul-Malak},

url = {https://oneecosystem.pensoft.net/article/32704/},

doi = {10.3897/oneeco.4.e32704},

year  = {2019},

date = {2019-06-13},

journal = {One Ecosystem},

volume = {4},

number = {e32704},

abstract = {A systematic approach to map and assess the “maintenance of nursery populations and habitats” ecosystem service (ES) (hereinafter called “habitat maintenance”) has not yet emerged. In this article, we present an ecosystem service framework implementation at landscape level, by proposing an approach for calculating and combining a series of indicators with spatial modelling techniques. Necessary conceptual elements for this approach are: a) ecosystem condition, b) supply and demand of the targeted ecosystem service and c) spatial relationships between the Service Providing Units (SPU) and the Service Connecting Units (SCU). Ecosystem condition is quantified and mapped based on two indicators, the Biodiversity State and the Anthropogenic Impact. Quantification and mapping of supply and demand are based on the hypothesis that high supply can be activated in strictly protected areas and that a demand is localised in the Natura 2000 sites (N2K), considering them as the Service Benefit Areas (SBA). Wetlands are assessed as SCU between the SBA and the landscape areas where the habitat maintenance ES is supplied. By assessing wetlands as SCU, we intent to highlight their role as biodiversity stepping stones and as green infrastructures. Overall, we conclude that the EU biodiversity policy demand for no net loss and for a coherent N2K network can be met by enhancing the delivery of the habitat maintenance ES. This approach can assist policy-makers in prioritisation of conservation and restoration targets, in line with the EU biodiversity strategy to 2020 and the preparation of the post-2020 Strategy.},

keywords = {Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation and management, Ecosystem services, Forest, Land and soil, Pressures, Wetlands},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Abdul-Malak2015,

title = {Fire Recurrence and the Dynamics},

author = {D. Abdul-Malak and J. G. Pausa and J. E. Pardo-Pascual and L. A. Ruiz},

url = {https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271468045_Fire_Recurrence_and_the_Dynamics_of_the_Enhanced_Vegetation_Index_in_a_Mediterranean_Ecosystem},

doi = {10.4018/ijagr.2015040102},

year  = {2015},

date = {2015-04-01},

journal = {International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research},

volume = {6},

number = {2},

pages = {18-35},

abstract = {This study area is located in the eastern littoral of the Iberian Peninsula; its importance resides in its Mediterranean ecosystem, complex topography, extensive land use changes, and intensive forest fires history. The study is done at the landscape level, covering a wide area for an extended period of time. This work uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Satellite Remote Sensing (SRS) techniques to evaluate the impact of spatio-temporal parameters on shaping Mediterranean landscapes. Interacting ecological parameters are analysed and correlated to post-fire vegetation regeneration in an attempt to understand its dynamics. The results provide evidence that the number of fires separated by short time intervals influence vegetation growth negatively measured as Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI). During this period, micro-climatic effects (soil and environmental humidity) are major factors influencing EVI-measured vegetation regeneration. The conclusions expect shifts in Mediterranean plant communities in heavily burned ecosystems stressing the importance of their correct short and long term post-fire management.},

keywords = {Forest, Forest fire, Mediterranean sea},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}