Systematic conservation planning in the high Andes of Bolivia: application of modeling tools for integrative management of natural areas.

The main goal of this project is to evaluate and compare the performance and the constraints in the use of the two mostly used systematic conservation planning tools, Marxan and Zonation, in a tropical terrestrial setting. First, I will collect and process information on biodiversity, ecosystem services and socio-economy of the Tunari National Park of Bolivia. These datawill then be used to model the potential suitability of the habitat under current and future predicted climatic scenarios. Finally, I will use Marxan and Zonation to generate a decisionsystem about conservation action for biodiversity and ecosystem services while taking into account anthropogenic and economical requirements, as well as habitat fragmentation andconnectivity issues.

Keywords:HABITAT FRAGMENTATION, ECOSYSTEM ECOLOGY

Disciplines:Plant biology