Quantifying the National Significance of Local Areas for Regional Conservation Planning: North Carolina’s Mountain Treasures

摘要: Conservation scientists recognize that additional protected areas are needed to maintain biological diversity and ecological processes. As regional conservation planners embark on recommending for protection in formal reserves, it is important evaluate candidate lands their role building a resilient system of the future. Here, we North Carolina’s Mountain Treasures with respect (1) integrity, (2) connecting existing core areas, (3) potential diversify ecosystem representation (4) maintaining hotspots biologically-rich not well protected. represent citizen inventory roadless serve as candidates elevated levels U.S. federal lands. We compared other throughout country national significance. While tended be more impacted by human modifications than they diversifying ecosystems reserves. However, have much higher biodiversity priority index leading an overall composite score areas. Our analysis serves example how using broad-scale datasets can help assess significance local