new collection of short papers final -...

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Editors

Viktor Richter, Miklós Puky and Andreas Seiler

Disclaimer

IENE 2010 short papers comprise a voluntary documentation provided by the authors as a support

for their oral or poster presentations during the conference. The short papers have not been

subjected to a review process. Language, content and copyright are hence in the sole

responsibility of the authors. IENE and the conference organisers can not be held accountable for

the data presented, opinions expressed or statements made in this documentation.

As such, the collection of short papers from the IENE 2010 conference is not an integrated part of

the official proceedings and should therefore considered as handouts or personal communication

rather than as published material. To reproduce any of the included material (text, photos, tables,

etc) authorisation must be obtained from the original authors.

A typical citation of the short papers should look like:

Folkesson, L., Melin, A., Lindberg, G. (2010): Transport sensitive areas in Europe: Identification

and policy instruments. In: Richter, V., Puky, M. & Seiler, A. (eds): Improving connections in a

changing environment. Collection of short papers from the 2010 IENE Conference. Varangy

Akciócsoport Egyesület - MTA Ökológiai és Botanikai Kutatóintézete - SCOPE Ltd., Budapest -

Vácrátót. 5-8.

Contents

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Contents

Tuesday, 28 September

Policy and planning

Transport sensitive areas in Europe: Identification and policy instruments

Lennart Folkesson, Anna Melin, Gunnar Lindberg............................................................... 5

Disturbance, pollution and invasion

The effect of highways on native vegetation and reserve distribution in the state of

São Paulo, Brazil

Simone R. Freitas, Cláudia O. M. Sousa, Jean Paul Metzger................................................. 9

EIA and SEA

New roads versus landscapes

Eva Kaczmarczyk......................................................................................................... 12

Identification and comparison of road and railway projects effects on natural habitats

A. Ginot, F. Mallard, D. François, A. Jullien...................................................................... 15

Fauna passages and their efficacy II.

Vegetion structure on overpasses is critical in overcoming the road barrier effect for

small birds

Darryl Jones ............................................................................................................... 19

Fragmentation and landscape

Monitoring landscape fragmentation in Europe: How well can socio-economic variables

explain the differences between regions?

Jochen A.G. Jaeger, Luis F. Madriñán, Tomas Soukup, Christian Schwick, Hans-Georg Schwarz-

von Raumer, Felix Kienast ............................................................................................ 22

Towards intregrative SEA: From fragmentation indices to landscape sensitivity units

Lena Pernkopf, Stefan Lang .......................................................................................... 26

Response times of amphibian populations to replacement pond following road construction

David Lesbarrères......................................................................................................... 30

Road mortality and barrier impacts III.

Birds and transportation infrastructure

Marco Dinetti .............................................................................................................. 36

TUESDAY POSTER SESSION

Policy and planning

Support and promotion of the local administrations to avoid the fragmentation caused

by the routing of large communication infrastructures in the region of Girona

Jesús Llauró, Jaume Hidalgo, Diego Varga .................................................................. 41

Initial steps in the design of compensation measures for habitat and landscape effects

of road construction

Ana Villarroya, Jordi Puig.......................................................................................... 44

Optimization of sampling effort to determine wildlife road mortality

C. García-Suikkanen, A. Remolar, P. Vera, C. Hernández, E. Gielen, V. Benedito ............. 47

Road mortality of amphibians in western Ukraine (Lviv Province)

Ostap Reshetylo, Taras Mykitchak.............................................................................. 50

Contents

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Wednesday, 29 September

Plenary session II.

Transport ecology in Japan and Asia

Fumihiro Hara .............................................................................................................. 55

Ecological networks and corridors as tools for defragmentation I.

Ecological networks in the Czech Republic

V. Hlavá!, P. And"l, M. Andreas, T. Mináriková, M. Strnad, I. Gor!icová, D. Romportl,

A. Bláhová................................................................................................................... 60

Design of multifunctional landscape corridors using effective mesh-size for regional

targeting of urban development restrictions and open space development

Hans-Georg Schwarz-von Raumer, Heide Esswein ............................................................ 63

Case studies: Mitigation and monitoring

Making the connection: Mammal mitigation measures on national road schemes in Ireland

E.J. Finnerty, P.M. Whelan, F. Butler, M. Emmerson, L.M.J. Dolan....................................... 67

Ecological networks and corridors as tools for defragmentation II.

From national planning to regional implementation: initiatives for reconnection of habitats

in key areas in Schleswig-Holstein (Germany)

Björn Schultz, Heinrich Reck, Marita Böttcher................................................................... 71

Defragmentation approaches for existing transport networks

Efficient linkages in the landscape. An integrated approach to improve the reconnection of

habitat networks for invertebrate populations.

Reinhard Klenke, Rüdiger Jooss...................................................................................... 75

Fences and animal detection systems

How effective are wildlife fences in preventing collisions with wild ungulates?

Milla Niemi, Anne Martin, Ari Tanskanen, Petri Numm ...................................................... 79i

WEDNESDAY POSTER SESSION

Transport corridors as habitat

Roadside vegetation in Mediterranean wetlands: defragmentating or increasing

mortality of birds? Management implications

P. Vera, A. Remolar, C. García-Suikkanen, C. Hernández, E. Gielen, V. Benedito .............. 83

Case studies: mitigation and monitoring

Wetland creation and restoration near the Bothnia Line railroad – a pioneer project in

ecological compensation for northern migrant birds

Niklas Lindberg, Anders Enetjärn ................................................................................ 85

Trans European wildlife network

Migration corridors for large carnivores in the West Carpathians, Czech Republic –

current threats and conservation activities

Miroslav Kutal, Tomá# Kraj!a, Michal Bojda, Martin Jan!a .............................................. 87

Friday, 1 October

Plenary session III.

Ecology and Transportation: Trends and Challenges and Opportunities

Paul J. Wagner ............................................................................................................. 92


Green bridges and other structures for permeability of highways in Croatia: Case of

large carnivores

Djuro Huber, Josip Kusak .............................................................................................. 95

Index of authors.......................................................................................................... 100


5

Short papers

received by 2 September, 2010


Policy and planning

Transport sensitive areas in Europe: Identification and policy instruments

Lennart Folkesson, Anna Melin, Gunnar Lindberg

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

VTI (Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute), SE-581 95 Linköping, Sweden

Abstract

The project Assessing Sensitiveness to Transport (EU FP 6) aims at developing an approach to the

identification of transport sensitive areas (TSA) in Europe, and at analysing potential policy

instruments in order to strike a balance between transportation and the natural and cultural

values in such areas. Using a selection of criteria, indicators and thresholds, TSA:s all over Europe

have been identified, and a web-based GIS has been developed. Indicators include sensitive

ecosystems, cultural heritage, touristic value, connectivity index, ground-water pollution,

topography, etc. Sets of combinations of potential policy instruments, traffic regulations,

infrastructure investments, mitigation measures and public opinion have been tested in ten case-

study areas differing greatly in size, population density, traffic characteristics, environmental

pressure, political structure, data availability, etc. The areas comprise three metropolitan areas,

two mountainous regions, three other natural areas, one natural+urban area and a sea area (the

Mediterranean). The studies consider environmental pressure from noise, air pollution, traffic

accidents and infrastructure pertaining to road, rail, air and maritime transport. The approach of

TSA identification and analysis of policy packages is demonstrated using the Swedish case study

Omberg/Tåkern. This is a sparsely inhabited natural area with outstanding landscape values and

historical continuity. Since many of the indicators for the identification of TSA:s were found little

applicable to the Swedish case-study area, some alternative indicators have been proposed. A

special effort has been made to find a monetary value of the encroachment on the landscape

made by upgrading an existing road in this TSA vs. investing in new road infrastructure. The high

monetary value having been set for the encroachment in the Omberg/Tåkern case shows that

encroachment can be an important factor in Cost––Benefit Analysis concerning decision making

for infrastructure investments.

Introduction

This presentation will report some results of a European study on the sensitiveness of natural and

urban areas to transport. The study seeks to develop methods to assess the sensitiveness in

“transport-sensitive areas” (TSA) and to test various sets of policy measures to strike a balance

between environmental protection of sensitive areas and the provision of an efficient transport

system. A brief overview of the European project is given, followed by a presentation of some

results from the Swedish case study.

The concept of sensitive areas has been given much attention in European transport and nature-

conservation policies. However, there is a lack of politically or scientifically agreed definition of

TSA. Given the rapidly growing demand for an efficient European transport network, different

countries have applied different approaches to protect sensitive areas. Little study has been

devoted to comparison of the efficiency of different measures to balance the often conflicting

interests of transportation and nature conservation in TSAs.

The 6th

FP EU research project ASSET (Assessing Sensitiveness to Transport) has been devoted to

criteria for TSA and policy measures to balance transportation and environmental sustainability in

these areas. The aim of ASSET:

• develop a framework of definitions, criteria and valuation parameters for TSAs

• develop a methodology for the assessment of sensitiveness of TSAs

• map TSAs across the EU

• identify adequate policy instruments for the protection of TSAs and to analyse their

applicability on different kinds of TSAs

Policy and planning

6

• assess different policy packages using ten case studies comprising areas with widely varying

characteristics

Criteria for Transport-Sensitive Areas

One of the Work Packages focused on definitions, criteria and valuation of parameters for TSAs.

This WP identified why the environmental pressure is higher in certain areas (drivers), how the

drivers can be measured (indicators) and at what levels the indicators become critical (thresholds)

so as to define a TSA. Transport-Sensitive Area was given the definition “an area where the

presence of a transport route deteriorates the quality of the area clearly more than the presence

of the same transport route in another area because the local impacts caused are particularly

high”.

A system of criteria for sensitivity of areas was constructed, using the following indicators:

• population density

• sensitive ecosystems

• cultural heritage

• touristic and recreational value

• connectivity index

• tunnels

• groundwater pollution

• topography

• wind speed

• temperature

For each of these criteria, thresholds were set based on political decisions.

Another WP developed maps of transport-related sensitive areas in the EU so as to demonstrate

the spatial implication of transport impacts on sensitive areas. This WP resulted in an on-line GIS

application (http://dmugisweb.dmu.dk/ASSET_EU/). Policy packages

TSAs need “extraordinary” measures to prevent or mitigate negative impacts from reaching levels

which are not socially acceptable. This was the focus of another WP which analysed suitable policy

instruments and an optimal mix of instruments. Candidates for extraordinary measures were

identified:

• pricing policies and incentives (e.g. cordons, congestion charging, infrastructure tolls)

• taxation

• infrastructure provision, planning and design (e.g. improved infrastructure, Environmental

Impact Assessment, priority lanes)

• regulation (e.g. zone access controls, EU Directives, international regulations)

• information and public awareness

For each of four types of TSAs (see below), a list of policy packages was suggested. The WP

assessed the suitability of these packages of policies to combat each of the impacts

• noise

• air pollution

• infrastructure

• accidents

associated to each transport mode (road, rail, air, maritime).

Case-study areas

Selected measures from the policy packages were tested on ten case studies comprising sensitive

areas with greatly differing characteristics:

Mountainous areas

• Pyrenees (Spain, France)

• Alpine crossings (Austria, France, Italy, Switzerland)


7

Unique natural resources and cultural heritage

• Omberg/Tåkern (Sweden)

• Cuenca del Manzanares (Spain)

• Lipno (Czech Republic)

• Trans-Pennine Corridor (Great Britain)

Agglomerations

• Frankfurt Airport (Germany)

• Copenhagen (Denmark)

• Budapest (Hungary)

Marine

• The Mediterranean Sea

The Swedish case: Omberg/Tåkern

The Swedish case-study area, Omberg/Tåkern, was chosen because of the following features:

• sparsely inhabited area, c. 700 km2 with outstanding natural and cultural values

• landscape with long historical continuity

• many protected areas

• Lake Tåkern being on the Ramsar list

• much local debate prior to infrastructure investments

The area is mainly made up of the forested horst of Mountain Omberg, the Europe-famous bird

lake Tåkern and the surrounding flat agricultural/mixed-forest land with four small old towns. The

entire area bears evidence of historical continuity from the Stone age, via the prosperous Medieval

era (with Saint Bridget of Vadstena) until the present day. The area counts eleven Natura 2000

areas, ten areas classified as being of national interest for nature conservation and two areas

classified as being of national interest for recreation.

There has been a pressure for improvement to the national long-distance highway connection

which goes through the area. Any major improvement would bring about more or less severe

impacts comprising barrier effects, noise disturbance and encroachment on the landscape

including its natural and socio-cultural values. The Swedish Road Administration presented two

main alternatives for road improvement:

1. upgrade and widen the existing National Road 50 which is narrow and passes through the TSA

2. steer heavy-duty vehicles from National Road 50 to Country Road 32 (surpassing the TSA but

increasing the travel distance) which would be greatly upgraded

The criteria and indicators for TSA sensitivity suggested by ASSET were applied also to the

Swedish case study. Analysis suggested the following indicators to be relevant but the associated

threshold not:

• sensitive ecosystems (Natura 2000 yes but no UNESCO Biosphere Reserves)

• cultural heritage (rich but no UNESCO World Heritage Sites)

• touristic and recreational value (too few overnight stays in area)

• habitat connectivity (not known)

• groundwater pollution (no strict protection zones)

The following indicators were found not relevant:

• population density (very low)

• tunnels (none)

• topography (flat area)

• wind speed (low)

• temperature (no extremes)

Therefore, the following additional indicators were suggested:

• designated areas of national interest to i) nature conservation, ii) cultural environment, iii)

outdoor recreation

• public opinion: i) “letters to the editor”; ii) messages to the Road Administration

Policy and planning

8

The following ordinary policy measures were tested on the Omberg/Tåkern case:

• infrastructure planning and investment (SEA and EIA; improved infrastructure)

• road-pricing policies

Using HEATCO valuation methodology, the following “extra-ordinary” policy packages (PP) were

tested:

• PP1: improvement to the narrow National Road 50

• PP2: improvement to County Road 32

• PP3: as PP2 plus toll at Road 50 to direct heavy vehicles to Road 32

• PP4: as PP2 plus encroachment-based km tax at Road 50

Monetary evaluation was based on noise and air emissions, accidents, encroachment, transport

costs, travel time, road investments and road operation and maintenance. A special effort was

devoted to finding a value of encroachment. The approach chosen was a variant of Revealed

Preference, namely the political decision—the Road Administration chose the alternative of

upgrading Road 32 instead of upgrading the shorter Road 50, which would have been much less

expensive from a transport-economic point of view. The encroachment on the sensitive landscape

thus had a high economic implicit value. Based on “backward” calculation, this value was derived

as the value equalling the Benefit/Cost ratio of PP1 with that of PP4. The encroachment factor thus

explained the choice of the more expensive road-investment alternative which aimed to preserve

the outstanding values in the surroundings of Road 50. In this specific case, the encroachment

effect outweighed the total effect of all other environmental effects by a factor of about 100.

Lessons learned from ASSET

• Defining Transport-Sensitive Area is not straight-forward

• Scale matters: methods, indicators and thresholds used to define sensitive areas should be

differentiated according to size of the area. Types of data also vary accordingly

• The suitability of indicators varies greatly between TSAs. Some indicators are only applicable in

special cases. Indicators for accidents were most unsuitable

• The choice of indicators and thresholds is greatly dependent on national goals and

administrative conditions

• Many novel indicators were proposed, e.g. slope of roads, types of goods transported,

national/regional definitions of protected areas, release altitude of airplane emissions, public

opinion (letters-to-the-editor; formal complaints on infrastructure projects), statistical loss of

life expectancy, city-canyon geometry

• The assessment of thresholds was found to be problematic, especially when based in

percentiles

• Different policy measures can be effective in different types of sensitive areas

• Comparison of policy measures was not possible since the case studies were designed in

greatly different ways

• The British case study showed that environmental benefits of charging systems to limit traffic

in a sensitive area can be outweighed by environmental impact caused by large detours

• The Swedish case study revealed that in a sparsely inhabited area with little traffic and high

landscape values, encroachment can outweigh the other environmental effects (including CO2

and air pollution) by a factor of c. 100 as a result of traffic deviation

• Pricing policies are suitable to decrease traffic volume

• Focusing on impacts on humans, the HEATCO methodology underestimates negative impacts

of nature protection and recreation

• The possibility of developing methods of monetary valuation useful for the protection of

sensitive areas remains to be elaborated Organizations participating in ASSET

ISIS (I, co-ordinator), CDV (CZ), CEDEX (ES), ECOPLAN (CH), IER/USTUTT (DE), ITS/ULeeds

(GB), IWW/UNIKARL (DE), NERI (DK), TRANSMAN (HU), TRANSyT/UPM (ES), VTI (SE)

Information: http://www.asset-eu.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1


9


The effect of highways on native vegetation and reserve distribution in the state of São

Paulo, Brazil

Simone R. Freitas1

, Cláudia O. M. Sousa2

, Jean Paul Metzger2

1

Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), Rua Santa Adélia, 166, 09210-170, Santo André, SP,

Brazil, [email protected]

2

Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Ecologia, Rua do

Matão, 321, travessa 14, 05508-900, São Paulo, SP, Brazil, [email protected],

[email protected]

1. Introduction

Highways connect cities and facilitate transportation of products and services. They are a symbol

of development for people living in remote areas (Pfaff et al. 2007). However, highways also affect

air, soil, vegetation, wildlife (Forman et al. 2003). In tropical forest, the first effect of a highway

construction is the forest fragmentation (Freitas et al. 2010), which cause edge effect and

isolation of susceptible species populations (Murcia 1995; Develey and Stouffer 2001; Fuentes-

Montemayor et al. 2009; Laurance et al. 2009). Moreover, highways cause road kill, pollutants

emission and facilitate fire events (Forman et al. 2003; Fahrig and Rytwinski 2009; Laurance et al.

2009). Some species show an road avoidance behavior, which reduces functional connectivity

(McGregor et al. 2008; Fahrig and Rytwinski 2009), that is, the capacity of landscape to facilitate

biological flux (Taylor et al. 1993).

The extension of the highway effects depends on the considered biotic or abiotic factor (Forman

and Deblinger 1999). For instance, exotic plant species can reach up to 10 m from the road,

whereas traffic noise can affect birds a hundred of meters far away from the road (Reijnen et al.

1995; Forman and Deblinger 1999; Trombulak and Frissel 2000; Palomino and Carrascal 2007).

Roads near to forest fragments can affect their species richness and composition (Hansen and

Clevenger 2005; Palomino and Carrascal 2007; Fahrig and Rytwinski 2009; Laurance et al. 2009).

Understanding the relationship between highways and native vegetation would improve methods

to select priority areas for conservation and restoration and the effectivity of those new wildlife

nature reserves. This work aims to: 1) estimate areas which have been ecologically affected by

highways, in the whole state of São Paulo, for each type of vegetation, and in all nature reserves;

and, 2) investigate the influence of highway distance on the native vegetation cover and on the

reserve distribution.

2. Methodology

The study area was the State of São Paulo, in the southeastern of Brazil. In that State, there are

two biomes considered as biodiversity hotspots for conservation: Atlantic Forest and Cerrado

(Myers et al. 2000).

We used the state’s road map, produced by DER (2008) and classified by road types: non-paved

roads, paved roads with two lanes, highways (paved roads with four lanes) and expressways

(paved roads with at least four lanes and high traffic). We also used a native vegetation map with

the following vegetation types: Savanna and Semideciduous Seasonal Forest (both from Cerrado

biome), and Serra do Mar Coastal Forests, Araucaria Moist Forests, Mangroves and Atlantic Coast

Restingas (from Atlantic Forest biome).

We included only the nature reserves classified as Full Protection in the Brazilian Environmental

Legislation (SNUC) performing 62 nature reserves in the State of São Paulo.

We estimated the areas which have been ecologically affected by roads in the whole State of São

Paulo, in each type of vegetation and in the nature reserves following the methodology used by

Forman (2000). The area ecologically affected by roads was evaluate using the distance where the

sensible bird species are affected because they are negativelly affected by roads (Reijnen et al.

1995, Forman 2000, Develey e Stouffer 2001). Roads with high traffic flow were considered those

with the higher ecological effect, thus the buffer width varied according to road type (Forman

2000, Liu et al. 2008): non-paved roads have 200 m buffer width, paved roads 365 m, highways

810 m and expressways 1000 m.


10

The relationship between native vegetation and road distance was evaluated using 10 non-

inclusive buffers: 0-50 m, 50-100 m, 100-250 m, 250-500 m, 500-750 m, 750-1000 m, 1000-

1250 m, 1250-1500 m, 1500-1750 m, 1750-2000 m. In each buffer, we measured the total area

of native vegetation.

3. Result

Road density in the São Paulo State was 0.145 km/km2

. Paved roads were the most abundant

(0.070 km/km2

), followed by non-paved roads (0.060 km/km2

), highways (0.010 km/km2

) and

expressways (0.006 km/km2

).

More than 2,375,600 ha (10%) of the territory was affected ecologically by roads. The State of

São Paulo was most affected by paved roads (4.7%), followed by non-paved roads (2.2%),

highways (1.5%) and expressways (1.2%).

About 5.4% of the native vegetation cover were affected by roads. The Atlantic Forest biome has

about 5.3% of its cover affected by roads, whereas 5.9% of the Cerrado biome were affected by

them. Between the ecoregions (Olson et al. 2001), Serra do Mar coastal forests were the most

affected by roads (51%). However, in relation to its cover, mangroves have more of its cover

affected by roads (16%). About 55% of nature nature reserves were affected by roads. Five of

them showed more than 30% of their territory affected by roads.

There is more native vegetation cover as road distance increases (Figura 1). This relationship was

nearly logistic for expressways.

4. Discussion

The State of São Paulo has a lower road density (0.15 km/km2

) than that considered as maximum

for sustain populations of big predators (0.60 km/km2

; Forman and Alexander 1998). However,

those roads affect the distribution of native vegetation and threat the efficiency of nature

reserves. Near roads could cause a significant increase of mortality rates for many wildlife

populations, even overcoming hunting (Forman and Alexander 1998).

Almost 10% of State of São Paulo is ecologically affected by roads. Forman (2000) found a double

proportion (about 20%) to United States of America. However, the State of São Paulo has a very

lower road density than USA (0.41 km/km2

; Forman 2000), indicating that more native vegetation

is under threat of roads in our study area. Even many states of USA have higher road densities

than State of São Paulo (0.15 km/km2

): Misouri (1.89 km/km2

), Arkansas (1.23km/km2

) and

Oklahoma (1.18 km/km2

;

La Rue and Nielsen 2008).

Laurance et al. (2009) state that non-paved roads represent a lower impact on vegetation and

wildlife in tropical forests than paved roads because they usually are inaccessible during raining

season (summer). However, our study showed that non-paved and paved roads affect more than

highways and expressways because they are more abundant and spread all over the territory,

showing higher densities (0.06 km/km2

and 0.07 km/km2

respectivelly) than highways (0.01

km/km2

) and expressways (0.01 km/km2

).

As expected, the dominant vegetation type - Serra do Mar Coastal Forests - was the most affected

by roads. Serra do Mar Coastal Forests is distributed along coastline as well as many of road

network in Brazil, representing one of the most important connection axis for national

transportation (north-south). However, in proportion mangroves are highly affected by roads for

the same reason.

Half of natural reserves is affected by roads. Five of them have more than 30% and three of them

have more than 60% of their territory affected by roads, which represents a threat for their

biodiversity. Roads facilitate hunter access and increase the probability of collision by vehicles

(Laurance et al. 2009). Nature reserves near roads are probably under more conflicts with human

population and more vulnerable to environmental degradation.

There is more native vegetation as far as the road is. Roads act as atractor to land use and

deforestation (Nagendra et al. 2003; Freitas et al. 2010). For instance, in the Amazon Forest,

about 95% of deforestation occurred at most 50 km far from roads (Laurance et al. 2009).

Expressways are not too densely distributed as other road types, however they show a nearly

logistic relationship to native vegetation cover indicating a strong negative effect to the nearby

native vegetation. Thus, road distance could be used as indicator to predict the distribution of

native vegetation in the future. We suggest that in order to improve conservation and restoration

strategies, the effect of highways should be carefully considered, prioritizing remote areas.


11

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EIA and SEA

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landscape structure. Oikos, 68: 571-573.

• Trombulak, S.C. and Frissell, C.A., 2000. Review of ecological effects of roads on terrestrial

and aquatic communities. Conservation Biology,14: 18-30.

EIA and SEA

New roads versus landscapes

Eva Kaczmarczyk

MSc Eng, The Centre for EU Transport Projects, Bonifraterska 17 st. Warsaw, Poland,

[email protected]

Roads aesthetics are linked with its surrounding landscape and

roadside greenery. Nowadays roads are continuously becoming

a more common part of local landscapes. Simultaneously,

because of their width and length some consider them artificial

barriers that divide the environment, the ecosystem, humans,

animal habitats, but also the continuity of landscapes. This

paper will therfore focuses on ecological connections from both

visual and aesthetical points of view.

Firstly, we must remember that roads are both essential and a

necessity, especially in a country with underdeveloped transport

infrastructure. Complications are likely to occur when a country

with a rich environment and a beautiful cultural landscape lacks

roads and or infrastructure. In this case (apart from necessity of proper EIA procedure) an

individual approach to landscape and protection of its continuity and values should be applied.

Secondly, the issues of landscape protection and construction of roads might seem to be

conflicting of one another. Therefore many questions arise: should visual aspects of a landscape

affect the decision on either the construction or the location of projects? Should every kind of a

cultural or picturesque landscape be protected? How do you balance the environmental needs and

the aesthetic feelings of road users?

During the research, a detailed study on environmental impact assessment reports (EIA report) of

big transport infrastructural projects (such as national roads, highways etc.) was conducted.

Several people were interviewed about various aspects of landscape protection in designing roads,

among them people who work with EIA procedures, road engineers, and members of non-

governmental organizations.

The outcome was difficoult to predict. It is apparent that in the past roads were constructed with

care of the continuity of landscapes while also reflecting natural patterns. According to the

research, in the future the procedural aspect of constructing roads will be similar to that of past

achievements in this area. However roads constructed in recent years lack that approach.

Due to the insufficiency of roads and their poor condition, an increase in transport infrastructure

has been observed. Impact of roads on environment is precisely assessed and proper mitigation or

compensation measures are implemented, while the issue of landscape protection should be

enhanced. As seen in many EIA reports, different types of landscape have only been described

and historic buildings or objects of local culture located in vicinity have been listed. In case of road

modernization (often connected with their widening) it is assumed in advance that the road is

already composed in the local landscape because of its long existence and no further steps of

improving its aesthetics are undertaken.

As mentioned above, the study of EIA reports, as well as the field research of newly constructed

roads show that there is a growing number of attempts in protecting the continuity of landscape.

Some of the examples concern only particular road-sections, as listed below:

Lubien ringroad – example of a design of the roadside built from stone material characteristic for

the area,

Road section Barczewo-Kromerowo – example of a road with embankments on both sides instead

of acoustic screens.


13

The construction of the express way S-1 from Kosztowy to Bielsko Bia!a [1] is an excellent

example in which landscape is an important element of location analyses while designing a road.

The express way runs through varied landscape units: forest, agricultural, water, suburban and

urban, protected wildlife areas, Natura 2000 sites, as well as near places of valuable cultural

heritage. All landscape types were described, and all landscape openings and viewing openings

were indentified. The basis for multi-criteria location analysis was the detailed study of the area,

while its aim involved choosing the option with the smallest negative impact on the Auchwitz-

Birkenau Memorial and Museum, a cultural and historical area protected by UNESCO. The analysis

leading to choosing the best location option are still ongoing.

Also, the function of the studied area is important in assessing the impact of the road on the

landscape, as the landscape’s characteristics creates more or less favorable conditions for the

specific functions such as a place of living, working or leisure activities [2]. The Augustow ringroad

is an example of detailed analysis of its influence on surrounding landscape and its functions.

