Informing spatial conservation prioritization with species’ traits

New Guinea, the most botanically diverse island on the planet, is the location for one of the boldest conservation initiatives. The Manokwari Declaration aims to achieve 70% conservation designation for the Bird's Head Peninsula. This is 40% higher than the 2022 Global Biodiversity Framework target. However, there is a lack of species occurrence data to support evidence of where biodiversity can be best protected. To address this, we integrated plant trait data from taxonomic descriptions in species occurrence models that can inform conservation planning. Inclusion of traits improved the performance of co-occurrence models of ∼800 plant species across the 100,000-km<sup>2</sup> landscape. Traits generally improved model performance, but not all traits contributed equally (e.g., leaf size and red flower color most improved accuracy of occurrence prediction). Likewise, trait-parameterized models tended to be most useful with rare species occurrence prediction, but this was inconsistent among traits. Under 70% protection, three-quarters of the areas selected conserved trait diversity. Critically, trait diversity also increased the chances that areas at high risk of deforestation were selected as conservation priorities. Overall, we found that plant species' traits, often key parameters of ecosystem function and resilience, improved spatial conservation planning.

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Publication Details

Journal
Conservation Biology
Published
2025-12-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.70199
Primary Topic
Species Distribution and Climate Change
Type
article
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article

Informing spatial conservation prioritization with species’ traits

Anna Trias Blasi, S. Dawson, Kiran L. Dhanjal‐Adams, Charlie D. Heatubun et al.
Conservation Biology
Species Distribution and Climate Change
article

Informing spatial conservation prioritization with species’ traits

Anna Trias Blasi, S. Dawson, Kiran L. Dhanjal‐Adams, Charlie D. Heatubun, Jimmy F. Wanma, Matthew J. Struebig, Agustinus Murdjoko, Marie Briggs, Nurhaidah I. Sinaga, Laura Jennings, Maria Voigt, Renata Borosova, André Schuiteman, Haerul Arifin, Timothy M. A. Utteridge, Osanna Chu, R. P. Clark, Laurensia Verina Mapandin, Alison Moore, Dave J. I. Seaman, Carmen Puglisi, Gemma L. C. Bramley, Liam Trethowan, James Hartup, Jonni Marwa, Yance de Freitas, Edward G E Heatubun, Cecilia Lee-Grant
article en

Abstract

New Guinea, the most botanically diverse island on the planet, is the location for one of the boldest conservation initiatives. The Manokwari Declaration aims to achieve 70% conservation designation for the Bird's Head Peninsula. This is 40% higher than the 2022 Global Biodiversity Framework target. However, there is a lack of species occurrence data to support evidence of where biodiversity can be best protected. To address this, we integrated plant trait data from taxonomic descriptions in species occurrence models that can inform conservation planning. Inclusion of traits improved the performance of co-occurrence models of ∼800 plant species across the 100,000-km<sup>2</sup> landscape. Traits generally improved model performance, but not all traits contributed equally (e.g., leaf size and red flower color most improved accuracy of occurrence prediction). Likewise, trait-parameterized models tended to be most useful with rare species occurrence prediction, but this was inconsistent among traits. Under 70% protection, three-quarters of the areas selected conserved trait diversity. Critically, trait diversity also increased the chances that areas at high risk of deforestation were selected as conservation priorities. Overall, we found that plant species' traits, often key parameters of ecosystem function and resilience, improved spatial conservation planning.

Conservation Biology
The Nature Conservancy (US), National Parks Board (SG), University of Liverpool (GB), Universitas Gadjah Mada (ID), Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (GB), State University of Papua (ID), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (PH), University of Kent (GB), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (GB), Missouri Botanical Garden (US), University of Indonesia (ID), The Nature Conservancy (CO), Australian National Herbarium (AU), Imperial College London (GB), University of Birmingham (GB)
Openalex Percentile: Top 78%
Species Distribution and Climate Change
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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