Papers by Javier Velázquez
Forest Ecology and Management, 2019
Connectivity loss has been identified as one of the greatest threats to biodiversity, at both the... more Connectivity loss has been identified as one of the greatest threats to biodiversity, at both the species and ecosystem levels. This study aims to find possible correlations between structural connectivity and faunal richness and landscape diversity in Spain's largest region, Castilla y León. Based on data provided by the National Biodiversity Inventory and the CORINE Land Cover land-use mapping for 2000 and 2006, species richness was characterized by the number of species occurring in a grid overlaid on the 10 × 10-km-territory. The Shannon Index for land uses was also calculated in each one of the grid cells, providing information on landscape diversity. Structural connectivity was studied using the Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis, thus providing information on landscape diversity for different edge widths in two different habitat types. Lastly, the analyses showed that there is a slight relationship between structural connectivity and landscape diversity, but not between structural connectivity and faunal richness.
Land
The effects of climate change on species can influence the delicate balance in ecosystems. For th... more The effects of climate change on species can influence the delicate balance in ecosystems. For this reason, conservation planning needs to take account of connectivity and the related ecological processes within the framework of climate change. In this study, we focus on the change in the ecological connectivity of the Lebanon cedar (Cedrus libani A. Rich.), which is widely distributed in the Mediterranean, particularly in the Amanus and Taurus Mountains. To this end, we evaluated the changes in spatial units providing connectivity in the potential and future distributions of the species through ecological niche modelling, morphological spatial pattern analysis, and landscape metrics. The results suggest that the species is moving to the northeast. According to the future projections, we predict that the potential habitat suitability of the species will shrink significantly and that, in the case of pessimistic scenarios, the extent of the suitable habitats will decrease, particularl...
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
The reduction and fragmentation of forests due to human activities are two primary factors that h... more The reduction and fragmentation of forests due to human activities are two primary factors that have led to forest biodiversity losses. The lack of forest continuation may prevent organisms from escaping areas that are no longer habitable due to altered environmental conditions and the reduction in size of habitat regions. Therefore, protecting and promoting forest connectivity has become one of the important objectives of forest management. The forests were regarded as independent elements, and the connectivity of the forest itself was directly evaluated in previous studies. However, this approach ignores the maintenance of forest connectivity, while requiring the participation of other landscape elements. In this study, we indirectly determine the forest priority by evaluating the landscape priority by integrating analysis with the habitat suitability (HS) model, MSPA and and BCkPC and dPCk index. We studied the wild boar (Sus scrofa) habitats in and around Hupingshan and Houhe Na...
Land Use Policy
Incorporating risk analysis into physical planning is increasingly necessary to anticipate and ta... more Incorporating risk analysis into physical planning is increasingly necessary to anticipate and take appropriate measures to prevent and defend against disasters. This paper extends the concept of carrying capacity by studying two models: an ecosystem-bringing capacity model and a territorial model of construction on rural land. A climate change variable was integrated into both models, and the changes that occurred depending on the emissions scenario and the time horizons were considered for developing the suitability, impact, and risk models. The data obtained in this study give us an idea of the difficulties that may exist in most of the territory for the construction location on rural land. In fact, only 14% of the occupied study area reaches positive values for the carrying capacity of ecosystems; besides, there are no constructions on rural land located on positive values if we include the risks in the planning. Contextually, assigning a value to the comparable carrying capacity, based on a holistic conception of planning and scientific data, can facilitate the decision-making to initiate future studies and work. Moreover, this study enables to anticipate the effects of climate change when drawing up adaptation and mitigation policies, plans, or programs.