The Augustow ringroad [3] will run through many types of landscape, including cultural ones

(historical field and village layouts, historical forests, long panoramic views and viewing points,

historic buildings and castles) and environmental ones (the pristine forest “Puszcza Augustowska”,

system of lakes and rivers, Rospuda valley, Natura 2000 sites). Four route options were analised

during. Each of the analised location options has several additional alternatives, within which the

most controversial one passing through the Rospuda valley. For each option the landscape

resources were described, landscape evaluation was performed and possible impact of the planned

road were identified.

The next step was to determine the visibility zone by means of IT technologies and professional

visualizations. Then the potential recipients of those influences (local inhabitants and various

tourists groups) were identified. For example, for the road sections located close to Rospuda river,

the following parameters were taken into account: average water level in summer during last the

10 years, height of the reeds as well as the level of vision of tourist sitting in kayak.

For other road alternatives a simplified computer visualization was prepared, showing

schematically the directions of the route in a particular area, the extent of occupied area, and

location of viaducts. Ranges of visibility zones were estimated on the basis of the field research

and study of topographic maps and orthophotomaps.

Multi-stage assessment of the impact of the planned road investment on the landscape covered:

Data collection (archival data from various agencies and institutions, literature studies, own

materials etc.) and specification of political and planning conditions.

Project description in terms of impact on the landscape (for each variant) - visual and non-visual

characteristics effecting the landscape’s perception.

Field studies conducted within visual distance of the planned routes.

Detailed description of the landscape (for each variant) on the basis of the JARK

method and specification of a rank for each landscape unit (uniqueness, rarity of appearance,

distinctive character, is it representative for a certain landscape type, natural character, diversity,

size of the landscape unit). Due to the diversity of forms of the cultural landscapes on research

area, 158 landscape-architectural units were identified.

Computer visualization of three bridge alternatives crossing the peatbog Rospuda Valley

Threat identification, valorization of road impacts on landscapes for each alternative and

determination of landscape’s sensitivity.

Identification of appropriate mitigation measures (for each variant).

1

“Expressway S1, section Kosztowy – Bielsko Biala – “Landscape and protection study for the

expressway S1 in the area of Auschwitz Birkenau”, Tebodin SAP – project, 2007

2

J. Bogdanowski, Maintenance and protection of cultural landscape. Teki Krakowskie VI, Regional

Center of Studies and Protection of Cultural Environment in Krakow, Krakow 1998, p.10.

3

“Environmental Impact Assessment Report, attachement no. VIII – Assessement of impact on

the landscape”, DVV POLSKA, 2008

EIA and SEA

14

Comparative analysis of the variants in terms of the impact on the landscape and identification of

the option which affects the environment the least.

According to the above analyses following recommendations were formed:

To adjust the construction schedule to the cycle in nature in order to minimize environmental

losses.

If possible, to adjust road’s level to ground level on hilly areas.

Reclamation of the land after construction phase.

The trees and shrubs species that are to be planted along the planned road have to have specific

parameters such as: resistance to air pollution, frost, adjusted to local soil and water conditions

and local habitat.

In vicinity of towns – to cover the road with embankments and shrubs or with group of trees.

To design panoramic views in certain places of special scenery (maintenance of existing visual

links and to create new ones on the basis of studies of the existing landscape at a later stage of

design).

To design the proper shape (adjusted to the local landscape) of slopes of viaducts and to cover it

with greenery in order to mask the viaduct from the outside on a flat open space.

If possible - to use embankments with greenery instead of acoustic screens.

To adjust the acoustic screens to the surroundings, i.e. in natural colors (shades of green and

brown), unique character, if possible – design screens in a form of “green wall”.

The abovementioned mitigation measures relate to direct effects of the planned highway, which

are possible to assess. Nevertheless there are also indirect effects which might lead to physical,

chemical or biological changes in the environment and might appear with a delay with

unpredictable strength. Indirect impacts (caused by works such as drainage) might occur in water

environment which may manifest immediately or at a later time. One of the highway’s alternative

was to construct a tunnel under the Rospuda valley. This variant was not recommended because

of the possibility of the abovementioned indirect effects.

Landscape architecture must take into account both visible forms of shaping and coverage and not

always discernible relationship between the elements of environment. The changes in environment

which have not been analysed might bring irreparable damage for people and ecology [4]. The

indirect effects are dangerous due to their unpredictability, therefore from all possible solutions

the one which minimizes uncertainty should be preferred[5].

Another example is construction of the A1 highway, section Torun-Strykow [6]. According to EIA

report of the A1 highway, the landscape was assessed and characterized on the basis of field

research and analyses of photographs and orthophotomaps. What researchers took into

consideration was the area along the planned highway about 1 km wide. This area was

characterized and divided into different units with similar characteristics. The following types of

landscape were identified: agricultural, forest, agricultural and forest, meadow-natural and

cultural. However, the majority of the planned road runs through forest and agricultural

landscape, which are characterized by numerous landscape interiors surrounded by groups of

forests, tree groups, and green-belts.

The influence of the planned project on the landscape was assessed on the basis of filed research

and analyses of visibility zones of the planned road from nearby areas, as well as on the basis of

the previously constructed similar roads in similar landscape units. It was assumed that the

4

J. Bogdanowski, “Maintenance and protection of cultural landscape (evolution method)”. Teki

Krakowskie VI, Regional Center of Studies and Cultural Environment in Krakow, Krakow 1998

5

J. "elazi#ski, “Uncertainty of environmental impact assessments”, Assessment of Environmental

Problems 4(3) 1998. Gda#sk: Design Office - ECO-Consulting 1998

6

Environmental impact assesement report: Construction of Highway A1, section from the order of

voivodoship kujawsko-pomorskie – to Stryków (230+817 cm – 295+850 cm) – phase II”, Arcadis

Profil, Mosty Katowice, Transprojekt Warszawa, DHV Polska


15

elements, which can be composed in the surrounding landscape, have insignificant influence on

the local landscape.

As an outcome of the EIA study, recommendations were concluded for every road section,

depending on the landscape unit. Slopes of the road sections, (designed on high embankments)

running through forest-agricultural landscape, should be covered with shrubs (after some years

the road will not be visible from its surroundings).

Other sections of the road are located in agricultural landscape, which are characterized by linear

fields layout with tree belts along existing roads, open panoramic views, green belts and green

accompanying households. These sections are designed on the ground level and are composed in

agricultural scenery. The most noticeable elements are overpasses and bridges with driveways.

Thus it is important to use colors which will be composed with the surroundings. Along both sides

of the planned road lines of trees were designed in order to preserve the cultural agricultural

landscape (Tilia cordata tree will be planted as a typical species for local environment). These lines

of trees are to resemble old pathways.

The assessment of the road’s impact on the landscape should be based on the achievements of

landscape architecture, that is on conscious, rational, and aesthetic forming of the human’s

surroundings in landscape scale[7]. In each of the abovementioned projects, it was first assumed

that regardless of the variants, each one will have a strong impact on the surrounding landscape

and then different types of landscape were identified and described. All mitigation measures of the

road’s impact on surroundings were adjusted to the local pattern and environmental conditions.

The mitigating measures were undertaken in the road’s design (such as road level, type of

acoustic screen) and in the design of nearby areas (the green design, creation of panoramic

views).

Landscape should be an important element of analysis while designing the transport

infrastructure. These issues are and will be the subject of further research.

Identification and comparison of road and railway projects effects on natural habitats

A. Ginot, F. Mallard, D. François, A. Jullien

Division for Sustainable Approaches in Civil Engineering, Laboratoire Central des Ponts et

Chaussées, France

1. INTRODUCTION

For twenty years, transport networks have been widely developed and now serve most territories

with a high concentration of activities and population. Since 1980, financings have given priority

to high-speed infrastructures. Today the spotlight seems to focused on rail transport in view of the

fact that this transport is independent from fossil energy for trip and emits the least greenhouse

gas emissions. This approach of transport, considering only impacts directly connected to traffics,

does not allow to objectively estimate the environmental consequences of transport systems.

Indeed, several authors assert that monocriteria methods are insufficient to decide on strategic

choices in sustainable transport (Bouwman and Moll, 2002; Chester and Horvath, 2009; Federici

et al., 2008; Spielmann and Scholz, 2004; Svensson and Eklund, 2007). The results of their

studies have shown that the consideration of infrastructure in environmental analysis of transport

is essential. Such assessment requires a macroscopic approach of life-cycle-analysis type,

currently developing under the generic name of eco-comparators. A significant gap limits the

effectiveness of environmental assessment tools for infrastructure projects, it is the lack of

consideration for local environmental impacts of changes on crossed territories. A research was

undertaken at the National Road Research Laboratory (LCPC) about railways and roads, with the

aim of developing a quantitative evaluation method of effects on the natural habitat (François et

al., 2010).

2. METHOD

Natural habitats constitute territorial entities susceptible to react to the changes due to transport

infrastructures. The observed effects on natural habitat are often complex and result from a

combination of disturbances. To develop the method of assessment, all the disturbances

7

J. Bogdanowski, “Maintenance and protection of cultural landscape (evolution of the method)”.

Teki Krakowskie VI, Regional Center of Studies and Cultural Environment in Krakow, Krakow 1998

EIA and SEA

16

susceptible to be brought by infrastructure projects to the crossed habitats must be listed. This

work is realized by distinguishing: the three stages of the transport infrastructure life

(construction, exploitation, maintenance), the activities exercised during these phases (such as

earthworks) and the sources of disturbances connected to the activities. Every source leads to

modifications of local environment conditions. From these modifications, the short-term effects

and long-term effects are identified for 7 targets (microclimate, superficial waters, ground waters,

ground, flora, ground fauna, terrestrial fauna). The effects are quantified by the consideration of

the spatial dimension (damage extent in the ecosystem), of the temporal dimension (short-term,

long-term, reversible or irreversible) and of the degree of likelihood of the effects achievement.

Every effect is expressed by an index named An+1 varying between 0 and 1. This method

foregrounds the effects on natural habitats produced by railway and road projects, and organizes

these effects in a hierarchy.

Natural habitats are classified per unit of physiognomic relationship of vegetation grouping

(forests, wetlands and banks, fields, crops and hedgerow, meadows and lawns). Natural habitats

analyzed in this study correspond to a closed environment (forests) and an open environment

(meadows and lawns).

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The insertion of railway in territories would cause more effects (in quantity) than the insertion of

road. Indeed, 857 effects were listed for railway against 807 for road among which approximately

78 % and 63 % respectively have an An+1 strictly positive for insertion in forests and for insertion

in meadows and lawns, whatever the infrastructure studied.

The effects with An+1$0.5 lead to dysfunctions of ecosystem. These effects represent less than 10

% of the total effects.

The construction stage causes most of effects on natural habitat: 10 important modifications

(An+1$0,5) is referenced during this stage for the insertion of railway or road in forests (figure1a

and 1b); 8 and 9 important modifications are respectively listed for railway insertion and for road

insertion in meadows or lawns (figure 1c and 1d). The ninth road modification is due to the

thermal barrier created by the solar radiation absorption by the roadway.

a) Forests vs Rail

b) Forests vs Road


17

c) Meadows and lawns vs Rail

d) Meadows and lawns vs Road

Figure 1: Radar of effects of railway and road insertion in forests (a, b) and in meadows or

lawns (c, d)

The road exploitation produces more effects with An+1$0,5 than the road infrastructure

maintenance (figure 1b et 1d). For railway, the infrastructure maintenance seems to have more

environmental cost than its exploitation (Figure 1a and 1c). This difference can be explained by

the specificity of infrastructures. The figure 2 presents major effects leading to important

dysfunctions of ecosystems (An+1$0.9) and highlights the specificity of modifications generated

by infrastructures. The car and truck traffic causes 3 major modifications of initial conditions

whatever the natural habitat (vehicle in motion; vehicle light at night; hydrocarbon leak and tire

wear), whereas the road maintenance produces two in meadows and lawns (use of herbicides; use

of growth inhibitors) and 3 in forests (use of herbicides; use of growth inhibitors; use of salt)

(Figure 2). The train traffic leads to 2 major modifications of initial conditions of natural habitat

(vehicle in motion; hydrocarbons leak from diesel train), while the railway infrastructure

maintenance leads to 4 (use of herbicides; use of growth inhibitors; emissions of fine metal

particles from rail grinding; pollutant emissions from railway renewal) (figure 2).

Figure 2: Major effects distribution (An+1$0,9) produced by railway and road insertion in

forests, meadows and lawns

EIA and SEA

18

Between the road projects and the railway projects, most changes appear to be of the same

nature, but they can be of different degrees. For example, construction stage presents the same

modifications and the same effects but with different degrees of impact according to its extent.

Hence, an example of contrasted degree of change between road projects (motorway) and railway

projects (high-speed railways – LGV in French) is the one inferred by the geometrical constraints

of both types of infrastructures. The minimal radius of plan curvature for LGV is 6.6 km, against

0.4 km for motorways. This reduces the possibilities of passing round natural environments to be

protected. In addition, the maximal passable slope by a LGV is 3.5 %, against 6 % for highways.

These two values determine the capacity of the infrastructure to avoid an obstacle.

The geometrical constraints of high-speed railways infrastructures impose more important

topographic adaptations, thus more earthworks and\or clearing works (viaducts, tunnels). Deeper

cuts and higher fills will result in more voluminous and wider infrastructure territories (figure 3).

Their effects on the local hydrology will be more important, thus potentially more marked on the

local natural habitats.

Cuts and fills passages are more consumer of space than flat passage and thus lead to a more

important loss of natural habitats (figure 3). In flat topographic situation, the width of high-speed

railway land is less wide than highway land. Nevertheless, in uneven situation, the width of the

railway land increases considerably and becomes more important than highway land because of

cut and fill bank. So, by sticking with difficulty to the local topography, high-speed railway

infrastructures lead to an important loss of natural habitats.

Figure 3: Railway land and motorway land in ha / km according to the height of cuts and fills

necessary for the infrastructure insertion in a territory

4. CONCLUSION AND PERSPECTIVES

The terrestrial transport infrastructure plan modifies inevitably the territory by adding to it a new

relation in time and in the space. According to the way of transporting, infrastructures stick

differently to the relief because of vertical alignment and of maximal slopes to be respected. These

differences of geometrical constraints appear as being one of the main elements at the origin of

differences between rail transport and road transport during the construction stage. The future

work will focus on the diverse solutions of crossing of natural obstacles by realizing a global

environmental assessment of these technical solutions and a local environmental assessment of

effects on natural habitats. The local environmental assessment requires the development of

indicators allowing the quantification of effects. In this perspective, the most significant effects on

natural habitats will used for formalize quantifiable indicators, integrating vulnerability, scarcity

and the dimensions of the caused effects.


19

REFERENCES

• Bouwman M. E., Moll H. C., 2002. Environmental analyses of land transportation systems in

The Netherlands, Transportation Research D, 7, pp. 331-345.

• Chester M. and Horvath A., 2009. Environmental assessment of passenger transportation

should include infrastructure and supply chains, Environmental Research Letters 4, 8pp.

• Federici M., Ulgiati S., Basosi R., 2008. A thermodynamique, environmental and material flow

analysis of the Italian highway and railway transport systems, Energy, 33, pp.760-775.

• François D., Ginot A., Hennique S., Jullien A., 2010. Fondements d’une méthode d’évaluation

des effets des infrastructures de transport terrestre sur les milieux naturels, Revue Générale

des Routes et des Aérodromes, 882, pp. 28-31.

• François D., Hennique S., Mallard F., Jullien A., 2009. Evaluation globale des impacts des

routes dans leur territoire par la méthode des modules routiers, Rapport final, Convention 07-

DST-009, DRAST, 16 p.

• Spielmann M., Scholz R. W., 2004. Life-cycle inventories of transport services: background

data for freight transport, journal of life cycle assessment, Resources, Conservation and

recycling, 52, pp. 248-265.

• Svensson N., Eklund M., 2007. Screening of environmental pressure from products in the

Swedish railway infrastructure: Implications for strategic environmental management,

Resources, Conservation & Recycling ,52, pp.248-265.


Vegetion structure on overpasses is critical in overcoming the road barrier effect for

small birds

Darryl Jones

Environmental Futures Centre, Griffith University, Nathan QLD 4111,

Australia,[email protected]

Introduction

Research into the impacts and influences of roads, road networks and traffic on biodiversity has

been overwhelmingly dominated by studies focused on mammals, both large and small. Not

surprisingly, concerns about road safety were associated with large mammals while smaller

species, being far more susceptible to the effects of fragmentation, tend to have been studied for

conservation reasons (Glista et al. 2009). For similar reasons, considerable attention has also

been directly toward amphibian and reptile species which are especially vulnerable to the direct

impacts of roads when attempting to cross (Corlatti et al. 2009).

To address these issues, a wide variety of purpose-designed crossing structures have been

installed throughout the world, again with mammals predominating as the taxa of main concern.

In general, it can be generalized that most underpasses are designed for small mammals while the

majority of fauna overpasses are associated with allowing large species – primarily ungulates and

certain predators – to move safely over roads (Mata et al. 2008).

Perhaps because of their ability to fly, birds have largely been ignored by road ecologists. The

largely unstated assumption appears to be that birds, being able to fly over the road, are

unaffected by the same impacts and influences as other taxa. Some important recent studies,

however, have shown that birds are the taxa most frequently killed by collisions (Benítez-López et

al. 2010), and that species differed greatly in their likelihood of crossing roads, with the width of

the gap being of critical importance (Tremblay & St. Clair 2009). For many smaller, forest-dwelling

species, even narrow roads represented a complete barrier (Laurance et al. 2004)

Fauna overpasses – or ‘wildlife bridges’, ‘land-bridges’ or ‘green bridges’ – are the largest and

potentially the most complete style of crossing structures as they may provide the most integrated

and seamless transition between the habitats on either side of the road being traversed. Indeed, a

well-designed, fully vegetated ‘green bridge’ once mature can offer a movement corridor of

continuous habitat for animals attempting to cross the road (Jones et al. 2010). Despite the

apparently obvious benefits such overpasses would offer to birds, remarkably little attention has


20

been paid to this taxa (cf. Keller et al. 1996), with most work again focused on mammals (see

Bond & Jones 2008, Corlatti et al. 2009).

Overpasses are, however, are also by far the most expensive of all crossing structures as well as

providing the most challenges in terms of installation and management. As a result, many road

authorities have been reluctant to consider these structures in the absence of reliable information

on their success or otherwise. This is not the case in Europe, however, where over 200 fauna built

overpasses have been constructed, frequently with a range of innovative features and some of

enormous scale (Carlatti et al. 2009). Although some of these structures have apparently been

carefully monitored, unfortunately information on fauna use is often difficult to access from

outside the country and sometimes even the specific region. In part, the present presentation

represents a plea for more international collaboration among researchers monitoring fauna

overpasses and for enhanced exchange of data and information that will be mutual benefit to all

participants.

In this paper I summarise results from two years of observational monitoring of a fully vegetated

fauna land-bridge located in subtropical coastal Australia, near the rapidly expanding city of

Brisbane. This structure, which spans a four-lane arterial road and allows a wide range of fauna to

cross between the forest reserves on either side (Veage & Jones 2007), is one of only four

overpasses so far erected in Australia. It is also the most carefully monitored, with studies since

2004 demonstrating regular crossings by a variety of larger mammals (wallabies, kangaroos and

marsupial gliders) as well as the establishment of more than 12 species of amphibian and reptile

(Veage & Jones 2007, Bond & Jones 2008). Birds, however, were overlooked until 2008 when

numerous small species were noted in the rapidly developing plantings. A preliminary study (Jones

& Bond 2010) reported unexpectedly large numbers of birds, including several known to be

disturbance-sensitive ‘interior’ species, detected within the vegetation. Here I provide an up-date

on this work and seek to address the issue of which species are most likely to benefit from

recreated forest-like structure.

Methods

The Compton Road Land-bridge (27° 36’ 53.11” S, 153° 05’ 03.12” E) is one component of the

Compton Road Fauna Array which also includes two large purpose-designed underpasses, three

road bridges and a suite of glider poles designed for use by gliding marsupials (Veage & Jones

2007). The array is located within 1.3 km of the four-lane Compton Road and allows safe

movement of fauna from the forested reserves either side of the road. The road is fully enclosed in

complete exclusion fencing.

The overpass is hour-glass in shape and 70m long, has a base width of 20m and is 15m wide at

the mid-point. The height of the surface of the structure is 8m with a 5.4m clearance within both

tunnels. The surface of the structure was covered in 30c to 1.3m of soil topped with hydromulch

and planted at a density of 70 shrubs and 6 trees per 100m2

. A detailed survey (Jones et al. 2010)

of the recreated vegetation conducted four years later detected 45 species, most of which had

been planted and most of the remainder self-propagated. The structure of the vegetation closely

resembled that of the dense understory of the surrounding forest and was remarkably similar to

the species richness (Jones et al. 2010).

Birds were surveyed weekly (from March 2008 until April 2010) by observing birds crossing the

road away from the overpass (four 80 x 10m transects perpendicular to the road) and those using

the overpass (four 20 x 10m transects positioned across the structure parallel to the road). All

birds detected lower that canopy height were counted and identified during 5 min observation

sessions. For those detected using the overpass, a distinction was made between birds observed

within the vegetation and those flying above the vegetation. In this presentation, mean numbers

are presented and have been compared by ANOVA. Qualitative comparisons are also made with

month transect surveys undertaken between May 2005 and April 2010 in the forested reserves on

either side of the road.

Results

A total of 18 species of bird were detected flying across the road independent of the overpass

during the study. Although these species varied in size from the Pacific black duck Anas

supercilliosa (1010g) to the welcome swallow Hirundo neoxena (15g), a clear majority of these

birds were larger species with the median weight of 115g being similar to the most abundant

species detected, the rainbow lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus. This species comprised fully


21

38.2% of all birds recorded; combined with the Torresian crow Corvus orru, these two species

made up almost 70% of all birds crossing the road away from the overpass.

In contrast, a total of 30 species were detected crossing the road within the foliage on the

overpass; another seven species were detected on the surface or structures of the overpass while

a further four species were recorded flying directly above the vegetation. The five most abundant

of the foliage-associated species – all smaller insectivores – comprised 57.6% of the total with the

most common species, the silvereye Zosterops laeralis (18.9%) weighing only 10g. Indeed, the

median weight of these birds was 15g, equivalent to the second most abundant species, the

yellow-faced honeyeater Lichenostomus chrysops (13.7%). The 30 species detected within the

overpass vegetation represented 42.2% of the 71 species recorded from the forest reserves on

either side of the road.

A mean of 1.43+0.69SE birds per transect were detected crossing the road away from the

overpass compared to 1.82+2.48 birds detected per transect within the overpass foliage; these

means were not significantly different. However, if all birds recorded using the overpass were

included (foliage, surface and above), the resulting mean (3.06+0.18 birds per transect) was

significantly (F = 12.20, df = 3, 184, p<0.001) higher than the mean per transect recorded

crossing the road away from the overpass.

Discussion

As with most fauna overpasses, the Compton Road Land-bridge was designed and constructed

primarily for the passage of large mammals between the forested reserves on either side of the

road while directing them away from the traffic. To facilitate this aim, the structure was planted

with abundant vegetation eventually to provide a natural and seamless extension of the

surrounding habitat (Jones et al. 2010). However, as movements by the main species of concern

(wallabies and kangaroos) would be impeded by full coverage of dense understorey,

approximately 30% of the surface area of the structure was left open and planted only with

grasses (Jones et al. 2010).

Although some birds – mainly corvids, ducks and predatory species - were observed on the

overpasses soon after construction, the first sightings of smaller species coincided with the

development of a dense and mainly continuous expanse of mainly local native species of planted

shrubs and tree saplings (D. Jones unpublished data). This relationship between the presence of a

extensive belt of dense sheltering vegetation and the movement of smaller species of passerine

birds was first suspected after about three years development of the vegetation when the

structure of the rapidly growing shrubs and smaller trees resembled a typical early successional

stage of the local subtropical eucalyptus forests of the region (Jones et al. 2010). These

opportunistic observations lead to the first exploratory studies (see Jones & Bond 2010) and the

on-going research reported here.

Although road ecologists have only recently turned their attention to birds, it has become obvious

that roads present highly variable levels of permeability, from little or no hindrance to that of a

complete barrier (St. Clair 2003). The species least likely to fly across a typical road are primarily

forest-dwelling songbirds (Tremblay & St. Clair 2009), although many exceptions exist within

guilds (see Laurance et al. 2004). Significantly, several studies have discerned critical gap-width

thresholds beyond which a majority of birds will not fly with 45m being defining. As this distance is

narrower than many roads, the barrier implications of roads in excess of two lanes may be critical

for large numbers of smaller bird species.

In the present study, on average 1-2 birds were observed flying over the busy four-lane road each

five minute observation session, crossing a forest-to-forest distance of about 80m. However,

virtually all of these species were relatively large in size (median 115g): small passerines

accounted for less than 5% of all crossings detected away from the overpass. In direct and

obvious contrast, virtually all of the species detected crossing the road within the foliage on the

overpass were small (median 15g). Also of interest was the discovery of relatively large numbers

of birds crossing the road above the overpass, rather than within the foliage. Most of these species

were again the larger species.

The unexpectedly positive results of this modest study suggest that the barrier and filter effects of

many roads may be successfully reversed through the use of carefully vegetated overpasses.

Perhaps more importantly, these results strongly suggest that many of the large number of fauna

overpasses could be converted into safe passages over roads for a much larger proportion of the

local biodiversity than has often been previously considered.


22

Acknowledgments

This work has benefited greatly from the efforts of Jonny Pickvance in the field and the financial

and logistical support of the Brisbane City Council.

References

• Benítez-López A., Alkemade R & Verwijt P. A. (2010) The impacts of roads and other

infrastructure on mammal and bird populations: a meta-analysis. Biological Conservation 143,

1303-1316.

• Bond A. R. & Jones D. N. (2008) Temporal trends in use of fauna-friendly underpasses and

overpasses. Wildlife Research 35, 103-112.

• Corlatti L., Hackländer K. & Frey-Roos F. (2008) Ability of wildlife overpasses to provide

connectivity and prevent genetic isolation. Conservation Biology 23, 548-556.

• Glista D. J., DeVault T. L. & DeWoody J. A. (2008) A review of mitigation measures for

reducing wildlife mortality on roadways. Landscape and Urban Planning 91, 1-7.

• Jones, D.N. & Bond, A.R.F (2010). Road barrier effect on small birds removed by vegetated

overpass in South East Queensland. Ecological Restoration & Management 11: 56-67.

• Jones, D.N. Bakker, M., Bichet, O. Coutts, R. & Wearing, T. (2010). Restoring habitat

connectivity above ground: Vegetation establishment on a fauna land-bridge in south-east

Queensland. Ecological Restoration & Management

• Keller, V., Bauer, H., Ley, H. & Pfister, H. (1996). Bedeutung von Grünbrücken uber Autobahn

für Vögel. Der Orithologische Beobachter 93, 249-258.

• Laurance, S.G., Stouffer, P.C. & Laurance, W.F. (2004). Effects of road clearings on movement

patterns of understorey rainforest birds in Central Amazonia. Conservation Biology 17, 1099-

1109.

• Mata, C., Hervás, I., Herranz, J. Suárez. F. & Malo, J.E. (2008). Are motorway wildlife

passages worth building? Vertebrate use of road-crossing structures on a Spanish motorway.

Journal of Environmental Management 88, 407-415.

• Tremblay M. A. & St. Clair C. C. (2009) Factors affecting the permeability of transportation and

riparian corridors to the movements of songbirds in an urban landscape. Journal of Applied

Ecology 46, 1314-1322.

• St. Clair, C.C. (2003). Comparative permeability of roads, rivers and meadows to songbirds in

Banff National Park. Conservation Biology 17, 1151-1160.

• Veage, L-A. & Jones. (2007). Breaking the Barrier: Assessing the Value of Fauna-friendly

Crossing Structures at Compton Road. Report to Brisbane City Council, Environment and

Sustainability, pp. 112.


