The data provided includes a clipped shapefile which shows the protected areas and the Critical Biodiversity Areas in the Vhembe District. The boundary of the Vhembe District is also included. The shapefile for the Key Biodiversity Areas cannot be shared and permission should be requested from an organization such as BirdLife. Three Excel spreadsheets are also provided. These spreadsheets show the data for each layer and include the area, name, date established, etc.Methodology:The mapping process utilized QGIS version 3.28.0 to create the maps. Prior to analysis, all the vector datasets were collected and cleaned before being converted to EPSG: 4148- Hartebeesthoek94 reference coordinate system. During the screening process, datasets were selected by overlaying the Vhembe District boundary file with the datasets and utilizing the Geoprocessing Tool 'clip'. This method ensured that only the polygons and features within the boundary of the study site were analyzed. These layers were saved as individual shapefiles with their own respective attribute tables. Subsequently, the clipped protected area file was analyzed based on criteria such as date of establishment, coverage, size, and ownership type. The saved KBA and CBA polygons were then overlaid with the protected area layer to identify gaps in the protected area network. The 'clip' tool was used again to generate new polygons depicting KBAs and CBAs that did not overlap with protected areas, facilitating the creation of clear maps illustrating areas in need of protection. Furthermore, the 'field calculator' was employed to determine the area of the original and overlayed layers. This allowed for accurate quantification of the size of protected areas, KBAs and CBAs.

These data were created to assess deforestation and degradation of tropical moist forest (TMF) in Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) globally. They were created using a shapefile of KBAs and TMF data from Vancutsem et al. 2021.

The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is the most comprehensive global database of marine and terrestrial protected areas, updated on a monthly basis, and is one of the key global biodiversity data sets being widely used by scientists, businesses, governments, International secretariats and others to inform planning, policy decisions and management. The WDPA is a joint project between UN Environment and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The compilation and management of the WDPA is carried out by UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), in collaboration with governments, non-governmental organisations, academia and industry. There are monthly updates of the data which are made available online through the Protected Planet website where the data is both viewable and downloadable. Data and information on the world's protected areas compiled in the WDPA are used for reporting to the Convention on Biological Diversity on progress towards reaching the Aichi Biodiversity Targets (particularly Target 11), to the UN to track progress towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, to some of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) core indicators, and other international assessments and reports including the Global Biodiversity Outlook, as well as for the publication of the United Nations List of Protected Areas. Every two years, UNEP-WCMC releases the Protected Planet Report on the status of the world's protected areas and recommendations on how to meet international goals and targets. Many platforms are incorporating the WDPA to provide integrated information to diverse users, including businesses and governments, in a range of sectors including mining, oil and gas, and finance. For example, the WDPA is included in the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool, an innovative decision support tool that gives users easy access to up-to-date information that allows them to identify biodiversity risks and opportunities within a project boundary. The reach of the WDPA is further enhanced in services developed by other parties, such as the Global Forest Watch and the Digital Observatory for Protected Areas, which provide decision makers with access to monitoring and alert systems that allow whole landscapes to be managed better. Together, these applications of the WDPA demonstrate the growing value and significance of the Protected Planet initiative.

This dataset was compiled for the Edmonton Metropolitan Region Growth Plan which came into effect on October 26, 2017.

Last Updated: N/A

CatalogueOfPlantsOfMadagascar.csv -- Comma-separated table with comprehensive taxonomic database of plants of Madagascar, from the “Catalogue of the Plants of Madagascar” project. Contact: Peter Phillipson - peter.phillipson@mobot.org and Marina Rabarimanarivo - marina.rabarimanarivo@mobot.mg

Ex_situ_plants.xlsx -- Excel spreadsheet with numbers of ex situ conserved plant species, per family, from BGCI’s PlantSearch database and collections of Jardin Botanique Educatif and Parc Ivoloina. Contact: Malin Rivers - malin.rivers@bgci.org

Ex_situ_vertebrates.xlsx -- Excel spreadsheet with the list of extant native Malagasy vertebrates with information on their presence in at least one international zoo holding and whether they have been bred successfully over the last 12 months. Data from the Zoological Information Management (ZIM) Software performed in February 2021. Contact: Angelica Crottini - tiliquait@yahoo.it

