Multicriterion trade-offs and synergies for spatial conservation planning

Overview & Synopsis

Nature conservation policies need to deliver on multiple criteria, including genetic diversity, population viability and species richness as well as ecosystem services. The challenge of integrating these may be addressed by simulation modelling. We used four models (MetaConnect, SPOMSIM, a community model and InVEST) to assess a variety of spatial habitat patterns with two levels of total habitat cover and realised at two spatial scales, exploring which landscape structures performed best according to five different conservation criteria assessed for four functional types of organisms (approximately representing trees, butterflies, small mammals and birds). The results display both synergies and trade‐offs: population size and pollination services generally benefitted more from fragmentation than did genetic heterozygosity, and species richness more than allelic richness, although the latter two varied considerably among the functional types. No single landscape performed best across all conservation criteria, but averaging over criteria and functional types, overall performance improved with greater levels of habitat cover and intermediate fragmentation (or less fragmentation in cases with lower habitat cover). Policy implications. Using four simulation models, we show that different conservation objectives must be traded off in spatial conservation planning, and that considering only a single taxon or criterion may result in suboptimal choices when planning reserve networks. Nevertheless, heterogeneous spatial patterns of habitat can provide reasonable compromises for multiple criteria.