Outline of the main themes of road ecology.

The coalescense of road-ecology science, when combined with engineering and planning, promises a future where safe and efficient human mobility is effectively combined with natural processes and biological diversity. Six research areas are of major direct policy importance. (1) Wildlife populations and biodiversity are significantly affected by landscape fragmentation related to roads. (2) Traffic noise / disturbance creates a wide zone avoided by sensitive birds and other species, which is of reduced value for nature conservation. (3) The huge total area devoted to roadsides contains invasive species and yet-to-be-surveyed rare species, an area for which an appropriate vegetation cover could serve many societal values. (4) A cornucopia of pollutants is swept by wind and washed by rainwater into streams, lakes and other water bodies, where aquatic ecosystems are degraded. (5)The road-effect zone over which ecological effects are significant, integrates the engineer’s and ecologist’s perspectives as a basis for transportation planning. (6) The form of the road network in a landscape is a keystone for overall ecological conditions, for planning road construction and removal, and for sustainable transportation for society. However, these latter expectations are still far from realization. Currently, actions are limited to site reclamation protocols based on agricultural principle. Roadside ecological singularity should frame, but not exclude, the ecological restoration approach. In this emergent scenario, connectivity with remnant cells, colonization, recruitment, interaction among organisms, and population dynamics should be revisited. This reappraisal should not simply involve the revision of technical protocols, but mainly the redefinition of success in roadscape design.

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Forman R.T.T. y Balaguer L. Outline of the main themes of road ecology. 2005.

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Retrieved: 01 Feb 2025 08:53:34

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Date of creation 2024-12-02
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