Representativeness of China’s Protected Areas in Conserving Its Diverse Terrestrial Ecosystems

Abstract

Ecological representativeness of protected area networks is essential for leveraging protected areas to achieve conservation goals. On the basis of China’s vegetation map and the spatial data of protected areas, we analyze the representativeness of China’s network of protected areas in protecting distinct types of terrestrial natural ecosystems. Across the major ecosystem classes, wetland, alpine tundra, and grassland have more than 20% of their areas being protected, while shrub, forest, and desert are less covered by protected areas. At the level of ecosystem subclass, 90.2% of the 691 types of natural ecosystems have at least some areas covered by protected areas, but of the rarest natural ecosystem types (i.e., their land areas less than 100 km 2 ), about half were poorly protected (i.e., less than 5% of their extents are protected). A small percentage (14.7%) of natural ecosystem with high human pressure is included in protected areas, whereas 27% of natural ecosystem with the lowest intensity of human pressure occurs in protected areas. To enhance the ecological representativeness of China’s protected areas, we suggest strengthening the protection of underrepresented ecosystems, especially those exposed to high human pressure, by expanding protected area networks and delineating ecological redlines.