Extinct_Animals_madagascar.csv -- Comma-separated table of all known anthropogenic extinctions before 1500 CE in Madagascar. Contact: Ferran Sayol - fsayol@gmail.com

features_predict210325_predictions.txt -- Tab-separated table with results of the conservation status prediction from a Bayesian Neural Network for 5,887 species of vascular plants from Madagascar. Values are the mean posterior probabilities for each IUCN Red List category. Contact: Daniele Silvestro - daniele.silvestro@unifr.ch

Fossils_Madagascar.csv -- Comma-separated table with Malagasy fossil records, downloaded from the PaleoBiology Database. Contact: Juan Carillo - juan.carrillo@mnhn.fr

Fungi_supplementary_material.zip -- Zipped archive containing: R script to get fungal endemism estimates from GBIF/UNITE and process data; comma-separated tables from GBIF, PlutoF, Goodman lichen checklist and Index Fungorum (as of 02/12/20): comma-separated table listing Madagascan taxa with endemism status. Contact: Rowena Hill - r.hill @kew.org

Genera_records_world.csv -- Comma-separated table with worldwide fossil records for Malagasy species, downloaded from the PaleoBiology Database. -- Juan Carillo - juan.carrillo@mnhn.fr

lineage_data_clean_v4.csv -- Comma-separated table with crown and stem ages, number of species, and geographic origin or distribution of sister clade of Malagasy endemic lineages, extracted from the literature. Contact: Jan Hackel - j.hackel@kew.org and Angelica Crottini - tiliquait@yahoo.it

Madagascar Protected Areas - Sources.csv -- Comma-separated table with comments and sources for columns in the protected area data in the csv and shapefile. Contact: Maria S. Vorontsova - m.vorontsova@kew.org

Madagascar_terrestrial_protected_areas.csv -- Comma-separated values matching the data within the Protected Area Shapefile except the shapes. Contact: Daniel Edler - daniel.edler@umu.se and Henintsoa Razanajatovo - H.Razanajatovo@kew.org

Madagascar_terrestrial_protected_areas.zip -- ESRI Shapefile for the synthesized protected areas of Madagascar, including Key Biodiversity Areas and attributes. Contact: Daniel Edler - daniel.edler@umu.se and Rasolohery Andriambolantsoa - arasolohery@ileiry.com

moatsmith_1km_extended.zip -- Raster geotiff with new expanded vegetation types based on Moat & Smith (2007). Contact: Justin Moat - j.moat@kew.org

Observed_and_predicted_threats.csv -- Comma-separated table with the number of species with each listed threat, as defined by the IUCN or predicted by our model, across taxonomic groups. Contact: Rob Cooke - 03rcooke@gmail.com

PhylogeneticDiversityMethods.zip -- Zipped archive containing community matrices, species range shapefiles, and R script used to estimate phylogenetic diversity for amphibians, mammals, and reptiles. Contact: Weston Testo - westontesto@gmail.com

SpeciesRichnessModelingOccurrences.csv -- Comma-separated table with specimen-based occurrence data for Malagasy amphibians, grasses, lemurs, palms, reptiles, and Sarcolaenaceae. Contact: Weston Testo - westontesto@gmail.com

TaxonDescriptionByYear.csv -- Comma-separated table with years of basionym publication for Malagasy amphibians, reptiles, vascular plants, and ants. Contact: Weston Testo - westontesto@gmail.com

VertebrateSpeciesList.csv -- Comma-separated table with species list of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles of Madagascar (curated list based on IUCN data). Contact: Weston Testo - westontesto@gmail.com

CatalogueOfPlantsOfMadagascar.csv -- Comma-separated table with comprehensive taxonomic database of plants of Madagascar, from the “Catalogue of the Plants of Madagascar” project. Contact: Peter Phillipson - peter.phillipson@mobot.org and Marina Rabarimanarivo - marina.rabarimanarivo@mobot.mg

Ex_situ_plants.xlsx -- Excel spreadsheet with numbers of ex situ conserved plant species, per family, from BGCI’s PlantSearch database and collections of Jardin Botanique Educatif and Parc Ivoloina. Contact: Malin Rivers - malin.rivers@bgci.org

Ex_situ_vertebrates.xlsx -- Excel spreadsheet with the list of extant native Malagasy vertebrates with information on their presence in at least one international zoo holding and whether they have been bred successfully over the last 12 months. Data from the Zoological Information Management (ZIM) Software performed in February 2021. Contact: Angelica Crottini - tiliquait@yahoo.it