Monitoring landscape fragmentation in Europe: How well can socio-economic variables

explain the differences between regions?

Jochen A.G. Jaeger1

, Luis F. Madriñán1

, Tomas Soukup2

, Christian Schwick3

, Hans-Georg Schwarz-

von Raumer4

, Felix Kienast5

1

Concordia University Montréal, Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, 1455 de

Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Suite H1255, Montréal, Québec, Canada H3G 1M8, Tel.: (+1) 514 -

848-2424 ext. 5481, [email protected], [email protected];

2

GISAT, Prague, Czech Republic, as member of the European Topic Center of Land Use and

Spatial Information (ETC-LUSI) of the European Environment Agency (EEA), Copenhagen,

[email protected];

3

Die Geographen schwick+spichtig, Zurich, Switzerland, [email protected];

4

University of Stuttgart, Germany, [email protected];

5

Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf & ETH Zurich, Switzerland,

[email protected].


23

Keywords: driving forces, effective mesh density, limits to landscape change, monitoring systems,

population density, road networks, transportation infrastructure

Landscape fragmentation caused by transportation infrastructure has a number of detrimental

effects such as reduction in size and persistence of wildlife populations, changes of local climate,

and increases in pollution and noise from traffic. Therefore, data on the degree of landscape

fragmentation are urgently needed as an indicator in monitoring systems of biodiversity and

sustainability of human land uses (Schupp 2005). However, most monitoring systems today still

lack any indicator of landscape fragmentation. One likely reason is that there is considerable

debate and confusion about the exact definition of “landscape fragmentation“ and how it can be

measured, which impedes agreement about which of the proposed metrics should be used (Kupfer

2006).

The monitoring systems for biodiversity and sustainable development in Switzerland have recently

overcome these obstacles and have adopted an indicator of landscape fragmentation (Jaeger et al.

2008). The measure used is called "effective mesh density" (number of meshes per 1000 km2

).

Data on the degree of landscape fragmentation in Switzerland reveal an increase by 230%

between 1885 and 2002.

We are currently measuring the degree of landscape fragmentation on the European level. Our

project has two objectives:

1. Quantitative analysis of landscape fragmentation in Europe at three spatial scales for two points

in time (2002 and 2009) to measure the level and current rate of increase of fragmentation in

Europe.

2. Determination of the relative importance of socio-economic factors as potential drivers of

landscape fragmentation.

Fig. 1: Degree of landscape fragmentation (effective mesh density, seff) in 29 European

countries in the year 2009 (in effective number of meshes per 1000 km2

).


24

Fig. 2: Landscape fragmentation in Europe in the year 2009 in 582 NUTS-X regions using

effective mesh density, seff (in effective number of meshes per 1000 km2

).

We used “effective mesh density” (seff) to measure the degree of landscape fragmentation for

three different fragmentation geometries (including combinations of different road classes and

natural barriers). The effective mesh density is an expression of the probability of two points

chosen randomly in a region being disconnected due to a barrier. The more roads in the

landscape, the higher the probability that two randomly chosen points are separated by a barrier,

and the higher the effective mesh density (Jaeger 2000).

Fig. 1 shows the resulting degree of landscape fragmentation in 29 European countries. The

barriers taken into account include road classes 0 to 4 (i.e., from motorways and major roads

down to local connecting roads, according to the TeleAtlas classification), railway lines, urban

areas, mountains over 2500 meters or with slopes steeper than 2°, major lakes, estuaries and

major rivers. The natural barriers were excluded from the reporting units so that the remaining

land areas can be compared directly with other regions (in the fragmentation geometry “FG-B2”,

i.e., “non-mountainous land areas”). The results on the scale of NUTS-X regions are shown in Fig.

2 and 3.


25

Fig. 3: Degree of landscape fragmentation in 582 NUTS-X regions in Europe, grouped by

country, in the year 2009 using effective mesh density, seff (in effective number of meshes per

1000 km2

).

In order to compare different regions, their degree of fragmentation needs to be interpreted in

terms of their geophysical and socio-economic characteristics such as population density, GDP per

capita, unemployment rate, level of education, and volumes of freight and passenger transport.

We are using statistical analysis (general linear models, GLM) to determine the relative

importance of socio-economic factors as potential drivers of landscape fragmentation. Two factors

alone (population density and GDP per capita) explained most of the variation. However, different

statistical models were required for different parts of Europe to predict the expected degree of

landscape fragmentation based on socio-economic factors. We distinguished six different groups of

countries. This result indicates that different processes are responsible for the observed level of

landscape fragmentation in different parts of Europe.

This approach allows us to identify regions that are particularly fragmented, e.g., to a higher

degree than expected based on economic productivity and density of human population, among

other causes.

The results will be included in the European State of the Environment Report issued by the

European Environment Agency.

This information can then be used by managers in future environmental politics and decision

making. For example, quantitative limits to the future degree of landscape fragmentation are still

missing in current environmental politics, even though limits are common in other fields of

environmental policy making, e.g., for regulating noise and air pollution. However, the German

Federal Environment Agency has recently made a first step: It has suggested to introduce region-

specific limits to control landscape fragmentation (Penn-Bressel 2005).

Acknowledgements: This ongoing study is funded by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment

(FOEN), Berne, and the European Environment Agency (EEA), Copenhagen.

References cited:

• Jaeger, J.A.G. 2000. Landscape division, splitting index, and effective mesh size: New

measures of landscape fragmentation. Landscape ecology 15(2): 115–130.

• Jaeger, J.A.G., Bertiller, R., Schwick, C., Müller, K., Steinmeier, C., Ewald, K.C., Ghazoul, J.

2008. Implementing landscape fragmentation as an indicator in the Swiss Monitoring System

of Sustainable Development (MONET). Journal of Environmental Management 88(4): 737-751.

• Kupfer, J.A. 2006. National assessments of forest fragmentation in the US. Global

environmental change – human and policy dimensions 16(1): 73-82.

• Penn-Bressel, G. 2005. Limiting landscape fragmentation and the planning of transportation

routes. GAIA 14(2): 130-134.

• Schupp, D. 2005. Environmental indicator “landscape fragmentation”: A crucial instrument

linking science and politics. GAIA 14(2): 101-106.


26

Towards intregrative SEA: From fragmentation indices to landscape sensitivity units

Lena Pernkopf, Stefan Lang

[email protected], [email protected]

Centre for Geoinformatics, Salzburg University, Schillerstrasse 30, 5020 Salzburg, Austria,

Phone: +43662 8044 5277 / Fax: +43662 8044 5260

Keywords: landscape fragmentation, effective mesh size, landscape sensitivity, spatial high-level

indicator

1. The planning context

SEA (Strategic Environmental Assessment) is an anticipatory planning tool introduced by the

European Union that allows for the assessment of potentially adverse impacts on the environment

associated with strategic plans and programmes. Thus, environmental effects can be considered at

a very early stage (equal to economic and social aspects) in order to foster a sustainable

development in Europe. The legal basis is formed by the EU Directive 2001/42/EC which had to be

implemented in national legislation of all Member States by 2004. Transportation is among the

sectors addressed by SEA. In Austria the major transport network comprises high-performance

railways, national highways and waterways. Proposed changes within this nationwide network with

likely significant effects on the environment are legally subject to an assessment. The main

component of the resulting environmental report is an intermodal assessment of planning

alternatives in terms of their usefulness and environmental effects. Whilst Environmental Impact

Assessment (EIA) primarily focuses on local effects in the close-up range of the proposed

development, SEA considers effects on a regional scale including indirect and cumulative effects.

Landscape fragmentation is one of the main ecological problems associated with the construction

of transportation infrastructure. It results in habitat loss and introduces barriers between the

remaining habitats. The negative ecological effects are manifold (Forman 1995) and do not only

affect flora and fauna but also humans when the scenic and recreational quality of the landscape

decreases. To consider the degree of landscape fragmentation in the assessment of different

planning scenarios, it needs to be made measurable using adequate indicators.

2. Indicators for landscape fragmentation

Literature reveals several landscape metrics that quantitatively describe the degree of

fragmentation. The following four approaches have been tested with regard to their applicability in

SEA:

Density of transportation lines, given as the length of roads and railway lines divided by the area

of investigation;

Number and size of non-fragmented areas having a certain minimum size (Lassen 1990);

Effective mesh size, calculated from the distribution function of the remaining patch sizes (Jaeger

2000);

Contagion index, which measures the extent to which landscape elements are spatially aggregated

or clumped (Li & Reynolds 1993).

A regional road infrastructure plan in Austria which has already undergone a SEA serves as case

study. Being located in the East of Austria within the province of Lower Austria, the region of

interest - also referred to as Marchfeld - directly borders to Slovakia. The objective of the plan is

to contribute to a transboundary high-level connection between the two European metropolises

Vienna and Bratislava, to increase accessibility with the region, and to reduce congestion on the

existing road network. The area of investigation covers approximately 800 km% where significant

effects on the environment cannot be excluded. The fragmentation effects of five pre-defined

alternatives for the construction of a road are analysed and evaluated. Two scenarios are planning

a two-lane road including local bypasses and another three scenarios foresee the construction of a

four-lane freeway (Fig. 1).


27

Figure 1. Planning alternatives for the construction of a high-level connection between Vienna

and Bratislava (Austrian part).

Starting point for the calculation of the fragmentation measures (except for the density of

transportation lines) is a definition of landscape elements having a fragmentation effect. In this

case geogenic as well as anthropogenic structures with a severe barrier and/or noise effect are

chosen: major roads, railway lines, settlement areas, rivers with a width > 5m and water bodies.

These vector datasets are combined into fragmentation geometries – one for each scenario –

which builds the basis for the computation of the indicators. Transportation lines have been

included either as one-dimensional lines or as polygons.

The fragmentation geometry built for the baseline scenario consists of 821 polygons with large,

unfragmented areas around the Danube and March wetlands and the Weikendorfer Remise, which

is Austria’s eldest area under nature protection (Fig. 2). In order to assess the fragmentation

effect related to the construction of a planned additional road section, all non-fragmented areas of

the respective geometry with a minimum size of 40 km% are selected and compared to the

baseline scenario regarding their number and percentage of area. In a second step also areas >

20 km% are selected in order to show the effects of different thresholds. The results show that the

number of unfragmented areas > 40 km% is not changing in spite of the proposed development.

Therefore, it is not possible to differentiate between the scenarios. Only the area taken by them

shows differences, whereas the scenario “Two-lanes North” is most favourable, followed by the

scenario “Freeway South”. Comparable results are obtained using a threshold of 20 km%.


28

The polygons of the fragmentation

geometries are also used for the

calculation of the effective mesh size.

Based on a value of 35.79 km%

(baseline scenario), the effective mesh

size decreases less for the scenario

“Two-lanes North” (meff: 34.73 km%).

Also the scenarios “Freeway South” and

“Freeway Mid-north” have relatively low

effects.

Comparable results are obtained by

calculating the density of transportation

lines and the contagion index. However,

both approaches have some drawbacks:

the density value is a relatively coarse

measure not stating anything about the

size of the remaining patches.

Figure 2. Fragmentation geometry for baseline scenario.

The contagion index – as a raster-based metric – is dependent on the spatial resolution and yields

values that are very close together. If raster resolution is realtivley coarse, fragmenting lines

oftentimes appear as interrupted lines. To avoid this effect, it is advisable to include them as

polygons or to apply so called ‘blow and shrink’ algorithms.

Generally, the analysis shows that quantitative fragmentation measures are well suited to assess

and compare different planning scenarios. Especially the effective mesh size is an informative,

intuitively interpretable and relatively simple computable approach to quantify landscape

fragmentation with the potential of further development. However, a careless use of absolute

values might lead to misinterpretations. A comparison of results is only possible for datasets of

same scale, quality and resolution and be complemented by qualitative data.

3. Landscape sensitivity as a high-level indicator for SEA

Next to landscape fragmentation there are other ecological aspects, and beyond that economic

and social aspects, which all should be considered in SEA processes (Thérivel 2010). Current

assessment approaches basically evaluate the various compartments of information separately

(and sometime independently from each other) characterising status and change. An integrative

view of the overall sensitivity of areas affected by the impacts of transport infrastructure is

desirable.

This challenge is currently addressed by a research project funded by the Austrian Academy of

Sciences. The aim is to establish a high-level spatial indicator (Lang et al. 2008) by integrating

ecologic, economic, and social factors and to map it as spatially explicit ‘sensitivity units’

(SensUs), showing the spatial variability of landscape sensitivity to an impact. Furthermore, the

automated delineation of sensitivity units provides decision makers with updated information for

monitoring purposes, which is among the requirements within SEA processes. Due to its

complexity, landscape sensitivity is approximated by relevant indicators representing the two

domains of it: (1) ability to resist to external disturbances and (2) the significance of the affected

ecosystem. The geon concept (ibid., Fig. 3) acts as a framework which allows for transforming

singular pieces of information to policy-relevant, conditioned information (see the examples of

socio-economic vulnerability as discussed by Kienberger et al. 2009). In order to derive the

discrete SensUs, the normalised spatial information is regionalised in a multi-dimensional feature

space according to defined parameters of homogeneity. By means of Delphi exercises, expert

knowledge is utilized to weight each of the sensitivity indicators reflecting their relative

importance. User validation exercises will reveal the strengths (and potential weaknesses) of this

approach for operational fulfilment of the monitoring obligations imposed by the SEA directive.


29

Figure 3. The geon concept (Lang et al. 2008).

Acknowledgements

The work of Lena Pernkopf is financed through a DOC-fFORTE-fellowship of the Austrian Academy

of Sciences and carried out at the Centre for Geoinformatics (Z_GIS), University of Salzburg,

Austria.

References

• Forman, RTT 1995, Land mosaics. The ecology of landscapes and regions, Cambridge

University Press, Cambridge.

• Jaeger, J 2000, ‘Landscape division, splitting index, and effective mesh size: new measures of

landscape fragmentation’, Landscape Ecology, 15, pp. 115–130.

• Kienberger, S, Lang, S & Zeil, P 2009, ‘Spatial vulnerability units – expert-based spatial

modelling of socio-economic vulnerability in the Salzach catchment, Austria’, Natural Hazards

and Earth System Science, 9, pp. 1-12.

• Lang, S, Zeil, P, Kienberger, S & Tiede, D 2008, ‘Geons – Policy-Relevant Geo-Objects for

Monitoring High-Level Indicators’, in Geospatial Crossroads @ GI_Forum ’08. Proceedings of

the Geoinformatics Forum Salzburg, eds. Car, A, Griesebner, G & Strobl, J, Wichmann Verlag,

Heidelberg, pp. 180-185.

• Lassen, D 1990, Unzerschnittene verkehrsarme Räume über 100 km% - eine Ressource für die

ruhige Erholung. Natur und Landschaft, 65/6, pp. 326-327.

• Li, H & Reynolds, JF 1993, A new contagion index to quantify spatial patterns of landscapes.

Landscape Ecology, 8/3, pp. 155-162.

• Thérivel, R 2010. Strategic Environmental Assessment in Action, 2nd edition, Earthscan Ltd.,

London.


30

Response times of amphibian populations to replacement pond following road

construction*

David Lesbarrères

Genetics and Ecology of Amphibians Research Group (GEARG), Department of Biology,

Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, P3E 2C6, Canada, [email protected]

*more information on this project can be found in Lesbarrères et al. (2010) J. Appl. Ecol. 47:

148-156.

Habitat degradation, road construction and traffic are among the anthropogenic threats facing

wildlife from both aquatic and terrestrial habitats. In the case of Amphibians, pond replacement

programmes have often been used in response to fragmentation and destruction of suitable

habitats. There is, however, an urgent need to follow their success in order to better understand

and compensate for the decline of amphibian populations. Following construction of a highway in

western France, a restoration project was initiated and the success of restoration efforts was

monitored. Eight replacement ponds were created consistently with the old pond characteristics

and taking into account the amphibian species present in each. Amphibian diversity was recorded

every year during the breeding period before original ponds were destroyed and for four years

following pond creation. Species richness initially declined following construction of the

replacement ponds but generally returned to pre-construction levels. Species diversity followed

the same pattern but took longer to reach the level of diversity recorded before construction. Pond

surface area, depth, and sun exposure were the most significant habitat characteristics explaining

both amphibian species richness and diversity. Similarly, an increase in the number of vegetation

strata was positively related to anuran species richness, indicating the need to maintain a

heterogeneous landscape containing relatively large open wetland areas. These results highlight

the species-specific dynamics of the colonization process and recovery time, including an increase

in the number of replacement ponds inhabited over time by some species and, in some cases, an

increase in population size. We suggests that successful replacement ponds can be designed over

a relatively short time around simple habitat features, providing clear benefits for a range of

amphibian species, which will have positive cascading effects on local biodiversity.

Introduction

One goal when restoring wetlands is to provide suitable habitat for native wetland species,

including pond-breeding amphibians. Although the most important elements for successful

recovery of amphibians are known, with key factors ranging from the maintenance of aquatic

habitat quality to the number of translocated tadpoles required to achieve a target population size

(Kentula et al. 1993; Semlitsch 2002), a recent review by Pullin et al. (2004) showed that the

majority of conservation actions remain experience-based and rely heavily on traditional land

management practices and conjecture. In fact, many management actions remain unevaluated

and although some evidence exists supporting their implementation, little information is readily

accessible in a suitable form for conservation managers. Post-construction monitoring of wetlands

is rare and few studies present data on mitigation success (Lehtinen & Galatowitsch 2001;

Pechmann et al. 2001; Semlitsch 2002; Petranka et al. 2003a,b; Pullin et al. 2004; Vasconcelos &

Calhoun 2006). While these studies are valuable, there is a need for comparable studies including

continuous observation of amphibian population loss together with survey data from locally

restored wetlands. The results from such studies may help to assess the potential effects of

wetland restoration on local and global amphibian population declines.

Following the construction of a highway in western France in1999 and the subsequent destruction

of ponds, replacement ponds were built and surveyed over the following four years, providing the

opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of a restoration programme. Our research focused on the

phenology of the colonisation of new ponds by amphibians and we predicted that monitoring for

2–3 years would be sufficient to identify species that will use the ponds for the first decade or so

after pond creation (Petranka et al. 2003a). Since the landscape surrounding wetlands is

important for key processes, such as dispersal and population dynamics (Ficetola et al. 2009), it

was hypothesized that habitat features other than pond size will influence species richness and

diversity. In particular, positive relationships between sun exposure (in regards to tadpole

development) and the number of vegetation strata (in regards to food resources) with species

richness and/or diversity were predicted. By contrast, pond depth (which decreases average water

temperature) and shoreline cover (which might affect pond access) are both predicted to have a

negative impact on species richness and diversity.


31

Material and Methods

General study site information

The study area lies within the Maine & Loire region of western France along a highway transect

delimited by the cities of Angers and Cholet. The restoration project included the construction of

eight ponds to replace those that were destroyed along the highway. Like most of the amphibian

breeding habitats in this area, the original ponds were man-made, often dug out to provide

drinking places for livestock. Although no wetland can be replicated identically (Kustler & Kentula

1990), the eight new ponds were built during the autumn at the same time as the old ones were

filled with soil. The new ponds were built in the vicinity of the previous sites (range 80 – 120 m)

and all physical characteristics (surface area, depth, bank slopes) were designed to be as similar

as possible to the old ponds to allow reasonable comparisons. New ponds were lined with 40-50

cm of clay so that they would collect and hold rainwater. Although water level fluctuated over the

first two years, all ponds were reasonably full by mid-January of the first year when the first

species began breeding and the ponds have remained permanent ever since. A “self-designed”

approach (Mitsch & Wilson 1996) was used in assuming that the newly created ponds had a high

probability of being colonised by local plant species. New ponds were not stocked since amphibian

activity was limited during the autumn and stocking would probably have resulted in a bias among

ponds. Replacement ponds filled naturally with rainwater and experienced unrestricted

colonisation and succession.

Species inventories

From 1999 to 2003, a species inventory was assembled by conducting repeated visits to focal

ponds from mid-January to mid-July. Each pond was visited up to three times a week with daily

visits during the breeding season of each species. Standardised frog survey techniques were

employed at each site. To standardise the survey methodology, the time spent on each site was

adjusted according to the pond size and habitat complexity so that every 10 m of shoreline was

surveyed during an average of 3.4 (±0.4) person-hours during the season.

Habitat variables

Plant surveys were conducted in 2003 to assess the influence of vegetation on species occurrence.

Based on recent studies of habitat features and amphibian diversity (Ficetola & de Bernardi 2004),

analyses were restricted to the variables known to influence our study species. The number of

vegetation strata (STRATA) was used to estimate the diversity of site vegetation: tree stratum

(woody plants > 10 cm dbh (diameter at breast height) or > 5 m height), shrub and bush stratum

(woody plants < 10 cm dbh or < 5 m height), floating vegetation stratum (herbaceous vegetation

with submerged stems and floating leaves), submerged vegetation stratum (herbaceous

vegetation that is completely or mostly submerged), helophyte stratum (herbaceous plants rooted

in flooded habitat but with most of the stem/leaves emergent out of the water), low herbaceous

stratum (< 50 cm height), medium herbaceous stratum (50-100 cm height) and high herbaceous

stratum (> 100 cm height). The proportion of vegetation cover was estimated by eye to describe

permanent pond and shoreline cover (PONDcov and SHOREcov respectively). Values for this

variable ranged from 0 (no vegetation cover) to 100% (full vegetation cover). We estimated sun

exposure (SUN) as the proportion of the pond that was directly exposed to sunlight (using 5%

steps) between 11.00 am and 1.00 pm (UTM) in February and May during sunny days (between

20 to 24 days for each pond). Sun exposure was averaged on all days sampled to give mean sun

exposure over the breeding season. Finally, surface area (AREA) and maximum depth (DEPTH) of

each pond were estimated using a decameter (± 0.1 m).

Statistical analysis

Restoration success was estimated by comparing species diversity before and after sites were

restored using species richness (S) and Simpson’s reciprocal diversity index (D). The presence or

absence of each species was recorded in each pond in each year to determine the proportion of

replacement ponds that were inhabited by each species over time and the proportion of the

anuran species richness in each pond and a logistic regression was applied to the

presence/absence values, using time after the destruction of the original ponds as the

independent variable. The replacement ponds were allowed to colonise with plants naturally over

the survey period. Therefore, to test the influence of habitat characteristics on biodiversity indices,

data from 2003 were analysed with multiple linear regression, with the most appropriate model

being selected using Akaike Information Criteria (AIC) methods (Burnham & Anderson 2002).


32

Multiple regression models were developed by including all combinations of independent habitat

variables.

Results

Six frog species were recorded in this area including the earliest breeders Rana dalmatina and

Bufo bufo and the latest breeders Rana LRE and Hyla arbora as well as Pelodytes punctatus and

Alytes obstetricans. For the eight ponds studied, the mean surface area was 628.66 m2

(SD =

887.72), mean depth was 1.68 m (SD = 0.63), mean sun exposure was 74.38% (SD = 33.11),

mean pond cover was 33.13% (SE = 31.62), mean shoreline cover was 91.88% (SE = 11) and

the mean number of strata was 4.63 (SE = 1.51).

Restoration success

Five out of the six species observed in the old ponds in 1999 were present in the new ponds by

2003 and successful reproduction (clutches, tadpoles, froglets) was observed for four of the six

anuran species recorded (B. bufo, R. dalmatina, R. LRE, H. arborea) and in the following years. No

evidence of successful reproduction has been recorded for P. punctatus and A. obstericans.

Species richness did not differ between the original (destroyed) and the new (replacement) ponds

at the end of the survey period (3.25 and 3.63 species/ pond in 1999 and 2003 respectively; t = -

1.26, d.f. = 7, P = 0.25). Likewise, diversity returned to levels observed in the old ponds as we

did not observe a significant difference between diversity scores in 1999 and 2003 (t = 0.36, d.f.

= 7, P = 0.73). The recovery of the anuran communities over time differed both at the level of

individual species and ponds with most species inhabiting more replacement ponds over time (Fig.

1). There was an increasing trend in the proportion of the anuran community that was present

over the study period, but only two of these were significant (Les Challonges and La Frétellière,

Fig. 2).

Factors influencing species richness and diversity

A model including surface area, pond depth, mean sun exposure and number of strata explained

96.3% of the variation in species richness in 2003 (F4,3 = 19.67, P = 0.017). The best model of

species diversity included surface area, pond depth, mean sun exposure and SHOREcov (F4,3 =

17.42, P = 0.02, r2

= 0.96). We did not find any significant effect of pond vegetation cover on

species richness or diversity.

Discussion

Restoration success

The newly created ponds appear to have successfully mitigated the loss of the original ponds, with

the exception of the midwife toad A. obstetricans, which was rare in the original ponds. The

newly-created ponds provided suitable habitat for breeding and larval development for many of

the species. However, species richness varied substantially among years. Extensive temporal

fluctuations have also been reported in other amphibian populations and communities, both on

undisturbed (Berven 1990; Semlitsch et al. 1996; Meyer et al. 1998) and newly created wetlands

(Arntzen & Teunis 1993; Pechmann et al. 2001) suggesting that a minimum of 5-6 years of

census data are necessary for meaningful evaluation of restoration projects (Arntzen & Teunis

1993). However, taking into consideration the time lags associated with the juvenile stage, it is

likely that viable populations of most species have now established because 1) successful

reproduction has been observed for four out of the six anuran species recorded during the study

and 2) populations still persist to date with year-on-year recaptures (D. Lesbarrères & A. Pagano,

unpubl. data). As predicted, species richness decreased significantly from 1999 to 2001 before an

increase in 2002 indicating an approximate 3 year recovery time among ponds.

Pond colonization

Temporal variation in pond colonization was observed among species indicating species-specific

colonization ability and habitat requirements. The disappearance of A. obstetricans from the only

area where it was present suggests a failure to provide suitable habitat for this species. The

increase in the number of ponds occupied by tree frogs H. arborea indicates a strong colonization

ability: it can cross barriers that are insurmountable for more terrestrial amphibians and the

species survives well in temporary wetlands (Pavignano et al. 1990). Furthermore, Ficetola & De

Bernardi (2004) showed that tree frogs prefer sunny wetlands which are likely to be a feature of

artificially created ponds before plants become well established thereby favouring early

colonization by this species. Similarly, the widespread colonization by B. bufo are consistent with a


33

previous study showing high numbers of this species in new ponds (Baker & Halliday 1999).

Although the new ponds were unsuitable for recolonization immediately after construction, other

ponds in the area could have acted as “buffers” to support breeding activity. Therefore, it is

possible that the populations observed in the new ponds originated both from the old ponds and

from other nearby ponds.

Environmental correlates of species diversity

Pond size and habitat heterogeneity (number of vegetation strata) were two important factors

driving species richness and diversity in the ponds four years after creation. Furthermore,

although aquatic predators like fish and aquatic invertebrate were not recorded is this study, it is

important to monitor their presence in old vs. new ponds as they could affect the specific

colonization probabilities. More generally, distinguishing the driving forces behind community

fluctuations requires detailed knowledge of species' demography, interactions with other

community members and responses to environmental variation (Ruokolainen et al. 2009).

Management implications

This study highlights the fact that while the communities at most of the replacement ponds seem

to have recovered well over a relatively short period, caution is still required. In particular,

reductions in species diversity in the replacement ponds at La Cantinerie and La Galècherie

compared to the destroyed ponds suggest that careful monitoring is required, if not further

modification of these sites to make them more suitable for anurans. Similarly, A. obstetricans has

been lost from the only site where it was previously found, representing a reduction in diversity in

the area. Likewise, the recovery of P. punctatus may also warrant special attention. Rare species

such as A. obstetricans and P. punctatus are more extinction-prone, and once they go locally

extinct, they take longer to recolonise than do common species. However, an encouraging result

from this study was that all other species sampled showed a recovery over the study period with

an increase in the number of ponds inhabited in three cases (R. LRE, H. arborea and B. bufo).

