Synonyms
Definitions
National parks, in a strict sense, are a category of protected areas defined within the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Framework. Classified under Category II, they are designed to protect both native biodiversity and underlying ecosystems characteristic to the local natural area (e.g., structure, processes, and function), and to benefit human beings through the provision of scientific, recreational, educational opportunities. In fact, the term national parks usually has a broader meaning and application, as national parks in name also exist under other protected area categories due to the partial overlap in functions and management objectives.
Generally, ecological integrity refers to the ability of an ecosystem to support native species, abiotic components, and ecological processes and maintains the variation of key ecological attributes (e.g., composition and structure) within the natural or...
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Andreasen JK, O’Neill RV, Noss R, Slosser NC (2001) Considerations for the development of a terrestrial index of ecological integrity. Ecol Indic 1(1):21–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-160X(01)00007-3
Aymoz BG, Randrianjafy VR, Randrianjafy ZJ, Khasa DP (2013) Community management of natural resources: a case study from Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar. Ambio 42(6):767–775. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-013-0391-9
Bakar AN (2020) Introductory chapter: todays National Parks (NPs) and Protected Areas (PAs) for a Sustainable Future. In: Bakar AN, Suratman MN (eds) Protected Areas, National Parks and Sustainable Future. IntechOpen, London, pp 1–17
Bellard C, Bertelsmeier C, Leadley P, Thuiller W, Courchamp F (2012) Impacts of climate change on the future of biodiversity. Ecol Lett 15(4):365–377. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01736.x
Brown ED, Williams BK (2016) Ecological integrity assessment as a metric of biodiversity: are we measuring what we say we are? Biodivers Conserv 25(6): 1011–1035. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-016-1111-0
Buma B (2015) Disturbance interactions: characterization, prediction, and the potential for cascading effects. Ecosphere 6(4):1–15. https://doi.org/10.1890/ES15-00058.1
Carius F, Job H (2019) Community involvement and tourism revenue sharing as contributing factors to the UN Sustainable Development Goals in Jozani–Chwaka Bay National Park and Biosphere Reserve, Zanzibar. J Sustain Tour 27(6):826–846. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2018.1560457
Cunningham C, Beazley KF (2018) Changes in human population density and protected areas in terrestrial global biodiversity hotspots, 1995–2015. Land 7(4): 136. https://doi.org/10.3390/land7040136
Dawson TP, Jackson ST, House JI, Prentice IC, Mace GM (2011) Beyond predictions: biodiversity conservation in a changing climate. Science 332(6025):53–58. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1200303
den Braber B, Evans KL, Oldekop JA (2018) Impact of protected areas on poverty, extreme poverty, and inequality in Nepal. Conserv Lett 11(6):e12576. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12576
Dilsaver LM (2016) America’s national park system: the critical documents. Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Environment and Climate Change Canada (2019) Canadian environmental sustainability indicators: ecological integrity of national parks. https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/eccc/documents/pdf/cesindicators/ecological-integrity-of-national-parks/2019/Ecological-integrity-national-parks-en.pdf. Accessed 10 Mar 2020
Fancy S, Gross J, Carter S (2009) Monitoring the condition of natural resources in US national parks. Environ Monit Assess 151(1–4):161–174. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-008-0257-y
Fritts SH, Bangs EE, Fontaine JA, Johnson MR, Phillips MK, Koch ED, Gunson JR (1997) Planning and implementing a reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho. Restor Ecol 5(1):7–27. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1526-100X.1997.09702.x
Gonzalez P, Wang F, Notaro M, Vimont DJ, Williams JW (2018) Disproportionate magnitude of climate change in United States national parks. Environ Res Lett 13(10):104001. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aade09
Government of Canada (2000) Canada National Parks Act. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/PDF/N-14.01.pdf. Accessed 10 Mar 2020
Iojă CI, Pătroescu M, Rozylowicz L, Popescu VD, Vergheleţ M, Zotta MI, Felciuc M (2010) The efficacy of Romania’s protected areas network in conserving biodiversity. Biol Conserv 143(11):2468–2476. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2010.06.013
IUCN (2013) Guidelines for applying protected area management categories. https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/PAG-021.pdf. Accessed 10 Mar 2020
IUCN (2018) Tourism and visitor management in protected areas: guidelines for sustainability. https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/PAG-027-En.pdf. Accessed 10 Mar 2020
Jenkins J, Pigram J (2005) Outdoor recreation management. Routledge, London
King MA (2007) Co-management or contracting? Agreements between Native American Tribes and the US National Park Service Pursuant to the 1994 Tribal Self-Governance Act. Harv Environ Law Rev 31(2): 475–530
