Landscape Fragmentation

Definition

The breaking up of continuous habitats into smaller, isolated patches due to human activities like urbanization and infrastructure development.

Analogy

Picture a jigsaw puzzle being taken apart piece by piece until it becomes scattered fragments. Similarly, landscape fragmentation breaks up natural habitats into disconnected pieces.

Related terms

Habitat Loss: The destruction or degradation of natural habitats due to various factors like deforestation or conversion for agriculture.

Ecological Connectivity: The degree to which landscapes are connected allowing for movement and gene flow between different habitat patches.

Edge Effects: Changes in environmental conditions and species composition that occur at the boundaries between different habitat types.