While the best option is clearly to prevent the loss of natural breeding sites, this study shows that

wetlands created as replacement sites can provide suitable alternative habitat. Overall, this study

indicates that colonization rate is species- and site- specific, but that recovery of both species

richness and diversity occurred in approximately 3 years (Petranka et al. 2003a). Although it is

clear that local population recovery has taken place in this study, it is hoped that these results will

be beneficial at a larger scale (Semlitsch 2002). Ultimately, species conservation and the

maintenance of biodiversity can only be achieved if we understand the consequences of habitat

change for amphibians, we monitor regional and local species distributions and declines, and,

most importantly, we assess the success of restoration efforts.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the owners of the ponds who allowed repeated surveys over the study

period, and J. Viallard, F. Derenne, C. Bonsergent and H. Brault who assisted with data collection.

Drs. Fowler, Pagano and Lodé were part of the publication resulting from this study which was

funded by NSERC, ASF and the Nordic Centre of Excellence EcoClim project.

References

• Arntzen, J. & Teunis, S. (1993) A six year study on the population dynamics of the crested

newt Triturus cristatus following the colonization of a newly created pond. The Herpetological

Journal, 3, 99-110.

• Baker, J.M. & Halliday, T.R. (1999) Amphibian colonization of new ponds in an agricultural

landscape. Herpetological Journal, 9, 55-63.

• Berven, K.A. (1990) Factors affecting population fluctuations in larval and adult stages of the

wood frog (Rana sylvatica). Ecology, 71, 1599-1608.

• Burnham, K. P. & Anderson, D.R. (2002) Model Selection and Multimodel Inference: A Practical

Information-Theoretic Approach, 2nd ed. Springer-Verlag.

• Ficetola, G.F. & de Bernardi, F. (2004) Amphibians in a human-dominated landscape: the

community structure is related to habitat features and isolation. Biological Conservation, 119,

219-230.


34

• Ficetola, G.F., Padoa-Schioppa, E., & De Bernardi, F. (2009) Influence of landscape elements

in riparian buffers on the conservation of semiaquatic Amphibians. Conservation Biology, 23,

114-123.

• Kentula, M.E., Brooks, R.P., Gwin, S.E., Holland, C.C., Sherman, A.D., & Sifneos, J.C. (1993)

An approach to improve decision making in wetland restoration and creation. CRC Press, Boca

Raton, FL, USA.

• Kustler, J.A. & Kentula, M.E. (1990) Wetland creation and restoration: the status of the

science. Island Press, Washington, DC, USA.

• Lehtinen, R.M. & Galatowitsch, S.M. (2001) Colonization of restored wetlands by amphibians in

Minnesota. American Midland Naturalist, 145, 388-396.

• Meyer, A.H., Schmidt, B.R., & Grossenbacher, K. (1998) Analysis of three amphibian

populations with quarter-century long time-series. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London

B Biological Sciences, 265, 523-528.

• Mitsch, W.J. & Wilson, R.F. (1996) Improving the success of wetland creation and restoration

with know-how, time, and self-design. Ecological Applications, 6, 77-83.

• Pavignano, I., Giacoma, C., & Castellano, S. (1990) A multivariate analysis of amphibian

habitat determinants in north western Italy. Amphibia-Reptilia, 11, 311-324.

• Pechmann, J.H.K., Estes, R.A., Scott, D.E., & Gibbons, J.W. (2001) Amphibian colonization and

use of ponds created for trial mitigation of wetland loss. Wetlands, 21, 93-111.

• Petranka, J.W., Kennedy, C.A., & Murray, S.S. (2003a) Responses of amphibians to restoration

of a southern Appalachian wetland: a long-term analysis of community dynamics. Wetlands,

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• Petranka, J.W., Murray, S.S., & Kennedy, C.A. (2003b) Responses of amphibians to restoration

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Wetlands, 23, 278-290.

• Pullin, A.S., Knight, T.M., Stone, D.A., & Charman, K. (2004) Do conservation managers use

scientific evidence to support their decision-making? Conservation Biology, 119, 245-252.

• Ruokolainen, L., Lindén, A., Kaitala, V. & Fowler, M.S. (2009) Ecological and evolutionary

dynamics under coloured environmental variation. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 24: 555-

563.

• Semlitsch, R.D. (2002) Critical elements for biologically based recovery plans of aquatic-

breeding amphibians. Conservation Biology, 16, 619-629.

• Semlitsch, R.D., Scott, D.E., Pechmann, J.H.K., & Gibbons, J.W. (1996) Structure and

dynamics of an amphibian community: Evidence from a 16-year study of a natural pond. In

Long-term studies of vertebrate communities. (eds M.L. Cody & J. Smallwood), pp. 217-248.

Academic Press Inc.

• Vasconcelos, D. & Calhoun, A.J.K. (2006) Monitoring created seasonal pools for functional

success: a six-year case study of amphibian responses, Sears Island, Maine, USA. Wetlands,

26, 992-1003.


35

FIGURE 1 – Changes in the proportion of all ponds inhabited by each anuran species over time. The

values for 1999 are from censuses of the original ponds ( ), values from 2000 onwards are

censuses of the replacement ponds (!). Panels also show logistic regression lines for the change in

the presence/absence of each species in all replacement ponds. (a) R. dalmatina, (b) R. LRE, (c)

H. arborea, (d) P. punctatus, (e) B. bufo, (f) A. obstetricans. Species that showed a significant

increase (↑) or decrease (↓) in the proportion of ponds inhabited over the study period are marked

in the panels with grey arrows.

FIGURE 2 – Changes in the proportion of the sampled anuran communities that are present in each

pond over time. The values for 1999 are from censuses of the original ponds ( ), values from

2000 onwards are censuses of the replacement ponds (!). Panels also show logistic regression

lines for the change in the presence/absence of the sampled community that was found in each

pond. (a) La Galècherie, (b) La Brosse, (c) Le Doua, (d) La Cantinerie, (e) Les Challonges, (f) La

Frétellière, (g) Le Petit Pâtis, (h) Le Grand Noyer. Ponds that showed a significant increase (↑) or

decrease (↓) in the proportion of the anuran community inhabiting them over the study period are

marked in the panels with grey arrows.


36


Birds and transportation infrastructure

Marco Dinetti

IENE Coordinator for Italy - Ecologia Urbana - Viale Petrarca, 103 - 57124 Livorno – Italy,

[email protected]

INTRODUCTION

Avifauna is an important component of fauna communities, and different species are frequent

along roads and railways (Michael, 1979; Rodts et al., 1998; Groppali, 2001). These birds receive

strong impacts by motorways and railways, as road mortality, noise and habitat fragmentation.

Reviews of the impacts caused by highways and roads on birds were given by Hills & Hockin

(1992) and Jacobson (2005).

In Europe, as in other continents, some mitigation measures are considered in the planning and

management of the infrastructure, in order to protect birds (for example, in the context of

transparent noise barriers). An useful manual was produced by Highways Agency (Hill, 2001)

giving design features and management guidelines for the habitats of birds (verges, cuttings,

ecoducts, balancing ponds, riparian habitats, central reservations, roundabouts, lighting, nest

boxes).

Here the main impacts caused by transportation infrastructure on birds are summarized.

FRAGMENTATION AND BARRIER EFFECT

The construction and the use of road infrastructure results in habitat loss and fragmentation, with

the dissection of ecosystems. Bird populations are suffering the consequences (Canters & Cuperus,

1997), particularly the most sensible and the forest-interior species.

In the monitoring of fauna passages, most attention has been on the use of the structures by

mammal species, and birds receive scarce consideration, presumably because of the assumption

that flight enable passage over roads, regardless of width and traffic volume.

A study was made near Brisbane in Australia, to compare movements of birds crossing the road

with those using one overpass. A mean of 6.25 birds (14 species) per 5-minute period was

detected crossing the road away from the overpass. On the overpass, a mean of 6.71 birds (23

species) per survey was detected. A comparison of the number of passerines (typical bush birds,

but excluding crows) and non-passerines flying over the road versus flying over the fauna passage

was highly significant (Jones & Bond, 2010). These observations confirm that from Keller et al.

(1996) for Germany, where woodland bird species used the wooded wildlife passages significantly

more frequently than they were flying across the open stretch of the motorway.

This results indicate that many small forest-associated birds may be impacted significantly by the

presence of roads. For these species, the barrier effect of the road can be mitigated by a well-

vegetated fauna overpass.

Tremblay & St. Clair (2009) tested the willingness of forest songbirds to cross four types of linear

features in the urban landscape of Calgary (Canada): roads of varying widths and traffic volumes,

conventional railways, transportation bridges across riparian corridors, rivers. The size of the gap

in vegetation was the most important determinant of movement of birds: as the gap in vegetation

exceeded 30 m, the likelihood of movement decreased dramatically. Traffic volume also had a

significant dampening effect on movement. Railroads proved to be the most permeable of the

features, probably owing to their relatively narrow width, which never exceeded 30 m. The birds in

this study showed a marked preference for flying over, rather than under, transportation bridges,

particularly when adjacent vegetation was available. Also this research suggest that linear

features impede the movements of forest songbirds, and the management of adjacent vegetation

is a potentially effective way to mitigate these barrier effects in cities and other fragmented

landscapes.

DISTURBANCE

Territorial song and alarm/contact calls are only effective if they are heard by others birds. Noise

from traffic can be so loud that bird vocalization may be concealed. The habitats next to highways

are less effective, causing decreased numbers of woodland breeding birds (Reijnen et al., 1995;


37

Reijnen & Foppen, 2006). In the urban/traffic noise, birds are forced to sing at a higher pitch

(Slabbekoorn & Peet, 2003).

Noise can be mitigated by providing a barrier to the source of noise (screens, hedges).

Light pollution from all sources reduces the visibility of stars (useful for migrants to navigate), and

may entrap birds in dangerous situations (buildings, wires, etc.).

There are indeed species less sensitive to interferences caused by construction and opening to

traffic of the motorways, as showed by the breeding parameters of Great Tit Parus major and Blue

Tit Cyanistes caeruleus in Germany (Junker-Bornholdt et al., 1998).

DIRECT MORTALITY

First report on road mortality of birds was given by Stoner (1925) in North America. Also in

Europe some national enquiries were quickly organized (Hodson & Snow, 1965).

This researches show that birds are frequently killed by vehicles (Forman, 2003). In the United

States, the annual estimate of direct mortality from bird-car collisions range from 10 to 380

million (Banks, 1979). The available data of bird mortality on European roads were reviewed by

Erritzoe et al. (2003): the estimates of annual mortality for some European countries pass from

350,000 in Denmark to 27 million birds in England.

Using a new approach of sampling birds killed by road traffic, Svensson (1998) estimates that

mortality is almost an order of magnitude higher than previous counts, and may indicate that the

road toll of wildlife populations may have been seriously underestimated.

Across the different groups, birds of prey and owls are particularly vulnerable to road mortality

(Estrada, 1988; Illner, 1992a; Dixon et al., 1996), because often forage near roads, where they

search for small mammals, lizards and insects. The study along the motorway Genève-Lausanne

in Switzerland revealed 143 raptors and 80 owls killed by cars (35.2 birds/100 km/year)

(Bourquin, 1983). In Italy the Project “Owls and Roads” collected 888 data, showing that Little

Owl Athene noctua (40.8%) and Barn Owl Tyto alba (37.2%) are the most vulnerable species

(Galeotti et al., 2001).

Scavengers (corvids, raptors) forage on other road killed animals, so that are at risk of being hit

by vehicles. For this purpose, it is useful remove road kills, especially large animal carcasses.

Ground-dwelling birds (as gallinaceous) spend longer time on the roadway and have a shallow

escape flight trajectory. Viaducts and large underpasses can be used as mitigation measure.

Water birds are especially endangered if the road pass near wetlands or across a river. The

installation of poles spaced at intervals along the edge of the bridge created an apparent barrier

that caused birds to fly higher (Bard et al., 2002).

Migrant birds can congregate at specific sites, and often are exhausted, or can be attracted by

lights.

It is possible to erect temporary or permanent fences (“bird-protection walls”) or vegetation belts

that encourage migrants to fly over passing traffic (Varga et al., 2006).

In the debate about the worldwide decline of sparrows, principally House Sparrow Passer

domesticus (De Laet & Summers-Smith, 2007) some role of the cars -direct as road mortality, or

indirect from pollution that reduces the insects used to raise the nestlings- was put in evidence

since first decades of XX century (Bergtold, 1921; Summers-Smith, 2007).

About the mitigation measures, the management of vegetation on road verges, the realization of

embankments, and the installation of perches reduces road mortality (Hernnadez, 1988; Pons,

2000).

INDIRECT MORTALITY

Habitat loss due to highway, roads and railway construction is huge and definitive, and facilitate

further development.

Highway medians and roadsides provide some habitat, particularly for grassland species (Illner,

1992b; Warner, 1992; Camp & Best, 1993), but this kind of linear habitat close to traffic can

represent an ecological trap and a “sink” for the populations of birds (Mumme et al., 2000).


38

Bridges across open waterways can allow terrestrial predators, aliens and invasive species to

reach predator-free island seabird nesting colonies.

Some species (Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus, Kestrel Falco tinnunculus, swifts as Pallid Swift

Apus pallidus, swallows as Crag Martin Ptyonoprogne rupestris, Jackdaw Corvus monedula, etc.)

use bridges and viaducts as breeding site (Dinetti, 1992, 1996). Maintenance practices in spring

can conflict with successful nesting.

Regarding some patterns of environmental contamination, it is worthy to note that deicing salt is

highly toxic when ingested by birds.

There are many dangerous road associated structures, as powerlines and transparent noise

barriers, that are hazardous to birds. Especially transparent/reflective noise barriers along

motorways and railways are very risky for birds (Sierro & Schmid, 2001; Capitani et al., 2007), as

Klem (2010) states that bird-window collisions is the second largest human source of bird

mortality on Earth. Many actions for prevention and mitigation were implemented, for example in

Switzerland and Italy (Dinetti, 2008), using markers like strips and silhouettes.

Following similar enterprises conducted in Canada and United States, a manual was produced

(available in French, German and Italian) for giving advice to planners, engineers and architects in

order to use glass in buildings with bird protection in mind (Schmid et al., 2008).

Acknowledgements - Many thanks to Jochen Jaeger for literature indications, and to Andreas

Seiler and Miklós Puky for their kind invitation to submit this short paper.

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41

Tuesday poster session

Policy and planning

TU1

Support and promotion of the local administrations to avoid the fragmentation caused

by the routing of large communication infrastructures in the region of Girona

Jesús Llauró1

, Jaume Hidalgo2

, Diego Varga3

1

First Vice President of CILMA, Santa Eugènia, 10, 4 - 17001 Girona (Spain), Webpage:

http://www.cilma.cat, Tlf (0034) 972426105, Contact: [email protected] 2

Coordinator of Environment and Territory for the Girona Regional Council and Technical

Secretary of CILMA, Santa Eugènia, 10, 4 - 17001 Girona (Spain), Webpage:

http://www.cilma.cat, Tlf (0034) 972426105, Contact: [email protected] 3 Professor Department of Geography, Universitat de Girona, Plaça Ferrater Mora, 1 - 17071

Girona (Spain), Tlf (0034) 972418778, Contact: [email protected]

*CILMA: The Council of Local Initiatives for the Environment of the Girona Region (Consell

d’Iniciatives Locals per al Medi Ambient de les comarques de Girona), is an association of local

organisations formed by the Girona Regional Council in 1999 to promote sustainable

development in municipal policy and management. It currently comprises over 180 of the

Demarcation’s 221 municipalities, the 8 regional councils and the Girona Regional Council itself.

1. Introduction

The Girona Demarcation sits in the extreme northeast corner of the Iberian Peninsula. It spans an

area of 5,905.45 Km2

and has a population density of 126.63 inhabitants/ Km2

. This region, due to

the confluence and convergence of the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Eurosiberian phytogeographic

regions, exhibits a markedly diverse landscape and biodiversity. Natural areas of great natural

interest constitute over 70% of its territory, half of which are protected by some manner of legal

protection, albeit in an independent and isolated manner, without considering their necessary

interaction. The natural heritage therein contained, a prime economic asset comprised of a

complex mosaic of reduced, remarkably fragile areas, requires the formation of a continuous

territorial network of open, rural and natural areas.

The Demarcation is traversed, from north to south, by a series of four parallel road and railway

infrastructures: the AP-7 Toll Highway, the A-2 Highway, the conventional railway line between

Barcelona and Portbou and the new High Speed Rail (TGV) line. Currently, both the AP-7 and A-2

are being worked on, wherefore respective extension and widening projects are under way. The

main problem lies in the fragmentation of the territory and, due to the complete lack of joint and

efficient permeability measures and faulty coordination from the corresponding administrations,

the accumulative barrier effect they generate, as this represents the main link between the

Iberian Peninsula and the rest of Europe.

The affected locations decided to undertake joint action within the CILMA policy framework, given

that supporting local administrations in promoting the sustainable installation of transport

infrastructures is one of this advising body’s primary objectives.

Since 2003, in an effort to minimise each infrastructure’s barrier effect, a number of successive

technical proposals, agreed upon by all local organisations, have been presented to the Spanish

Government’s Ministry of Public Works. A request/requirement has also been formulated to

provide the necessary restoration of the 24 identified socio-ecological corridors legal grounds. All

approaches defended for each transport route hold a special coherence between them. Thus, the

proposal to correct the AP-7 and A-2, still awaiting response from the corresponding ministers,

completes a series of structures that enable the measures successfully adopted for the TGV in

2006 to function correctly.

Poster session: Policy and planning

42

2. Methodology

Several studies and reports commissioned by the Girona Regional Council and CILMA have been

compiled to illustrate the importance of conserving and connecting the open spaces surrounding

the infrastructure corridor. To guarantee technical quality, the commissions received the external

multidisciplinary assessment of engineers with expertise in public works, environmental planning

consultants, a legal cabinet specialised in environmental issues and scientists from the Universitat

de Girona.

The action proposals included a number of route changes, as, for example, in adjusting the TGV

route within the townships around the Fluvià River, while ensuring it coincides with the AP-7 and

A-2 corridor on the same side of Bàscara’s urban centre. This formula entailed safeguarding an

area of great ecological value from destruction, while not affecting the surrounding area’s historic

nuclei. The proposal was not accepted, resulting in the disappearance of riverside vegetation, the

destruction of hydrogeologic formations of primary interest and the drying of the Cassinyola

stream, which, historically, had never ceased to provide water.

A proposal to merge the two roads into one single corridor between the municipalities of

Girona and Figueres was also defended in the AP-7 extension and A-2 widening project. It

consisted of removing the toll and using the same criteria the competent administration applied to

the Girona conurbation. The routes of these two roads run practically parallel between the two

cities, the Demarcation’s chief economic and intermodal poles, and are virtually touching.

Therefore, merging would provide some highly substantial advantages: economic stimulation in

the Girona Region, saving resources and land use, favouring a more socially just transport system,

cleaning up the various kinds of mobility, correcting the high territorial and scenic fragmentation...

This alternative has not, as yet, been considered.

The bulk of the proposals addresses permeability measures, incorporating new overpasses and

underpasses or extending those currently existing (tunnels, cut and cover tunnels, ecoducts,

overpasses, viaducts, underpasses and pipes), in an effort to guarantee socio-ecological

permeability over the entire route of each infrastructure. These proposals have focused

particularly on those stretches along which the barrier effect has or could have the greatest

impact, given that it intercepts an important corridor. Conversely, other measures have also been

considered, such as noise prevention and erosion protection measures, and measures to bolster

environmental recovery and landscape integration via the artificial replanting of native species.

With respect to TGV installation, CILMA had the chance to directly negotiate these improvements

with the Railway Infrastructure Manager (ADIF), the bulk of which were accepted. This represents

a total of sixty-odd structures, mainly ecoducts and viaducts, which entail an accumulative

supplementary budget of approximately 500 million euros.

The proposal concerning the AP-7 and A-2 was sent to the Spanish Government’s Ministry of

Public Works. However, and as with the subsequent proposals concerning minimum corrective

measures, a concrete response has not yet been issued. In fact, it was deemed wise for the

Generalitat of Catalonia’s Department of Environment and Housing to take over efforts to include

these permeability structures, taking advantage of the public information processed within the

environmental assessment process. This partnership with the autonomous administration has

made the progressive incorporation of several indispensable structures a possibility. Accordingly, it

is worth mentioning the implementation of a 70 m long ecoduct within the main Gavarres-

Guilleries corridor, at the interchange between the A-2 and AP-7 (Girona South).

The results and conclusions of these studies and proposals have also been sent to the various

competent autonomous, state and European administrations, along with the distinct political

groups, institutions and entities invested in the territory.

3. Conclusions

The Girona Demarcation features a remarkably diverse natural heritage. The fragility of this

landscape mosaic necessitates special attention when guaranteeing functional connectivity

between its protected areas. Maintaining environmental continuity between the coastal mountain

systems and inland areas is particularly important.

Currently, this territorial connectivity is only partially covered by the presence of viaducts along

fluvial courses. This proves seriously deficient in enabling connectivity between forest systems. An

efficient combination of corrective measures between the AP-7, A-2 and TGV has not been

implemented at any point along the entire infrastructure corridor, some 110 km in length.


43

Despite all the solvent instruments and proposals made available by CILMA and the local

organisations, only the TGV, via the incorporation of a considerable number of cut and cover

tunnels, ecoducts and viaducts, exhibits reasonable permeability.

Equal efforts are required to attain AP-7 and A-2 permeability, taking advantage of the respective

extension and widening projects. Otherwise, the large investment incurred with the TGV will be

rendered useless.

We are still awaiting a positive response from the corresponding ministers of the Spanish

Government.

4. References of the studies and reports compiled through commissions from the Girona Regional

Council and CILMA:

- Base studies:

Territorial diagnosis on the social, ecological and scenic connectivity of the Girona Demarcation

(2005), with the goal of determining which areas exhibit a clear connecting function and the

urgency with which correct management must be prioritised.

Catalogue of Areas of Natural and Scenic Interest in the Girona Region (2003-2006), which

identifies and diagnoses those areas that harbour ecological and scenic interest, yet are not

currently protected under existing laws or town planning.

- Specific action proposals concerning the infrastructure corridor:

• Proposal to modify and improve the TGV route between Riells i Viabrea-French border (2004

and 2005).

• Study on the permeability of the Girona Region’s infrastructure corridor (TGV/AP-7/A-

2/railway) (2006), in order to determine how the infrastructure corridor affects territorial

connectivity and subsequently create a coherent joint permeability proposal.

• Ecological permeability measures proposal to improve the Brugent-Ter C-63 and N-141e

corridor (2006).

• Action proposal to promote and restore multifunctional connectivity between the Montseny,

Montnegre and Ardenya massifs (2008).

• Route and corrective measures proposal concerning the extension of the AP-7 stretch between

Maçanet de la Selva-La Jonquera and the construction of the A-2 stretch between Blanes-La

Jonquera (2007). Final minimum requirement proposals for the AP-7 extension and A-2

construction project (2008, 2009 and 2010).

• Action proposal to promote and restore multifunctional connectivity between the Empordà’s

natural areas (2009).

• Request/requirement to make the infrastructure corridor (TGV/AP-7/A-2) permeable,

complementary to State Law 42/2007, from December 13, on Natural Heritage and

Biodiversity (2009).

- Specific action proposals focused on the green belt in Girona’s urban area:

• Connectivity study in the township of Aiguaviva (2007), which identifies the sectors and

properties that could most adequately guarantee functional ecological connectivity, as principal

corridor, between the protected natural areas of Gavarres and Guilleries.

• Progress report on the implementation of proposed corrective measures along the TGV route

(2008).

• Design of a green belt for Girona’s urban area (2008).

• Special Plan for the southwest section of Girona’s green ring, on its passage through the

municipalities of Aiguaviva and Vilablareix (2008).

• Report on infrastructure permeability and the definition of uses within the connecting area of

Girona’s green ring, in the Gavarres inland sector, on its passage through the municipalities of

Fornells de la Selva, Llambilles and Quart (2008).


44

• Collaboration in compiling the Master Plan for Girona’s urban system (PDU) (2008), which will

aid territorial organisation on a supramunicipal level, thereby regulating its growth, re-linking

its open spaces and organising infrastructure networks. The PDU defines and protects the

Girona South corridor, a zone considered particularly important for connectivity.

• Proposal for re-permeability measures along the C-25 transversal arterial road (2009).

• Action proposal to promote and restore multifunctional connectivity between the Guilleries,

Gavarres and Ardenya massifs (2009).

• Analysis of the Master Plan for Girona’s urban system (PDU), and an alternate proposal to

bolster socio-ecological connectivity within the township of Riudellots de la Selva (2009).

TU3

Initial steps in the design of compensation measures for habitat and landscape effects

of road construction

Ana Villarroya, Jordi Puig


Contact address: Ana Villarroya, Department of Zoology and Ecology, Science Faculty,

University of Navarra, c/ Irunlarrea s/n, 31008 Pamplona, Navarra (Spain)

1. Introduction

Road construction causes notable impacts on the environment. Some of these impacts (such as

noise, pollutant emissions or land use changes) cannot be completely avoided through the

implementation of either preventive or corrective measures. They become residual impacts once

the road has been built, damaging permanently, e. g., ecological features or functions. Of all the

impacts caused by roads, we focus particularly on this type of impacts.

Compensatory measures avoiding the loss of the environment resource base should be

implemented whenever impact avoidance is not possible and mitigation measures are insufficient

(Keller et al., 2002; USEPA, 2010), in order to improve the sustainability of road development. But

things work actually quite differently from how they would do in a truly sustainable context,

regarding road impact compensation.

It has been reported, e. g., that in some countries, the design of compensatory measures follows

no standardized guidelines, and that the equivalence between the damage to be compensated and

the kind of measures proposed to compensate it is not even explained (Villarroya and Puig, 2010).

This lack of rationale behind compensation practice may be both an indication of the frailty of

compensation approaches, and an important obstacle to their development in the near future; it

may as well explain the reported low rate of compensation practice in road projects (Villarroya and

Puig, 2010).

One of the possible topics to readdress this lack of rationale regarding compensation practice may

be to identify what kind of ecological compensation could be more advisable to apply for each type

of impact. This is the topic addressed in the following sections. We choose the term “ecological

compensation” to understate that ecological damage should not be compensated through an

“economic compensation” in truly sustainable contexts.

2. Classification of ecological impacts

In order to attain a meaningful sustainability, there are several ecological impacts caused by road

developments that usually need to be compensated. Some authors have attempted a classification

of the main impacts of road construction (e. g., Forman & Alexander, 1998; Cuperus et al., 1999;

Trombulak & Frissell, 2000; Iuell, 2003). Having their proposals in mind, a new classification has

been developed here, as a first step to suggest the adequate type of compensation to apply in

each situation. Three impact characteristics have been paid attention:

• Extension of the affected area: we distinguish between local and global effects.

• Visual impact: we differentiate between those impacts that can be visually perceived and those

which cannot.

• Measurability: we distinguish between those impacts that can be measured in accepted,

standardized ways (e. g. noise level) from those which have no an accepted, standardized

methodology to measure them (e. g. fragmentation).


45

Using of these three impact characteristics, four main kinds of impacts may be distinguished:

• Local, measurable, and not visual (e. g., increase of noise levels, or water pollution with heavy

metals).

• Global, measurable, and not visual (e. g., increase of greenhouse emissions).

• Local, measurable, visual, (e. g., habitat loss)

• Not (only) local, not standardized measurability, and visual, (e. g.: fragmentation).

3. Different approaches to ecological compensation

Cuperus et al. (1999), and Rundcrantz & Skärbäck (2003) distinguish between four possible

approaches to tackle with ecological compensation: in-kind, in-site compensation; in-kind, off-site

compensation; out-of-kind, in-site compensation; and out-of-kind, off-site compensation (see

Figure 1). Those four approaches result from considering these two criteria:

• The degree of equivalency of the resulting habitats or species following compensation: it

differentiates in-kind vs. out-of-kind compensation.

