Abstract
Landscape corridors are narrow strips of land that differ from the matrix on either side. In addition to providing connectivity between fragmented landscapes, these corridors serve scenic, cultural, social, ecological, and recreational purposes. We systematically reviewed reports and studies related to 92 cultural and ecological landscape corridors in Europe, focusing, in particular, on their planning and management, problems addressed, approaches and tools used, stakeholders involved and spatial scales. Biodiversity conservation was found to be the most frequently stated aim (67% of the cases), followed by recreation and tourism (62%). The planning processes for cultural and ecological landscape corridors were dominated by similar, quite narrow, stakeholder groups, but via a wide variety of approaches and tools. Ecological corridors existed at larger and more variable scales relative to cultural landscape corridors. Significant differences were found in many aspects of the two types of corridors, although a complete separation of the two categories was difficult since most of the cases reviewed were designed to serve multiple aims. We close the paper by making a few recommendations for decision makers concerning future corridor planning.
Highlights
Landscape corridors are defined as narrow strips of land that differ from the matrix on either side [1]
The categorization of the landscape corridor aims was mainly based on the ecosystem services (ES) framework developed by the Millennium
All corridors pursued more than one aim and, at least superficially, some aims appeared to be in conflict with others
Summary
Landscape corridors are defined as narrow strips of land that differ from the matrix on either side [1]. These linear landscapes allow movement from one habitat patch to another [2,3]. Landscape corridors are essential elements in the development of local cultural tourism [6]. Since their inclusion in the European Green Infrastructure (GI) strategy in 2010 [7], corridors in the form of parks, gardens, woodlands and networks, as well as street trees and open countryside, have received considerable policy attention [8]. The GI initiative aims to strengthen existing approaches for urban green space systems [9,10], extend them to the wider countryside, and link each site into a strategic network of natural and semi-natural areas, all of which serve environmental functions
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