Connectivity is Vitally Important in a Fragmented Forest Ecosystem to Sustain Biodiversity: An Analysis for Rize
Abstract
Forests are the leading ecosystems that are under threat due to the pressure of global change. Being under pressure for a forest ecosystem means fragmented and isolated habitats, decrease in biodiversity and change in the landscape. In recent years, restoring landscape connectivity by minimising landscape fragmentation has been recognised as a key strategy to conserve biodiversity. Well-connected habitat networks are thought to both protect existing populations and help adaptation under climate change. It is therefore priority to understand how best to maintain and develop connectivity in fragmented landscapes at multiple spatial scales for effective conservation of forest biodiversity. In this study, fragmentation analysis was performed using area, edge, and isolation metrics in the forest matrix in the Rize landscape and connectivity corridors were interpreted to manage the impact of this fragmentation on species and habitats. The fragmentation analysis was carried out on 3 classes as broad-leaved, coniferous, and mixed using land cover/land use data with the years 1990-2018. The connectivity corridors between these classes were analysed using core area data and resistance maps. According to the results; it was observed that fragmentation in broad-leaved and coniferous classes and an increase in mixed forest class. In the connectivity analysis it was observed that the limiting effects arising from human activities increased more in 2018 compared to 1990. The results of this study showed that in a fragmented forest matrix, connectivity corridors can be identified and reconstructed the conditions necessary for the survival of biodiversity.
Keywords
Landscape planning, Landscape corridors, Forest ecosystem, Landscape connectivity, Fragmentation, Biodiversity
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