Special Issue "Habitat Connectivity in Conservation Biology. Ecological Connection and Continuity of Animal Communities and Populations"

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Landscape Ecology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Francesco M. Angelici
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Italian Foundation for Vertebrate Zoology (FIZV), Via Marco Aurelio 2, 00184 Roma, Italy
Interests: taxonomy; ecology; biogeography; conservation and management of mammals; human–wildlife interactions; carnivores; ungulates; lagomorphs; allochthonous introduced species
Dr. Corrado Battisti
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Torre Flavia LTER (Long Term Ecological Research) Station, Protected Areas—Regional Park Service, Città Metropolitana di Roma Capitale, viale G. Ribotta, 41, 00144 Rome, Italy
Interests: quantitative ecology; biogeography; problem solving in wildlife management; wetland ecology and management; habitat fragmentation and ecological network planning
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Special Issue Information

It is an established fact that wildlife, especially vertebrates, is suffering in an era where the erosion and degradation of natural habitats are fatal for conservation. Beyond this, the progressive warming of the planet, combined with the rapid numerical growth of the human species, leads to the conservation of natural habitats and fauna becoming increasingly problematic. In this scenario, a possible approach to prevent, or at least contain the extinction of evident animal species, often charismatic or keystone species, is the development and increase of the connection zones between protected areas; in any case, this is important ecologically for the vertebrate fauna. Vertebrates, and many other groups, benefit from ecological connection, i.e., the management of the landscape and of protected areas or areas subjected to some preserving management. Actions aimed to improve the connectivity span, by enlarging habitat fragments, reducing its degradation induced by the surrounding landscape matrix, improving connectivity by reducing isolation induced by barriers, managing and improving habitat quality inside the isolated habitats, and so on. 

To achieve this, it is necessary to reduce the fragmentation of protected areas and/or important for the conservation of animal species and communities, with particular emphasis on those species that migrate or move more or less periodically, or that tend to expand their range, as almost always happens.

An often-underestimated aspect of these operations, which involve legislative acts and complex social and economic actions, is the participation and involvement of the local populations who live together in the territories involved. Therefore, the creation of connecting areas and their conservation, at various levels, must also be compatible with human activities and development. The careful management of these networks and ecological connection areas, often referred to as ecological corridors, is therefore essential. Moreover, landscape and environmental planning can be useful in this regard. For example, ecological network planning is a wide arena, in which a large number of concepts and tools are available (e.g., individuation and management of core areas, buffers, corridors, steppingstones; selection of focal sensitive species for monitoring, etc.).

This Special Issue of Land aims to be a container of high-level contributions, both of a general and/or theoretical type (as metanalyses or review), and of an applicative nature, with case studies in which examples are analyzed, where targeted interventions on connectivity have improved wildlife conservation.

The purpose of this special volume of Land is to present new data and deepen the discussion of the connection between protected areas, and therefore of the related habitats present. In particular, we want to address the issue of the importance, through different points of view, of these environmental conservation operations, as indispensable and lasting means for the conservation of animal communities, with particular reference to all vertebrates, including large mammals. The aspect of the management of these ecological connection areas should also be a topic of discussion in this Special Issue, with particular reference to the involvement of the human populations that inhabit the areas subject to conservation, planning and management.

All contributions must fall within the principles and aims of Landtopics, purpose and ethics.

Prof. Dr. Francesco M. Angelici
Dr. Corrado Battisti

Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • fragmentation
  • connectivity
  • habitat corridors
  • protected areas
  • wildlife conservation
  • mammals
  • birds
  • reptiles
  • migrations
  • biodiversity conservation
  • positive effects
  • human involvement and coexistence

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

Article
Variations in the Distribution and Genetic Relationships among Luciola unmunsana Populations in South Korea
Land 2021, 10(7), 730; https://doi.org/10.3390/land10070730 - 12 Jul 2021
Viewed by 423
Abstract
The firefly species Luciola unmunsana was first discovered on the Unmunsan Mountain in Cheongdo-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea and consequently named after the mountain. The population and habitats of this once-abundant species have recently decreased significantly due to light and environmental pollution caused by [...] Read more.
The firefly species Luciola unmunsana was first discovered on the Unmunsan Mountain in Cheongdo-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea and consequently named after the mountain. The population and habitats of this once-abundant species have recently decreased significantly due to light and environmental pollution caused by industrialization and urbanization. This study investigated the distribution and density of L. unmunsana around the ecological landscape conservation area of the Unmunsan Mountain. Additionally, we conducted molecular experiments on regional variations, genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships among the various populations of L. unmunsana in South Korea. The genetic relationships among populations were also analyzed using mitochondrial DNA by collecting 15 male adults from each of the 10 regions across South Korea selected for analysis. Differences were observed between populations in the east, west and south of the Baekdudaegan Mountain Range. The firefly populations collected from the eastern region, which included Gyeongsang-do, showed a close genetic relationship with fireflies collected from the Unmunsan Mountain. Thus, the findings of this study can be used as baseline data for re-introducing L. unmunsana to the Unmunsan Mountain. Full article
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Article
Assessing the Role of Kettle Holes for Providing and Connecting Amphibian Habitats in Agricultural Landscapes
Land 2021, 10(7), 692; https://doi.org/10.3390/land10070692 - 30 Jun 2021
Viewed by 601
Abstract
The intensification of agriculture over the last few decades has caused habitat loss, which poses a significant threat to the survival of populations and species. Where habitats are connected, populations may escape the destruction of their habitat by migrating to another one. Consequently, [...] Read more.
The intensification of agriculture over the last few decades has caused habitat loss, which poses a significant threat to the survival of populations and species. Where habitats are connected, populations may escape the destruction of their habitat by migrating to another one. Consequently, the functional connectivity of landscapes has become an important focus for species conservation. Kettle holes are hotspots of biodiversity that provide suitable conditions for wildlife species (i.e., amphibians, insects, aquatic plants) and contribute to landscape heterogeneity. They are also considered to function as stepping stone habitats that contribute to habitat connectivity. This study assesses the contribution of kettle holes for (i) habitat provision and (ii) the functional connectivity of three amphibian species with different movement ranges, and (iii) the study identifies areas where the creation of stepping stone biotopes could improve functional connectivity. The contribution of kettle holes was assessed using GIS-based clustering within three research areas in Germany. It was found that the importance of kettle holes for providing amphibian habitats in the three studied areas was equal to or higher than that of other wetland habitats. The state of functional connectivity and the contribution of kettle holes differed strongly depending on the species’ range. For the short-range species, landscapes were highly fragmented, and the contribution of kettle holes was much smaller than that of corridor habitats. For the long-range species, all habitats suited for amphibian reproduction were connected, and the contribution of kettle holes was similar to that of corridor habitats. However, the contribution of both was mostly redundant. Overall, the results showed that kettle holes play a crucial role in habitat provision and function as important stepping stone biotopes in agricultural landscapes. The clustering method applied in this study provides a simple tool for landscape planning and environmental protection agencies, which can be easily adapted to analyze functional connectivity and habitat interactions for different species or landscapes. Full article
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