Extinct_Animals_madagascar.csv -- Comma-separated table of all known anthropogenic extinctions before 1500 CE in Madagascar. Contact: Ferran Sayol - fsayol@gmail.com

features_predict210325_predictions.txt -- Tab-separated table with results of the conservation status prediction from a Bayesian Neural Network for 5,887 species of vascular plants from Madagascar. Values are the mean posterior probabilities for each IUCN Red List category. Contact: Daniele Silvestro - daniele.silvestro@unifr.ch

Fossils_Madagascar.csv -- Comma-separated table with Malagasy fossil records, downloaded from the PaleoBiology Database. Contact: Juan Carillo - juan.carrillo@mnhn.fr

Fungi_supplementary_material.zip -- Zipped archive containing: R script to get fungal endemism estimates from GBIF/UNITE and process data; comma-separated tables from GBIF, PlutoF, Goodman lichen checklist and Index Fungorum (as of 02/12/20): comma-separated table listing Madagascan taxa with endemism status. Contact: Rowena Hill - r.hill @kew.org

Genera_records_world.csv -- Comma-separated table with worldwide fossil records for Malagasy species, downloaded from the PaleoBiology Database. -- Juan Carillo - juan.carrillo@mnhn.fr

lineage_data_clean_v4.csv -- Comma-separated table with crown and stem ages, number of species, and geographic origin or distribution of sister clade of Malagasy endemic lineages, extracted from the literature. Contact: Jan Hackel - j.hackel@kew.org and Angelica Crottini - tiliquait@yahoo.it

Madagascar Protected Areas - Sources.csv -- Comma-separated table with comments and sources for columns in the protected area data in the csv and shapefile. Contact: Maria S. Vorontsova - m.vorontsova@kew.org

Madagascar_terrestrial_protected_areas.csv -- Comma-separated values matching the data within the Protected Area Shapefile except the shapes. Contact: Daniel Edler - daniel.edler@umu.se and Henintsoa Razanajatovo - H.Razanajatovo@kew.org

Madagascar_terrestrial_protected_areas.zip -- ESRI Shapefile for the synthesized protected areas of Madagascar, including Key Biodiversity Areas and attributes. Contact: Daniel Edler - daniel.edler@umu.se and Rasolohery Andriambolantsoa - arasolohery@ileiry.com

moatsmith_1km_extended.zip -- Raster geotiff with new expanded vegetation types based on Moat & Smith (2007). Contact: Justin Moat - j.moat@kew.org

Observed_and_predicted_threats.csv -- Comma-separated table with the number of species with each listed threat, as defined by the IUCN or predicted by our model, across taxonomic groups. Contact: Rob Cooke - 03rcooke@gmail.com

PhylogeneticDiversityMethods.zip -- Zipped archive containing community matrices, species range shapefiles, and R script used to estimate phylogenetic diversity for amphibians, mammals, and reptiles. Contact: Weston Testo - westontesto@gmail.com

predicting_species_IUCN_status.zip -- Zipped archive containing data, scripts and an Rstudio project to: (1) prepare features for using IUCNN v1.0 to predict the conservation status for Not Evaluated species (01_feature_preparation); (2) predict species IUCN status assessment using neural networks (02_predicting_species_IUCN_status); (3) predict species’ threat status using neural networks (03_predicting_species_threats). Contact: Alexander Zizka - alexander.zizka@idiv.de and Daniele Silvestro - daniele.silvestro@unifr.ch

SpeciesRichnessModelingOccurrences.csv -- Comma-separated table with specimen-based occurrence data for Malagasy amphibians, grasses, lemurs, palms, reptiles, and Sarcolaenaceae. Contact: Weston Testo - westontesto@gmail.com

TaxonDescriptionByYear.csv -- Comma-separated table with years of basionym publication for Malagasy amphibians, reptiles, vascular plants, and ants. Contact: Weston Testo - westontesto@gmail.com

VertebrateSpeciesList.csv -- Comma-separated table with species list of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles of Madagascar (curated list based on IUCN data). Contact: Weston Testo - westontesto@gmail.com

