Assessing the effectiveness of protected areas and prioritizing conservation in fragmented Quercus brantii Lindl. and Q. macranthera Fisch. & C.A.Mey. ex Hohen. habitats in Iran under different climate change scenarios

Key message 

We evaluated the effectiveness of protected areas under climate change scenarios for two keystone Iranian oaks: Quercus brantii in Zagros semiarid forests and Q. macranthera in Hyrcanian temperate forests. Major habitat losses and upslope shifts are projected for both species. Conservation priority areas show limited overlap with existing protected networks, highlighting the need to improve their efficiency to ensure the long-term adaptation and persistence of these oaks across semiarid and humid regions.

Keywords
Fragmentation; Hyrcanian forests; Oak; Species distribution model (SDM); Zagros forests; Zonation

Publication
Alipour, S., Walas, Ł. Assessing the effectiveness of protected areas and prioritizing conservation in fragmented Quercus brantii Lindl. and Q. macranthera Fisch. & C.A.Mey. ex Hohen. habitats in Iran under different climate change scenarios. Annals of Forest Science 82, 43 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13595-025-01314-6

Handling editor
Erwin Dreyer