Kirschbaum AA, Pfaff E, Gafvert UB (2016) Are US national parks in the Upper Midwest acting as refugia? Inside vs. outside park disturbance regimes. Ecosphere 7(9):e01467. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1467
Lemieux CJ, Beechey TJ, Gray PA (2011) Prospects for Canada’s protected areas in an era of rapid climate change. Land Use Policy 28(4):928–941. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2011.03.008
Leopold A (1949) A Sand County almanac and sketches here and there. Oxford University Press, London
Leopold AS, Cain SA, Cottam CM, Gabrielson IN, Kimball TL (1963) Wildlife Management in the National Parks. http://npshistory.com/publications/leopold_report.pdf. Accessed 10 Mar 2020
Leverington F, Costa KL, Pavese H, Lisle A, Hockings M (2010) A global analysis of protected area management effectiveness. Environ Manag 46(5):685–698. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-010-9564-5
MacEachern A (2011) MB Williams and the early years of Parks Canada. In: Campbell CE (ed) A century of Parks Canada 1911–2011. University of Calgary Press, Calgary, pp 21–52
Moritz C, Patton JL, Conroy CJ, Parra JL, White GC, Beissinger SR (2008) Impact of a century of climate change on small-mammal communities in Yosemite National Park, USA. Science 322(5899):261–264. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1163428
Muhlfeld CC, Giersch JJ, Hauer FR, Pederson GT, Luikart G, Peterson DP, Downs CC, Fagre DB (2011) Climate change links fate of glaciers and an endemic alpine invertebrate. Clim Chang 106(2):337–345. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-011-0057-1
Muhumuza M, Balkwill K (2013) Factors affecting the success of conserving biodiversity in national parks: a review of case studies from Africa. Int J Biodivers 2013:Article ID 798101. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/798101
National Park Service (2005) Vital signs monitoring plan for the Greater Yellowstone Network. https://irma.nps.gov/Datastore/DownloadFile/151573. Accessed 10 Mar 2020
National Park Service (2012) Guidance for designing an integrated monitoring program. http://npshistory.com/publications/nr-reports/nrr-2012-545.pdf. Accessed 10 Mar 2020
Parks Canada (2000a) Unimpaired for future generations? Volume I, A call to action: conserving ecological integrity with Canada’s National Parks. http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/R62-323-2000-1E.pdf. Accessed 10 Mar 2020
Parks Canada (2000b) Unimpaired for future generations? Volume II, Setting a new direction for Canada’s national parks: conserving ecological integrity with Canada’s National Parks. http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/pc/R62-323-2000-2-eng.pdf. Accessed 10 Mar 2020
Parks Canada (2005) Action on the ground: ecological integrity in Canadas National Parks. http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/R62-372-2005E.pdf. Accessed 10 Mar 2020
Parks Canada (2010) Banff National Park management plan. https://www.letstalkmountainparks.ca/7824/documents/13460. Accessed 10 Mar 2020
Parks Canada (2011) Consolidated guidelines for ecological integrity monitoring in Canada’s National Parks. http://parkscanadahistory.com/publications/eim-guidelines-e-2011.pdf. Accessed 10 Mar 2020
Parks Canada (2014) Evaluation of Parks Canada’s National Parks conservation. https://www.pc.gc.ca/leg/docs/pc/rpts/rve-par/89/index_e.asp. Accessed 10 Mar 2020
Parks Canada (2017a) Progress report on implementation of the recommendations of the panel on the ecological integrity of Canada’s National Parks. https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/docs/pc/rpts/prior. Accessed 10 Mar 2020
Parks Canada (2017b) State of Canada’s natural and cultural heritage places 2016. https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/docs/pc/rpts/elnhc-scnhp/2016/index. Accessed 10 Mar 2020
Parks Canada (2018a) Parks Canada’s 2017–18 departmental results report. https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/docs/pc/rpts/rmr-dpr/03312018. Accessed 10 Mar 2020
Parks Canada (2018b) Banff National Park of Canada: state of the park assessment. https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/banff/info/gestion-management/involved/plan/sop. Accessed 10 Mar 2020
Parks Canada (2018c) Banff National Park Bison reintroduction project. https://www.canada.ca/en/parks-canada/news/2018/08/banff-national-park-bison-reintroduction-project.html. Accessed 10 Mar 2020
Parks Canada (2019) Banff National Park: State of the park assessment 2018. https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/banff/info/gestion-management/involved/plan/sop. Accessed 10 Mar 2020
Parrish JD, Braun DP, Unnasch RS (2003) Are we conserving what we say we are? Measuring ecological integrity within protected areas. Bioscience 53(9):851–860. https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2003)053[0851:AWCWWS]2.0.CO;2
Parsons DJ (2004) Supporting basic ecological research in US National Parks: challenges and opportunities. Ecol Appl 14(1):5–13. https://doi.org/10.1890/03-5085
Reza MIH, Abdullah SA (2011) Regional index of ecological integrity: A need for sustainable management of natural resources. Ecol Indic 11(2):220–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2010.08.010
