@article{AnsahAbuKleemannetal.2022,
  author    = {Ansah, Christabel Edena and Abu, Itohan-Osa and Kleemann, Janina and Mahmoud, Mahmoud Ibrahim and Thiel, Michael},
  title     = {Environmental contamination of a biodiversity hotspot — action needed for nature conservation in the Niger Delta, Nigeria},
  series = {Sustainability},
  volume    = {14},
  journal   = {Sustainability},
  number    = {21},
  issn      = {2071-1050},
  doi       = {10.3390/su142114256},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-297214},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {The Niger Delta belongs to the largest swamp and mangrove forests in the world hosting many endemic and endangered species. Therefore, its conservation should be of highest priority. However, the Niger Delta is confronted with overexploitation, deforestation and pollution to a large extent. In particular, oil spills threaten the biodiversity, ecosystem services, and local people. Remote sensing can support the detection of spills and their potential impact when accessibility on site is difficult. We tested different vegetation indices to assess the impact of oil spills on the land cover as well as to detect accumulations (hotspots) of oil spills. We further identified which species, land cover types, and protected areas could be threatened in the Niger Delta due to oil spills. The results showed that the Enhanced Vegetation Index, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, and the Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index were more sensitive to the effects of oil spills on different vegetation cover than other tested vegetation indices. Forest cover was the most affected land-cover type and oil spills also occurred in protected areas. Threatened species are inhabiting the Niger Delta Swamp Forest and the Central African Mangroves that were mainly affected by oil spills and, therefore, strong conservation measures are needed even though security issues hamper the monitoring and control.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KleemannZamoraVillacisChiluisaetal.2022,
  author    = {Kleemann, Janina and Zamora, Camilo and Villacis-Chiluisa, Alexandra Belen and Cuenca, Pablo and Koo, Hongmi and Noh, Jin Kyoung and F{\"u}rst, Christine and Thiel, Michael},
  title     = {Deforestation in continental Ecuador with a focus on protected areas},
  series = {Land},
  volume    = {11},
  journal   = {Land},
  number    = {2},
  issn      = {2073-445X},
  doi       = {10.3390/land11020268},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-262078},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {Forest conservation is of particular concern in tropical regions where a large refuge of biodiversity is still existing. These areas are threatened by deforestation, forest degradation and fragmentation. Especially, pressures of anthropogenic activities adjacent to these areas significantly influence conservation effectiveness. Ecuador was chosen as study area since it is a globally relevant center of forest ecosystems and biodiversity. We identified hotspots of deforestation on the national level of continental Ecuador between 1990 and 2018, analyzed the most significant drivers of deforestation on national and biome level (the Coast, the Andes, The Amazon) as well as inside protected areas in Ecuador by using multiple regression analysis. We separated the national system of protected areas (SNAP) into higher and lower protection levels. Besides SNAP, we also considered Biosphere Reserves (BRs) and Ramsar sites. In addition, we investigated the rates and spatial patterns of deforestation in protected areas and buffer zones (5 km and 10 km outwards the protected area boundaries) using landscape metrics. Between 1990 and 2018, approximately 4\% of the accumulated deforestation occurred within the boundaries of SNAP, and up to 25.5\% in buffer zones. The highest rates of deforestation have been found in the 5 km buffer zone around the protected areas with the highest protection level. Protected areas and their buffer zones with higher protection status were identified as the most deforested areas among SNAP. BRs had the highest deforestation rates among all protected areas but most of these areas just became BRs after the year 2000. The most important driver of deforestation is agriculture. Other relevant drivers differ between the biomes. The results suggest that the SNAP is generally effective to prevent deforestation within their protection boundaries. However, deforestation around protected areas can undermine conservation strategies to sustain biodiversity. Actions to address such dynamics and patterns of deforestation and forest fragmentation, and developing conservation strategies of their landscape context are urgently needed especially in the buffer zones of areas with the highest protection status.},
  language  = {en}
}