Quantifying the amount of land lost to artificial surfaces in European habitats: A comparison inside and outside Natura 2000 sites using a quasi-experimental design

The conversion of natural environments to artificial surfaces has significant irreversible impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. The European Union (EU) has set ambitious goals to combat land artificialisation, including achieving “no net land take” by 2050. It also plans to expand its network of protected areas, including the Natura 2000 (N2K) sites, to 30 % of its area by 2030. However, studies have shown that land artificialisation continues to occur even within N2K sites. It has not yet been examined, though, which habitats are most affected. To address this gap, we used a high-resolution spatial layer of the EU's habitats and layers showing impervious surfaces across the EU to quantify and compare the current levels of artificial surfaces within each habitat inside and outside N2K sites. We also compared the changes in impervious surfaces between 2012 and 2015 and 2015–2018. We found that the total extent of impervious surfaces, and their rates of change, were lower within the N2K sites for all habitats examined. However, patterns varied: coastal habitats, grasslands, and agricultural habitats had higher levels of artificial surfaces than others, even within N2K sites. Our findings indicate that although the planned expansion of the N2K network can help mitigate the artificialisation of threatened habitats, N2K sites do not entirely halt land conversion. Member States should further improve the management effectiveness of NK2 sites and promote financial and policy instruments addressing land artificialisation, e.g., through land recycling, to safeguard vulnerable habitats and achieve the EU's conservation objectives.