18. INTER AND INTRA-PATCH LANDSCAPE CONNECTIVITY: A COMPARATIVE MEASUREMENT FOR ITALY AND THE UK
Landscape fragmentation (LF) is a process widely caused by road infrastructure and urbanised areas. LF consists in dividing a natural environment in different fragments separated from each other and in reducing the original land surface. The most obvious effects are: the isolation of animal and plant species, the reduction of biodiversity, and loss of connectivity between natural areas. In the literature, there are several indicators available for quantifying LF. A relevant way to evaluate fragmentation is the measurement of its reciprocal variable, i.e. landscape connectivity, which describes the ability of species to move through the landscape. Intuitively, connectivity decreases when fragmentation increases. In this work, we assess connectivity in four landscape units, two located in Sardinia (Italy), and two in Wales (the UK). We apply the connectivity index (CIx), which provides us with information on the connectivity of wilderness areas in cities. It is a component of the City Biodiversity Index (CBI) -also known as Singapore Index- which is a combination of 23 indicators. This index can provide answers on the degree of connectivity of a habitat, considering intra and inter patch movement. We consider as target species the hedgehog, which is widespread mainly in urban and suburban contexts and suffers from the negative effects of LF. We will assume five possible connection scenarios between isolated patches through the application of various buffers between 50 and 2,000 m.
Listing Details
- AuthorAndrea De Montis et al.
- AffiliationUniversity of Sassari
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