Biosphere reserves scrutinized: New study proves the lack of functionality of protected forests
2025-02-26
Mixed effect models for evaluating the effectiveness of protected areas
(Publication by Dr. Charlotte Gohr and Prof. Dr. Henrik von Wehrden)
Dr. Charlotte Gohr has published an article with Prof. Dr. Henrik von Wehrden, Prof. Dr. Sassan Saatchi (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, Pasadena), Prof. Dr. Nathalie Pettorelli (Institute of Zoology, London) and Prof. Dr. Pierre Ibisch (Eberwalde University for Sustainable Development, Eberswalde) entitled “Effectiveness of the world network of biosphere reserves in maintaining forest ecosystem functions” in Nature Communications Earth & Environment. In this study, forests in 119 UNESCO biosphere reserves were compared with surrounding forests using seven proxies of ecosystem function to investigate the effectiveness of protected area status. Based on nearly eight million data points from satellite imagery, mixed models were used to identify patterns. Only 18 of the 119 biosphere reserves studied performed better than the surrounding areas for all proxies of forest ecosystem function. Regardless of the respective biomes in which the biosphere reserves are located, the ecosystem functions are greater in forests with higher tree density than in sparser forests. A follow-up study will now investigate the extent to which economic factors in the countries in which the protected areas are located have an influence on the functionality of the forests.
The complete study is available under an open access license at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02081-y
A post on the study, which sheds light on the background to Charlotte Gohr's doctorate, is available here: