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The Implications of Habitat Fragmentation

Extensive literature suggests that landscape patterns affect the abundance and persistence of terrestrial species. The fragmentation of the landscape, and the consequences of that fragmentation on ecosystems and population dynamics, are concerns shared across the region.

Natural processes and human activities may influence habitat loss and isolation. Changes in patchiness, edge, and connectivity may eliminate, displace, or enhance species populations and habitats. Isolated habitat patches may reduce the number of species present simply because smaller habitats support fewer species (MacArthur and Wilson 1967). Preservation of species composition and integrity in these areas cannot be expected. Corridors may increase the movement of habitat-restricted species, thereby improving overall habitat quality (Rosenburg and others 1998, Haddad and Baum 1999).

Understanding how spatial patterns alter species habitat may provide resource managers with a basis for making land-use decisions. Species respond to patterns in various ways, using certain areas for feeding and reproduction, and avoiding other areas entirely. By altering the distribution and availability of spatial resources, changes in landscape pattern influence many of the components important for the persistence of species (Merriam 1990).

The South’s growing human population raises the possibility of a substantial impact on species and their habitats in the next several decades (Chapter SOCIO-1). In the midst of expanding populations, the provision of biological diversity has become a critical conservation issue.