Conservation Thresholds for Land Use Planners
ELI's 2003 report, Conservation Thresholds for Land Use Planners, provides a review and synthesis of information from the scientific literature. Seeking to advance the link between conservation biology and land-use planning, it provides land-use planners with basic thresholds to rely upon when making decisions that affect biodiversity.
With more than 1,400 papers and abstracts reviewed for the project and a total of 160 papers selected for inclusion in the review, the report covers conservation thresholds on habitat patch area, percent suitable habitat, edge effects, riparian buffers, and corridors. The report summarizes what is known within the scientific community about potential land use planning and design thresholds. It offers general guidance on how to transform traditional planning approaches into more ecologically-based conservation tools and provides a platform for identifying gaps in existing knowledge to help guide more in-depth ecological research directly applicable to land use planning.
Download Conservation Thresholds for Land Use Planners (PDF - 64 pages)
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