Brainstorm: protected area design and conservation success
A working surface for the 7-mark question. Manipulate a design scenario, then assemble your answer with prompts drawn from the lesson.
Exam question
Explain how the design of protected areas can influence the success of conservation efforts.
7
marks
Try it
The Phase 4 design challenge
A government wants to protect a rare predator with a home range of around 100 km². The landscape has two towns, a river, a motorway and four forest patches. Click any patch to protect it. Click two patches in turn to link them with a corridor.
Lesson Phase 4
Forest patch
Protected core
Buffer
Corridor
Surrounding land
Buffer zones
Click the button, then click two patches in turn to link them. Click an existing corridor to remove it.
Try thisClick forest patches to protect them. To link two patches with a corridor, use the Draw a corridor button.
How to approach
“Explain” means give detailed reasons or causes. Aim for six to seven distinct points, each one a design feature plus a sentence explaining why it changes conservation success. Use a real example wherever you can.
Six design factors
Brainstorm here
Each card prompts a different design factor from the lesson, with a case study you've already studied as your real-world hook.
01
Syllabus 3.3.6
Size of the reserve
Why does a larger reserve generally support more conservation success?
Larger areas support larger populations, which carry more genetic diversity and are more resilient to disturbance and chance extinction. Bigger reserves also contain a wider variety of habitats and can support species with large home ranges, such as top predators.
Yasuní Biosphere Reserve, EcuadorThe 10,000 km² core supports lowland tapirs, jaguars and giant otters, species that need extensive home ranges.
02
Syllabus 3.3.6
Shape of the reserve
Why does shape matter when the total area is the same?
A roughly circular shape minimises the perimeter-to-area ratio, protecting a large block of undisturbed core. Long, thin reserves may be almost entirely edge habitat with no true interior, so interior-specialist species cannot persist.
Design challenge (Phase 4)A narrow ribbon reserve along a river will have far less interior than a compact reserve of the same area.
03
Syllabus 3.3.6
Edge effects
What are edge effects and why do they reduce conservation success?
Boundaries create a zone of altered light, temperature, humidity and wind, plus greater exposure to invasive species, predators and human disturbance. Interior specialists avoid this zone; edge specialists may dominate. Reserves with high edge-to-area ratios lose interior species.
Lurgi (2025), Phase 6Reserves vary in how well they preserve food web complexity, and this depends partly on how much edge they have.
04
Syllabus 3.3.6
Wildlife corridors
When several small reserves are unavoidable, what do corridors achieve?
Corridors connect isolated patches, allowing gene flow between populations, migration, and range shifts in response to climate change. Without them, fragments behave as ecological islands. Limits: corridors are narrow (so they are mostly edge), expensive, and can spread disease.
The SLOSS debate (Phase 7 misconception)A network of small reserves linked by corridors can sometimes outperform one large reserve if it captures more habitat variation.
05
Syllabus 3.3.6
Buffer zones & biosphere model
Why does the UNESCO three-zone model improve conservation outcomes?
A pristine core is wrapped in a buffer zone (research and ecotourism only) and an outer transition zone (sustainable resource use). The buffer reduces external pressure on the core; the transition zone builds local community support, recognising that conservation cannot succeed if it ignores nearby people.
Yasuní Biosphere Reserve, EcuadorCore (national park), buffer (Waorani and Tagaeri-Taromenane reserves), transition (Kichwa and Waorani communities engaged in agriculture and ecotourism).
06
Syllabus 3.3.5
Surrounding land use & proximity
How does the world outside the boundary affect conservation success?
Agricultural pesticide drift and runoff, roads, noise and light pollution, and invasive species from adjacent land all degrade habitat inside the reserve. Distance from urban centres reduces these pressures but may also reduce public awareness, funding and volunteer support.
La Grande Cariçaie, SwitzerlandBordered by farmland (fertiliser runoff), a cantonal road and the towns of Yverdon and Estavayer, with the invasive Louisiana crayfish entering from the lake.
Bonus angle from Phase 2.Design also includes whether to actively manage or leave alone. Some habitats (marshlands, heathlands) only persist with mowing, grazing or burning. La Grande Cariçaie needs rotational mowing on a 3 to 4 year cycle because the Second Jura Waters Correction removed the natural flooding that once held back succession. A strong candidate for a seventh point.
Assemble your answer
Use the cards above. For each design feature you pick, write a sentence that identifies it AND explains why it influences conservation success. Add a real example where you can.
01
e.g. A larger reserve supports larger, more genetically diverse populations because…
02
e.g. A compact, circular shape minimises the edge-to-area ratio, which means…
03
e.g. Edge effects degrade habitat close to the boundary because…
04
e.g. Wildlife corridors connect fragmented reserves, which allows…
05
e.g. A buffer zone around a pristine core reduces external pressure by…
06
e.g. Surrounding land use matters because…
07
e.g. At Yasuní / Maungatautari / Grande Cariçaie, this is shown by…
“Explain” command term
Give a detailed account, including reasons or causes. Don't just list features. Each point needs a what and a why.
Mark scheme habit
One mark per distinct point with clear reasoning. Aim for six to seven points from at least four different design factors, with at least one named example.
