Dataset of spillover effects of protected areas on the QTP

Aim: Although protected areas (PAs) are assumed to reduce threats to nature within boundaries, their spillover effects remain equivocal. It is necessary to not only determine whether PAs truly achieve conservation targets but also whether they promote or inhibit natural habitat degradation in adjacent areas by blockage or leakage spillover. This study aims to choose 54 nature reserves (NRs) focusing on forest protection as a case study to assess PA conservation effectiveness and spillover prevalence.

Location: PAs on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP)

Methods: We used matching methods to compare deforestation rates inside PAs and their 20 km buffer zones with matched control areas based on the Global Forest Change data from 2001 to 2019. We contrasted the effects of NRs with different management levels, ages and areas. We designed 5 concentric buffer zones to assess spillover change with distance and estimated potential drivers of the spillover effect to explain its directions and ma...