Robin L (2013) Being first: why the Americans needed it, and why Royal National Park didn’t stand in their way. Aust Zool 36(3):321–331. https://doi.org/10.7882/AZ.2012.025
Rodhouse TJ, Sergeant CJ, Schweiger EW (2016) Ecological monitoring and evidence-based decision-making in America’s National Parks: highlights of the special feature. Ecosphere 7(11):e01608. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1608
Sayer J, Margules C, Boedhihartono AK (2017) Will biodiversity be conserved in locally-managed forests? Land 6(1):6. https://doi.org/10.3390/land6010006
Schroeder RA (1999) Geographies of environmental intervention in Africa. Prog Hum Geogr 23(3):359–378. https://doi.org/10.1177/030913259902300302
Schultz J, Svajda J (2017) Examining crowding among winter recreationists in Rocky Mountain National Park. Tour Recreat Res 42(1):84–95. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2016.1259029
Seidl R, Thom D, Kautz M, Martin-Benito D, Peltoniemi M, Vacchiano G, Wild J, Ascoli D, Petr M, Honkaniemi J (2017) Forest disturbances under climate change. Nat Clim Chang 7(6):395–402. https://doi.org/10.1038/NCLIMATE3303
Smith AL, Hewitt N, Klenk N, Bazely DR, Yan N, Wood S, Henriques I, MacLellan JI, Lipsig-Mummé C (2012) Effects of climate change on the distribution of invasive alien species in Canada: a knowledge synthesis of range change projections in a warming world. Environ Rev 20(1):1–16. https://doi.org/10.1139/A11-020
Swarbrick N (2015) ‘National parks – Tongariro National Park’, Te Ara – the encyclopedia of New Zealand. https://teara.govt.nz/en/national-parks/page-4. Accessed 10 Mar 2020
Théau J, Trottier S, Graillon P (2018) Optimization of an ecological integrity monitoring program for protected areas: case study for a network of national parks. PLoS One 13(9):e0202902. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0202902
Thomas CD, Gillingham PK (2015) The performance of protected areas for biodiversity under climate change. Biol J Linnean Soc 115(3):718–730. https://doi.org/10.1111/bij.12510
Thomas CD, Gillingham PK, Bradbury RB, Roy DB, Anderson BJ, Baxter JM, Bourn NA, Crick HQ, Findon RA, Fox R (2012) Protected areas facilitate species’ range expansions. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 109(35): 14063–14068. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1210251109
Timko JA, Innes JL (2009) Evaluating ecological integrity in national parks: case studies from Canada and South Africa. Biol Conserv 142(3):676–688. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2008.11.022
van Riper C, Winkler-Schor S, Foelske L, Keller R, Braito M, Raymond C, Eriksson M, Golebie E, Johnson D (2019) Integrating multi-level values and pro-environmental behavior in a US protected area. Sustain Sci 14(5):1395–1408. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-019-00677-w
Wang G, Innes JL, Wu SW, Krzyzanowski J, Yin Y, Dai S, Zhang X, Liu S (2012) National park development in China: conservation or commercialization? Ambio 41(3):247–261. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-011-0194-9
Westerling AL, Turner MG, Smithwick EA, Romme WH, Ryan MG (2011) Continued warming could transform Greater Yellowstone fire regimes by mid-21st century. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 108(32):13165–13170. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1110199108
Wilmers CC, Metz MC, Stahler DR, Kohl MT, Geremia C, Smith DW (2020) How climate impacts the composition of wolf killed-elk in northern Yellowstone National Park. J Anim Ecol. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13200
Wolf ID, Croft DB, Green RJ (2019) Nature conservation and nature-based tourism: a paradox? Environments 6(9):104. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments6090104
Woodley SJ (1993) Monitoring and measuring ecosystem integrity in Canadian National Parks. In: Woodley S, Kay J, Francis G (eds) Ecological integrity and the management of ecosystems. St. Lucie Press, Delray Beach, pp 155–176
Woodley SJ (1995) Assessing and monitoring ecological integrity in parks and protected areas. Dissertation, University of Waterloo
Woodley S (2010) Ecological integrity and Canada’s National Parks. George Wright Forum 27(2):151–160
Wurtzebach Z, Schultz C (2016) Measuring ecological integrity: history, practical applications, and research opportunities. Bioscience 66(6):446–457. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biw037
Yellowstone Center for Resources (2018) The State of Yellowstone vital signs and select park resource. https://irma.nps.gov/Datastore/DownloadFile/604440. Accessed 10 Mar 2020
Zhou C, Zhao Y, Connelly JW, Li J, Xu J (2017) Current nature reserve management in China and effective conservation of threatened pheasant species. Wildl Biol 2017(4):1–9. https://doi.org/10.2981/wlb.00258
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Xu, N., Wu, W., Wang, G. (2021). National Park and Ecosystem Integrity. In: Leal Filho, W., Azul, A.M., Brandli, L., Lange Salvia, A., Wall, T. (eds) Life on Land. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95981-8_127
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95981-8_127
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-95980-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-95981-8
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences