Defdine and comment on the significance of landscape corridors.
Corridor is a measure of the ability of organisms to move amonf separated
patches of suitable habitat that may be variously arranged.
Benefits of Corridors
Corridors can serve many purposes for wildlife, including seasonal migration, finding
food and water, and access to mates to maintain genetic diversity. They can also
provide ecosystem services such as increased water quality, human benefits like
recreation, and advantages for agriculture such as pollination, pest control, and erosion
protection.
In addition, corridors can increase resilience to climate change. Animals
and plants react to the effects of climate change – for example, the
drying up of a water source – in only three ways: move, adapt, or die.
Corridors can allow species and natural communities to respond to
climatic changes and move to more suitable habitats.
What is a Well-Designed Corridor?
While many natural corridors still exist, the rapid increase in human development means
that, more and more, humans need to proactively design and protect corridors. Because
corridors can potentially serve so many purposes, the design of corridors must consider
many factors to increase the chance that connectivity goals will be achieved.
We want the corridor to provide both a “move-through” habitat and also be wide enough
for a “live-in” habitat for multiple species. The space should offer key resources like
edible plants, water, and host plants for butterflies.
If facilitating the movement of a specific species or community is the focus, their habitat
preferences, dispersal behavior, and other life-history features should be considered in
the design process.
Location, of course, is key. Corridors should be designed to buffer against edge effects
such as household pets, lighting, noise, nest predation, and invasive species. Upland