Land
Tourism is an activity that generates important benefits; in the case of Costa Rica, it focuses i... more Tourism is an activity that generates important benefits; in the case of Costa Rica, it focuses its activity on natural areas, using the different ecosystem services (ES) and obtaining economic and social benefits. However, its ecological value can diminish, making it necessary to implement methods to estimate its sustainability. This paper proposes an evaluation of tourism around ES by applying the MIVES method (Value Integrated Model for Sustainability Evaluation), based on the multi-attribute utility theory, which implies that it transforms different variables into a 0 to 1 relationship, where the closer it is to 1, the more sustainable it is. For this purpose, it considered a decision tree, integrating environmental, economic, and social requirements, 6 criteria, and 13 indicators. The method was applied to two sites, Golfito and Jimenez in Costa Rica. It considered the following stages: (i) literature review and expert consultation, (ii) decision tree, (iii) assignment of weigh...
Erosion by water is the main cause of land degradation. Landscapes degraded by erosion need to be... more Erosion by water is the main cause of land degradation. Landscapes degraded by erosion need to be restored in many respects, and particularly in terms of ecosystem services. From an economic and management perspective, care is needed to select priority areas and determine the means to be applied to restore them. Globally, the model most commonly used to produce scenarios for the prevention of soil losses is the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). This study of the subbasin of the Sulakyurt Dam Basin in Turkey aims (1) to identify the distribution of soil losses over time and by location, and (2) to grade the priority areas for the prevention of soil losses by means of a simulation. The average potential soil losses in the area under study are estimated at 42.35 t ha−1 year−1, and the average actual losses at 39.49 t ha−1 year−1. According to the simulation, 27.61% of the study area (2782 ha) is of the highest priority for soil restoration. In our study, forests have the hi...
Land Use Policy, 2020
Urbanization is one of the agents that contribute most to habitat fragmentation and is therefore ... more Urbanization is one of the agents that contribute most to habitat fragmentation and is therefore a threat to biodiversity conservation. Connectivity improvement is the adaptation strategy most often cited to address species conservation in a changing environment. Many studies of protection at local and regional level zones usually show separate portions of habitat, defining the protected area, but they do not provide guidance on where and how to act to preserve the habitat quality and connectivity of the populations, on a consistent scale with planning units. In this paper, the analysis of fragmentation-connectivity focuses on cereal steppes of the Jarama and Henares rivers (Spain) to study the habitat and connectivity of steppic birds populations into protected areas of the Natura 2000 network, quantifying the effect on this protected area and on the species of interest caused by the massive development of infrastructure and urbanization due to the expansion of Madrid metropolitan area. In this sense, the Great Bustard (Otis tarda) was used as a bioindicator, due to its high demand for habitat quality. The proposed methodology only needs to be based on data from wildlife sightings and land use. Once the variables (density, biophysics and urbanization) were defined, it was possible to determine the values of influence, applying them to generate the map of areas of probability of presence and movement of the Great Bustard. This can be used to support conservation plans based on habitat connectivity.
Forest Ecology and Management, 2019
Connectivity loss has been identified as one of the greatest threats to biodiversity, at both the... more Connectivity loss has been identified as one of the greatest threats to biodiversity, at both the species and ecosystem levels. This study aims to find possible correlations between structural connectivity and faunal richness and landscape diversity in Spain's largest region, Castilla y León. Based on data provided by the National Biodiversity Inventory and the CORINE Land Cover land-use mapping for 2000 and 2006, species richness was characterized by the number of species occurring in a grid overlaid on the 10 × 10-km-territory. The Shannon Index for land uses was also calculated in each one of the grid cells, providing information on landscape diversity. Structural connectivity was studied using the Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis, thus providing information on landscape diversity for different edge widths in two different habitat types. Lastly, the analyses showed that there is a slight relationship between structural connectivity and landscape diversity, but not between structural connectivity and faunal richness.
