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B. Terrones et al. 2010. Detecting vulnerable spots for ecological connectivity caused by minor road network
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Detecting vulnerable spots for ecological connectivity caused by minor
road network in Alicante, Spain
Beatriz Terrones 1,2* , Sara Michelle Catalán 1,3 , Aydeé Sanjinés 1,3 , Encarnación Rico-
Guzmán 4 & Andreu Bonet 1,4
1 Department of Ecology. University of Alicante. Spain
2 Font Roja NATURA UA' Scientific Station. University of Alicante. Spain
3 Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Zaragoza. CIHEAM, Spain
4 "Ramón Margalef" Multidisciplinary Institute for Environmental Research. University
of Alicante, Spain
Abstract
Applying land conservation planning allows to maintain and restore the ecological connections
among natural remnants and protected areas in the territory. Roads increase the problem of
habitat fragmentation, breaking large habitat areas into smaller ones, creating isolated habitat
patches and decreasing connectivity in the territory.
Functional connectivity in Alicante’s Province was analyzed using least-cost models. Applied
connectivity models for the study of ecological processes and animal movements is a tool of
great utility for landscape planning and Protected Areas management. Connectivity models are
based in the creation of a friction surface that indicates the relative cost of moving target species
across the landscape. Ecological corridors between the main protected areas and conflictive
points that intersect with minor road network were identified.
Keywords: ecological connectivity, landscape model, cost-distance, road ecology.
1. Introduction
Land use changes in landscape are the main cause of fragmentation processes of natural habitats
and populations of wild organisms, and it is recognized as one of the most important threats to
the biodiversity maintenance (Harris 1984; Wilson 1988; Saunders and Hobbs 1991;
McCullough 1996; Pickett et al. 1997; Fielder and Kareiva 1998; Fahrig 2003). Linear
infrastructures like roads and railway networks are important barriers that limit movement and
dispersion of terrestrial vertebrates, increasing the problem of habitat fragmentation and creating
isolated habitat patches in the territory. The presence of a road may modify animal’s behaviour
and alter patterns of animal movement (Trombulak 2000).
It is fundamental for wildlife survival to maintain and restore the ecological connections among
natural remnants and Protected Areas in the territory. The concept of ecological connectivity is
shown as an essential element in the land-use planning. Landscape connectivity could be
defined as the degree to which the landscape facilitates or impedes movement of organisms
among resource patches (Taylor et al. 1993). This definition considers that connectivity is
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 965 903 732 - Fax: 965 909 832
Email address: beatriz.terrones@ua.es
Forest Landscapes and Global Change-New Frontiers in Management, Conservation and Restoration. Proceedings of the IUFRO Landscape Ecology
Working Group International Conference, September 21-27, 2010, Bragança, Portugal. J.C. Azevedo, M. Feliciano, J. Castro & M.A. Pinto (eds.)
2010, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Bragança, Portugal.