• The location of the compensation site relative to the development site: it differentiates on-site

vs. off-site compensation (defined as being within and outside the effect zone of the

infrastructure, respectively).

Figure 1

Complementarily, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA 2010) differentiates

four methods of compensation, which are focused specifically in wetlands, but of application also

in other cases of ecological compensation:

• Restoration: which is defined as the “re-establishment or rehabilitation of a […] resource with

the goal of returning natural or historic functions and characteristics to a former or degraded

[ecological situation/condition]. It may result in a gain in […] function or acres, or both.”


46

• Establishment (creation): “The development of a […] resource where [it] did not previously

exist through manipulation of the physical, chemical and/or biological characteristics of the

site. Successful establishment results in a net gain in […] acres and function.”

• Enhancement: “Activities conducted within existing [natural sites] that heighten, intensify, or

improve one or more [ecological] functions. Enhancement is often undertaken for a specific

purpose such as to improve water quality, flood water retention or wildlife habitat.

Enhancement results in a gain in [ecological] function, but does not result in a net gain in […]

acres.”

• Preservation: “The permanent protection of ecologically important [places] or other […]

resources through the implementation of appropriate legal and physical mechanisms (i.e.

conservation easements, title transfers). Preservation may include protection of […] areas

adjacent to [these areas] as necessary to ensure protection or enhancement of the […]

ecosystem. Preservation does not result in a net gain of […] acres and may only be used in

certain circumstances, including when the resources to be preserved contribute significantly to

the ecological sustainability of the [ecological unit]”.

4. Best kind of compensation for each type of impact

Attending to the previous concepts, a proposal is presented to match each kind of ecological

impact with a recommended in-kind compensation. Out-of-kind compensation has not been

considered here because it depends mostly not on the kind of environmental impact, but on the

underlying criteria employed to match the diverging lost and recovered environmental values (the

sometimes called ‘compensation ratio’).

Thus, the most suitable way of approaching the proposal of in-kind compensation measures for

each type of residual ecological impact would be:

1. For local, measurable, and not visual impacts, in-site enhancement compensation is proposed.

Some examples may include an increase in noise levels, soil or water pollution, or a

disturbance of hydrological processes. These impacts cause a disturbance in plant communities

and wildlife populations belonging to the affected areas. When the original features of habitats

cannot be recovered, compensatory measures should focus on improving the overall habitat

quality.

2. For global, measurable, and not visual impacts (e. g. increase in greenhouse emissions): in-

site/off-site; creation/restoration/enhancement compensation. Since these emissions spread

far away from the point where they are generated, the location of compensatory measures

could be site either within or outside the “effect zone” (see Fig. 1) of the infrastructure.

As the objective of the compensatory measures is to offset the emissions, mainly carbon

dioxide, compensation should increase the surface of gas absorption. The increase of absorbing

vegetation cover could be achieved mainly by “creation” methods, but also through

“restoration” or “enhancement”.

3. Local, measurable, visual, (e. g., habitat loss): off-site creation or restoration.

When mitigation measures are not possible, habitat loss forces off-site compensation. In these

cases, the main objective of the compensatory measures should be to restore the lost habitat,

usually through habitat creation. It is also possible sometimes to restore other degraded areas

where a similar habitat can be reclaimed.

4. Not (only) local, not standardized measurability, and visual, (e. g.: fragmentation): in-site

establishment/restoration or in-site/off-site preservation. Fragmentation divides populations,

and makes their habitats smaller. The objective of the compensatory measures for this effect

should be to increase the size of the habitat of the affected populations. To attain it, new

habitat should be created as close as possible to the damaged area, either by establishment or

by restoration of the previously degraded zones. Other effects of fragmentation, as the impacts

on landscape, seem more difficult to be compensated. Landscape damage could be

compensated by landscape enhancement or restoration, but both methods would imply

frequently an investment effort too big to be accepted. Thus, the only feasible in-kind

compensation to offset these impacts would be in-site or off-site preservation, so as to protect

valuable landscapes that otherwise could be damaged in the future.


47

5. Final considerations

Due to its particular characteristics (effects at different scales, high visual impact on landscape…),

fragmentation seems to be the most difficult kind of impact to be offset regarding road projects in

a justified way.

Some measures can be taken to favour the affected and targeted species, but as their success

may depend on the behaviour of these populations, it could be even more difficult to justify

specific compensation measures.

Besides, in high-road-density zones, it would be difficult to find an adequate place to implement

the compensatory measures.

6. References

• Cuperus, R., Canters, K. J., Udo de Haes, H.A. and Friedman, D.S. 1999, ‘Guidelines for

ecological compensation associated with highways.’ Biological Conservation 90, pp. 41-51.

• Forman, R. T. T. and Alexander, L. E. 1998, ‘Roads and their major ecological effects’, Annual

Review of Ecology and Systematics 29, pp. 207-231.

• Iuell, B., Bekker, H., Cuperus, R., Dufek, J., Fry, G., Hicks, C. et al. (2003). Wildlife and

Traffic: A European Handbook for Identifying Conflicts and Designing Solutions. URL:

http://www.iene.info/cost-341/COST%20341-handbook.pdf [02-Dec-2009]

• Keller, V., Bekker, G., Cuperus, R., Folkeson, L., Rosell, C. and Trocmé, M. 2002, ‘Chapter 7:

Avoidance, Mitigation, and Compensatory Measures and their Manteinance’, in Trocmé, M.,

Cahill, S., De Vries, H.J.G., Farrall, H., Folkeson, L., Fry, G. et al. (eds) ‘COST 341: Habitat

Fragmentation due to Transportation Infrastructure. The European Review’ Luxembourg, Office

for Official Publications of the European Communities. URL: http://www.iene.info/cost-

341/SotA-COST341ER0318.pdf [02-Dec-2009]

• Rundcrantz, K. and Skärbäck, E. 2003, ‘Environmental compensation in planning: a review of

five different countries with major emphasis on the German system.’, European Environment

13, pp. 204-226.

• Trombulak, S. C. and Frissell, C. A. 2000, ‘Review of Ecological Effects of Roads on Terrestrial

and Aquatic Communities.’, Conservation Biology 14(1), pp. 18-30.

• US Environmental Protection Agency, 2010, ‘Wetlands compensatory mitigation.’, URL:

http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/pdf/CMitigation.pdf [16-Jan-2010]

• Villarroya, A. and Puig, J., 2010, ‘Ecological compensation and Environmental Impact

Assessment in Spain.’, Environmental Impact Assessment Review 30, pp. 357-362.

TU10

Optimization of sampling effort to determine wildlife road mortality

C. García-Suikkanen, A. Remolar, P. Vera, C. Hernández, E. Gielen, V. Benedito

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],


Contact person: Carolina García-Suikkanen. [email protected] Dept. Enginyeria Hidràulica i

Medi Ambient. Universitat Politècnica de València. Camino de Vera s/nº., 46022. Valencia.

España

INTRODUCTION

It has been shown that the number of casualties found during road surveys underestimates the

real number of casualties (Hels and Buchwall, 2001; Slater, 2002; Taylor and Goldingay, 2004,!

Puky, 2006; Langen et al, 2007, Ford and Fahrig, 2007). The total number of corpses present on

the road at the time of the survey depends on a range of factors, including road type, traffic

volume, presence of scavengers, weather conditions, potential casualty species, season or time of

day (Hels and Buchwall, 2001; Slater, 2002; Puky, 2006; Langen et al, 2007).

Qualitative estimation of road mortality can be approached through many different survey

methodologies, but when the aim of the study is to obtain accurate quantitative road mortality

estimations the survey methodology is critical. Depending on the methods used, the results


48

obtained can differ in great measure (Taylor and Goldingay, 2004, Puky, 2006). Some studies

have tried to resolve this problem by applying a correcting factor of mortality to obtain an

estimation of real road mortality (Hels and Buchwall, 2001). The objective of this study is to

propose effective survey methodologies to obtain accurate estimations of real road casualty

numbers. Different factors that could influence how long corpses remain on the road are studied,

focusing on those factors that researchers could take into account before starting the mortality

study. As mentioned above, these include type of road, road traffic volume, season (i.e. spring,

summer, autumn, winter) and the species which is the object of the study. The corpse location

after the roadkill and its influence on corpse permanency have also been studied.

METHODS

Five roads with different characteristics from two Natural Parks in Valencia (Albufera and Marjal

Pego-Oliva) were sampled: these were made up of three local roads (CV- 500, CV-678 and CV-

700), a highway and an unclassified paved road through extensive rice crops. The roads were

sampled twice a week for 5 weeks each season and the survey was carried out on a bicycle. The

first time the road was visited the road kills were recorded and marked with a brightly coloured

spray. The second time, both new casualties and the corpses registered the first time that were

still on the roads were registered. This time all the corpses were removed from the road. This

methodology was repeated for 20 weeks during the year 2009. The time between two consecutive

surveys was 3 to 4 days (except on one occasion when extreme weather conditions prevented a

survey being carried out until 6 days had elapsed).

Data were analyzed for two considerations: the corpse conservation condition between two

consecutive surveys and the corpse location after that period. Different factors that can influence

in the permanency of corpses on the road after the traffic casualties were considered. These were

type of road, traffic density, season, type of animal killed and corpse location on the road. Five

corpse conservation conditions were established:

1: Corpses in perfect condition and easily recognizable.

2: Degraded corpses but easily recognizable. Not fused to the road surface.

3: Very degraded corpses: still recognizable but very injured and generally fused to the road

surface.

4: Highly degraded corpses: difficult to recognize and fused to the road surface.

5: Unrecognizable corpses.

RESULTS

The number of casualties registered in the two wetlands was 572 (422 in Albufera and 150 in

Marjal Pego-Oliva). Most roadkills were found on the local roads (62%), with 136 (24%) on the

highway and 78 (14%) on unclassified roads.

During the first road survey, most road kills were found on the lanes (i.e., the main part of the

road used by traffic) (58%) and were highly degraded and fused to the road surface (65%). In

this first visit to the road 1% of road kills consisted of scant remains rendering the species

unidentifiable. Only 10% of road kills were found in good conservation conditions corresponding

mainly to the casualties found on the shoulder or verge.

During the second survey, approximately half the corpses were found in the same conservation

condition as the first time. However, the main reason for this is because the corpses were highly

degraded already when they were found and only 20% of the better-conserved corpses

maintained the same conservation condition on the second visit to the road. About 11% of the

identified corpses during the first visit where so degraded in the second survey that their species

identification was impossible. Another 16% of the corpses had been removed from the road

between the two consecutive road visits and in 1% of cases either the animal or the spray sign

could not be found. Those cases corresponded mainly to the casualties located on the road verge

where the presence of vegetation might have hidden the mark.

Most of the corpses were found in the same location during the second visit to the road (75%) and

only 7% had moved more than 10 m from the location were the corpse was found the first time.

This could be because most of the corpses were fused to the pavement when found and only the

more recent casualties or corpses which had fallen outside the main traffic lane had been shunted

on, as it were, until being flattened by a vehicle.


49

Factors affecting corpse conservation condition and location

Different factors have been considered to be related to the changes in conservation state and

location of the corpses after the road kills.

Type of road

The worst conserved corpses were found on the local roads, where more than half of the total

number were highly degraded. On this type of road most corpses have a worse conservation

condition in the second survey (68%). On the highway, approximately 19% of corpses were found

in perfect conservation conditions whereas on the unclassified road the initial conservation

condition was worse but with a similar degradation rate of corpses between surveys (58%). The

highest road kill removal rates (30% of the corpses) were on the unclassified road and on one of

the local roads.

The corpse degradation rate is highly related to road characteristics. The local roads are narrow

two-way roads where the corpses are affected by the traffic flow. The wider highway and the low

traffic unclassified road allow lower corpse degradation rates. The removal rate is associated with

the presence of scavengers, mainly herons that feed on lower traffic flow roads that pass through

their habitat.

Season-Traffic volume

Because of the study area conditions it is problematic to consider these two factors separately.

Both areas are coastal Natural Parks where traffic volume increases during holidays. The worst

conservation condition corpses were found in summer and autumn when more than half per cent

of the corpses were highly degraded when found, whereas the best conservation conditions were

in wintertime with 17% of perfectly conserved corpses found. This suggests that corpse

conservation is related to the traffic density on roads. The removal rate of corpses was at its

minimum in autumn (11%) and maximum in springtime (19%).

Type of animal killed

The road kills were classified according to morphology and weight. There were 6 groups: (1) small

birds (mainly composed of passerines and ducklings with a maximum weight of 50 g), (2) other

birds (weight greater than 50 g), (3) small mammals (composed of rodents and bats), (4) other

mammals, (5) reptiles and (6) amphibians.

The reptiles and small mammals groups showed similar degradation and location patterns. Road

kills were found very degraded, but the remains tended to stay on the road until the next visit

(removal rate of 12% for small mammals and 18% for reptiles). There were only 12 road kills of

other bigger mammals and they showed a high removal rate, probably mainly due to road

maintenance work.

Degradation and location pattern is the same for all birds, independent of size. About 15% of

corpses were removed in the second visit and 10% moved from their original location. This group

showed the greatest location changes, probably owing to the lower tendency of feathers to fuse to

the pavement. Amphibians was the most time sensitive group, showing highly degraded corpse

conditions in the first survey (81 % of corpses) and high removal rates (39% of corpses).

Corpse road location

The corpses that fall in the traffic lanes are subject to the effect of the traffic that flows over them

after the road kill, so all the corpses were found the second visit. The corps that fell on the road

shoulders or verges tended to remain intact for longer.

Survey frequency

Half of the second surveys were carried out 3 days after the first visit, and half 4 days later. On

one occasion, 6 days elapsed between two visits because of weather conditions. Slight differences

in conservation condition and spatial patterns were observed. After 3 days 31% of corpses were

more degraded and 16% were removed from the road whereas after 4 days 34 % of corpses were

degraded and 17% were removed.

CONCLUSIONS AND GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS

Road type, traffic volume and characteristics of the species studied have been shown to be

important factors to be considered in the design of the survey methodology. Furthermore, if we


50

take into account the rate of degradation of corpses - and hence whether they can be recognized

or not - together with their removal from the road, we can say that approximately 29% of data

could be lost if the frequency of sampling was spaced every 7 days instead of every 3 to 4 days.

Thus, a weekly survey could produce poor results if what one wanted was to obtain accurate

quantitative road mortality rate estimations.

Following, are some general recommendations to take into account in the design of similar

surveys.

Do the research soon after dawn. Most road casualties occur between dusk and a couple of hours

after dawn, and at this moment the scavengers are more active (Slater, 2002)

Depending on the length of the section of road to be surveyed, carrying out the survey by bicycle

seems a very good option as it enables the researcher to cover long distances and facilitates

closer examination of any ‘hotspots’ on foot (Beadnell, 1937(220A), Erritzoe et al, 2003, Puky,

2006).

Adjust the survey frequency to the species of study, taking into account any special biological

characteristics; for example, those which may result in casualties being concentrated in one period

or place. (Langen et al, 2007)

Take into account the discrepancy between the number of casualties found and the real number

depending on the parameters of the survey and the conditions in which it is carried out.

Consider the different factors that could influence the corpse removal rate (such as scavengers,

road maintenance work, weather, traffic flow)

Make sure the researcher is properly equipped (helmet, lights, reflective jacket and so on) and is

not placed in dangerous situations.

Bibliography

• Erritzoe, J., Mazgajski, T.D., Rejt, L. 2003. Bird casualties on European roads - a review. ACTA

ORNITHOLOGICA, 38 (2): 77-93.

• Ford, A.T., Fahrig, L. 2007. Diet and body size of North American mammal road mortalities.

Transportation Research Part D, 12: 498-505.

• Hels,T.; Buchwald,E. 2001. The effect of road kills on amphibian populations. Biological

Conservation, 99: 331-340

• Langen, T.A. et al. 2007. Methodologies for surveying herpetofauna mortality on rural

highways. Journal fo Wildlife Mangement, 71 (4): 1361-1368

• Puky, M. 2006. Amphibian road kills: a global perspective. In: Irwin, C.L, Garrett, P.,

McDermott, K.P. (eds.): Proceedings of the 2005 International Conference on Ecology and

Transportation. Center for Transportation and the Environment, North Carolina State

University, Raleigh, NC, USA: 325-338

• Slater,F.M. 2002. An assessment of wildlife rood casualties-the potential discrepancy between

numbers counted and numbers killed. Web.Ecol., 3: 33-42

• Taylor,B.D.; Goldingay,R.L. 2004. Wildlife road-kills on three majors roads in north-eastern

New South Wales. Wildlife Research, 31: 83-91

TU14

Road mortality of amphibians in western Ukraine (Lviv Province)

Ostap Reshetylo, Taras Mykitchak


Institute for Carpathian Ecology NAS of Ukraine, 4 Kozelnytska Str, 79026, Lviv, Ukraine

Keywords: roads, amphibians, mortality, migrations, Ukraine

There are very few publications concerning amphibian and other animal road mortality in Ukraine. There is a

need to start active investigations on the topic in Ukraine, as the scale of animal mortality on the

roads increases with the development of motor transport and subsequent traffic intensity.


51

Our investigations were held on the main roads of Lviv province in Western Ukraine these included

two roads of Pan-European importance. Over 1200km of road going through lowlands, mountains

and river valleys were investigated during April – November 2006.

Investigated roads and location of investigated sites in Lviv province

Over 60 places of amphibian mortality were found; with a total of 3555 individuals from 13

species being observed. These were Triturus cristatus, T.montandoni, T.vulgaris, Bombina

bombina, B.variegata, Pelobates fuscus, Bufo bufo, B.viridis, Hyla arborea, Rana temporaria,

Lviv province


52

R.arvalis, R.ridibunda and R.esculenta. The Common Toad and Common Frog were the most numerous species and made up over 90% of all casualties.

Species composition and number of killed amphibians in the investigated region

Species Number %

1 Smooth Newt Triturus vulgaris 50 1,41

2 Great Crested Newt Triturus cristatus 65 1,83

3 Carpathian Newt Triturus montandoni 1 0,03

4 Fire-Bellied Toad Bombina bombina 12 0,34

5 Yellow-Bellied Toad Bombina variegata 29 0,82

6 Common Spadefoot Pelobates fuscus 46 1,29

7 Common Toad Bufo bufo 2131 59,94

8 Green Toad Bufo viridis 2 0,06

9 Common Tree Frog Hyla arborea 15 0,42

10 Common Frog Rana temporaria 1085 30,52

11 Moor frog Rana arvalis 8 0,22

12 Marsh frog Rana ridibunda 86 2,42

13 Edible frog Rana esculenta 25 0,70

Total 3555 100

B.bufo, 59.94

R.temporaria, 30.52

R.arvalis, 0.22B.viridis, 0.06

H.arborea, 0.42B.bombina, 0.34R.esculenta, 0.7B.variegata, 0.82

P.fuscus, 1.29T.vulgaris, 1.41

T.cristatus, 1.83

T.montandoni, 0.03

R.ridibunda, 2.42

Three key factors of amphibian mortality were analyzed with the corresponding parameters of

impact level. The factors were: the number of killed individuals (under 20, 20-50 and over 50

individuals per investigated place), traffic intensity (under 1000, 1000-5000 and over 5000

vehicles per day) and the distance between the road and breeding place (up to 100m, 100-500m

and over 500m).

Traffic intensity on the investigated roads

Road

number M-06 M-09 M-10 M-11 M-12 T-0305 T-1402 T-1403

T-

1415 T-1416

T-

1418

T-

1419 T-1420

Traffic

intensity 7786 6537 5451 9425 7158 4201 1975 2796 460 1294 771 996 1020

Average 7271 1689


53

Distance between roads and breeding places and the amphibian mortality on the roads

Distance between roads and breeding places, m Number of killed amphibians, ind. %

0-25 1014 38,2

26-100 949 35,8

101-500 523 19,7

> 500 166 6,3

The criteria parameters of threat level estimation for amphibians from the roads

Parameters Threat level Low Middle High

Number of killed amphibians, ind./place < 20 20-50 > 50

Traffic intensity, vehicles/day < 1000 1000-5000 > 5000

Distance between roads and breeding places, m > 500 100-500 < 100

Evaluation, points 0 1 2

10% of the investigated places were found to be under the high level of impact, 56% – middle and

34% – low. The given criteria are proposed to be used for establishing the level of road impact on

amphibians.

Partition of the investigated places after traffic intensity influence on mortality of amphibians

and the distribution of them in the investigated region

The seasonal dynamics of amphibian migrations were also investigated in details in a sample area

within the region. The examples of the most abundant species (B.bufo, R.temporaria) show that,

despite species differences, general migration patterns display three peaks during the season

occurring in second half of April, July and September–October.

0-2 points – low threat level

3-4 points – middle threat level

5-6 points – high threat level

middle; 56%

high; 10%

low; 34%


54

020406080

100120140

AprI

AprII

MayI

MayII

JunI

JunII

Jul I JulII

AugI

AugII

SepI

SepII

OctI

OctII

NovI

2006

Num

ber o

f ind

ivid

uals

B.bufoR.temporaria

Adults

020406080

100120140

AprI

AprII

MayI

MayII

JunI

JunII

Jul I JulII

AugI

AugII

SepI

SepII

OctI

OctII

NovI

2006

Num

ber o

f ind

ivid

uals

B.bufoR.temporaria

Juveniles

The dynamics of road mortality of the most numerous species of amphibians on the model

section of T-1415 road (3 km section) during the season

Summing up is important to put emphasis on the urgency of such type of investigations in Ukraine

as a first necessary step towards protection of populations of amphibians suffering from road

mortality. The proposed approach let us gather information about the places of road mortality of

amphibians in Ukraine and evaluate the level of influence on them rather quickly.

Approach unification and results register are the main requirements for the dissemination and

success of such type of research of road mortality of amphibians in Ukraine. So, as a matter of

fact, the presented criteria and their parameters are proposed to be used during the realization of

different tasks aimed at evaluation of road mortality of amphibians and traffic influence on their

populations.


55


Plenary session II.

Transport ecology in Japan and Asia

Fumihiro Hara

Director, Regional Policy Research Lab., Hokkaido Development Engineering Center #11,

Minami 1 jo, Higashi 2 cho-me, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, 060-005, Japan, E-mail:[email protected],

Tel:+81-11-271-3022 Fax:+81-11-271-5366

Introduction

The improvement of surface transport systems has made our life amazingly convenient. On the

other hand, the increase in collisions between vehicles and wildlife is coming to be a serious risk

factor for the safety of vehicle traffic as well as of wildlife. Because of wildlife habitat

fragmentation from environmental destruction, spreading transport networks and of increasing no.

of vehicles, wildlife-vehicle collisions are a serious problem in many countries around the world. I

will report the transport ecology in Japan and Asia, focusing on the following issues.

- The state of wildlife-vehicle collisions by region, wildlife type and accident cause in Japan.

- The analysis using GIS of vegetation and landscape features as factors contributing to deer-

vehicle collisions.

- Measures that have been implemented in Hokkaido to prevent deer-vehicle collisions and their

effectiveness.

- The state of rare animal-vehicle collisions and efforts to reduce such accidents in Japan that

have been surveyed through literature research and the hearing from rare animal-vehicle collision

experts.

- The state of animal-vehicle collisions and collision prevention efforts in China and Korea that

have been surveyed through literature research.

1. State of Wildlife-Vehicle Collisions in Japan

As of today, detailed data of wildlife-vehicle collisions all over Japan have not been available

because wildlife-vehicle collisions need not be reported to road administrators or the police and no

database that records precise information on such collisions has not existed. However, road

administrators of expressways are recording carcasses which they find on roads through daily

patrol. The carcasses are supposed to be those of the animals that have been hit by vehicles. The

state of wildlife-vehicle collisions could be estimated from the record of carcasses collected by

road administrator.

The record shows the total no. of carcasses in 1993 numbered 22,935 on the road 5498.6 km

long1)

. The number has almost doubled from that about 12,000 in 19851)

. The report in 2002

indicates that the number has further increased to 35,933 (road length: 7,112 km) 2)

.

Deer-train collisions have become a serious problem all over Japan. The no. of such collisions

tends to be increased. The West Railway Company reports that out of the total no. of wildlife-train

collisions 1854 in FY 2007, the collisions with deer take 83%3)

. As for collision accidents of raccoon

dogs, there exists a detailed report4)

on those on all types of roads. This study reports that

raccoon dog-vehicle collisions on roads including expressways, national highways, prefectural and

municipal roads are expected to amount to about 110,000 to 370,000 in 1998. This study reports

that raccoon dog-vehicle collisions have increased more rapidly than did traffic volume.

Because the Japanese archipelago extends long from north to south, faunistic state is largely

different by location of prefecture so that common victim species from collisions with vehicles are

different by prefecture. The no. of raccoon dog-vehicle collisions that are recorded in prefectures

in Kyushu, the largest southern island of Japan, are significantly higher than those in other

prefectures. As for deer and fox, Hokkaido is the most collision accident prone prefecture.1)

In Japan, as measures to minimize wildlife-vehicle collisions, construction of under/over passes is

dominant. There are also some unique ones such as bridges for squirrels and flying squirrels to

across roadways.

Plenary session II.

56

2. The analysis using GIS of vegetation and landscape features as factors contributing to deer-

vehicle collisions in Hokkaido

The number of sika deer on Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan, is rapidly increasing. At

present, about 640,000 deer are estimated to live in Hokkaido’s 83,450 km2

(32,220 square

miles) 5)

.

Increases in deer population have resulted in increases in deer-vehicle collisions (DVCs)

throughout Hokkaido. The no. of DVCs is estimated from the no. of deer carcasses collected by

road administrator. DVCs on national highways numbered 421 in FY 1996. Thirteen years later, in

FY 2009, the annual figure had increased about five times to 1,9716)

.

We investigated the details of DVCs on the seven national highways in the Tokachi area, the most

DVC-prone area in Hokkaido to seek measures to prevent such collisions7)

. This study uses a

database that includes the number of DVCs for the 12 years from 1995, each DVC location, the

route name and the estimated collision date. A topographic dataset including the spatial

distribution of avg. elevation and of avg. annual max. snow depth, and landscape features within

1,000-m-radius zones around each kilopost on each sample route was also created by using GIS

software. First, the relationship between DVC frequency and deer seasonal behavior was

investigated. Next, a Poisson regression model was used to understand the effect of explanatory

valuables on the number of DVCs. These explanatory valuables included DVC site topography

features such as avg. annual max. snow depth, avg. elevation, vegetation type, land-use

classification, distance from the nearest river and average day traffic volume (ADT). Those

analysis results identified the specific conditions of DVC-prone sites. For example, it was found

that collisions tended to be more common in the spring migratory season and the autumn

breeding season, and on road sections through woodland or those in a border area between

woodland and farmland. These results provide useful information for identifying what DVC

prevention measures should be implemented and where they should be implemented.

3. Measures that have been implemented in Hokkaido to prevent deer-vehicle collisions and their

effectiveness

To protect wildlife and to ensure traffic safety, taking countermeasures against DVCs is a pressing

issue. In Hokkaido, measures to prevent DVCs have been intensively implemented in east

Hokkaido, the most DVC prone area which is closed to Shiretoko National Park that has been

included in the World Heritage List recently8)

. The collision mitigation facilities there include deer-

proof fences, double swing gates, deer guards, one-way gates, jump-outs and an underpass.

1) Facilities to prevent deer from crossing the road

A. Deer-proof fences

Deer proof fences are main deer-vehicle collision preventive facilities, which exclude deer from the

road. The fence is 2.5 m high, in consideration of the deer’s jumping height. It is designed to

withstand accumulated snow weight because it is snowy in the facility locations.