Généalogie : >> Juin 2016 (date de mise à jour) : Une nouvelle version (v2) est désormais disponible. Quatre nouvelles zones ont été créées sur la partie terrestre.Deux nouvelles couches sont intégrées dans le zip de téléchargement, couvrant d'une part l'espace côtier et lagonaire et d'autre part, l'espace marin. Sur le domaine marin, les zones définies sont des « ZCB potentielles ». Elles seraient susceptibles de devenir des ZCB lorsque plus de données de localisation sur les espèces menacées présentes seront acquises. Sont considérés comme « côtières » dans cette délimitation, les zones sous juridiction des provinces (Nord, Sud et Loyauté). La limite terrestre/côtier qui a été retenue suit la délimitation de la couche géographique des limites administratives des provinces et peut inclure les zones de mangroves telles qu'elles apparaissent dans la couche d'information géographique « physiographie des mangroves ».Pour plus d'informations sur la délimitation des zones et sujets en relation, veuillez consulter le rapport pdf "Profil d'écosystèmes" présent dans les liens de Distribution de cette fiche de métadonnées.Les Zones Clés de Biodiversité (Key Biodiversity Areas) reposent sur un découpage spatial sur le domaine terrestre en "unité de planification". Ces unités de planification se basent sur les sous bassins versants résultants de l'outil de modélisation hydrologique de ArcMap 9.3.1 ; En utilisant le DEM/MNT (Modèle Numérique de Terrain) au pas de 50m de la DTSI, plusieurs étapes ont été réalisées : 1.FlowDirection ; FlowAccumulation ; Conditionnalité : avoir au moins 500 cellules produites par le débit cumulé pour générer une cellule d'un réseau hydrologique (ce qui indique qu'au moins 500 cellules de débit cumulé sont nécessaires pour définir une cellule du réseau hydrologique). Il en résulte l'identification de 10.700 unités de planification (sous bassins versants dont la taille moyenne est de 155 ha), mais cela a également révélé que les zones côtières n'étaient pas pris en compte dans ce calcul car le débit cumulé est souvent inférieur à 500 cellules); 2.Streamlink : flux lien produit ; Outil pour bassins versants : bassins versants générés en polygones ; 3. Stream Caractéristique : (encore une fois en utilisant le lien stream) générant polylignes illustrant le ruisseau ; Basé sur le shapefile Province50 DTSI, la circonférence de la Grande terre et des îles pourraient être déterminés. La zone (zones côtières principalement) issue de la différence symétrique entre la couche Province50 et celle des bassins versants produite (décrite ci-dessus) a été remplie avec des bassins : Ces bassins ont été tirés de la commande "bassin" en employant le DEM/MNT 50m. Étant donné que ces bassins peuvent devenir très réduits, surtout sur zones côtières, toutes les unités de bassins inférieurs à 3,5 ha ont été dissoutes (fusionnées quand spatialement adjacentes) et toutes les zones de moins de 0,2 hectare éliminées par fusion au polygone voisin le plus grand. Une étape suivante a été l'identification de "zones plates» dont l'inclinaison est inférieure ou égale à 0,1% pour substituer les zones où la modélisation n'était pas adaptée. La principale zone