Corridors and Connectivity
© George Burba/Shutterstock Corridors and Connectivity Featured Image
Think of a hallway leading from point A to point B. Ecological corridors provide wildlife with vegetation and habitat necessary for living things to move -- or migrate -- between, say, breeding grounds in the Arctic Circle and wintering roosting spots in Brazil. Some corridors are efficient, clear, and straight. Others meander across various sorts of habitat. Conservationists study these migratory pathways in order to understand the needs of the species, the needs of the intervening habitat, and how to preserve the viability of the connection between two places.
The concept of corridors also connects the conservation and sustainability movements. Large-scale sustainable planners often discuss their ecological concerns within the framework of green infrastructure. While the different inflections and settings have caused some confusion about the phrase, green infrastructure generally refers to the interconnected network of open spaces, natural areas, and protected areas – our parks, greenways, wetlands, forests, grasslands, and, in some cases, farmlands – which provide important provisioning and regulating functions upon which human communities depend.
More about Conservation Corridors and Connectivity
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© Mac Stone (Corridors in Colorado Featured Image)
Connectivity 101
Conservation scientists' top recommendation for counteracting the negative consequences of habitat loss, fragmentation, and climate change on wildlife is to maintain landscape connectivity capable of sustaining natural patterns of wildlife movement and allowing adaptation. Gary Tabor and Katie Meiklejohn provide the details.
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© Michael Menefee/CNHP (ArkansasValleyeveningprimrose_kelseykeyingout)
Clarifying the Terminology
Confusion about how best to implement connectivity and employ habitat corridors stems in part from a lack of clarity and consensus about the precise meaning of various terms. Gary Tabor and Katie Meiklejohn here synthesize the various uses in hope of connecting speakers talking about connectivity.
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