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Forest Fragmentation

Informally Refereed

Abstract

What Is Forest Fragmentation,and Why Is It Important? Forest fragmentation refers to a loss of forest and the division of the remaining forest into smaller blocks. Fragmentation is of concern primarily because of its impact on the conservation of biological diversity. Forest fragmentation can affect the amount and quality of habitat for many wildlife species (Fahrig 2003, Roundtable on Sustainable Forests 2000). Fragmented forests may consist of patches of forest too small to maintain viable populations of certain species. Fragmentation is also an issue because the resulting smaller blocks of forest may not be viable units for forest management (Roundtable on Sustainable Forests 2000).

Parent Publication

Citation

Riitters, Kurt H. 2007. Forest Fragmentation. Pages 9-15 In: Forest health monitoring: 2005 national technical report. General Technical Report SRS-104. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/55879