remplacée par un polygone une "zone plate" correspond au lac de Yaté. Deux autres caractéristiques des polygones ont été divisés pour produire la donnée finale en raison de l'intégration de la délimitation provinciale (Province Sud / Nord). Sur la base de ces "unités de planification" les polygones représentant les Zones Clés de Biodiversité ont été identifiés. L'identification est un processus de sélection des unités de planification basée sur l'occurrence des espèces menacées suivant la méthodologie de délimitation Zones Clés de Biodiversité par UICN (Langhammer, PF, Bakarr, MI, Bennun, LA, Brooks, TM, Clay, RP, Darwall, W., De Silva, N., Edgar, GJ, Eken, G., Fishpool, PMA, 3 Fonseca, GAB da, Foster, MN, Knox, DH, Matiku, P., Radford, EA, Rodrigues, ASL, Salaman, P., . Sechrest, W., et Tordoff, AW (2007) Identification et analyse des lacunes de zones clés pour la biodiversité : Cibles de réseaux d'aires protégées complets Gland, Suisse: UICN).Source à citer : Conservation International Nouvelle-Caledonie 2011. Delineation of New Caledonia Key Biodiversity Areas. Langhammer, P.F., et al. (2007). Identification and Gap Analysis of Key Biodiversity Areas: Targets for Comprehensive Protected Area Systems. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN.Mention obligatoire : La délimitation des Zones Clés de Biodiversité est amenée à évoluer vu que la production de données biodiversité est toujours en cours et que la méthodologie est itérative ; Sujet suivi par le Groupe Profil d'Ecosystème de Nouvelle-Calédonie regroupant la Province Sud, la Province Nord, la Province des iles, le gouvernement de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, l'État Français, AFD, CI, SCO, WWF, AICA, IRD, UNC, IAC, IFREMER.Plus d'informations :Rapport sur le Profil d'écosystèmes de la Nouvelle-Calédonie : https://sig-public.gouv.nc/BEST_Profil_d_ecosystemes_Nouvelle_Caledonie_2016.pdfTaxons par KBA : https://sig-public.gouv.nc/KBA_AllCRENEVU_species2016.xlsxInformations sur la méthode de délimitation : https://www.iucn.org/about/union/commissions/wcpa/wcpa_puball/wcpa_bpg/?376/2/Identification-and-gap-analysis-of-key-biodiversity-areas-targets-for-comprehensive-protected-area-systemsSite de "Conservation International" - Gestionnaire : https://www.conservation.org/Les antennes de CI à travers le monde : https://www.conservation.org/where/Pages/default.aspxL'antenne "Pacific Oceanscape" de CI : https://www.conservation.org/where/pages/pacific-oceanscape.aspxL'antenne Nouvelle-Calédonie de CI : https://www.conservation.org/projects/new-caledonia-home-of-the-worlds-second-largest-marine-parkTéléchargement des données : https://georep-dtsi-sgt.opendata.arcgis.com/maps/934b1cad2b9045d8ac2c4d7b0a524f2e/aboutCe jeu de données provient de la Plateforme de téléchargement Géorep.Pour télécharger directement les données au format souhaité, veuillez cliquer sur les liens ci-dessous:Zones clés de biodiversité (KBA - Key Biodiversity Areas) - Fiche de description sur la plateforme GéorepZones clés de biodiversité terrestres - Fiche détaillée GéorepZones clés de biodiversité côtières - Fiche détaillée GéorepZones clés de biodiversité marines - Fiche détaillée Géorep

