Habitat fragmentation is a landscape-level phenomenon in which a once-continuous habitat is broken into smaller, spatially isolated patches separated by a matrix of modified or unsuitable land cover. It encompasses reductions in patch size, increased edge-to-interior ratios, and isolation effects that alter species movement, gene flow, metapopulation dynamics, and community composition. Fragmentation modifies abiotic conditions (e.g., microclimate, hydrology), disrupts ecological interactions such as pollination and predation, and can increase extinction risk, invasion susceptibility, and biotic homogenization. It is typically quantified using metrics of patch configuration, connectivity, and edge density in landscape ecology and conservation biology.
Deforestation is a well-known issue affecting biodiversity and carbon storage, but the fragmentation of forests is also a driving factor in the reduction of the world's biodiversity and carbon-storing abilities.
A new study led by University of Colorado Denver has uncovered how climate change and intensifying wildfires are disrupting dragonfly mating traits—threatening to push some species toward local extinction.
Plants & Animals
Sep 10, 2025
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A new study has revealed a "hidden extinction crisis" in China's flora, showing that habitat decline over the past four decades has sharply increased extinction risks nationwide. The findings, published in One Earth on September ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 3, 2025
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When night falls in Panama's forests, the time of the opossums begins. The marsupials, which have spent the day sleeping in trees, climb down the trunks and search for fruit, frogs or eggs on the ground. The omnivores often ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 13, 2025
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A long-term ecological study reveals that protected forest fragments in southeastern Madagascar (Mandena) significantly improve the survival of endangered mouse lemurs, while translocation strategies may fall short of expectations.
Plants & Animals
Aug 5, 2025
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27
A new study published in the journal Global Change Biology reveals that colonial-era landscape modifications have resulted in a devastating 80% loss of grassland habitat and significant declines in grassland bird populations ...
Ecology
Jul 23, 2025
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Wildlife everywhere faces a growing challenge: moving safely across an increasingly fragmented landscape. Roads, urban development, and other human-made barriers can make it harder for animals to access food, shelter, and ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 23, 2025
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Forest fragmentation—the division of large, intact woodlands into smaller patches—has emerged as a critical issue in 21st-century global land cover change, with far-reaching implications for ecosystem health. By increasing ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 9, 2025
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27
Koalas are a nationally endangered and iconic species in Australia, yet their populations are rapidly declining due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and disease, and very little is known about the fine-scale movements of koalas—especially ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 9, 2025
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27
Antarctic sea ice is more than just a platform for penguins. The sea ice's high reflectivity influences the whole Earth's climate, and the ice is a key habitat for underwater as well as above-water ecosystems. Antarctic sea ...
Ecology
Jul 1, 2025
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