Finding conservation opportunities in multistressor maps using stressor heterogeneity

Large scale, high resolution maps of stressors and ecosystem threats (e.g. habitat alteration, pollution, species invasions, and other factors) are increasingly available for many ecosystem types and geographic settings. We illustrate how patterns of stressor heterogeneity in these maps can be used to identify locations that are good candidates for conservation or restoration. A key feature of this approach is that it can be applied across the entire cumulative threat spectrum, ranging from efforts to preserve relatively pristine sites to efforts to restore highly degraded sites.