Data repository for the two sister reviews of Madagascar's biodiversity: Antonelli et al.: "Madagascar's extraordinary biodiversity: Evolution, distribution, and use", Science 378 (6623): eabf0869 – https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abf0869 Ralimanana et al.: "Madagascar's extraordinary biodiversity: Threats and opportunities", Science 378 (6623): eadf1466 – https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adf1466 Please note the author order of this data repository is different from the author order and contributions in the review papers. REVIEW I: EVOLUTION, DISTRIBUTION AND USE catalogue_of_vascular_plants_of_madagascar.csv -- Comma-separated table with comprehensive taxonomic database of vascular plants of Madagascar, from the Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Madagascar project. Contact: Peter Phillipson - peter.phillipson@mobot.org and Marina Rabarimanarivo - marina.rabarimanarivo@mobot.mg fungi_supplementary_material.zip -- Zipped archive containing: R script to get fungal endemism estimates from GBIF/UNITE and process data; comma-separated tables from GBIF, PlutoF, Goodman lichen checklist and Index Fungorum (as of 02/12/20): comma-separated table listing Madagascan taxa with endemism status. Contact: Rowena Hill - r.hill@kew.org lineages_madagascar.csv -- Comma-separated table with crown and stem ages, number of species, and geographic origin or distribution of sister clade of Malagasy endemic lineages, extracted from the literature. Contact: Jan Hackel - j.hackel@kew.org and Angelica Crottini - tiliquait@yahoo.it madagascar_fossil_genera_occurrences.csv -- Comma-separated table with worldwide fossil records for Malagasy species, downloaded from the PaleoBiology Database. -- Contact: Juan Carillo - juan.carrillo@mnhn.fr species_richness_modeling_occurrences.csv -- Comma-separated table with specimen-based occurrence data for Malagasy amphibians, grasses, lemurs, palms, reptiles, and Sarcolaenaceae. Contact: Weston Testo - westontesto@gmail.com taxon_description_by_year.csv -- Comma-separated table with years of basionym publication for Malagasy amphibians, reptiles, vascular plants, and ants. Contact: Weston Testo - westontesto@gmail.com vegetation_moatsmith_1km_extended.zip -- Raster geotiff with new expanded vegetation types based on Moat & Smith (2007). Contact: Justin Moat - j.moat@kew.org vertebrate_species_list.csv -- Comma-separated table with native species list and associated endemism of freshwater fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals of Madagascar (author-curated list based on data from The New Natural History of Madagascar and the IUCN Red List). Contact: Weston Testo - westontesto@gmail.com, Angelica Crottini - tiliquait@yahoo.it, Ferran Sayol - fsayol@gmail.com REVIEW II: THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES catalogue_of_vascular_plants_of_madagascar.csv -- Comma-separated table with comprehensive taxonomic database of vascular plants of Madagascar, from the Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Madagascar project. Contact: Peter Phillipson - peter.phillipson@mobot.org and Marina Rabarimanarivo - marina.rabarimanarivo@mobot.mg ex_situ_plants.csv -- Comma-separated table with numbers of ex situ conserved plant species, per family, from BGCI’s PlantSearch database and collections of Jardin Botanique Educatif and Parc Ivoloina. Contact: Malin Rivers - malin.rivers@bgci.org ex_situ_vertebrates.csv -- Excel spreadsheet with the list of extant native Malagasy vertebrates with information on their presence in at least one international zoo holding and whether they have been bred successfully over the last 12 months. Data from the Zoological Information Management (ZIM) Software performed in February 2021. Contact: Angelica Crottini - tiliquait@yahoo.it extinct_animals_madagascar.csv -- Comma-separated table of all known anthropogenic extinctions before 1500 CE in Madagascar. Contact: Ferran Sayol - fsayol@gmail.com madagascar_protected_areas_sources.csv -- Comma-separated table with comments and sources for columns in the protected area data in the csv and shapefile. Contact: Maria S. Vorontsova - m.vorontsova@kew.org madagascar_terrestrial_protected_areas.csv -- Comma-separated values with description of the pretected areas, matching the Protected Area Shapefile. This file contains French accents; correct display may depend on the software used. Contact: Daniel Edler - daniel.edler@umu.se and Henintsoa Razanajatovo - H.Razanajatovo@kew.org madagascar_terrestrial_protected_areas.zip -- ESRI Shapefile for the synthesized protected areas of Madagascar, including Key Biodiversity Areas and attributes. Contact: Daniel Edler - daniel.edler@umu.se and Rasolohery Andriambolantsoa - arasolohery@ileiry.com observed_and_predicted_threats.csv -- Comma-separated table with the number of species with each listed threat, as defined by the IUCN or predicted by our model, across taxonomic groups. Contact: Rob Cooke - 03rcooke@gmail.com phylogenetic_diversity_methods.zip -- Zipped archive containing community matrices, species range shapefiles, and R script used to estimate phylogenetic diversity for amphibians, mammals, and reptiles. Contact: Weston Testo - westontesto@gmail.com predicting_species_IUCN_status.zip -- Zipped archive containing data, scripts and an Rstudio project to: (1) prepare features for using IUCNN v1.0 to predict the conservation status for Not Evaluated species (01_feature_preparation); (2) predict species IUCN status assessment using neural networks (02_predicting_species_IUCN_status); (3) predict species’ threat status using neural networks (03_predicting_species_threats). Contact: Alexander Zizka - alexander.zizka@biologie.uni-marburg.de and Daniele Silvestro - daniele.silvestro@unifr.ch threat_predictions_iucnn.txt -- Tab-separated table with results of the conservation status prediction from a Bayesian Neural Network for 5,887 species of vascular plants from Madagascar. Values are the mean posterior probabilities for each IUCN Red List category. Contact: Daniele Silvestro - daniele.silvestro@unifr.ch

