Ecological Impacts of Roads on Brazilian Reptiles: A Gis-Based Multicriteria Analysis to Identify Target Areas for Research

Increasing projections of road network expansion in the near future, particularly in developing countries, pose significant challenges for ecological sustainability. Despite recent advancements, Latin America still lacks comprehensive baseline studies on road ecology, with a noticeable geographic and taxonomic bias. Reptiles, for instance, remain among the least studied vertebrates in this context, despite their vulnerability to road impacts. Brazil, home to vital reptile conservation areas, has been facing a major setback in environmental governance and public policies, which also involves the expansion of the road network. In this study, we employ a fuzzy gamma GIS-based multicriteria analysis to integrate six thematic maps and identify priority areas for future research. Our approach aims to overcome geographic biases while prioritizing areas of greatest conservation interest and with greater potential road impacts. Our findings underscore the Amazon Rainforest, northern Brazilian Savanna (Cerrado), and the Central Atlantic Forest Ecological Corridor as immediate and mid-term research priorities, while southern Brazil necessitates comparatively less attention at present. By testing different gamma values, our analysis captures spatial gradients, facilitating a nuanced understanding of regional patterns and the identification of Protected Areas that may face considerable impact from planned roads such as the BR-235 and PA-167. Although local assessments are necessary for more detailed actions, our output maps may be used for planning purposes. With this study, we also expect to draw attention to one more method that can be used for an ecologically sustainable and effective planning of the national road network.