B. Deer-proof measures at intersections

Fences cannot be installed where a highway meets a side road, because trafficability between side

roads and the highway needs to be secured. But if entrance from the side road is not controlled,

deer can come onto the highway. Therefore, these locations are installed with double swing

gates. At intersections where vehicles are frequently passing, deer guards consist of spaced-apart

steel pipes are installed. The similar facilities named “Texas Gate” or “cattle guard” are used

abroad for livestock. The deer guard is 4.5 m wide so that deer cannot jump over it.

2) Facilities allowing deer to escape

A. Jump-outs

Jump-outs are fences about 1m high on soil ramps that allow deer to easily escape from the road

by jumping over the fence. To keep deer from jumping onto the road, the fence top is angled

outward.


57

B. One-way gate

The road is installed with one-way gates that deer can use to escape. Deer’s using the gate has

been confirmed.

3) Facilities to prevent deer from crossing the road

A. Open-span bridge with deer underpass

Because the deer-proof fence prevents deer from crossing the road, facilities to allow deer to cross

the road out of harm’s way have been installed. They are open-span bridges with deer underpass,

which include bridges.

4) Calling for drivers’ caution on deer-vehicle collisions

Other than collision mitigation facilities, warning signs of sudden deer crossing are placed along

the road. In consideration of visibility, the sign size is larger than other traffic signs and its back

color is white to make the sign more clearly seen at night.

4. State of rare animal-vehicle collisions and efforts to reduce the collisions in Japan

One of the serious issues concerning wildlife-vehicle collisions in Japan is those of endangered

species. They include the Blakiston’s Fish Owl (ketupa blakistoni), Okinawa Rail (gallirallus

okinawa), Iriomote Cat (felis iriomotensis), Tsushima Leopard Cat (prionailurus bengalensis

euptailurus) and the Amami Rabbit (pentalagus furnessi). Other than the endangered species

culled by wild dogs or cats, their collisions with vehicles have been recognized as a major cause of

their accidental mortality. The state of their mortality from collisions with vehicles is organized in

Table 1. The details of the state of their collisions with vehicles and measures to prevent the

collision accidents will be reported.

The Blakiston’s fish owl is one of the largest eagle owls in the world, with a wingspan that can

reach up to 1.6 m long and about 4.5 kg weight. Currently mere 120 of them are estimated to live

in east Hokkaido9)

. The Okinawa Rail (gallirallus okinawa) is a flightless bird that lives only in

Yanbaru area on the main island of Okinawa. It was discovered in 1981 and its population was

estimated to be about 1,800 in 198110)

. According to the following surveys, its population is

gradually decreasing. The survey in 2008 estimated the population to be about 1,00010)

.

The Iriomote Cat with just about 100 population is solely resides on the Iriomote Island,

Okinawa11)

. The Tsushima Leopard Cat is another unique cat that inhabitates on the Tsushima

Island, Nagasaki. Its current population is estimated to be about 80~10012)

.

The Amami Rabbit is a short-eared, black primitive species of rabbit which is found nowhere else

in the world but on the Amami Island and Tokunoshima Island, Kagoshima. At present, its

estimated population numbers 2700 to 650014)

. These species are all listed on the IUCN Red list as

endangered. As shown in Table 1, the annual average death toll of them from traffic accidents

ranges from 1.1 to approx.13. It means for even a species with mere 100 population, at least one

or more species is dead, colliding with vehicles. Such mortality rates from vehicle collisions seem

to be significantly high. The Ministry of Environment of Japan has announced the rare species’

mortality rate from traffic accidents is at the level of emergency. Various efforts are underway to

minimize such collision accidents. The efforts include: placing warning signs of collisions with rare

species at risky sites, raising public awareness of wildlife-vehicle collisions through distributing

handouts or radio broadcasting, establishing corridors for wildlife and installing rubble strips on

roads to scare away wildlife11),12),15)~17)

.

Plenary session II.

58

Table 1 State of collisions of rare animal with vehicles in Japan

Collision no.

Species

IUCN

RDB

rank

Habitat

Expected

population

(Approx.) Duration No.

Mean

no.

Trend of

collisions

Ref.

no.

Blakiston’

s Fish Owl CR

East

Hokkaido 120

1991"2

001 11 1.1 Unknown 9)

Okinawa

Rail CR

Yanbaru

Okinawa 1000

1995.6"

2007.8 69 5.7

Increasing

#Announcemen

t of emergency

2010.6.3$

10)

Iriomote

Cat CR

Iriomote

Island 100

1978"2

003.1 35 1.4

Rapidly

increasing

#Announcemen

t of

emergency%20

10.6.3$

11)

80"110 1992"F

Y2007 47 2.9 Increasing 12)

Tsushima

Leopard

Cat

CR Tsushim

a Island

84"115 1992"2

008 48 3.0 Increasing 13)

Amami

Rabbit EN

Amami

Island,

Tokunos

hima

Island

Amami%2,

600"6,20

0

Tokunoshi

ma

%120"30

0

2000"2

008

Appr

ox.

120

Appr

ox.

13

Rapidly

increasing

#Announcemen

t of emergency

2009.11.16$

15)

5. The state of animal-vehicle collisions and collision prevention efforts in China and Korea

through literature research.

In Korea, with the third highest population density in the world, the no. of wildlife-vehicle collision

accidents is increasing. At present, about in total 1.7 million vehicles drive on about 100,000 km

roads over the country18)

. As of 2006, 92 wildlife passages, 55 ecoducts and 37 wildlife

underpasses had been constructed on roads in Korea19)

. Common victims in collisions with vehicles

there include: Raccoon dog (nyctereutes procyonoides), water deer (hydropotes inermis), leopard

cat (felis bengalensis), siberian weasel (mustela sibirica) red squirrel (sciurus vulgaris), siberian

chipmunk (tamias siviricus) and Korean hare (lepus coreanus) 20)

.

For the state of wildlife-vehicle collisions in China, organized data to identify the collision condition

have not yet been available. However, with the rapid increase in the no. of motor vehicles and

highway development, efforts to prevent wildlife-vehicle collisions are underway all over the

country. For a highway that has opened in December 2004 between Zhumadian and Xinyang,

Henan Province where 23 natural reserves exist, a number of passages for creatures to across the

highway were constructed. In Henan Province, a number of endangered species including reeves's

pheasant (Syrmaticus reevesii), panther (Puma concolor) and civet are habitating21)

.

In the

Wolong National Nature Preserve in Situan Province, the establishment of underpasses is being

planed. Situan Province is quite mountainous region with 101 mountains whose elevation is 5,000

m or higher and many dangered species including pandas are habtating there22)

.

In Yunnan

Province, located in far southwest of the country with tropical climate, there exit underpasses for


59

wild elephants because highways pass through tropical forests that include wild elephants’ habitat.

The underpasses are designed to be high enough for elephants to pass through22)

.

In the Tibetan Plateau, efforts have been made to save the Tibetan Antelope (Pantholops

hodgsonii) from colliding with vehicles23)

.

The Tibetan Antelope is exclusive to the Tibetan Plateau

and designated as an endangered species by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). 15

underpasses have been constructed in Hoh-Xil for the antelopes to across the Qinghai-Tibet

railway, however as of no wildlife crossing structures had existed over the Qinghai-Tibet highway.

To further develop measures to mitigate antelope-vehicle collisions, surveys of the ecology of the

antelope are being continued.

References

• Otaishi N., Ibe M. and Masuda Y.: Countermeasures Against Wildlife-Vehicle Collisions-the Eco

Road, pp190, Hokkaido University Press 1998

• Technical Note of the National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management (Japan),

No.393-395, June 2007

• Yamanaka M.and Tanaka F.: Measures to Prevent Deer Collisions with Trains, Proceedings of

the 8th

Symposium on Wildlife and Traffic, pp.47-pp.53, 2009&.

• M. Saeki and D.W.Macdonald: The Effects of Traffic on the Raccoon Dogs (Nyctereutes

procyonoides viverrinus) and Other Mammals in Japan, Biological Conservation 118, pp.559-

pp.571, 2004.(English)

• Mainichi Newspaper, Hokkaido Edition, July 21, 2010

• Records of the Hokkaido Regional Development Bureau

• Noro M., Hara F. and Hagiwara T.: Analysis of Deer Ecology and Landscape Features as Factors

Contributing to Deer-Vehicle Collisions in Hokkaido, Proceedings of the Transportation

Research Board 89th Annual Meeting, Report No.10-3124, 2010 (English)

• Ito T.: Wildlife Oriented Measures Against Road Kill Accidents in Japan and Their Evaluations

on Shari-Eco Road, Proceedings of the IX International Mammalogical Congress, pp.111-

pp.121, 2005 (English)

• Saito K.: Blakiston’s Fish Owls’#Ketupa blakistoni$Collisions with Vehicles, Proceedings of the

1st

Symposium on Wildlife and Traffic, pp.27-pp.30, 2002

• Mori T., Ibe H., Ogura K., Sato Y. and Otani Y.:Factors Affecting the Risk of Traffic Accidents

Involving the Okinawa Rail, Japanese Journal of Conservation Ecology vol.15, pp.61-pp.70,

2010

• Okamura M., Tatara M., Izawa M., Dohi A., Sakaguchi A., Hedona A., Gushiken A., and Tamaki

Y.: Collisions of Iriomote Cat with Vehicles and Trials to Prevent the Collisions, Proceedings of

the 2nd

Symposium on Wildlife and Traffic, pp.67-pp.74, 2003

• Maeda G., Motoki S., Kamiyama T., Otani Y., Sasaki S., Hiyama T., Murayama A., Yamamoto

E. and Sugiya A.: Current State of the Tsushima Leopard Cat’s Collisions with Vehicles and

Collision Prevention Measures on the Basis of a Survey of Existing Culverts as the Passages for

the Cats, Proceedings of the 7th

Symposium on Wildlife and Traffic, pp.97-pp.104, 2008.

• Nakanishi N., Izawa M., Teranishi A., and Dohi A: Age Structure of Tsushima Leopard Cats

Killed by Traffic-Related Causes on the Tsushima Island, Japan, Japanese Journal of

Conservation Ecology, vol. 15, pp. 39-pp.46 (2010)

• Yamada F., Sugimura K., Abe S. and Hanada Y. : Present Status and Conservation of the

Endangered Amami Rabbit Pentalagus furnessi, TROPICS Vol. 10, pp.87-pp.92., 2000 (English)

• Website of the Ministry of the Environment of the Government of Japan:

http://kyushu.env.go.jp/naha/pre_2009/1116a.html


http://kyushu.env.go.jp/naha/pre_2010/0602a.html


http://kyushu.env.go.jp/naha/to_2008/1205a.html


60

• Road Traffic Accidents in Korea 2008/ the Traffic Accidents Analysis Center, Road Traffic

Authority, Korea

• Choi T.Y. and Park C.H.: Wildlife Vehicle Collision be Decreased by Increasing the Number of

Wildlife Passages in Korea?, Proceedings of ICOET 2007, pp.392, 2007 (English)

• Kwon, H. S., Choi, T.Y. and Park, C. H.: Mammal Road-Kill Pattern with Land-Use Types of

Areas Close to Roads in Korea, Presented at the 2006 Meeting of the Ecological Society of

America, Memphis (English)

• Zhang Y. and Fei S.: Study on Wildlife Passage in Highway Construction, Journal of University

of Science and Technology Liaoning, Vol.32, No.1, Feb. 2009.

• Wang Y., Li H., Cui P. and WU H.: A Study on Wildlife Passage Along Highway in Wolong

National Nature Preserve, Highway (periodical), Jan. no. 0451-0712, 01-0099-06, 2007

• Xia L.: An Assessment of the Traffic Disturbance to Tibetian Antelopes in Hoh-Xil National

Nature Reserve, Report for the Rufford Foundation, No. 26.01.05, 2005 (English)


Ecological networks in the Czech Republic

V. Hlavá&, P. And'l, M. Andreas, T. Mináriková, M. Strnad, I. Gor&icová, D. Romportl, A. Bláhová




Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection of the Czech Republic, Husova

2115, Havlí!k%v Brod, 580 01, Czech Republic

Introduction:

Due to growing fragmentation of natural habitats, the future survival of many animal species is

becoming endangered. In the Czech Republic, the dealing with a problem of landscape

permeability by protection of ecological networks has more than twenty years tradition.

To protect the landscape connectivity the „Territorial system of ecological stability“ (TSES) was

introduced into the Czech nature conservation law in 1992 (Act no. 114/1992). On the basis of the

law the TSES plan serves obligatory as documentation for: land-use planning, forest management

plans, water management documents and other documents regarding protection and restoration

of the landscape. TSES ecological network is based on a connection of similar types of biotopes

and it well reflects the demands of organisms that are closely connected with this biotope (flora,

invertebrates, small terrestrial vertebrates, etc.). However, the experience showed that the

current TSES often doesn’t work sufficiently as corridors for migration of large mammals. That is

why the Ministry of the Environment decided to prepare a new concept of corridors based on the

requirements of large carnivores (lynx, wolf, brown bear) and large ungulates (moose, red deer).

These target species were selected not only for the protection of themselves per se, but also as an

“umbrella species”, as the preservation of their habitat will help to save the habitat of many other

species.

Methodology:

The project was scheduled for three years and will be finished by the end of 2010. The

identification of migration corridors is based on the following sources of information:

Actual data about distribution and habitat preferences of target species

Analysis of all types of migration barriers

Models of potential habitat suitability for target species

Field verification of all proposed corridors

The collection of all types of biological data and all types of landscape factors allows carrying out

detailed GIS analysis with the initial goal to identify areas, which are important for long-term

survival of target species. In order to connect the main areas of actual or potential permanent

occurrence, the system of migration corridors was proposed in the next step. For the corridors

design the actual data of proved animal migration and results of habitat suitability models were


61

used. In general, the corridors were primarily placed in forest areas with minimal distances from

all types of human buildings of 250 meters. In the last stage of the project all sections of

proposed migration corridors outside forest areas were checked in field. Special attention was paid

to all of proposed corridors’ crossings with transportation infrastructure, with large water bodies

(big river, watter reservoirs etc), fenced grasslands and all other types of human disturbance.

During this field verification all crossings of corridors with all kinds of barriers or disturbances were

described and the proposal for optimal permeability of the corridors was prepared.

Results:

There are two main outputs from the project:

1. The map of areas important for large mammals – this map contains areas of actual or

potentional permanent occurrence of large mammals, and also areas important for large animal

migration between this core areas. (see picture 1.)

Picture 1. Areas important for large mammals

2. The map of migration corridors – This map contains corridors connecting the area of

permanent occurence. The minimum width of any corridor is 500 meters, only in critical areas as

crossings of transportation infrastructure or “bottle necks” between housing estate the width can

be narrower.


62

Picture 2. Migration corridors for large mammals in the Czech Republic

Altogether, around 10.000 km of migration corridors have been identified in the Czech Republic.

As the animal migrations are not bordered by state frontiers, the connection of ecological

networks between neighboring countries is necessary. That is why in April 2010 the international

Large Mammals Migration Workshop was organized in Prague. During this meeting the concept of

supra national migration corridors in the Central European scale (Czech Republic, Poland,

Germany, Austria, Slovak Republic) was discussed, and the crossing points of networks connected

with Czech state border were appointed.

At this moment, the legal status and the way of protection of the permeability of migration

corridors is under discussion. Generally, corridor maps will be provided by the Ministry of the

Environment as an obligatory background material for land-use planning. Incorporation of the

migration corridors into all levels of land-use plans (general land-use policy, regional and local

land use plans) will help to avoid next interruption of corridors by all types of building. However,

in some cases the protection of corridors in land use plans is not sufficient solution. In several

cases it is necessary to restore the original permeability of the corridors – for example to build a

green bridge in order to cross the existing highway or to plant a new forest in the section, where

the corridor has to cross the agricultural area without any trees. According to the Czech nature

protection law, it is possible to restore bio-corridors as components of the official Territorial

system of ecological stability (see page 1). That is why the new idenified migration corridors

should be included into the official TSES. The way of how to incorporate the migration corridors

into TSES is still under discussion.

Conclusion

As the process of habitat fragmentation is proceeding very fast in the Central Europe, the

functional ecological network is more and more important. The large carnivores (wolf, lynx and

brown bear), red deer and moose were chosen as target species for creation of the ecological

network connecting forest ecosystems in the Czech Republic. During the project about 10.000km

of migration corridors were identified. All corridors have been verified in the field and the whole

network is connected to similar networks in neighboring countries. The legal protection of new

identified corridors has to be solved in the upcoming months, the main goal is to protect the

permeability of existing corridors and to restore the connectivity in the sections, where the

permeability is currently seriously reduced.


63

Design of multifunctional landscape corridors using effective mesh-size for regional

targeting of urban development restrictions and open space development

Hans-Georg Schwarz-von Raumer1

, Heide Esswein2

1

Institute of Landscape Planning and Ecology, University of Stuttgart

2

Regional planning agency Stuttgart Region

Keywords: landscape fragmentation, landscape corridors, bio-connectivity, effective mesh-size,

strategic territorial development planning

One of the fundamental consequences of urbanisation can be found in the loss of permeability of

open space due to the development of settlement networks and urban growth. Ecological (e.g.

bio-connectivity, remoteness, air exchange and uncontaminated soils and water) as well as other

landscape qualities and services like suitability for recreation, cultural and agricultural functions or

visual integrity, are affected by the landscape being dissected with roads, settlements and other

infrastructure facilities. ‘Effective mesh-size’ (Jaeger 2000) is widely used as an indicator of open

space being permeable for animal and recreational movement but also for the other aspects

mentioned. Using ‘effective mesh-size’ areas with low density and impact of urban and

transportation infrastructure can be identified (Esswein et al. 2002) and underlay strategic

territorial planning (Schwarz-v.Raumer, 2002; Girvetz, 2008) and environmental monitoring

(Jaeger et al., 2007; Jaeger et al., 2008). This contribution suggests a GIS-technique which leads

to landscape corridors of low degree of dissection. They connect extraordinary big meshes in the

settlement network using the most permeable corridor region. The technique is based on a moving

window analysis for ‘effective mesh-size’ and due to this it identifies the multifunctional aspects of

landscape described. The result of the procedure is analysed considering its coincidence with

existing delineations of wildlife and biotope corridors and is discussed with regard to its meaning

and use for regional and state level strategic development planning (Stuttgart Region and state of

Baden-Württemberg).

1. Objective and intention

A very useful and comprehensive overview on GIS-based technique and applications corridor

design for wildlife linkage is given by Beier et al. (2008). The four steps are: (1) define focus

species and landscape configuration (patches to be linked), (2) establish an impedance grid map

according to behavioural characteristics of the focal species, (3) produce a movement cost map

and (4) delineate the least cost path and/or a zone of lowest cumulative impedance between the

patches. In this contribution we follow the steps, however we do not delineate the corridors

between preferred habitat patches for a specified focus species. The intention here is to identify

corridors of low dissection by barriers between “relicts” of big meshes in the settlement network

(which is defined here as the combination of built-up areas and their connecting transportation

lines).

The rationale behind this intention is to define a dual structure according to the settlement

network which we can call a “patency network”. From a physical planning perspective this can be

a complementary counter concept e.g. to the hierarchic development-axis concept often

recommended and followed by physical planning. The objective of this suggestion is not to neglect

the importance of establishing biotope and wildlife networks. Moreover it is an experiment to

demonstrate the benefits and the disadvantages of the idea not to delineate highly valuable open

space inductively by combining areas of providing important landscape functions and services

related to climate, recreation, aesthetics, hydrology and biomass production. In this paper we

rather deductively design an open space structure. This “patency network” is developed on land

dissection by the urban fabric and is afterwards qualitatively assessed with regard to what this

structure could be worth concerning the landscape ecosystem services and functions mentioned

above.

2. Corridor identification method

A widely used indicator for the permeability of open space can be found with the concept of

effective mesh-size (Jaeger 2000). The concept starts with the geometric definition of open space

being tessellated by meshes built up from borderlines of settlements and airports as well as from

linear barrier elements like roads or railways. “Effective mesh-size” (meff) then is calculated as

the geometric mean of mesh area. Several methods exist to calculate effective mesh size for sub-

regions depending on assumptions about which meshes contribute to the sub-regions. In the case

discussed, we generate a regular and triangular arranged network of circles and calculate effective

mesh-size for those circles. The result of the calculation can be interpreted as the landscape


64

dissection in the neighbourhood of the midpoint of the circle. In an interpolation step for this

sample points a “meff-surface” is generated. The “meff-surface” now can be interpreted as a

spatially continuous impedance layer which is then used as an input for a corridor analysis using

ArcGIS-Toolbox utilities (‘cost distance’, ‘least cost path’ and ‘corridor’).

Each corridor analysis needs a couple of start/target patches. In our case we choose the biggest

meshes out of the mesh-mosaic used for the “meff-surface” generation, and each mesh of this set

of big meshes then is combined with all the other big meshes to be considered as start/target

mesh for a corridor calculation. Combining all corridor calculations we get a “patency network”. To

demonstrate the result of such a procedure – attained e.g. by the use of a “homegrown” ArcMap-

Extension (Lang et al. 2008) – and to discuss the benefits and problems if applied in physical

planning we consider two case studies from different planning scales.

3. Results at Baden-Württemberg state level

At the state level the analysis uses a meff-surface generated by the combination of roads having a

traffic volume of more than 1000 vehicles/day, railways, settlements and airports. For the

selection of the start/target meshes the 100 km% threshold has been chosen. This mesh size is

according to the well established policy to preserve undisturbed open space which is bigger than

100 km% in size. Fig 1 shows the resulting network. The figure also indicates hot spots of

fragmentation inside the network, where the permeability of open space is blocked.

Fig. 1: Patency network for the state of Baden-Württemberg and hot spots of obstruction


65

To qualify this corridor network we did some coincidence analysis by overlays with existing nation

wide corridor systems. The “wild cat corridors” (propagated by “Friends of the Earth” (BUND)

Germany) are covered very well by our corridor network (Esswein et al. 2008). The overlay shows

a good accordance in the black forest and the Swabian Alb. The habitat corridors

(“Lebensraumkorridore”) propagated by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation

(Böttcher et al., 2005) suggest three types of habitat corridors which can be compared to the

network designed here: (1) The habitat network for species of forests and partly open landscapes

is widely covered by the patency network due to the coverage of big meshes by forests. (2) The

habitat network for species of river valleys with humid and dry habitats can not be considered

from a conceptual point of view. (3) The habitat network for species of dry landscapes which

covers the Swabian Alb is nearly congruent with our patency network. However in other regions

(e.g. along the rivers “Murr” and “Rems”) the not existing patency network there indicates the

habitat network being highly fragmented.

A second analysis results in a medium bias of valuable habitat structures which can be found

inside the network. The patency network covers 34% of the state area, but the area of biotopes

predestined for being included in a connected biotope network sums up to be more frequent inside

the network (nutrient-poor grassland 46%, nutrient-rich wet grassland 44%). And 50% of the

Special Protection Areas (SPA) - as a part of the EU-natura2000 protection areas and in Germany

identical to bird protection areas - are covered by the network area defined.

4. Results at Stuttgart Region level

Focusing on the territory of Stuttgart Region, one of in total 12 regional planning institutions

responsible for physical planning at regional level in Baden-Württemberg, the patency network

follows the same meff-surface as before, but now considers meshes of 30 km% in dimension as

start/target mesh. The start/target meshes are selected exclusively outside the borderline of the

region so that the resulting patency network indicates the least-impedance corridors when

compassing to cross the highly urbanised and suburbanised region.

Fig. 2 shows the resulting network which avoids as a ring the city and the suburbs in the north-

east of Stuttgart. The overlay of the regional development axis and the “patency network” in fig. 2

shows clearly where regional planning should focus in establishing green cuts (which are a

commonly used instrument in regional planning) between settlements: as indicated in the

thematic map of fig. 2 just 7 out of 17 crossings are in the moment dedicated to be a green cut.

Stuttgart Region has prepared suggestions for habitat structures which should be integrated by

network systems. An overlay of the systems with the patency network presented in fig. 2 leads to

the following results: the area of all meshes which are inside the patency network covers 43% of

the area of Stuttgart Region, 63% of the forest related network system are located inside of the

selected meshes and from area of the non-forest network 53% can be found there. So here again

a concentration effect can be recorded which is due to the correlation between forests and big

meshes more significant for the forest system than for the non-forest system.

5. Conclusions

In contrast to landscape planning, thinking in schematic structures to be developed is more

common in regional and urban development planning. There the design of structural ideas as a

“visual language” for planning communications besides feasibilities and actual land-management

rules and cultures has a long tradition (Dühr, 2007). On this background the idea of a patency

network established in urbanising regions – which goes beyond the concept of urban green belts

and fingers – makes sense, and our contribution suggests a well commendable method. The

exercises demonstrate that the method is able to originate spatial structures which illustrate the

actual state of landscape permeability, which localizes options and impracticalities of “green

networks” and which can be used for the identification of hotspots and bottlenecks in the

conflicting zones between urban development and open space. But in any case the existing or

intended landscape functions and services of the network have to be stated. In our case studies

the wildlife corridor function partly but not completely satisfying could be approved. So the still

due consideration of landscape functions and services related to climate, recreation, aesthetics,

hydrology and biomass production has to decide about the concept being ecologically worthwhile.

In addition some methodical problems, like the specification of the width of the network zones,

have to be worked out more in detail.


66

Fig. 2: Overlay of development axes and “patency network” in the territory of Stuttgart Region

References

• Beier, P. ; Majka, D. R.; Spencer, W.D. (2008): Forks in the Road: Choices in Proceduresfor

Designing Wildland Linkages. Conservation Biology, Volume 22, No. 4, 2008, 836-851.

• Böttcher, M., Reck, H. (2005): Lebensraumkorridore für Mensch und Natur. Bonn-Bad

Godesberg: Bundesamt für Naturschutz (Naturschutz und biologische Vielfalt, 17).

• Dühr, S. (2007): The Visual Language of Spatial Planning: Exploring Cartographic

Representations for Spatial Planning in Europe. New York

• Esswein, H., Jaeger, J., Schwarz-von Raumer, H.-G.; Müller, M. (2002):

Landschaftszerschneidung in Baden-Württemberg. Zerschneidungsanalyse zur aktuellen

Situation und zur Entwicklung der letzten 70 Jahre mit der effektiven Maschenweite.

Arbeitsbericht der Akademie für Technikfolgenabschätzung Nr. 214, Stuttgart.

• Esswein, H., Schwarz-v. Raumer, H.-G. (2008): Landschaftszerschneidung in Baden-

Württemberg, Neuberechnung des Landschaftszerschneidungsgrades – Verbindungsräume

geringer Zerschneidung. Unveröffentlichter Projektbericht.

• Girvetz, E.H., Thorne, J.H., Berry, A.M., Jaeger, J.A.G., (2008): Integration of landscape

fragmentation analysis into regional planning: A statewide multi-scale case study from

California, USA. Landscape and Urban Plan. 86, 205-218.

• Jaeger, J.A.G., 2000. Landscape division, splitting index, and effective mesh size: new

measures of landscape fragmentation. Landscape Ecol. 15, 115-130.

• Jaeger, J.A.G.; Schwarz-v.Raumer, H.-G.; Esswein, H.; Müller, M.; Schmidt-Lüttmann, M.

(2007): Time series of landscape fragmentation caused by transportation infrastructure and

urban develop-ment: a case study from Baden-Württemberg (Germany). - Ecology and Society

12(1): 22. [online] URL: http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol12/iss1/art22/


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• Jaeger, J.A.G., Bertiller, R., Schwick, C., Müller, K., Steinmeier, C., Ewald, K.C. & Ghazoul, J.,

2008. Implementing landscape fragmentation as an indicator in the Swiss Monitoring System

of Sustainable Development (MONET). J. Environ. Manage. 88, 737-751

• Joos, R.; Geissler-Strobel, S.; Trautner, J.; Hermann, G.; Kaule, G. (2009): 'Conservation

responsibilities' of municipalities for target species. Prioritizing conservation by assigning

responsibilities to municipalities in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. – Landscape and Urban

Planning 93: 218-228. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2009.07.009

• Lang, C.; Schwarz-v.Raumer, H.-G.; Esswein, H. (2008): ArcGIS-Tool zur Analyse des

Landschaftszerschneidungsgrades mit der Messgröße 'Effektive Maschenweite'. Handbuch.

