Vegetation coverage change in the EU: patterns inside and outside Natura 2000 protected areas

摘要: EU conservation policy is primarily based on the Natura 2000 network of protected areas (PAs). We analyzed land-cover changes between and 2006 inside 25,703 sites in 24 Member States, compared them with those observed outside PAs. At level, ‘Artificial surfaces’ ‘Agricultural areas’ exhibit lower rates transformation within PAs than outside. ‘Forests semi-natural marginally increased PAs, while they decreased In States that joined before 2000, landscape were low, ‘Forest’ preservation was accompanied a shift from intensive agricultural practices ‘Permanent arable land’ to more diverse mosaics’. new (most located Eastern Europe), there abandonment, conversion or ‘Natural vegetation’, both Broad scale policies (like Common Agricultural Policy) socio-economic drivers transition planned market economy) seem be dominant factors explaining transformations, may moderate these trends