A rapid qualitative methodology for ecological integrity assessment across a Mediterranean island's landscapes

Rapid qualitative field methods can be used to evaluate ecological integrity (EI) at a landscape level. This study evaluates the EI of 63 landscape types (LCTs) in Cyprus derived from Landscape Character Mapping. Following a stratified sampling, LCTs were evaluated using 209 Land Description Units (LDUs) i.e., homogeneous map entities, sharing a similar pattern of natural and cultural elements. In every LDU, six ecological integrity (EI) indicators were visually assessed consistently namely naturalness, habitat continuity, number of habitats, dominant habitat type, management intensity and scale. TwoStep Cluster Analysis was employed to identify EI categories, and Categorical Principal Components Analysis (CATPCA) to associate the individual indicators with overall EI in the LDUs. Linear regressions were used to predict EI based on the most important indicators. Forested and shrubland landscapes have consistently good EI with low variation, while urbanized and agricultural landscapes have lower EI. There is great variation in the number of agricultural landscape types and their EI. There are significant linear relationships between EI and naturalness, habitat continuity and intensity. The novelty of this work lies with the fact that it provides the first island-wide study in the Mediterranean assessing EI spatially through a small number of indicators. Results indicate that LCA can be an appropriate consistent and inexpensive spatial framework for assessing EI, which can be directly associated with management intervention to maintain or improve EI.