Predicting fragmentation effects on wildlife habitats of future planned infrastructure in protected metropolitan green space. The case of Collserola Park in Barcelona.

Collserola Park is situated within the greater metropolitan area of Barcelona, close to the Mediterranean coastline. The park occupies some 8,000 ha of predominantly Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) and Holm oak (Quercus ilex) woodlands with a high diversity of wildlife habitats. Despite its overall metropolitan context, the park contains a surprisingly high diversity of fauna, and is an important area for birds such as raptors, as well as amphibians, reptiles and mammals. Over the past few decades there has been a rapid growth in urban and industrial development in the Barcelona metropolitan area. As a consequence, many wildlife habitats in Collserola park are now effectively isolated from those of other nearby natural areas by a ring of major transportation infrastructures and urbanised ground. A series of roads, including a fenced motorway and a railway, also cross the park within its boundaries leading to internal habitat fragmentation and limiting wildlife movements to certain areas. There is also a network of limited-access forest roads and tracks which lead to increased disturbance in sensitive areas and may further intensify habitat fragmentation for certain species. The General Metropolitan Plan for the Barcelona area envisages the development of further new infrastructure within and around the park in the future. Existing data obtained from routine monitoring and specific studies carried out on several species of fauna in the park over recent years has provided abundant information on wildlife requirements in Collserola. Data has also been compiled on roadkills in the park on a day to day basis for more than a decade. Consideration of these all data, in combination with detalied GIS analyses of future scenarios which simulate the planned infrastructures foreseen, has allowed for a prediction of likely habitat fragmentation effects and other impacts on certain wildlife species in Collserola Park. If undertaken in the future, certain planned new infrastructures could seriously jeopardise the long-term viability of certain wildlife populations in Collserola park and undermine its overall ecological integrity. The possibility of this occurring is increased by the fact that exchange with outlying natural areas is extremely limited. Urbanisation processes beyond the park’s boundaries, facilitated by infrastructure development, are also leading to significant habitat loss and alteration in remaining metropolitan green space, thus lowering threshold levels for sensitive species within the park.

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Cahill S. Llimona F. y Tenés A. Predicting fragmentation effects on wildlife habitats of future planned infrastructure in protected metropolitan green space. The case of Collserola Park in Barcelona. Infra Eco Network Europe (IENE), 2003.

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Resource type Text
Date of creation 2024-12-02
Date of last revision 2025-02-01
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Metadata identifier aae371ad-dbfe-5de1-8206-3cb522732af2
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