Applications of existing biodiversity information: capacity to support decision-making Fabio Corsi 4 October 2004 Promoters: Prof. Dr. A.K. Skidmore Professor of Vegetation and Agricultural Land Use Survey International Institute for Geo-information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), Enschede and Wageningen University The Netherlands Prof. Dr. H.H.T. Prins Professor of Tropical Nature Conservation and Vertebrate Ecology Wageningen University The Netherlands Co-promoter: Dr. J. De Leeuw Associate Professor, Department of Natural Resources International Institute for Geo-information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), Enschede The Netherlands Examination committee: Dr. J.R.M. Alkemade Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (RIVM/MNP), The Netherlands Prof.Dr.Ir. A.K. Bregt Wageningen University, The Netherlands Dr. H.H. de Iongh Centrum voor Landbouw en Milieu, The Netherlands Prof. G. Tosi Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, Italy Applications of existing biodiversity information: capacity to support decision-making Fabio Corsi THESIS To fulfil the requirements for the degree of doctor on the authority of the Rector Magnificus of Wageningen University, Prof. Dr. Ir. L. Speelman, to be publicly defended on Monday 4th of October 2004 at 15:00 hrs in the auditorium of ITC, Enschede. ISBN: 90-8504-090-6 ITC Dissertation number: 114 © 2004 Fabio Corsi Susan, Barty and Cloclo Table of Contents Samenvatting ......................................................................................................v Summary .......................................................................................................... vii Acknowledgments............................................................................................. ix Chapter 1: General introduction ......................................................................1 Chapter 2: Mobilising dispersed information for Biodiversity Conserva- tion .......................................................................................................................7 Introduction......................................................................................................7 Biodiversity information: maximising utility of what we know....................10 Box 2.1. …Following Africa’s lead in setting priorities ................................12 Dispersed information: the challenge of access.............................................14 Lack of access............................................................................................15 Fragmentation............................................................................................16 Deterioration..............................................................................................17 Mobilising dispersed information: engaging the experts ...............................17 Box 2.2. Databases tailored for Biodiversity Conservation ..........................18 Supporting environment ............................................................................20 Incentives...................................................................................................23 Quality assurance ...........................................................................................25 Conclusions....................................................................................................27 Chapter 3: Species distribution modelling with GIS.....................................29 Introduction....................................................................................................29 Terminology...................................................................................................32 Scale definitions and use ...........................................................................32 Habitat definitions and use ........................................................................33 General structure of GIS-based models .........................................................37 Literature review............................................................................................41 Modelling issues ............................................................................................43 Clear objectives .........................................................................................43 Assumptions ..............................................................................................45 Spatial and temporal scale .........................................................................48 Availability of environmental data ............................................................52 Validation and accuracy assessment..........................................................53 Discussion ......................................................................................................62 Conclusions....................................................................................................65 Chapter 4: Mobilising biodiversity data in practice: the example of the African Mammals Databank...........................................................................67 Introduction....................................................................................................67 Methodology ..................................................................................................68 The species ................................................................................................68 Data gathering............................................................................................69 i Data formalisation .....................................................................................71 Expert review.............................................................................................74 Modelling...................................................................................................75 Validation ..................................................................................................79 Conservation analyses ...............................................................................80 Results............................................................................................................82 Discussion ......................................................................................................85 Chapter 5: Modelling species distributions using an inductive approach: the example of the wolf in Italy .......................................................................89 Introduction....................................................................................................89 Methodology ..................................................................................................90 Data sets.....................................................................................................92 Data analysis..............................................................................................95 Results............................................................................................................98 Areas of importance for wolf presence......................................................98 Index of environmental quality and the surface of actual/potential use of space ..........................................................................................................99 Model validation and stability .................................................................102 Discussion ....................................................................................................103 Chapter 6: Expert-based species distribution maps for the assessment of the biodiversity conservation status: the Italian National Ecological Network ...........................................................................................................107 Introduction..................................................................................................107 Methods........................................................................................................109 Results..........................................................................................................111 Conclusions..................................................................................................119 Chapter 7: Data management for Biodiversity Conservation....................121 Introduction..................................................................................................121 Challenges of Biodiversity Information Management.................................123 The dynamic nature of taxonomy ............................................................124 Evolving data needs: consistency across time and space.........................130 Data sharing agreements..........................................................................134 Data flow and quality assurance ..............................................................137 Conclusions..................................................................................................138 Chapter 8: Applications of existing biodiversity information: capacity to support decision-making. Synthesis..............................................................141 Introduction..................................................................................................141 Mobilising biodiversity information: the information we have ...................142 Modelling species distribution: conveying the information ....................144 Multi-species perspective: