Patches and Corridors in Wildlife Conservation

As human-environment interactions evolve within progressively globalized settings, natural areas become more fragmented, usually embedded in an agricultural landscape. Across varied regions, more than 90% of the natural forest has now been removed, with agriculture and managed lands occupying well over 50% of Earth's land surface. The remaining patches of natural habitat can be connected by corridors of the same or similar vegetation, providing pathways for the movement of animals and plants and serving, many believe, as a viable conservation tool in the face of continued landscape transformations. Managing such remnants with an eye toward conservation has gained support as one way to stem the impacts of human agency on Earth's varied ecosystems. The connectivity provided by corridors has theoretical foundations and intuitive appeal, but ...