Until fairly recently, the majority of landscape connectivity analyses considered connectivity as a static landscape feature, despite the widespread recognition that landscapes and the abiotic and biotic processes that influence them are dynamic. An upcoming Special Issue of Land calls attention to the importance of landscape dynamics for characterizing, planning for and maintaining connectivity. The special issue reviews the state of dynamic connectivity science and presents current applications of dynamic connectivity in landscapes around the world.
The articles in the issue focus on innovative analyses to assess structural and functional connectivity that can inform adaptive planning for connectivity over time from a landscape and species perspective. The contributions evaluate the influence of spatial and temporal dynamics on connectivity in response to seasonal, annual, or decadal climate changes and changes in conservation and development status. The articles also explore the importance of collaborative partnerships between scientists and stakeholders to develop, interpret and enact effective connectivity plans, and, most importantly, develop implementation priorities and strategies.
Whether in support of conservation of tigers in Southeast Asia, creating sustainable landscapes to support multiple species in chaparral of Southern California, landscape connectivity in the Upper Yellow River, China, or establishing a landscape connectivity network in Northern California, the innovative research from the authors in the Special Issue highlights how landscape dynamics are essential to understand connectivity and how failure to translate connectivity science into planning efforts has impeded the ability to effectively protect connected landscapes now and under future conditions. Although there are unique challenges that accompany the adoption of dynamic connectivity for conservation management and planning in the context of traditional conservation prioritization approaches, what this body of research evidences is that with the increased availability of temporal and spatial climate and species movement data, computational capacity, and an expanding number of empirical examples in the literature, incorporating dynamic processes into connectivity models is an intrinsic component of connectivity and integral to the future of connectivity science.
The articles in the issue focus on innovative analyses to assess structural and functional connectivity that can inform adaptive planning for connectivity over time from a landscape and species perspective. The contributions evaluate the influence of spatial and temporal dynamics on connectivity in response to seasonal, annual, or decadal climate changes and changes in conservation and development status. The articles also explore the importance of collaborative partnerships between scientists and stakeholders to develop, interpret and enact effective connectivity plans, and, most importantly, develop implementation priorities and strategies.
Whether in support of conservation of tigers in Southeast Asia, creating sustainable landscapes to support multiple species in chaparral of Southern California, landscape connectivity in the Upper Yellow River, China, or establishing a landscape connectivity network in Northern California, the innovative research from the authors in the Special Issue highlights how landscape dynamics are essential to understand connectivity and how failure to translate connectivity science into planning efforts has impeded the ability to effectively protect connected landscapes now and under future conditions. Although there are unique challenges that accompany the adoption of dynamic connectivity for conservation management and planning in the context of traditional conservation prioritization approaches, what this body of research evidences is that with the increased availability of temporal and spatial climate and species movement data, computational capacity, and an expanding number of empirical examples in the literature, incorporating dynamic processes into connectivity models is an intrinsic component of connectivity and integral to the future of connectivity science.
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