Land
Walkability is a modern concept that has become important in recent years due to the doubtless ef... more Walkability is a modern concept that has become important in recent years due to the doubtless effects it has on aspects such as health and wellbeing, sustainable development, climate change, and tourism. It is necessary, therefore, that urban development strategies aim to achieve walkable cities. The main objective of this study is to define a methodology to calculate the walkability index in tourist cities and to predict the effects of climate change on this index, which is applied to three World Heritage cities in central Spain: Salamanca, Ávila, and Segovia. The methodology is developed in three phases. Phase I focus on the calculation of walkability, considering the following factors: facilities and services, accessibility, sidewalk width, population density, green areas, and urban trees. In Phase II, walkability in 2020, climate-related variables were added to the previous result: temperatures, solar radiation, and shadows. Finally, the third phase, walkability under climate c...
Land
The yellow-winged darter (Sympetrum flaveolum Linnaeus, 1758, Odonata), which is associated with ... more The yellow-winged darter (Sympetrum flaveolum Linnaeus, 1758, Odonata), which is associated with high mountain areas, can be considered a flagship species. Due to climate change, its natural range will be negatively affected. In this study, we propose global potential distributions for this species up to the year 2100, considering four time periods (2021–2040, 2041–2060, 2061–2080, and 2081–2100) and three shared socioeconomic pathways (optimistic—SSP245, middle of the road—SSP370, and worst—SSP585), by using an ecological niche model to produce two sets of distribution models (80% to 100% and 60% to 100%). It is foreseen that in the worst of the considered climate scenario (SSP585– 2100 year), the distribution of this species could be reduced by almost half, which could pose a risk for the species and provoke the shift from vulnerable to endangered. An analysis of connectivity has also been carried out for all the studied scenarios by applying the MSPA and PC indices, showing that ...
Land
Forecasting the distribution patterns of invasive weed species under changing climate conditions ... more Forecasting the distribution patterns of invasive weed species under changing climate conditions is critical for the early identification of especially vulnerable regions and the implementation of effective preventive measures. In this study, the current and potential range of stranglewort (Cynanchum acutum L.)—an invasive alien species (IAS) in certain regions—are predicted under various climate scenarios, using the maximum entropy algorithm. Species occurrence data representing the natural distribution of C. acutum and 15 of the WorldClim bioclimatic variables are used. With an ensemble method, the impact of climate change on the distribution of the species is predicted according to five CMIP6 climate change models and three scenarios (optimistic: SSP245; middle of the road: SSP370; and pessimistic: SSP585). According to the findings, it is predicted in all scenarios that C. acutum could expand its range to the north, particularly in agricultural landscapes. Therefore, the invasiv...
Land Use Policy, 2018
Ecological sustainable landscapes require that their ecological processes can be sustained over t... more Ecological sustainable landscapes require that their ecological processes can be sustained over time. Spatial heterogeneity is recognized as a very influent factor in biological diversity, but there is still a need to evaluate how this heterogeneity changes with scale and how pattern or processes change with the definition of the detail level, so this is the aim of this study. A six level hierarchical land use map, comprising 7244 patches and 646 different land units was generated for the Region of Madrid. We calculated heterogeneity pattern indices, based on information theoretic measures (Shannon diversity index, Evenness) and fractal geometry index. The study area has been the Region of Madrid (8000 Km 2) and three partitioning zones (sub-regions or macro-landscapes) of the territory, using vector-based techniques. Territorial diversity is measured and different detail levels are compared from the hierarchical land use map. This analysis could establish the appropriate level of information necessary to reflect significant heterogeneity measurements. The analysis shows that index values rise for each level and for the three studied zones. These values suggest that when the hierarchical classification has an increment in the detail level, the amount of information is broader and explains the spatial heterogeneity results. Zone analysis suggests that the woodland area contribution to Shannon index is higher than for less forested zones. The conclusions drawn are that the regional level is not adequate for territorial diversity evaluation, whenever it contains macro-landscapes and sub-regions with wide physical or land-use differences. Another conclusion is the importance of increasing forest area in agricultural areas or high urban component, to increase landscape diversity. This study allows for a better comprehension of territorial patterns and their meaning. It identifies the most influential land uses to heterogeneity from variations on the territorial pattern diversity, providing a simple and accessible methodology for the study of landscape processes.
