Methodology for Identifying Ecological Corridors: A Spatial Planning Perspective

Oana-Cătălina Popescu, Antonio-Valentin Tache and Alexandru-Ionuț Petrișor
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Oana-Cătălina Popescu: National Institute for Research and Development in Constructions, Urbanism and Sustainable Spatial Development URBAN-INCERC, 021652 Bucharest, Romania
Antonio-Valentin Tache: National Institute for Research and Development in Constructions, Urbanism and Sustainable Spatial Development URBAN-INCERC, 021652 Bucharest, Romania
Alexandru-Ionuț Petrișor: National Institute for Research and Development in Constructions, Urbanism and Sustainable Spatial Development URBAN-INCERC, 021652 Bucharest, Romania

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 7, 1-25

Abstract: Recent studies carried out by landscape and urban ecologists have shown that habitat fragmentation has negative environmental effects and is accountable for the loss of biodiversity. The development and extension of road infrastructure to support economic growth, the urbanization and the land-use changes are major drivers of habitat fragmentation. Planners have attempted to develop tools for restoring connectivity and stopping biodiversity loss at the landscape scale and which can be applied at the urban scale, too. The study fills in the gap by developing a methodology for identifying the ecological corridors of a Romanian large carnivore (brown bear) in the Romanian Carpathian Mountains at several spatial scales. The methodology relies on geospatial data; this is equally its most important advantage and challenge. Our findings suggest that the implementation of ecological corridors in current planning practice must be completed cautiously, provided the possible restrictions are imposed on economic activities by plans, and highlight the importance of field data in increasing the scientific soundness of the results. In addition, the findings show the need to interconnect spatial planning policies with environmental policies by improving the actual legislation.

Keywords: ecological connectivity; ecological corridors; ecological networks; geospatial data; habitat fragmentation; legislation; spatial planning; regulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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