Flashcards
Ecological Connectivity
Cards in this deck (23)
- 1Protect & MaxmiseProtect and maximise the wildlife value of existing biodiversity-rich sites
(Lawton,2010; Possingham, 2015) - 2Expand & BufferExpand and buffer these core areas by restoring or creating new habitats in strategic locations; and create connections, corridors and stepping stones between them (Hilty, 2006; Pearce-Higgins, 2014)
- 3Wildlife CorridorsContinues features like river valleys or hedgerows which can act as 'wildlife highways'
- 4Stepping StonesSmaller, unconnected natural areas; close networks of patches that act as stop off points for wildlife on the move - for example, a series of copse or ponds in open grassland.
- 5Restore Natural ProcessesAs far as possible to their full function. Natural systems provide a range of services such as pollination, cleansing of polluted water and carbon capture in healthy soils (Wall, 2012)
- 6Ecosystem ServicesPollination
Clean Air & Water
Carbon Capture
Food & Flood Management
Resilience to Drought - 7Connectivity & ResilienceMake the wider landscape of farmland, urban areas and forestry friendlier (and more 'permeable') to wildlife between core sites.
- 8Sustainable ManagmentIf the wider countryside were managed more sustainably, society and farmer will continue benefit from the essential services provided by the natural environment.
- 9Habiatat FragmentationReduces the capability of species to move. For example, isolated species groups may interact with each other to maintain their genetic health.
- 10PatchesSome plants and animals live in patches which can only support a certain population size and depend on the movement and exchange of individuals for their survival.
- 11DispersalDispersal is an inherent survival strategy for many species to find new habitats to increase their distribution and abundance.
- 12Climate ChangeChanging weather patterns and climate change may also have a direct influence, amongst other factors, on the relationships and competition between species; some may be displaced. Studies have observed how species are moving in response to warming (Poissons & Ardor, 2014)
- 13Edge EffectChanges in population or community structures that occur at the boundary of two or more habitats. Areas with small habitat fragments exhibit especially pronounced edge effects that may extend throughout their range.
- 14Anthropogenic PressureAs the demands made on land from agriculture, forestry, housing and development have increased, so the space avaliable for UK wildlife has decreased (Lawton, 2010)
- 15Landscape-Scale RestorationThe scale at which we think and act is critical. if action is to be effective, the scale must be relevant to the species, habitats and processes in the living landscape.
- 16Human BoundariesIt is also important to recognise that whilst people draw lines on maps and define boundaries across the landscape, other species do not respect human boundaries
- 17Freedom of MovementThe ways in which plants, fungi, bacteria and animals are many and varied. A living landscape approach aims to provide a range of features and processes which allow as many species as possible to sustain their populations and disperse (Clobert, 2012)
- 18The IssueNature conservation in the UK has traditionally focused on protecting specific sites, but outside these wildlife habitats have been lost on an unprecedented scale. Despite some conservation success stories, the majority of species have seen long term decline (Maclean, 2010; Lawton 2010)
- 19PollinationREF
- 20Clean Air & WaterREF
- 21Carbon StorageREF
- 22Food & Flood ManagmentREF
- 23Resilience to DroughtREF
Information
- Description
- Discuss the potential ways that habitat creation could deliver resilient ecological networks.
- Created by
- Heather Barker
- Views
- 13
- Tags
- Rating