Integrating species metrics into biodiversity offsetting calculations to improve long-term persistence

Abstract

Several methods of measuring biodiversity in development-offset trades exist. However, there is little consensus on which biodiversity metrics should be used for quantifying development impacts and assigning offsets. We simulated development impacts in a virtual landscape and offset these impacts using six biodiversity metrics: vegetation area, vegetation condition, habitat suitability, species abundance, metapopulation connectivity and rarity-weighted richness. We tested long-term impacts of metric choice during offsetting by combining simulated landscapes with population viability analyses. No net loss or net gains in habitat were achieved using all metrics except vegetation area and condi..