Restoring ecological connectivity after the impact of transportation infraestructures.

Habitat fragmentation is one of the most outstanding impacts of transport networks in the landscapes and it has been identified as the main cause of biodiversity loss in Europe. Loss, disturbance and pollution of wildlife habitants, fauna casualties and dispersal of exotic species are some of the ecological effects of roads and railways, but their barrier effect, that difficult the wildlife movements across the landscape, is a major threat for the long term conservation of wildlife populations. First step for minimising these impacts, and the basis for the restoration of ecological connectivity, is the identification of the habitats witch concentrate a high biodiversity, and the ecological corridors which allow the dispersal of individuals, the exchange between different nucleus of metapopulations and the accessibility to all resources (food, refuge, etc.) needed for the long term conservation of healthy populations. Between the measures that must be considered we highlight the importance of the route design, that must avoid the fragmentation of key habitats and ecological corridors. A second step is the construction of wildlife crossing structures such as big landscape bridges and fauna passages. Monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of these structures have provided a good knowledge of the requirements of different species and the information collected all around Europe have been compiled in the handbook COST 341. Wildlife and traffic. A European Handbook for identifying conflicts and designing solutions. Location, dimensions, and conditioning of the entrances of wildlife crossings are key points for guarantying their effectiveness. At present, the challenge is to achieve the awareness of decision makers and professionals involved in the design and construction of transport infrastructures and promoting the best practices for the avoidance of habitat fragmentation and the restoration of ecological connectivity.

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Rosell C. Restoring ecological connectivity after the impact of transportation infraestructures. 2005.

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Retrieved: 22 Dec 2025 10:08:33

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Resource type Text
Date of creation 2025-05-23
Date of last revision 2025-05-23
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Metadata identifier 0d6a9342-5d23-5532-a717-fbc3632d1187
Metadata language Spanish
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ISO 19115 topic category biota
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Name of the dataset creator Rosell, C.
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