Online: http://www.lubw.baden-wuerttemberg.de/servlet/is/20280/Handbuch_20080727.pdf

• Schwarz-v.Raumer, H.-G.; Esswein, H.; Jaeger, J. (2002): Landschaftszerschneidung: Neue

Erkennt-nisse für die Landesentwicklung durch eine GIS-gestützt verbesserte raum-zeitliche

Indikatorik. In: J. Strobl, T. Blaschke, G. Griesebner (Hg.): Angewandte Geographische

Informationsverarbeitung XIV. Beiträge zum AGIT-Symposium Salzburg 2002. Wichmann,

Heidelberg. S. 507-512.


Making the connection: Mammal mitigation measures on national road schemes in

Ireland

E.J. Finnerty1,2

, P.M. Whelan1,2

, F. Butler2, M. Emmerson

1,2, L.M.J. Dolan

1,2

1

Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.

2

School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.

Corresponding Author: [email protected], 00 353 21 4201944

Until the recentglobal economic slow-down, Ireland had embarked upon a programme of

unprecedented infrastructural development. Many of these infrastructural projects have focused

on improving Irelands national road network. Ireland has 5,444 km of national roads including

663 km of motorway (NRA, 2010). In addition, Ireland hasan extensive non-national (regional and

local) road network. There are 11,630 km of regional roads and 78,972 km of local roads (NDP,

2007). Road traffic has also increased substantially in Ireland, from 1983 to 2007, the number of

licensed vehicles on Irish roads increased from 897,381 to 2,441,564 (NPWS, 2009).

The National Roads Authority (NRA), established in 1993 has the overall responsibility for the

planning, supervision of construction and maintenance of national roads in Ireland. Its primary

function is to "Improve quality of life and national economic competitiveness by developing,

maintaining and operating the national road network in a safe, cost effective and sustainable

manner". In contrast, Local Authorities are responsible for regional and local roads.

It is accepted that roads can create permanent barriers to the dispersal of wildlife as a result of

chronic disturbances from human activities and traffic. As a result, wildlife can maintain some

distances from roads, ultimately separating and reducing home ranges of species, which can have

detrimental effects on populations, including local extinctions (Theobaldet al., 1997). The main

demonstrated impact of roads on wildlife, has been in terms of increased mortality due to road

kills. Mortality numbers are high for certain species, especially:during migratory periods;during

the breeding season (Forman, 1995); in areas highly populated by mammals (Bank et al., 2002);

where roadside food (Forman, 1995) acts as an attractant; and, where damaged road surfaces

provide watering holes for birds (Dolan, in prep.).

Many of the negative environmental impacts of roads can be avoided or mitigated by adopting

best practice in planning and design. This is achieved through the Environmental Impact

Assessment process. The approach can be broken down into three steps; 1) constraints study, 2)

route corridor selection study and, 3) study of the preferred route leading to the preparation of an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)(NRA, 2009).The first two steps are concerned with

planning, avoidance of environmental impacts and the consideration of alternatives. The third step

is the statement of the likely environmental effects of the preferred route. This is underpinned by

the establishment of baseline ecological conditions, predicted impacts and the prescription of

mitigation and/or compensatory measures for significant negative environmental impacts. Also, if

a new road is likely to have a significant impact on a Natura 2000 site, an appropriate assessment

(AA) is required under Article 6 of the EU Habitats Directive.


68

The NRA has developed a series of environmental planning guidelines to facilitate the integration

of various environmental issues into national road scheme planning. Ecological planning guidelines

released to date include; Guidelines for the Assessment of Ecological Impacts of National Road

Schemes(NRA, 2009); Environmental Impact Assessment of National Road Schemes – A Practical

Guide(NRA, 2008a); Ecological Survey Techniques for Protected Flora and Fauna during the

Planning of National Road Schemes (NRA, 2008b); and Best Practice Guidelines for the

Conservation of Bats in National Road Schemes (NRA, 2006).

The NRA has also published construction guidance documents providing a step by step approach

to minimizing impacts on badgers (Melesmeles) (NRA, 2005a), otters (Lutralutra) (NRA, 2005b),

bats (NRA, 2005c) and watercourse crossings during the construction of national road schemes

(NRA, 2005d). These documents address surveying techniques, exclusion methodologies and

design specifications for mammal fencing and mammal underpasses.

Ireland is comparatively poor in terms of mammal diversity. Using the IUCN red list criterionof

including terrestrial mammal species native to Europe or naturalized in Europe before 1500 A.D.,

of the 219 terrestrial mammal species in Europe (Temple and Terry, 2007), the island of Ireland

has only 26 (12%) terrestrial mammal species(Marnellet al., 2009), compared with 43

foundinBritain (NHM, 2009). The table below lists the terrestrial mammals (excluding bat species)

present in Ireland before 1500 A.D.:

Common Name Scientific Name Native Status IUCN Category

Otter Lutralutra Native Near Threatened

Red squirrel Sciurusvulgaris Native Near Threatened

Wood mouse Apodemussylvaticus Non-native Least Concern

Red deer Cervuselaphus Native Least Concern

Fallow deer Damadama Non-native Least Concern

Hedgehog Erinaceuseuropaeus Non-native Least Concern

Irish hare* Lepustimidushibernicus Native Least Concern

Pine marten Martesmartes Native Least Concern

Badger Melesmeles Native Least Concern

House mouse Musmusculus Non-native Least Concern

Irish stoat* Mustelaermineahibernica Native Least Concern

Rabbit Oryctolaguscuniculus Non-native Least Concern

Pygmy shrew Sorexminutus Native Least Concern

Red fox Vulpesvulpes Native Least Concern

Black rat/Ship rat Rattusrattus Non-native Vulnerable

Grey wolf Canis lupus Native Regionally Extinct

* Endemic Irish taxa

Terrestrial mammal species present in Ireland, but not included in the IUCN red list assessment on

the basis that they are post-1500 introductions are shown in the table below:

Common Name Scientific Name Common Name Scientific Name

Sika deer Cervusnippon American mink Neovisonvison

Greater white-

toothed shrew

Crocidurarussula Brown rat Rattusnorvegicus

Brown hare Lepuseuropaeus Grey squirrel Sciuruscarolinesis

Bank vole Myodesglareolus Wild boar Susscrofa

Muntjac deer Muntiacusreevesi

Population estimates for Irish mammals are only available for some species. The badger

population is stable and estimated at 84,000 (Sleemanet al., 2009). Otters have shown a decline

of 20% between 1980 and 2006 although the cause of this decline is unclear (Bailey &Rochford,

2006). The population size is estimated at 16,000 - 22,000, excluding juveniles under four months

(O’Neill, 2008).Ireland holds one of the most important otter populations remaining in Western

Europe (Whilde, 1993).The pine marten population is thought to be increasing and undergoing a

range expansion, and is estimated at 3,000 -10,000 mature individuals (NPWS, 2007). The Irish


69

hare population is stable, but with population fluctuations and is estimated at 535,000 (Reid et al.,

2007). The red squirrel has an estimated population of 40,000 (NPWS and EHS, 2008).

Studies of mammal mitigation measures in Ireland to date remain observational at best. There

are a multitude of constraints on experimental design such as habituation periods, levels of human

activity, equality of species perceived access to each crossing structure, the density of crossing

structures, multi-species or community level responses and meta-population dynamics which must

be taken into account (Clevenger and Waltho, 2000; Forman et al., 2003). It is also known that

poor crossing structure designs have the potential to decouple ecosystem level processes, for

example, in the formation of prey-refuge zones in predator-prey relations (Clevenger and Waltho,

2000). It can also lead to 1) the concentration of road kill along a road scheme; 2) the relocation

of road kill to nearby road schemes; 3) facilitate the movement of non-native species; and 4)

provide a focus for human hunting activities.

Due to the lack of information relating to the effectiveness of mammal mitigation measures in

Ireland, the NRA has funded a three year study to undertakesystematic surveys of mitigation

measures on 5 national road schemes in Ireland. The study will include a review of mammal

underpasses and fencing specifically designed for otter,badger, deer and pine

marten.Also,occupancy of artificial badger setts,and use ofoverpasses and underpasses put in

place for agricultural use will be reviewed.Ireland has only three amphibian species all of which

are native. In this regard, amphibian underpasses designed for smooth newt (Triturusvulgaris)

and common frog (Ranatemporaria) will also be examined. Ireland’s third amphibian species the

natterjack toad (Bufocalamita) is limited to the extreme coastal areas of south west Ireland and is

therefore unlikely to be affected by national road schemes. Along with the endemic sub species of

Irish hare and stoat, there are also genetically unique haplotypesoccuring in common frog

populations from the south-west of Ireland (Teacher et al., 2009) which may merit special

conservation measures. Mitigation measures for bat species are the subject of a separate project

funded by the NRA (Abbottet al., 2010).

In conjunction, a systematic road kill surveywill be undertaken which will provide additional results

to those which have already been gatheredin Ireland (e.g. Sleemanet al., 1985, in prep.;Sleeman,

1988; Smiddy and Berridge, 2002;Dolan, in prep.;www.biology.ie).These data will be used to form

a framework for a national road kill database.The road kill survey by the National Parks & Wildlife

Service (NPWS) managed through the www.biology.ie website, is the largest road kill survey

undertaken in Ireland. To date it has recorded 2,396 road kill sightings. Species recorded include;

badger (653); hedgehog (453); fox (416); hare (82); pine marten (82) and otter (65). These

sightings are recorded by members of the public and ecologists and only basic information is

gathered.

A Geographical Information System is also to be deployed in conjunction with Alterra in The

Netherlands which will provide an overview of habitat connectivityand bottlenecks to connectivity

across the landscape of Ireland along with known hotspots of road kills for protected fauna. A

combination of computer analysis and stakeholder inputwill be utilised to identify locations which

require examination in terms of the selection of appropriate mitigation measures.

Thisthree yearstudy will analyse the effectiveness of wildlife crossing structures put in place to

reduce significant impacts on native mammal and amphibian species on national road schemes in

Ireland.While these crossing structures have been studied elsewhere, the findings may not be

entirely relevant in an Irish context. It will also meet some of the requirements ofThe National

Parks & Wildlife Service Species Action Plan for Otters (NPWS, 2009) which has identified actions

including: 1) collation of road traffic accident data involving otters;2) updating NRA Planning and

Construction guidelines in line with international best practice as required; and 3) encourage and

supporta study of habitat connectivity and dispersal behaviour of otters. The current economic

slow-down offers an opportunity to reevaluate the processes involved in the planning, design and

construction of mammal mitigation measures on road schemes in Ireland and to ensure that

continued best practice is incorporated into future infrastructural projects.

It is intended that this study will provide the necessary background information to protect the

Irish populations of badger, otter, deer andpine marten among other species into the future.


70

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Road Schemes.National Roads Authority, St. Martin’s House, Waterloo Road, Dublin 4.

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4.


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• Sleeman, D. P., Smiddy, P. and Sweeney, P. G. (1985). Irish mammal road casualties.The

Irish Naturalists’ Journal, 21: No. 12, 544.

• Sleeman, D. P, Davenport, J., More, T. A., Clegg, T. A., Collins, J. D., Martin, S. W., Williams,

D. H., Griffin, J. M. and O’Boyle, I. (2009). How many Eurasian badgers Melesmeles L. are

there in the Republic of Ireland? European Journal of Wildlife Research,55: 333-344.

• Smiddy, P. and Berridge, D. (2002). Recent records of pine martens in east Cork and

Waterford.The Irish Naturalists’ Journal, 27: No. 3, 23-24.

• Teacher, A. G. F., Garner, T. W. J. and Nichols, R. A. (2009). European phylogeography of the

common frog (Ranatemporaria): routes of postglacial colonization into the British Isles, and

evidence for an Irish glacial refugium. Heredity,102: 490 - 496.

• Temple, H. J. and Terry, A. (2007). The Status and Distribution of European Mammals. Office

for OfficialPublications of the European Communities, Luxembourg.

• Theobald, D. M., Miller, J. R. and Thompson Hobbs, N. (1997).Estimating the cumulative

effects of development on wildlife habitat.Landscape and Urban Planning, 39: 25 – 36.

• Whilde, A. 1993.Threatened Mammals, Birds, Amphibians and Fish in Ireland - Irish Red Data

Book 2: Vertebrates. HMSO, Belfast.


From national planning to regional implementation: initiatives for reconnection of

habitats in key areas in Schleswig-Holstein (Germany)

Björn Schultz, Heinrich Reck, Marita Böttcher

Stiftung Naturschutz Schleswig-Holstein

Germany’s northernmost federal state Schleswig-Holstein is the gateway to Southern Scandinavia

and therefore of vital importance for transnational exchange processes between central and

northern Europe, both for human traffic and biodiversity.

Currently the construction and enlargement of several motorways improves the quality of the

transportation network, but at the same time threatens interregional biological migration routes,

regional dispersal and local habitat qualities. According to obligatory impact mitigation the

department of transportation plans to implement a regionally dense network of green bridges and

other fauna passages. These passages are the first step to enhance the landscape permeability,

but the effective reconnection of valuable habitats linked to the passages is essential and must

follow. The state foundation for nature conservation (Stiftung Naturschutz Schleswig-Holstein)

takes part in two major project initiatives:


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Holsatian Habitat Corridors – Holsteiner Lebensraumkorridore

Figure 1 (overview of Schleswig-Holstein, its transportation infrastructure, settlements

and the project’s sites)

The project “Holsatian Habitat Corridors” is situated in the middle of Schleswig-Holstein, north of

the metropolitan area of Hamburg. This is a place where transnational exchange processes have

to pass a natural bottleneck situation. In addition to this the available space for ground dwelled

biological exchange is extremely limited by major settlements and intensively used agricultural

landscapes. Furthermore three major motorways meet here, each of them dissecting the whole

Schleswig-Holstein land bridge. Based on mitigation legislation at least 5 fauna bridges will be

installed to minimise barrier effects of transportation infrastructure. The oldest of the fauna

passages is the „Kiebitzholm” overpass, which was built in 2004 between coniferous forest stands

due to the upgrading of a 2-lane highway into a 4-lane motorway at a location characterised by

high wildlife mortality. An additional otter tunnel is located adjacent to the fauna passage.

A project group consisting of hunters (Deutscher Jagdschutz-Verband e.V.), foresters (Schleswig-

Holsteinische Landesforsten), road administration (Landesbetrieb Straßenbau und Verkehr),

environmental educators (Wildpark Eekholt) and nature conservationists (Stiftung Naturschutz) in

cooperation with scientists (Ecology-Center at Kiel University) has formed to conduct a testing and

development project funded by the federal agency for nature conservation (Bundesamt für

Naturschutz). The primary objectives of the project are to restore ecological functions and

biodiversity and to enhance the ecological linkages between protected sites of high ecological

value via the fauna passages by means of habitat corridors. Therefore continuous corridors of high

quality habitats will be created. It is expected that the measures will lead to a significantly higher

efficiency of the fauna passages, especially for the target species:

All resident major mammals (red deer, fallow deer, roe deer, wild boar, fox, hare) are already

using the overpass. Based on analysis of local migration routes, the subsequent implementation of

supporting stepping stones is expected to rise or induce the crossing rate. For smaller mammals

(dormouse) an uninterrupted habitat network must be fulfilled before first crossing can be

expected.


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Only common reptiles (viviparous lizard) are already crossing the overpass, whereas the

endangered and more demanding species like European adder have not been detected yet,

although close-by populations are known from sites west of the fauna bridge. New corridors at

woody edges with high proportions of bare soil will help them to spread towards the passage.

Spawning grounds of amphibians are distant, therefore only frequent and common toads and

brown frogs have been using the over-pass so far. There are rare and endangered species present

in vicinity, but high quality migrations routes and additional spawning grounds must be

implemented before they are expected to use the passage.

Figure 2 (crossing red deer on the fauna bridge)

The project’s site with a size of about 20 km% in general shows a wide variety of target biotopes,

and several prior target species are still present. However, these “hot spots” of regional

biodiversity are small, scattered, threatened by surrounding land use and divided by a motorway.

But because of the favourable habitat topology, the species’ distribution and the diversity of soil

conditions it is expected that until 2013 the following project targets will be met:

• To safeguard the ecosystem functioning by re-establishing mobility of species.

• To develop best-practice examples to overcome barriers and to create habitat corridors in

intensively used areas on appropriate sites.

• To involve the public and raise its awareness.

• To improve planning procedures and decision making processes.


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Figure 3 “Kiebitzholm” fauna bridge and the habitat corridors in context to protected sites

of Natura2000-network

The federal agency for nature conservation (BfN) grants the project’s implementation with funds

of the German environment ministry (BMU) with 0.9 Mio Euro, and grants an accompanying

research programme conducted by the Ecology-Centre of Kiel University.

BioGrenzKorr – an INTERREG-project

A related but smaller project initiative takes part in the German-Danish border region. Here the

Danish forest and nature agency (Skov- og Naturstyrelsen) cooperates with German forest

(Landesforst) and nature conservation agency (Stiftung Naturschutz). The aim is to re-establish a

habitat network for species of woodland, wood-edges and hedgerow networks. Target species are

small mammals listed in the annex 4 of the habitat directive – common dormouse, several species

of bats and northern birchmouse.

The INTERREG IVa-project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund with an amount

of 0.5 Mio (.


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Efficient linkages in the landscape. An integrated approach to improve the reconnection

of habitat networks for invertebrate populations.

Reinhard Klenke2, Rüdiger Jooss

1

1

University of Stuttgart, Department for Landscape Planning and Ecology

2

Helmholtz-Center for Environmental Research (UFZ), Department Conservation Biology

Introduction

The assessment and mitigation of biological effects caused by landscape fragmentation and sub-

dissection by traffic infrastructure is an integrated and obligatory part of EU impact assessment as

well as of German landscape planning procedures. Measures to re-establish habitat networks like

the integration of wildlife crossings are increasingly accepted. However, in the past, research has

been mainly focussed on reducing the effects of sub-dissection for mobile vertebrate species. In

contrast, the effects of measures to improve the habitat connectivity for wingless and slow moving

invertebrates are not well understood. This applies even more if not only dispersal but also

population viability is integrated in the analyses.

In a research project financed by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature

Conservation and Nuclear Safety and attended by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation two

approaches are developed to assess the efficiency of different measures for improving connectivity

for slow moving invertebrates. Both approaches are applied in the same study areas placed in

various landscapes of Germany. In a `scientific approach` habitat suitability is assessed using

multifactorial statistical habitat models. The permeability of the landscape is analysed by least cost

path methods. In an `applied landscape planning approach` habitat suitability is assessed by

expert knowledge using typical planning-data like mapped vegetation units. The species

movement is modelled using an individual-based dispersal model. In both approaches

metapopulation analyses are applied to assess population viability. The comparison of the two

approaches allows to identify their specific potentials and limitations especially for planning

purposes. A focus is to determine the minimum amount of data and methods necessary to conduct

sound dispersal und metapopulation analyses regarding the practice of applied landscape

planning.

Different scenarios of re-connecting habitats after a dissection by traffic infrastructure are

analysed. Examples are implementing wildlife crossings (one large vs. several small), improving

existing habitats and/or creating new stepping stones or enhancing the permeability of the

landscape matrix. The project aims to derive `thumb-rules` for applied landscape planning on

efficiently reconnecting habitat networks for invertebrates. Although the models are applied on

certain focal species in the study areas, the ‘thumb rules’ will address groups of species with

similar habitat profiles and movement pattern. This supports their implementation in applied

landscape planning and promotes the idea of designing linkages which serve multiple focal species

likely to serve as an umbrella for a great number of similar species (Beier et al 2008).

Approach for ‘applied landscape planning’

In this approach only data is used which is typically available within planning projects. Habitat

suitability for the modelled species is assessed by experts based on mapped vegetation units

combined with some knowledge of the project area (e.g. vegetation structure, aspect, soil

moisture). As in many cases there is not enough funding for extensive survey on invertebrates,

the estimation of abundance in habitat patches is used, rather than data on detected individuals.

Species dispersal is simulated using the individual-based movement model “GIS-WALK” (Lorenzen

2003; re-programmed by Dr. U. Wössner, High Performance Computing Center Stuttgart to

optimise performance). Input data are a GIS-layer of habitat-suitability and point-data on

individuals of the modelled species. These starting-points are created by random points within the

habitat patches according to the experts’ estimation of abundance. On starting the model, for each

individual one step of movement is created for each day of the species lifetime. According to field


76

observation on dispersal behaviour (review in Van Dyck & Baguette 2005), the model

distinguishes between ‘random walk’ (e.g. foraging, mate-location, seeking shelter) and ‘directed

walk’ (e.g. net displacement for new settlement). The movement pattern is characterised species-

specific by a set of input-parameters (selection):

• mortality depending on habitat suitability

• maximum daily movement distance depending on habitat suitability and a given statistical

distribution (e.g. sigmoidal)

• transition matrix: probability of movement between all classes of habitat suitability

• selection of habitat suitability classes where random or directed walk is performed

• percentage of ‘colonizers’ performing directed walk also in suitable or all habitat classes

• visual range and life-span of the species

Fig. 1 shows a small example of a “GIS-WALK”-analysis of the flightless grasshopper Polysarcus

denticauda in a study area in southern Germany. 30 iterations where applied on the 16 individuals

of patch C. The planned road was classified as a 99%-barrier. Integrating the overpass with a

width of 50m leads to the same amount of individuals reaching patch D as without the road.

However, even with the overpass, much less individuals than before are able to reach the area

south of patch D. The considerable variation in individuals reaching patch A, which is not affected

by the road, shows the stochastic character of the model. This is not necessarily a weakness as

the real movement pattern of invertebrates also shows a rather random nature. With increased

iterations and slight changes in input-parameters within the ranges given by species-experts the

results can be further refined. Validating field-work is highly desirable of course. Within the project

the movement pattern of Polysarcus denticauda is recorded in field-work, also using light-weight

telemetry on 30 individuals. The re-programming of “GIS-WALK” paved the way for more efficient,

automated analyses. New approaches will be possible like the simulation of multiple generations

or optimising the landscape configuration in a planning area to reach a given threshold value of

dispersal.


77

Fig. 1: Example of a “GIS-WALK”-analysis on the 16 individuals of Polysarcus denticauda

in patch C using 30 iterations. Integrating the overpass leads to the same amount of individuals

reaching patch D as without the road.

‘Scientific approach’

Here we use multifactorial statistical habitat models basing on niche theory to analyse the

landscape (Calenge & Basille 2008). The results show how variables obtained from the landscape

under focus react on sub-dissection by roads or re-connection by wildlife crossings. Because

invertebrates are often influenced by the microclimate we used digital elevation models for the


78

calculation of solar insolation summed over the whole year. Such information will regularly neglect

in applied planning. A second but more important reason to use this niche modelling approach is

to use the resulting landscape of habitat suitability as input for the calculation of Least Cost Paths

and their distances. It can be shown that landscape sub-dissection by roads changes the network

of patch connections drastically (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2: Example of a Least Cost Path Network that will be destroyed by a planned road.

In Fig. 3 a patch with good suitability for and also inhabited by Polysarcus denticauda is sub-

dissected by a new planned road. The Euclidean Distance (ED, how the crows fly) between the

new patches of number 39 and number 40 is ED = 17.99 m, the Along Path Distance (APD) of the

Least Cost Path is APD = 21.21 m, while the Sum of the Mahalanobis Distances (MD) of the cells

on this path, which give us a measure for habitat suitability, is ) MDAPD = 28.89. It is essentially to

know that habitat will be lesser suitable the more the Mahalanobis distance of a cell increases. In

this example the habitat suitability decreases significantly () MDAPD = 143.067). Therefore the real

distance D as a product of distance and habitat suitability increases from 21.21 m to 105,05 m (D

= 21,21 m / 28,89 * 143,07) which is approximately five times higher.

Fig. 3: Influence of landscape sub-sub-dissection on the two patches 39 and 40 which were

formerly connected in one.


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From a more strategic point of view these results gives information were new wildlife crossings

should be placed to achieve the best effect or which additional improvements should be made in

the surrounding landscape to bring them to work. For a functional analysis and comparison of

different scenarios of re-connection we have modelled also the Meta-Population-Dynamics. Here

we have used the Least Cost Path distances to parameterise the modelling software Meta-X (Frank

et al. 2003) and SPOMSIM (Moilanen 2004).

References

• Beier, P, Majka DR & Spencer, WD 2008, ‘Forks in the Road: Choices in Procedures for

Designing Wildland Linkages’, Conservation Biology, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 836-851.

• Calenge, C, Basille, B 2008. ‘A general framework for the statistical exploration of the

ecological niche’, Journal of Theoretical Biology, vol. 252, no. 4, pp. 674-685.

• Frank, K, Lorek, H, Köster, F, Sonnenschein, M, Wissel, C, Grimm, V 2003, META-X. Software

for metapopulation viability analysis. Springer-Verlag Berlin, 207 S.

• Lorenzen, D 2003, ‘GIS-gestützte Modellierung der Raumnutzung flugunfähiger Invertebraten’

PhD thesis, Christian-Albrecht-Universität (CAU) Kiel. - Dissertation at the Ecology Centre Kiel,

Department for Landscape Ecology.

• Moilanen, A 2004, SPOMSIM: software for stochastic patch occupancy models of

metapopulation dynamics, Ecological Modelling, vol. 179, no. 4, pp. 533-550.

• Van Dyck, H & Baguette, M 2005, ‘Dispersal behaviour in fragmented landscapes: Routine or

special movements?’, Basic and Applied Ecology, vol. 6, pp. 535-545.


How effective are wildlife fences in preventing collisions with wild ungulates?

Milla Niemi*, Anne Martin*, Ari Tanskanen†, Petri Nummi*

* Department of Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O.Box 27, FIN-00014 University of

Helsinki, Finland

† Department of Geographical and Historical studies, University of Eastern Finland, P.O.Box

111, FIN-80101 Joensuu, Finland

ABSTRACT

Wildlife fences are a widely used method for preventing collisions with wild ungulates and other

large mammals. In Finland it has been estimated that the number of ungulate-vehicle collisions on

highways can decrease even 80 per cent after erecting fences. This estimate notices only collisions

in fenced road sections despite that fencing can have an effect on a larger scale. We compared the

number of collisions with moose and deer on a highway and its parallel road in southern Finland

before and after the fencing of the highway. On Highway 4, a road section of 26.0 kilometres was

fenced in 1998. There were 38 vehicle collisions with wild ungulates in three years before fencing

(1995–1997). At the same time, there were seven collisions on a 25.6 kilometres long, unfenced

section on the road number 140 which runs beside fenced sections of Highway 4. After fencing,

the number of collisions decreased on the Highway 4: there were 15 collisions in three years

(1999–2001). At the same time the number of collisions on the parallel road increased to 25.

Based on our observations, we conclude that fencing of highways can alter the distribution of

vehicle-ungulate collisions. To avoid this, we recommend building wildlife passageways always

when constructing fences.

Key words: Wildlife fence, collision, wild ungulate, parallel road, traffic

INTRODUCTION

Ungulate-vehicle collisions are serious problem in Europe, North America and Japan (e.g. Groot

Bruiderink & Hazebroek 1996, Seiler et al. 2004). In Finland, almost 5000 collisions occur every

year. The estimated cost to the society in 2009 was approximately 64 million euros. In addition to

the economic losses, these accidents cause human suffering: in the 2000s on average eight

persons have been killed and 240 injured per year. Almost all accidents causing human injuries

have been collisions with moose (Alces alces) (Finnish Transport Agency 2010).


