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Landscape and Landscape Ecology
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The CorridorDesigner project is funded by a generous grant from the Environmental Research, Development and Education for the New Economy (ERDENE) initiative from Northern Arizona University. Our approach was initially developed during 2001-2006 for South Coast Missing Linkages, a set of 16 linkage designs in southern California (draft & We especially thank the many government agents, conservationists, and funders who conserve linkages and deserve the best possible science.
Greenways is a generic term that has been applied to a wide range of landscape planning strategies, concepts, and plans. While there is some consensus emerging on the benefits of protecting networks of land, there is little agreement on terminology. As a result, communication and knowledge exchange are limited. This paper offers an inclusive definition of greenways, discusses greenway characteristics, benefits and liabilities, and presents a typology for greenway classification based on scale, goals, landscape context, and planning strategy. This typology is applied to three case studies from the Netherlands and the USA which have been selected to represent a range of greenway types, to articulate similarities, differences, and to explore the transferability of knowledge and concepts. Through this discussion, greenways are considered as a useful strategy for planning, design and management of sustainable landscapes.
In densely populated northwestern Europe, native large mammals are confronted with a very fragmented landscape, and most of the areas they inhabit are island-like reserves threatened with total isolation from other reserves. The only way to counteract the threat of further decline in the numbers of large-mammal species is to restore their habitats. The appropriate size of future reserves could be estimated from the habitat requirements of wild ungulates that are considered key species for ecosystem functioning. The species selected to guide the design of large nature reserves in northwestern Europe is the red deer (Cervus elaphus) because of its widespread distribution, key role in ecosystem functioning, and home-range size. We describe a network analysis of the Netherlands, Belgium, and adjacent parts of France and Germany, performed with the LARCH landscape ecology model, that was conducted in order to identify the structure of the ecological network for red deer and the spatial connectivity of the landscape. The resulting maps show areas that could support viable populations and indicate habitat areas that will support persistent populations only if they are in a network of linked habitats. The gaps and barriers that prevent connectivity in such networks guide the design of effective corridors to increase spatial connectivity. The results of our analysis can be used for policy decisions on nature conservation and spatial planning, and the method is applicable to other regions and species.
The Carpathians are a distinct mountain chain in the core of Central and Eastern Europe holding valuable biological resources and a rich cultural heritage. The last twenty years have witnessed an increasing awareness of the Carpathians’ value for European society and strengthened research cooperation in the region, especially after the enlargement of the European Union in 2004 and 2007.
This book presents a wide range of problems related to sustainable development in the Carpathian region that were discussed during the 1st Forum Carpaticum held in 2010 in Kraków, Poland. The four sections of the book deal with various issues related to the abiotic environment, forests and biodiversity, human activities, and research methods allowing a better understanding of the past, present and future of the Carpathians.
Above-ground pipelines for in situ oil sands development are potentially significant vectors of habitat fragmentation for large mammals. We evaluated the use of elevated pipeline clearances (distance between the ground and the bottom of the pipeline) and pipeline crossing structures, the two primary methods of mitigating the barrier effect of above-ground pipelines on large mammals, with a particular emphasis on moose (Alces alces), in northern Alberta, Canada. Winter snow tracking and remote cameras were employed for one year to monitor large mammal interactions with a 5.5km stretch of pipeline mitigated with five pipeline crossing structures and a 1.6km control area of unmitigated pipeline. A minimum threshold pipeline clearance of 140cm was critical in allowing adult moose to cross underneath the pipeline. Pipeline crossing structures facilitated movement across the pipeline and were used more than sections of elevated pipelines by all species.
Roads are a common landscape feature that may negatively impact wildlife. These impacts may be reduced by altering roads and their right-of-ways. We studied impacts of a 4-lane divided highway on bobcats (Lynx rufus) in southern Texas. From June 1997 to May 1999, 25 bobcats were found dead on the 32.2 km section of highway we studied. Mortalities were more likely adjacent to habitat preferred by bobcats and in sections of the highway in which thornshrub had been left in the median. Bobcats used culverts to cross under the highway and for other activities, such as resting. Culvert use was positively related to the openness ratio (width×height/length) of the culvert and to the amount of thornshrub cover adjacent to the culvert. Sections of fence 100 m long erected to funnel wildlife toward culverts did not increase bobcat use of culverts in an analysis of all culverts, but may have increased use of high-use culverts. Our results highlight the competing nature of techniques to minimize population fragmentation and mortality. Projects to reduce the impact of roads on wildlife should consider which impacts are likely to be most detrimental and ensure that efforts to mitigate one impact will not increase another.
Ungulate-vehicle accidents accounted for approximately 60% of the total police reported traffic accidents in Sweden during the 1990s. While exclusion fences are effective at reducing such collisions, they create a new threat to wildlife by limiting individual movements and access to resources. To promote movements across fenced highways, wildlife crossing structures have been constructed in many countries. We used infrared remote cameras, track count surveys, and GPS telemetry to monitor the use of a highway overpass by moose (Alces alces) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in southwestern Sweden. Moose and roe deer used the overpass mostly during nocturnal hours (84 and 76%, respectively). Overpass use declined with increased traffic volume on the highway, indicating that highway traffic affected the frequency in which ungulates used the overpass. We calculated that 5–7 individual moose used the overpass annually which is enough to maintain gene flow between otherwise disjunct subpopulations.
Road traffic causes significant amphibian and reptile mortality, which could be mitigated through the installation of road crossing structures that facilitate safe passage, but only if reptiles and amphibians are willing to use them. Through a series of behavioral choice experiments with frogs and turtles, we examined how aperture diameter, substrate type, length, and light permeability influenced individuals’ preferences for specific attributes of crossing structures, and how individuals responded to various heights of barrier fences. Snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina), green frogs (Rana clamitans), and leopard frogs (Rana pipiens) preferred larger diameter tunnels (>0.5 m) whereas painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) preferred tunnels of intermediate (0.5–0.6 m) diameter. Green frogs preferred soil- and gravel-lined tunnels to concrete- and PVC-lined tunnels. Painted turtles showed non-random choice of different lengths of tunnel, possibly indicating some avoidance of the longest tunnel (9.1 m); although no species preferred to exit via the longest tunnels (9.1 m), members of all four species used such tunnels. Green frogs preferred tunnels with the greatest light permeability. Fences 0.6 m in height were effective barriers to green frogs, leopard frogs, and snapping turtles, whereas 0.3 m fences excluded painted turtles. We conclude that tunnels > 0.5 m in diameter lined with soil or gravel and accompanied by 0.6–0.9 m high guide fencing would best facilitate road crossing for these and likely other frog and turtle species.