Scheduling conservation action in production landscapes: priority areas inwestern New South Wales defined by irreplaceability and vulnerability to vegetation loss

Scheduling conservation action is necessary when the available resources fo r conservation are insufficient to adequately protect all of the natural fe atures (e.g. species, vegetation types, ecosystems) in a region, at least i n the short-term. We propose an approach to scheduling conservation action in production landscapes. It is based on two characteristics of potential c onservation areas. The first is vulnerability - the likelihood or imminence of destruction or alteration of native vegetation. The second is irreplace ability the likelihood that an area will be needed to contribute to a set o f conservation targets nominated for the region's features. We argue that h ighest priority for conservation action should go to those areas with both high vulnerability (urgent protection needed to avoid destruction) and high irreplaceability (few or no alternatives if destroyed). To establish the c ontext and rationale for our approach. we review some previous methods for scheduling nature conservation. We then apply our approach to the Western D ivision of New South Wales, a region of about 325,000 km(2), by deriving in formation on the vulnerability of 248 land systems to two threatening proce sses (clearing and cropping) and measuring the irreplaceability of potentia l conservation areas. Our results are maps of areas where conservation acti on is most urgently needed if regional conservation targets are not to be c ompromised. (C) 2001 Elsevier science Ltd. All rights reserved.