The Biodiversity Investment Opportunities Map (BIO Map) is a key deliverable of the NSW Government’s $40 million Green Corridors program, a Government priority action identified in NSW 2021: A Plan to make NSW number one. The map was prepared with funding provided by the NSW Environmental Trust. The Illawarra BIO Map covers a 112,942-hectare area defined by the Kiama, Shellharbour and Wollongong Local Government Areas. This includes the Illawarra coastal plain and escarpment, and the eastern parts of the sandstone plateau to the west. Each of these landscapes provides a diversity of vegetation types, habitats and landforms, which combined make the region rich in overall biodiversity values. Mapping criteria were used to identify and map priority investment areas, and targeted stakeholder consultation was conducted to inform the outputs of the project. Stakeholders consulted included nine state government authorities, four local councils and six non-government organisations. The priority investment areas comprise of biodiversity core areas and a network of state and regional biodiversity corridors within the Illawarra region. The total area represented within the mapped priority investment areas is 66,827 hectares, comprising 13,980 hectares of core area and 52,847 hectares of corridors. This represents about 59 per cent of the Illawarra region.

Abstract

This dataset and its metadata statement were supplied to the Bioregional Assessment Programme by a third party and are presented here as originally supplied:

Layer of regional and subregional linking corridors for fauna of the Upper North East (UNE) and Lower North East (LNE) NSW RFA regions. A new GIS program, NPWS CORRIDORS, was used to derive potential landscape linkages (habitat corridors) based on the predicted distributions of priority fauna species assemblages (see metadata for fauna key habitats). These ESRI grid outputs were refined, under a series of decision rules, to derive final corridor ESRI shapefile polygons. The final corridors map layer is a regional representation displaying the most likely occurrence of linking corridors for fauna consolidated at the regional scale. The mapping and derivation has been based on state-of-the-art data and GIS tools combined with qualitative interpretation based on ecological principles and expertise. As of April 2001, the mapping has not been formally field tested and the methods have not been peer-reviewed outside several conference and workshop presentations, all well received. A journal paper and project report are in preparation.

Additional metadata

Gilmore, A. M. and Parnaby, H. E., 1994. Vertebrate Fauna of Conservation Concern in North-East NSW Forests. North East Forests Biodiversity Study, Report No. 3e, unpublished report, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. Metadata statement for UNE/LNE Key Habitats. Metadata statement for UNE/LNE RFA Centres of Endemism. NPWS, 1994a. Environmental GIS database for north-east NSW. North East Forests Biodiversity Study, Report No. 2, unpublished report, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. NPWS, 1994b. Fauna of North-East NSW Forests. North East Forests Biodiversity Study, Report No. 3, unpublished report, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. NPWS 1999. Modelling areas of habitat significance for vertebrate fauna and vascular flora in north east NSW. A project undertaken for the Joint Commonwealth NSW Regional Forest Agreement Steering Committee as part of the NSW Comprehensive Regional Assessments. Scotts, D., Drielsma, M, Whish, G. and Kingma, L. in prep. Regional key habitats and corridors for forest fauna of north-east New South Wales; a framework to focus conservation planning, assessment and management.

