Incorporating connectivity into conservation planning for the optimal representation of multiple species and ecosystem services

Funding was provided by the Rainforest Trust foundation. Support was also provided by the Sabah Forest Department, Forest Research Centre, the South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership, the U.N. Development Programme, the Universiti Malaysia Sabah (FRGS0414-STWN-1/2015), PACOS Trust, BC Initiative, the Natural Environment Research Council UK (grant NE/R009597/1), and the Universities of Aberdeen, Montana, and York. We are grateful to the numerous researchers that collected the data used in our analyses, as well as the local communities and government staff who manage forested areas across Sabah.Peer reviewedPostprin

Output maps from prioritization analyses

Zip file containing output maps depicting the final prioritized area in Sabah for range-restricted butterflies. Files include: (1) the prioritized area for all 77 butterfly species ('PrioritizedArea_AllSpecies.tif'); (2) the prioritized area for all 77 butterfly species with the inclusion of a boundary length modifier (BLM) ('PrioritizedArea_AllSpeciesBLM.tif'); (3) the prioritized area for the 15 butterfly species that are endemic to Borneo ('PrioritizedArea_EndemicSpecies.tif'); and (4) the prioritized area for the 15 endemic butterfly species with the inclusion of a BLM ('PrioritizedArea_EndemicSpecies.tif')

R code and data for prioritization analyses

Zip file containing prioritization R code and species distribution model output maps used as input layers in prioritization analyses. The 'InputMaps_1kmSabah' folder includes probability of occurrence maps for: (1) the 15 endemic butterfly species ('Endemic_15' sub-folder), and (2) the 62 Sundaland-restricted (but non-endemic) butterfly species ('NonEndemic_62' sub-folder) across Sabah. R code for prioritization analyses using the prioritizr package is provided in the 'Prioritization_butterflies.R' R script file

SDM output maps for 77 butterfly species

Zip file containing species distribution model (SDM) ensemble output maps for 77 range-restricted butterfly species on Borneo. Output maps include binary range maps ('BinaryRangeMaps' sub-folder) and probability of occurrence maps ('ProbabilityOccurrenceMaps' sub-folder) for the 77 butterfly species modelled. The 'BinaryMaps_Summed' and 'ProbabilityOccurrenceMaps_Summed' sub-folders contain maps depicting summed species ranges (i.e., species richness) and probability of occurrence (i.e., species occurrence) values, respectively, for: (1) all species (n=77), and (2) all species endemic to Borneo (n=15). Maps for each species are labelled with a unique number; see 'ButterflySpeciesNumbers.csv' for a list of butterfly numbers and corresponding species names

R code and data for running SDMs in biomod2

Zip file containing: (1) raw butterfly locality data used in the species distribution models (SDMs)('ButterflyDataBorneo_UniqueRecordsSITE1950s.csv'), (2) R script file for processing Worldclim climate variables ('WorldclimData_CorrelationScript.R'), and (3) R script file for running SDMs in biomod2 ('Biomod2SDMs_77Butterflies.R')

Enhancing the ecological value of oil palm agriculture through set-asides

Acknowledgements: We thank the numerous field assistants for help with fieldwork, and SAFE Project for extensive support; the Carnegie Airborne Observatory and Sabah Forestry Department for use of the above-ground carbon LiDAR data; R. Nathan, M. Y. Abdullah, V. Moduying, D. Aloysius, M. Ationg, J. Lucey and S. Lord for involvement in the oil palm producer consultations; and D. Orme for developing the code used to extract slope values from SRTM data. The research was supported by UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) grants NE/K016407/1, NE/K016261/1 and NE/K016148/1 as part of the LOMBOK consortium of the Human Modified Tropical Forests (HMTF) programme.Agricultural expansion is the primary driver of ecological degradation across the tropics. Set-asides—uncultivated parts of agricultural landscapes, often on steep slopes and alongside rivers—may alleviate environmental impacts but can reduce the area cultivated. Here we model an approach to configuring set-asides aimed at optimizing ecological outcomes (biodiversity, above-ground carbon storage and nutrient cycling) without reducing net cultivation area. We compare set-asides in an oil palm landscape where all plantations adopt the same configuration (‘uniform’ approach) with a scenario where there can be variation in configuration among plantations (‘variable’ approach). We find that all set-aside configurations support substantial ecological values but that the best strategies involve set-asides, particularly alongside rivers, that are spatially targeted and variable among plantations. This ‘variable’ approach can increase ecological outcomes twofold over the ‘uniform’ approach without reducing net cultivation area. Our findings underscore the potential importance of well-planned set-asides for enhancing agricultural sustainability