Ecological Connectivity in Agricultural Green Infrastructure: Suggested Criteria for Fine Scale Assessment and Planning

Simone Valeri,Giulia Capotorti,Laura Zavattero

doi:10.3390/land10080807

Simone Valeri, Giulia Capotorti + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/land10080807

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Journal: Land	Publication Date: Jul 31, 2021
Citations: 13	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Sapienza University of Rome

Abstract

In promoting biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service capacity, landscape connectivity is considered a critical feature to counteract the negative effects of fragmentation. Under a Green Infrastructure (GI) perspective, this is especially true in rural and peri-urban areas where a high degree of connectivity may be associated with the enhancement of agriculture multifunctionality and sustainability. With respect to GI planning and connectivity assessment, the role of dispersal traits of tree species is gaining increasing attention. However, little evidence is available on how to select plant species to be primarily favored, as well as on the role of landscape heterogeneity and habitat quality in driving the dispersal success. The present work is aimed at suggesting a methodological approach for addressing these knowledge gaps, at fine scales and for peri-urban agricultural landscapes, by means of a case study in the Metropolitan City of Rome. The study area was stratified into Environmental Units, each supporting a unique type of Potential Natural Vegetation (PNV), and a multi-step procedure was designed for setting priorities aimed at enhancing connectivity. First, GI components were defined based on the selection of the target species to be supported, on a fine scale land cover mapping and on the assessment of land cover type naturalness. Second, the study area was characterized by a Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis (MSPA) and connectivity was assessed by Number of Components (NC) and functional connectivity metrics. Third, conservation and restoration measures have been prioritized and statistically validated. Notwithstanding the recognized limits, the approach proved to be functional in the considered context and at the adopted level of detail. Therefore, it could give useful methodological hints for the requalification of transitional urban–rural areas and for the achievement of related sustainable development goals in metropolitan regions.

Highlights

Connectivity represents an emergent property of landscapes with respect to species dispersal and ecological processes [1,2]
The study area was stratified into Environmental Units, each supporting a unique type of Potential Natural Vegetation (PNV), and a multi-step procedure was designed for setting priorities aimed at enhancing connectivity
The study area was characterized by a Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis (MSPA) and connectivity was assessed by Number of Components (NC) and functional connectivity metrics

Summary

Introduction

Connectivity represents an emergent property of landscapes with respect to species dispersal and ecological processes [1,2] As such, it is increasingly recognized as a fundamental feature for enhancing biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service capacity against fragmentation, in both ecological networks and GI planning [3,4]. Current research is increasingly addressing the vegetation component of biodiversity in addition to the faunistic one, which represents a more traditional target of investigation [11] Both the impact of plant community composition on connectivity [12] and, vice versa, the impact of connectivity features on taxonomic and functional structure of plant communities [13] have been explored. Especially in the context of the European GI Strategy implementation [17], little evidence is available on how to select plant species to be primarily favored in dispersal and on the role of environmental heterogeneity and quality of habitat patches and corridors in facilitating/impairing such a dispersal

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