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Terrestrial Biodiversity Analyses in Dalmatia (Croatia): A Complementary Approach Using Diversity and Rarity

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Abstract

Here we present the methodology used for terrestrial biodiversity analysis and site selection in Phase B of the UNDP/GEF COAST project. The analysis was focused on the problem of biodiversity evaluation in four Croatian counties stretching from sea level to the highest mountain in Croatia. Data on habitats, vascular flora, and fauna (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, ground beetles, and underground invertebrates) were collected and analyzed for each of the four counties. Emphasis was given to the richness of endangered species and the rarity of endemic species. Based on the spatial analyses of habitat, fauna, and flora data, four to six areas were selected from each county and ranked according to their biodiversity importance. Overlap between areas important for richness and those important for rarity was highest for data on flora (65.5%) and lowest for data on fauna (16.7%). When different data sets were compared, the lowest overlap was between flora and fauna (17.1%) and largest between fauna and habitats (23.9%). Simultaneous overlap among all three data sets was found in just 6.5% of the overall selected areas. These results suggest that less specific data, with respect to taxa threat status, could better serve as surrogate data in estimating overall biodiversity. In summary, this analysis has demonstrated that Dalmatia is a region with a high overall biodiversity that is important in a broader European context.

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Acknowledgments

Luis Bojórquez-Tapia, on the Editorial Board, Brian Starzomski, and another anonymous reviewer provided us with invaluable comments that helped us to significantly improve the whole paper. Analyses presented herein were done as a part of the COAST project (Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity in the Dalmatian Coast through Greening Coastal Development), financed by the UNDP/GEF and Croatian Ministry of Environment, Physical Planning and Construction. Data were provided by the Croatian State Institute for Nature Protection, OIKON Ltd. Institute for Applied Ecology and Division of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb. Some of the data and analyses were provided and enabled by projects financed by the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sport (Grants119-0000000-3169, 119-1193080-1206, 119-1191193-1227, and 119-0682041-1208). We would like to thank them all.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Rooseveltov trg 6, HR-10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Sven D. Jelaska, Toni Nikolić & Lucija Šerić Jelaska

  2. OIKON Ltd., Zagreb, Croatia

    Vladimir Kušan, Hrvoje Peternel & Goran Gužvica

  3. State Geodetic Administration, Zagreb, Croatia

    Zoran Major

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  1. Sven D. Jelaska
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Correspondence to Sven D. Jelaska.

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Jelaska, S.D., Nikolić, T., Šerić Jelaska, L. et al. Terrestrial Biodiversity Analyses in Dalmatia (Croatia): A Complementary Approach Using Diversity and Rarity. Environmental Management 45, 616–625 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-010-9437-y

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