Testing whether connectivity stabilizes metacommunities
The theory that connectivity can stabilize metacommunities has rarely been tested, but new empirical evidence from a 25-year California grassland study provides a clear and surprising answer.
How dangerous is dispersal across habitat boundaries?
While we usually think of the matrix between habitat patches as inhospitable, it may support seeds better than previously thought - but only as a one-way street.
Wide conservation corridors lessen edge effects for some arthropods
In a fragmented landscape, edges are important drivers of ecological change. The width of corridors affects how close edges are to each other, with implications for species relying on corridors.
How do you build a corridor for invertebrates?
While we often think about corridor design for large, far-ranging animals, less attention is paid to how we ensure that populations of invertebrates stay connected.
Plant assemblages are affected by connectivity and dispersal mode
Which plant species persist and spread in fragmented landscapes is determined by both their mode of dispersal, and the degree of connectivity within and among habitat types.
How often should grassland corridors burn to maximize biodiversity?
The frequency of prescribed fire determines how extensively ecological succession occurs, which influences the biodiversity of insects such as butterflies.
Multi-species management for migration in the Northern Great Plains
Pronghorn and sage-grouse migrate long distances in the U.S. and Canada, and understanding how they use both public and private lands helps better connect and protect their routes for the future.
American Prairie Corridor: a vision for grassland connectivity
The director of the new non-profit American Prairie Corridor describes his love of the Great Plains and how he plans to conserve them.
Five landscape conceptual models are put to the test
Frogs and reptiles in agricultural Australia act as guinea pigs for testing the predictive ability of landscape models that focus on patch-matrix concepts.
Protecting the path for bats through Brazil’s largest savannah
The Brazilian Cerrado is the largest continuous savannah in South America and considered to be the most biodiverse savannah in the world. Included in this biodiversity is over 100 species of bats, more than 10% [...]
Urban power lines act as corridors for both native and invasive plants
The ubiquitous sight of power lines through both rural and urban areas creates an obvious corridor for the eye to see. Like most corridors, however, power lines have the potential to support the dispersal [...]
Indirect effects of grassland buffers on non-target species
Wanting to get the most bang for your buck isn’t an uncommon goal. When putting conservation plans into practice, there’s often a hope that conservation goals will benefit more than just the target species. For [...]
Management recommendations for maintaining grassland biodiversity
How do local and landscape management plans affect biodiversity? In their upcoming article in Diversity and Distributions, Kormann et al. examine small fragmented patches of calcareous grasslands in central Germany, which in their study are [...]
The role of agricultural ditch banks as corridors
In Europe, strategies such as planned nature reserves coupled with agri-environment schemes (AES) are intended to maintain biodiversity in agricultural areas where plant species in particular are often reduced in number by intensive farming. One [...]
Maintaining grassland connectivity via cars and cows
Road verges can connect native grasses in agricultural landscapes by allowing vehicles to act as replacement dispersers.