Dataset History

Lineage: Lineage The process employed in deriving fauna corridors is explicit and repeatable in as much as: * The fauna species models, which are the basic biodiversity entities that the project seeks to summarise and integrate are stored and held by NPWS; * All relevant data layers, developed at each stage of the project, are stored and held by NPWS; * The Geographic Information System (GIS) tools developed for the analyses are available as extensions to the ARCVIEW GIS. At numerous stages of the analyses, informed interpretation of outputs and assignment of thresholds has been required to move the process along or to finalise an output. Any qualitative decisions taken have been based on the project manager's ecological expertise and knowledge of the data sets being considered. Habitat corridors have been mapped across public and private lands. The process of deriving and mapping regional corridors for fauna has involved the use of fauna assemblage distributions and fauna key habitats (see additional metadata referenced below), as surrogates for areas of high fauna conservation, and as the actual habitats to be linked. This involved a 4 step process which is detailed below: STEP 1. UNDERTAKE LEAST COST PATHWAYS ANALYSES TO DERIVE POTENTIAL REGIONAL AND SUB-REGIONAL CORRIDORS A technique has been developed and refined by the Research and Development Unit of the NPWS GIS Division to aid with the delineation of habitat corridors; NPWS CORRIDORS is used as an extension to the ARCVIEW GIS program. CORRIDORS is used to identify the pathways that most efficiently link identified significant landscape elements or habitats. The program operates under the principle that species, and their constituent genes, are most likely to move (while foraging, dispersing, breeding, migrating) along gradients of preferred habitat; non-preferred habitats representing varying levels of impedance or even barriers. For any particular biodiversity entity, in this case species assemblages, the most efficient landscape links are those that exact the "least cost", in terms of energy expenditure, for their use. More favourable habitats, be it for foraging, roosting, nesting or as transitory movements, are assumed to exact less cost for their use than less favourable marginal or non-habitats. Non-habitats may include areas of native vegetation that are simply not suitable for use by the species assemblage concerned. They also include areas that have been cleared of native vegetation and developed for human uses such as agriculture and urban expansion. The basic requirement of the CORRIDORS program is a "cost grid". This is a continuous probability surface covering the entire study area and describing the relative costs, to a particular biodiversity entity (e.g. a species or species assemblage), of utilizing each grid cell within the area as habitat, or as a potential linking pathway. Cost grids were derived for the KHC Project through a combination of the assemblage habitat map layer and existing maps of extant vegetation and land tenure. The derived cost grids reflect levels of habitat suitability and tenure class for every grid cell available as a potential linking pathway. Predicted habitats for the assemblage are deemed the least costly pathways, the best predicted habitat class (class 3) carrying the least cost. Extant vegetation that is not predicted habitat represents a less costly path than cleared land. Within each habitat suitability class, tenure is weighted to place greater cost on private lands as opposed to public lands and, within public lands, a greater cost on state forests as opposed to NPWS estate and Crown Reserves managed by NPWS. The effect of tenure weightings is to favour reserved lands over state forests over private lands as corridor links, all else being equal. Additional costs were applied to mapped estuaries making it more "costly", but not impossible, for the program to link across these features, relative to alternative links, all else being equal. The CORRIDORS program utilizes paired reference points, assigned in an iterative manner and apportioned within focal habitat types (e.g. assemblage habitats and key habitats), which it works to via the most efficient pathways available according to the cost grid. The reference points are directed into identified strategic areas, making them focal areas for landscape links. For the purposes of the KHC Project analyses 10,000 reference points were used and assigned to the predicted assemblage habitats with a minimum proportion directed into fauna core habitats. In seeking to establish the most ecologically valid corridor network for the KHC Project study areas the LCP analyses were undertaken at two levels: Level 1: a CORRIDORS analysis for each of the each identified fauna assemblage independently (7 for UNC, 7 for LNC, 6 for TAB and 5 for SYD); Level 2: a CORRIDORS analysis for the combined assemblages within each study area. These two levels were selected in order to pursue the goal of enhancing overall landscape connectivity. The first level will establish potential corridor links for species within each assemblage, a clear goal of landscape ecology. The second level will consolidate the landscape approach, whereby the mosaics of habitats and species assemblages across a landscape are treated as one functional system, another ecological requirement enhancing overall landscape connectivity. These between assemblage corridors are also intended to provide for larger scale dispersal and movement (e.g. migration) between predicted assemblage habitats. The CORRIDORS outputs are continuous probability surface models (map layers) depicting the pathways of least cost linking habitats, and particularly core habitats, of each fauna assemblage individually, plus a combined assemblages run for each KHC study area. These map layers can be used as planning entities in their own right or, as in this project, can be combined and weighted to derive regional and sub-regional corridors. STEP 2. DERIVING REGIONAL AND SUB-REGIONAL CORRIDOR GRIDS FROM "CORRIDORS" PROGRAM OUTPUTS The CORRIDORS outputs represent potential corridors; assessing them and moving them from potential corridors to Regional and Sub-regional corridors followed another set process for each KHC study area: A. Reclassify the continuous probability surface layers depicting the potential corridors for each assemblage to five classes; 0,1,2,3,4, based on perceived thresholds of significance, with class 4 being those potential corridors at the highest probability end of the scale, and of the highest priority for that assemblage; B. Do the same for the between assemblage potential corridors for each KHC study area; C. For each KHC study area, combine the classified assemblage, and between assemblage corridor grids and sum the combined classes; D. Apply thresholds to delineate Regional and Sub-regional corridors; E. For interim display purposes (prior to final conversion of the grid map layers to polygon map layers) use existing vegetation mapping to intersect the derived corridors map layers and display vegetated and non-vegetated portions of the regional and sub-regional corridors. Regional and sub-regional corridors extend across all tenures with certain private lands being crucial links in the network. In many instances, the least costly pathway to link some assemblage habitats crossed cleared lands. The potential regional and sub-regional corridor grid map layers depicting potential corridors linking predicted fauna assemblage habitats are available