Terrestrial habitat diversity

Use and interpretation: The number of distinct habitats in an area can be used to a certain extent as a proxy of biodiversity. The information can also be used to inform ecosystem mapping, protected area zoning and management, and for the planning of wildlife surveys. Applied to protected areas, the identification of the Terrestrial Habitat Functional Types (THFT) can further help to assess the complexity of the management of the area, and to indicate the potential diversity of species present (Rosenzweig 1995; Tews et al., 2004). Everything else being equal, protected areas with many distinct habitats are likely to require more resources for the management than those presenting a more homogenous environment. To compare the relative habitat diversity of protected areas, the Terrestrial Habitat Diversity Indicator (THDI) should be used instead of the number of THFTs as the THDI will not favor large protected areas over smaller ones.