Ecological Indicators, 2017
Forest Ecology and Management, 2017
Cantabrian capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus cantabricus) is listed as endangered according to IUCN ... more Cantabrian capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus cantabricus) is listed as endangered according to IUCN criteria. The high degree of fragmentation and anthropogenic disturbances in capercaillie habitat suggests that habitat patterns may be related to decline of capercaillie populations in northern Spain. The objectives of this study are: (1) determining critical territories for the maintenance of capercaillie connectivity; and (2) evaluating the importance of public forests and their appropriate management to maintain the habitat connectivity for this species. This study is focused on northern Spain, where forest areas are critical for the maintenance of capercaillie. We applied connectivity methodologies based on morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) and the probability of connectivity (PC). The results of the MSPA were incorporated into a standard GIS and compared with the spatial distribution of the public forest. Most of the valuable areas for connectivity were inside the public forests. Moreover, these public forests mainly form continuous features. Therefore, forest planning and management, mainly in public forest, should approach this problem including connectivity considerations and, more specifically, identifying the most critical forest sites for the maintenance of capercaillie habitat.
Land Use Policy, 2023
Incorporating risk analysis into physical planning is increasingly necessary to anticipate and ta... more Incorporating risk analysis into physical planning is increasingly necessary to anticipate and take appropriate measures to prevent and defend against disasters. This paper extends the concept of carrying capacity by studying two models: an ecosystem-bringing capacity model and a territorial model of construction on rural land. A climate change variable was integrated into both models, and the changes that occurred depending on the emissions scenario and the time horizons were considered for developing the suitability, impact, and risk models. The data obtained in this study give us an idea of the difficulties that may exist in most of the territory for the construction location on rural land. In fact, only 14% of the occupied study area reaches positive values for the carrying capacity of ecosystems; besides, there are no constructions on rural land located on positive values if we include the risks in the planning. Contextually, assigning a value to the comparable carrying capacity, based on a holistic conception of planning and scientific data, can facilitate the decision-making to initiate future studies and work. Moreover, this study enables to anticipate the effects of climate change when drawing up adaptation and mitigation policies, plans, or programs.
Forests
Habitats have been undergoing significant changes due to environmental processes and human impact... more Habitats have been undergoing significant changes due to environmental processes and human impact that lead into habitat fragmentation and connectivity loss. To improve quality habitats and maintain ecological connectivity, elements that improve the connectivity of habitats need to be identified. To meet this goal, finding optimal pathways locations plays a key role for designing corridors for biodiversity conservation. Conducted in the Castilla y León region of Spain, this paper aims to determine optimal pathways and to enhance the connectivity of protected areas. To this end, three different scenarios were developed including the Natura 2000 network and their surroundings (Natura 2000, Level 0, and Level 1). We used Restoration Planner (RP) available in GuidosToolbox to analyze the network and detect pairwise optimum restoration pathways between the five largest network objects. Our results demonstrate that connector density varies across the region for each scenario. There was al...
Land
As a consequence of the exponential increase of the demographic and technological development of ... more As a consequence of the exponential increase of the demographic and technological development of the human being, conflicts with the natural environment are accentuated. Pollution or the loss of biodiversity represent examples of problems that we must face to maintain the balance between the evolution of human beings and the conservation of nature. However, there are conflicts whose origin is not as modern as those mentioned, and we return to the Neolithic to find the origin of the conflict of man with the great predators. This condition has existed since then and at this point in history, is reaching very high levels of tension in developed countries, as a result of the depredation of livestock. Wolf is one of the species that generates more conflict and is currently suffering a slight demographic expansion. Although current laws mostly seek their recovery and conservation, the wolf is experiencing great difficulties due to the poor social perception it has. Faced with this situati...
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Papers by Javier Velázquez