Mapping roadless areas in regions with contrasting human footprint
Abstract In an increasingly human- and road-dominated world, the preservation of functional ecosystems has become highly relevant. While the negative ecological impacts of roads on ecosystems are numerous and well documented, roadless areas have been proposed as proxy for functional ecosystems. Howe...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2024-02-01
|
| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-55283-3 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1846147855757082624 |
|---|---|
| author | Monika T. Hoffmann Katarzyna Ostapowicz Kamil Bartoń Pierre L. Ibisch Nuria Selva |
| author_facet | Monika T. Hoffmann Katarzyna Ostapowicz Kamil Bartoń Pierre L. Ibisch Nuria Selva |
| author_sort | Monika T. Hoffmann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract In an increasingly human- and road-dominated world, the preservation of functional ecosystems has become highly relevant. While the negative ecological impacts of roads on ecosystems are numerous and well documented, roadless areas have been proposed as proxy for functional ecosystems. However, their potential remains underexplored, partly due to the incomplete mapping of roads. We assessed the accuracy of roadless areas identification using freely available road-data in two regions with contrasting levels of anthropogenic influence: boreal Canada and temperate Central Europe (Poland, Slovakia, Czechia, and Hungary). Within randomly selected circular plots (per region and country), we visually examined the completeness of road mapping using OpenStreetMap 2020 and assessed whether human influences affect mapping quality using four variables. In boreal Canada, roads were completely mapped in 3% of the plots, compared to 40% in Central Europe. Lower Human Footprint Index and road density values were related to greater incompleteness in road mapping. Roadless areas, defined as areas at least 1 km away from any road, covered 85% of the surface in boreal Canada (mean size ± s.d. = 272 ± 12,197 km2), compared to only 0.4% in temperate Central Europe (mean size ± s.d. = 0.6 ± 3.1 km2). By visually interpreting and manually adding unmapped roads in 30 randomly selected roadless areas from each study country, we observed a similar reduction in roadless surface in both Canada and Central Europe (27% vs 28%) when all roads were included. This study highlights the urgent need for improved road mapping techniques to support research on roadless areas as conservation targets and surrogates of functional ecosystems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f157bae890ee4b18b027af4edc7b4e54 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-f157bae890ee4b18b027af4edc7b4e542024-12-01T12:23:51ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222024-02-0114111410.1038/s41598-024-55283-3Mapping roadless areas in regions with contrasting human footprintMonika T. Hoffmann0Katarzyna Ostapowicz1Kamil Bartoń2Pierre L. Ibisch3Nuria Selva4Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of SciencesNorwegian Institute of Nature Research (NINA), FRAM-High North Centre for Climate and the EnvironmentInstitute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of SciencesCentre for Econics and Ecosystem Management, Eberswalde University for Sustainable DevelopmentInstitute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of SciencesAbstract In an increasingly human- and road-dominated world, the preservation of functional ecosystems has become highly relevant. While the negative ecological impacts of roads on ecosystems are numerous and well documented, roadless areas have been proposed as proxy for functional ecosystems. However, their potential remains underexplored, partly due to the incomplete mapping of roads. We assessed the accuracy of roadless areas identification using freely available road-data in two regions with contrasting levels of anthropogenic influence: boreal Canada and temperate Central Europe (Poland, Slovakia, Czechia, and Hungary). Within randomly selected circular plots (per region and country), we visually examined the completeness of road mapping using OpenStreetMap 2020 and assessed whether human influences affect mapping quality using four variables. In boreal Canada, roads were completely mapped in 3% of the plots, compared to 40% in Central Europe. Lower Human Footprint Index and road density values were related to greater incompleteness in road mapping. Roadless areas, defined as areas at least 1 km away from any road, covered 85% of the surface in boreal Canada (mean size ± s.d. = 272 ± 12,197 km2), compared to only 0.4% in temperate Central Europe (mean size ± s.d. = 0.6 ± 3.1 km2). By visually interpreting and manually adding unmapped roads in 30 randomly selected roadless areas from each study country, we observed a similar reduction in roadless surface in both Canada and Central Europe (27% vs 28%) when all roads were included. This study highlights the urgent need for improved road mapping techniques to support research on roadless areas as conservation targets and surrogates of functional ecosystems.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-55283-3Roadless areasOpenStreetMapRoad mappingRoad ecologyAnthropogenic impactHuman footprint index |
| spellingShingle | Monika T. Hoffmann Katarzyna Ostapowicz Kamil Bartoń Pierre L. Ibisch Nuria Selva Mapping roadless areas in regions with contrasting human footprint Scientific Reports Roadless areas OpenStreetMap Road mapping Road ecology Anthropogenic impact Human footprint index |
| title | Mapping roadless areas in regions with contrasting human footprint |
| title_full | Mapping roadless areas in regions with contrasting human footprint |
| title_fullStr | Mapping roadless areas in regions with contrasting human footprint |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mapping roadless areas in regions with contrasting human footprint |
| title_short | Mapping roadless areas in regions with contrasting human footprint |
| title_sort | mapping roadless areas in regions with contrasting human footprint |
| topic | Roadless areas OpenStreetMap Road mapping Road ecology Anthropogenic impact Human footprint index |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-55283-3 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT monikathoffmann mappingroadlessareasinregionswithcontrastinghumanfootprint AT katarzynaostapowicz mappingroadlessareasinregionswithcontrastinghumanfootprint AT kamilbarton mappingroadlessareasinregionswithcontrastinghumanfootprint AT pierrelibisch mappingroadlessareasinregionswithcontrastinghumanfootprint AT nuriaselva mappingroadlessareasinregionswithcontrastinghumanfootprint |