80

Many different mitigation measures have been designed to reduce collisions (Hedlund et al. 2004),

and wildlife fences are commonly considered to be effective (see e.g. Romin & Bissonette 1996).

In Finland, wildlife fences have been used along highways since the late 1970s and it has been

estimated that the number of ungulate-vehicle collisions on highways can decrease even 80 per

cent after the erection of fences (Finnish Road Administration 2007).

In most areas the road network consists of not only highways but also many secondary roads. It is

important to notice that the fencing of the main road may alter ungulate movement routes and

pose collision pressure on the secondary roads. The purpose of this study was to find out if there

are changes in the distribution of ungulate-vehicle collisions before and after highway fencing. We

also evaluated whether a wildlife fence decreases the total number of ungulate collisions at the

longer time scale.

STUDY AREA AND DESIGN

Our study was carried out in the central Uusimaa region, which is situated in the southern Finland.

The area is the most densely populated and fragmented part of the country. There are several

divided highways and main roads running through the area, and also a dense network of minor

roads. Wild ungulates found in the area are moose, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and

roe deer (Capreolus capreolus).

Two-lane (one lane in both directions), paved road number 140 used to be the main road between

the cities of Helsinki and Lahti, the stretch of the road between the cities being approximately 100

km. Because of the increasing volume of traffic and for the safety reasons, a new four-lane

highway (Highway 4) was built on the western side of the road 140 in the end of 1980s. Ungulates

migrating along their traditional routes (see Väre 2007) on a western-eastern direction have to

cross both of these roads, thus leading to risk of collisions.

On the Highway 4, we selected a road section between the interchanges leading to the city of

Järvenpää and the city of Mäntsälä as our study section (Fig. 1). The segment was 26.0 kilometres

long and it was protected with a 2.4-metre wildlife fence in the year 1998. The fence extended

two kilometres to south and several kilometres to north beyond our study section. On the

unfenced parallel road number 140, the length of the comparable road section was 25.6

kilometres. The maximum distance between Highway 4 and the parallel road number 140 in the

study area was approximately one kilometer.

We used the collision data from the traffic accident register maintained by the Finnish Road

Administration. The register contains detailed information on all traffic accidents with wild

ungulates reported for authorities. Because there are often car damages and also human injuries

involved in ungulate collisions, the majority of the cases are reported. Moose collisions are

compiled in the statistics separately, and accidents with white tailed deer or roe deer are

combined as deer collisions.

We compared the number of collisions with moose and deer that occurred on the Highway 4 and

road number 140 in our study area (Fig. 1) three years before and three years after erecting the

wildlife fence along Highway 4. Changes in the distribution of the collisions were tested with *%-

test using SPSS (SPSS 15.0).

RESULTS

Before fencing (1995–1997) there were 38 ungulate-vehicle collisions on the Highway 4-study

section and seven collisions on the section of the parallel road number 140 (Fig. 1). After fencing,

the amount of collisions on Highway 4 was reduced to half, but was more than tripled on the road

number 140. The change in the distribution of the collisions between these two roads was

statistically significant (*% = 20.25; df = 1; p < 0.001).

After the study period, the total number of collisions per year has decreased (Fig 2). Most of the

collisions have taken place on the parallel road number 140 despite the fact that its traffic volume

is only approximately twenty five per cent compared to that of the Highway 4 (Finnish Road

Administration, unpublished data). There have been collisions also on the fenced Highway 4.

DISCUSSION

We found out that fencing the highway reduced the amount of collisions with wild ungulates on the

fenced road, but multiplied the number of collisions on the unfenced parallel road. The total

number of collisions occurring on studied road sections decreased during ten years after fencing.


81

At the same time, the density of ungulates in Uusimaa region slightly increased (Uusimaa game

management district, unpublished data).

It seems that on the fenced part of the Highway 4 the total amount of ungulate-vehicle collisions

were reduced in relation to animal density. However, in this study we did not include accidents on

the other parts of the study area’s road network than Highway 4 and road number 140. It may be

possible that the erection of the fence transferred collision sites also to other roads than the

studied road number 140. In further studies, we will re-run the examination on a wider scale and

also take into account collisions occurring on the whole road network running through the area.

We propose that the change in the distribution of collisions was a consequence of highway fencing

altering the movements of ungulates. In Finland, moose can travel dozens of kilometers between

their summer and winter habitats, and sometimes individuals move even several kilometers daily,

especially in summertime (Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, unpublished data).

White-tailed deer and roe deer are more local species and move on a smaller scale than moose,

but depending on circumstances they can also be migratory (Wahlström & Liberg 1995; Mysterus

1999; Brinkman et al. 2005).

It is known that animals can be very tenacious when trying to find their original routes through

the fence. The fencing of Highway 4 disconnected traditional routes of ungulates (see Väre 2007).

Consequently animals may be roaming near the wildlife fence, and in the vicinity of the parallel

road looking for a suitable route through the fenced road area. Based on our results, we suggest

that the increasing number of collisions on the parallel road was a consequence of increased

movements in that road area and needs to be studied more in detail in the future.

Based on our observations, we conclude that fencing of highways can alter the areal distribution of

vehicle-ungulate collisions. To avoid this, we think that it is essential to build wildlife passageways

always when constructing fences (see also e.g. Olsson et al. 2008). In addition, we emphasize the

planning of mitigation measures not only for highways but also for other parts of the road

network.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This project would not be possible without funding from the Finnish Road Administration, the

Finnish Cultural Foundation and Finnish Game Foundation.

LITERATURE CITED

• Brinkman, T.J., C.S. Deperno, J.A. Jenks, B.S. Haroldson, and R.G. Osborn. 2005. Movement

of female white-tailed deer: effects of climate and intensive row-crop agriculture. – Journal of

Wildlife Management 69: 1099–1111.

• Finnish Road Administration. 2007. Aitojen suunnittelu. – Finnish Road Administration,

Helsinki. Available from http://alk.tiehallinto.fi/thohje/pdf/2100049-v-07-aitojensuunn.pdf

(accessed August 2010).

• Finnish Transport Agency. 2010. Elk and deer accidents on highways in 2009. – Research

reports of the Finnish Transport Agency 7/2010. 24 p.

• Groot Bruinderink, G.W.T.A., and E. Hazebroek. 1996. Ungulate traffic collisions in Europe. –

Conservation Biology 10: 1059–1067.

• Hedlund, J.H., P.D. Curtis, G. Curtis, and A.F. Williams. 2004. Methods to reduce traddic

crashes involving deer: What works and what does not. – Traffic Injury Prevention 5: 122–

131.

• Mysterud, A. 1999. Seasonal migration pattern and home range of roe deer (Capreolus

capreolus) in an altitudinal gradient in southern Norway. – Journal of Zoology (London) 247:

479–486.

• Olsson, M.P.O., P. Widén, and J.L. Larkin. 2008. Effectiveness of a highway overpass to

promote landscape connectivity and movement of moose and roe deer in Sweden. – Landscape

and Urban Planning 85: 133–139.

• Romin, L.A., and J.A. Bissonette. 1996. Deer-vehicle collisions: status of state monitoring

activities and mitigation effort. – Wildlife Society Bulletin 24: 276–283.


82

• Seiler, S., J–O. Helldin, and C. Seiler. 2004. Road mortality in Swedish mammals: results of a

drivers’ questionnaire. – Wildlife Biology 10: 225–233.

• Väre, S. 2007. Metsästäjähaastattelu. Pages 35–36 in Niemi, M., S. Väre, A. Martin, E.

Grenfors, J. Krisp, M. Tuominen, and P. Nummi. Animal movements in the road area – partial

studies of the MOSSE programme 2003–2006. Finnish Road Administration Reports 54/2007.

90 p.

• Wahlström, L. K. and O. Liberg. 1995. Patterns of dispersal and seasonal migration in roe deer

(Capreolus capreolus). – Journal of Zoology (London) 235: 455–467.

FIGURES

Figure 1. Wild ungulate-vehicle collisions on studied road sections three years before

(1995–1997) and three years after (1999–2001) the fencing of Highway 4. Large squares

and circles indicate places where two collisions occur on the same place. Data used is

produced by the Finnish Road Administration.


83

Figure 2. The number of wild ungulate-vehicle collisions on the study sections on Highway 4

(black columns) and on the parallel road 140 (white columns) 1995–2008. The black arrow

assigns the year (1998) when the study section on Highway 4 was fenced. Data used is

produced by the Finnish Road Administration.

Wednesday poster session

Transport corridors as habitat

WE11

Roadside vegetation in Mediterranean wetlands: defragmentating or increasing

mortality of birds? Management implications

P. Vera, A. Remolar, C. García-Suikkanen, C. Hernández, E. Gielen, V. Benedito



Contact person: Carolina García-Suikkanen, [email protected], Dept. Enginyeria Hidràulica

i Medi Ambient. Universitat Politècnica de València. Camí de Vera s/n., 46022. Valencia. Spain

One of the challenges for the managers of protected areas is to know the effects of roads on

wildlife, specially the mortality produced by circulation. This is an important issue in

agrienvironmental schemes that suppose the feeding areas for a high percentage of species whose

presence guided to the protection of the area. This has been little studied so far in areas with high

density of roads. Determinations of which factors influence the presence of high density of

roadkills at local scale, and how do they interact with the fauna represent the main basis for an

optimum management of the issue.

However, roadside vegetation management is rarely done according to real needs previously

noticed by empirical studies. In fact, roadside vegetation management and roadside design may

not reduce but increase animal mortality. The role of verge hedgerows and trees in bird morality

has been recently assessed (Meunier et al., 199; Orlowsky, 2005, 2008), but never before in

agrienvironmental schemes associated to wetlands (but see Reijnen et al., 1996), where not only

farmland birds are involved in these casualties.

The role of verge vegetation in bird mortality was studied in a road that crosses a wetland

(l’Albufera de Valencia, E Spain) catalogued as Natural Park and belonging to the Natura 2000

Network. Two sections were chosen in the road, one with reeds and associated vegetation (Rubus

ulmifolius, Arundo donax, Ulmus minor) in one verge, and another one as a control, without

helophytic vegetation. Bird abundance, density, richness and diversity were studied by conducting

line transects (analyzing separately birds registered within a 50m width survey band and all

Poster session: Transport corridors as habitat

84

detected birds) at different distances and homogeneous habitat from the road once per week

between March and November 2009. Bird mortality was monitored along the entire road (5,5 km)

twice per week during the same time period at low velocity along the two sides of the road in

order to increase detectability of bird carcasses. Bird roadkills were tracked with a GPS and for

every casualty presence of roadside vegetation (> 1m height) was recorded. IKA for each species

was calculated as number of total roadkills per km.

The main objectives of the study were: i) to analyze the impact of the road in the avian

community in an agricultural environment; ii) to analyze the effect of roadside vegetation on

patterns of abundance and diversity of passerines; and iii) to propose roadside vegetation

management guidelines in order to decrease direct mortality in waterfowl and passerines.

460 bird roadkills were detected, belonging mostly to Passeriformes (n=262) and waterfowl

(n=191). Bird mortality showed a strong seasonality, being considerably higher in the

postbreeding season (July, n=134) and lower in late winter (March, n=12).

Results of bird surveys analysis showed strong differences in the community assemblage between

road sections with vegetated verges and non-vegetated verges. During pre nuptial season

diversity within the 50 m width-survey band was higher in the vegetated section (t-test, t=3,292;

P=0,008; df=10). In the breeding season, bird density (Mann-Whitney test; U=13,000; P=0,014),

abundance within the 50m width-survey band (U=11,000; P=0,008), total abundance (U=12,000;

P=0,011), richness (U=16,500; P=0,031) and total diversity (U=15,500; P=0,024) were higher in

the vegetated road section. During the post breeding season, bird density (Mann-Whitney test;

U=9,000; P=0,001), abundance within the 50m width-survey band (U=13,000; P=0,004), total

abundance (U=17,000; P=0,011), richness (U=21,000; P=0,029) and total diversity (U=20,000;

P=0,023) were again higher in the vegetated road section.

Line transects conducted weekly in both sides of the road, two behind the helophytic verge

vegetation (150 and 300 m from the road), two opposite at the same distance from the road, and

one conducted in the road, were also analyzed. Abundance within the 50m width survey band

differed significantly between transects in the pre nuptial season (Kruskal Wallis test; KW=10,46;

P<0,05), breeding season (KW=17,99; P<0,05) and post-breeding season (KW=17,55-, P<0,05).

Total abundance showed significant differences in the breeding (ANOVA test; F=3,52; P<0,05)

and post-breeding season (F=9,96; P<0,05). Diversity within the survey band differed

significantly only in the pre nuptial season (F=4,13; P<0,05), while total diversity differed in the

post breeding season (F=3,40; P<0,05). Richness didn’t show significant differences in the whole

study period. Post hoc analyses showed that the transect conducted in the road held more

diversity and abundance than the 150m-distance transects. In the 300m-distance transects

differences were not found between central transect and second order opposite behind vegetation,

but were found in the opposite transect.

Results show the great influence of the helophytic vegetation in the bird community assemblage in

this agrienvironment scheme associated to a wetland. According with these results, roadside

hedgerows proved to be a decisive factor related to increase the abundance of birds next to the

road, and so the frequency of movements around it. Verge vegetation, especially trees and tall

shrubs, have also demonstrated to play an important role in open landscapes as stepping stones

for its movements (Fischer & Lindenmayer, 2002) and refuges (Meunier et al., 1999). Our results

show also the aggregation role for passerines of the verge vegetation. The decline of density and

abundance of birds near the road is only restored behind the verge vegetation (in our case at a

distance of 300 m), probably if vegetation is tall enough to reduce noise.

Presence or absence of helophytic verge vegetation was recorded for 432 birds identified at

species level (Table 1). Mortality distribution of most roadkilled passerines and waterfowl were not

dependant on the presence of verge vegetation, except for Mallard, which abundance of roadkills

was lower in road sections with verge vegetation. Presence of vegetation with this structure

affected Mallard mainly during the post breeding dispersion period, when females cross the road

with ducklings. When roadkilled birds were grouped in feeding classes, results didn’t differ: aquatic

(Chi squared test; *2 = 6,56; P < 0,05), insectivores (*2 = 0,34; n.s.), granivores (*2 = 1,06;

n.s.).


85

No roadside

vegetation (4,1 km)

Roadside vegetation

(>1 m) (1,4 km)

Species N IKA N IKA +2

House Sparrow Passer

domesticus 123 30,00 55 39,29

0,99 (n.s.)

Mallard Anas

platyrhynchos 109 26,59 12 8,57

8,23 ( P<0,05)

Common

Moorhen

Gallinula

chloropus 50 12,20 15 10,71

0,01 (n.s.)

European Serin Serinus serinus 8 1,95 0 0,00 0,46 (n.s.)

Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica 7 1,71 3 2,14 0,08 (n.s.)

European

Starling Sturnus unicolor 5 1,22 1 0,71

0,13 (n.s.)

Others 27 17

Total 329 80,24 103 73,57 0,21 (n.s.)

Table 1: Number of roadkills, IKA and statistical differences between sections

wtih and without helophytic verge vegetation

REFERENCES

• Fischer, J., Lindenmayer, D.B. 2002. The conservation value of paddock trees for birds in a

variegated landscape in southern New South Wales. 2. Paddock trees as stepping stones.

Biodiversity and Conservation 11: 833-849.

• Jaarsma, C.F. 1997. Approaches for the planning of rural road networks according to

sustainable land use planning. Landscape and Urban Planning 39: 47-54.

• Meunier, F.D., Verheyden, C., Jouventin, P. 1999. Bird communities of highway verges:

influence of adjacent habitat and roadside management. Acta Oecologica 20: 1-13.

• Orlowsky, G., 2005. Factors affecting road mortality of barn swallow Hirundo rustica in

farmland. Acta Ornithologica 40: 117.125

• Orlowsky, G,. 2008. Roadside hedgerows and trees as factors increasing road mortality of

birds: implications for management of roadside vegetation in rural landscapes. Landscape and

Urban Planning 86: 153-161.

• Reijnen, R., Foppen, R., Meeuwsen, H., 1996. The effects of traffic on the density of breeding

birds in Dutch agricultural grasslands. Biological Conservation 75: 255-260.

Case studies: mitigation and monitoring

WE18

Wetland creation and restoration near the Bothnia Line railroad – a pioneer project in

ecological compensation for northern migrant birds

Niklas Lindberg, Anders Enetjärn


Enetjärn Natur AB, Kungsgatan 53, SE-903 26 Umeå, SWEDEN +46 90 710953

Abstract

The Natura 2000 site Ume River Delta and Plains is a major staging site for wetland birds along

the Bothnian flyway. To compensate for negative effects of the Bothnia Line railroad passage

through the site, large-scale restoration and construction of wetlands has been undertaken in

Poster session: Case studies: mitigation and monitoring

86

nearby areas. The aim is to create new habitats for wetland birds during spring migration, mainly

Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus, Common Crane Grus grus and various geese and duck species.

The compensation measures include pumping of freshwater onto arable fields to create temporary

spring floods, restoration of moist estuarine meadows, creation of shallow freshwater wetlands

and growing of crops favoured by the birds. In total, the compensation areas cover an area of 500

hectares. During springs of 2009-2010, the areas were already in use by thousands of wetland

birds. A monitoring programme has been started to evaluate the function of the compensation

areas.

The project is the first large-scale exemple in northern Sweden of wetland creation and restoration

specifically aimed at migrant wetland birds.

Introduction

The Natura 2000 site Ume River Delta and Plains (SE0810475) near Umeå in northern Sweden is

an SPA area particularly important as a major staging site for wetland birds along the Bothnian

flyway (e.g., Heath & Evans 2000; Länsstyrelsen 2007). The site offers large areas of estuarine

habitats and adjacent arable land which attract migrating and breeding wetland birds. The site

holds particularly large numbers of birds in spring. Among the species are Whooper Swan Cygnus

cygnus, Common Crane Grus grus, Common Teal Anas crecca and Goosander Mergus merganser.

Additionally, the area is an important stopover site in spring for the north Scandinavian population

of Bean Goose of the threatened nominate form Anser f. fabalis. The site regularly hosts at least

41 species of birds listed in the EU Birds Directive, annex 1 (Länsstyrelsen 2007).

Following extended environmental assessments in 2006-2007, the Swedish Transport

Administration received a permission to construct a new railroad, the Bothnia Line, through parts

of the Natura 2000 site (see e.g., Banverket 2002). Thereby, important feeding areas on arable

land for several wetland birds (geese, swans, dabbling ducks, cranes) were destroyed or otherwise

affected. An important nearby night roost for Bean goose may also be affected by railway noise.

However, the EU legislations stated that ecological compensation was necessary. New habitats had

to be created for the wetland birds during spring migration to replace the loss of areas to the

railroad, or affected by its disturbances.

Material and methods

To fully compensate for the effects of the railroad, large-scale restoration and construction of

wetlands had to be applied. The areas had to be designed to attract those species, protected by

the EU Birds Directive, that until now used the area affected by the railroad construction. Thereby,

the species in focus were mainly Whooper Swan, Common Crane, Bean Goose and other geese

and duck species. The compensation measures were planned to cover a total area of 500

hectares, protected as nature reserves and all of which will be included in the Natura 2000

network.

Historically, naturally flooded fields in the area, often with stubble or remaining barley, have

attracted large numbers of bird in spring. Therefore, freshwater is now pumped onto arable fields

to create temporary spring floods, On adjacent land, shallow freshwater wetlands with grazing

cattle has been created and former moist estuarine meadows bordering the river delta have now

been cleared from trees and bushes and are also grazed. A nearby wetland, previously drained

and forested but important for birds into the 1960´s, has been restored. Finally, around 10

hectares of barley are kept unharvested into each spring to provide swans, geese and cranes with

additional food.

The compensation areas and their intended function for birds have been described in detail by

Banverket (2005, 2006; in Swedish).

A newly formed foundation with representatives from, e.g., the County Administrative Board, the

Transport Administration and the local NGO’s will be responsible for the long-term management

and monitoring of the areas in the future. An extensive, long-term monitoring programme, mainly

regular bird counts, will be performed to evaluate the function of the compensation areas.


87

Results

During 2008-2009, planning and construction measures were intense, to ensure the areas to be

complete and in function until spring arrival 2010. Among other things, enough time had to be

given for vegetation succession on banks and newly created wetlands. The function of pumps and

drainage systems also had to be carefully tested. Although the compensation areas were not yet

fully functional in the spring 2009, they were already used by many wetland birds.

In time for the arrival of migrant birds in spring 2010, the first phase of the monitoring

programme was initiated. From late March to early May the numbers of wetland birds were

counted with 1-2 day intervals. Peak numbers in the compensation areas during the bird counts

included 1.970 Whooper Swans, 1.520 Bean Geese, 2.480 Common Teals and 150 Pintails Anas

acuta. Raptors such as Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus and White-Tailed Eagle Haliaeetus

albicilla were seen daily, hunting among the waterfowl. The areas were used by wetland birds both

as feeding grounds and night roosts.

Conclusions

The project is the first large-scale exemple in northern Sweden of wetland creation and restoration

specifically aimed at migrant wetland birds. The compensation areas have already attracted

thousands of wetland bird during the springs of 2009-2010. The results from the bird monitoring

programme in 2010 are promising, although more time is needed for evaluation because of annual

variations in spring arrival and bird behaviour. Moreover, the railroad traffic through the area has

not yet started.

The conclusions from the project will probably prove very useful when planning ecological

compensation in future infrastructure projects.

References

• Banverket 2002. The Bothnia Line Project: The Bothnia Line through the Umeälven delta.

Supporting documents for the Government’s request for a Statement of Opinion by the

European Commission. Botnia 2002:002. Banverket, Borlänge.

• Banverket 2005. Plan för kompensationsåtgärder, förvaltning och finansiering. januari 2005,

uppdaterad efter fältinventeringar 2004. Botnia 2004:003. Banverket, Luleå. (in Swedish)

• Banverket 2006. Kompensation avseende rastande fåglar i SPA-området vid Umeälvens delta

och slätter. Botnia 2006: 001. Banverket, Luleå. (in Swedish)

• Heath, M. F. & Evans, M. I. (eds.) 2000. Important Bird Areas in Europe: Priority sites for

conservation. 1: Northern Europe. Cambridge, UK: BirdLife International (BirdLife Conservation

Series No. 8), p. 682.

• Länsstyrelsen 2007. Bevarandeplan. Umeälvens delta och slätter (SE0810475). Länsstyrelsen

Västerbotten. (in Swedish)


WE26

Migration corridors for large carnivores in the West Carpathians, Czech Republic –

current threats and conservation activities

Miroslav Kutal, Tomá, Kraj&a, Michal Bojda, Martin Jan&a


[email protected]

Hnutí DUHA Olomouc (Friends of the Earth Czech Republic), Dolní nám"stí 38, 77200 Olomouc,

Czech Republic

Introduction

The Beskydy Mountains located on the Czech – Slovak border function as an important gateway

for wolves, lynxes and bears. Their populations recovered in last 50 years by recolonisation mainly

from the Slovak Carpathians, but they suffer from illegal hunting and migration barriers. There are

three key migration corridors with national or international importance in the West Carpathians:

(1) Jablunkov region located on the northern part of the Beskydy Mts. is probably the only corridor

ensuring direct connectivity among Czech, Slovak and Polish populations of large carnivores.

Poster session: Trans European wildlife network

88

(2) South corridors in Vsetín region connect Beskydy with another mountain range on Czech-

Slovakian border (White Carpathians) and with hills continuing to the west.

(3) The western corridor located in Moravian gate lowlands is important for migration of large

mammals to the Jeseníky Mts. and possible -umava Mts. / Bavarian forest and other regions with

potential presence of large carnivores.

The possibilities for migration of large mammals were studied by FoE CZ byl different methods in

all key corridors (Pict. 1).

Pict. 1: Map of the area of interest. Arrows show key migration corridors and directions.

Jablunkov region

Study area

Research conducted by FoE CZ in 2008–2010 has investigated the activity of large mammals in

two last possible migration corridors between neighbouring mountain ranges (Slezské and

Moravskoslezské Beskydy, And'l et al. 2007). The valley is cut by build-up area and frequented

road I/11, connecting two large car factories in No,ovice (Hyundai, CZ) and .ilina (KIA, SK).

Another barrier is international double line railway No. 320.

The first corridor “Jablunkov” (49°33'33"N 18°44'56"E) , is located in agricultural land. Its

permeability is ensured by 460 m long and 18 m high road bridge. The distance between two large

forest patches is 3,3–3,8 km. The width of the corridor is 200–500 m, the bottleneck is caused by

scattered housebuilding.

The second corridor “Custom-house” (49°29'43"N, 18°45'55"E) is located on the border with

Czech and Slovak Republic just on the mountain-pass, 7 km from Jablunkov. There is about 160 m

wide gap between two custom houses on each side of the road. Forest fits tightly to both sides of

the road.

Methods

Activity of large mammals in two corridors were monitored by snow tracking (every month during

snow cover) and by trail cameras Moultire Game spy 4.0 megapixel and Moultrie M40 placed on

animals' paths. Unfortunately the design of monitoring was negatively influenced by thefts of the

cameras. Animal mortality on 7 km section of I/11 were studied in 1-month period in order to


89

identify the road sections of the most frequent collisions. The detailed methodology and results

are described in study by Kraj&a & Kutal (2010).

Results

“Jablunkov” was used mostly by roe deer as was shown by trail cameras. Snow tracking confirmed

also the presence of red deer and wild boar and footprints of wolf. The highest activity was

recorded one at the dusk and dawn (see Tab. 1 for the results).

Although “Custom-house” is forested corridor, the activity of large mammals during summer was

4x lower than in Jablunkov and it was spread more less equally during the night. Trail cameras

confirmed the presence of roe deer and red deer, moreover there were found footprints of wild

boar, wolf and lynx.

There were found 4 critical sections of I/11 with mortality higher than 2 roe deer (during study

period). One section lays directly in migration corridor “Custom-house”. The highest mortality was

recorded during IV.-IX. month, none mortality during winter. It corresponds with the lowest

activity of mammals recorded by trail cameras year round.

Tab. 1:. Comparison of two migration corridors in Jablunkov region

Jablunkov Custom-house

Characteristics – cover agricultural land forest

Snow tracking (number of trails)

roe deer 74 52

red deer 9 23

wild boar 5 9

wolf 3 4

lynx 0 2

Hits by trail camera running 63 days in

both corridors simultaneously

21.6.-25.9.2009 21.6.-25.9.2009

roe deer 39 10

red deer 0 4

Hits by trail cameras during 91 days in 2

consecutive years

3.1.-2.5.2010 16.1.-16.6. 2009

roe deer 20 16

red deer 0 1

Peaks of the deer activity during the day 1 hour before sunrise, 1 hour

after sunset

no peaks; equable

activity: 1 h. before

sunset – 2 h. after

sunrise

Peaks of the deer activity during the year VII.-XI. IV.-IX.

Road mortality (1 roe deer in neighbouring

road of III. category)

2 roe deer

Discussion

7 km of the distance between two migration corridors on the border of NATURA 2000 site is a

higher number than 3–5 km recommended by Jedrzejewski (2006) or Mata (2008). Moreover it

should be regarded as the area of international importance for large mammal migration. Between

two corridors there is no other possibility for migration for large mammals due to existing build-up

area. Besides these, one corridor can probably function in Slovakia about 1,5 km from the state

border, but it is also endangered by new planned motorway R5.

Poster session: Trans European wildlife network

90

The function of “Custom-house” corridor is affected by frequent road I/11 as was shown by lower

deer activity and higher road mortality. A green bridge was suggested in mountain passage as a

compensation of increased traffic caused by new car factory in No,ovice. Although the factory has

worked from 2008, at present there are even no high-quality documentation for the green bridge

prepared by responsible authorities.

The Jablunkov corridor functions probably quite well for mammals which do not avoid open spaces

like roe deer or wolves, but it cannot probably ensure the proper function for larger mammals like

red deer, lynx or bear. Land purchases, planting of forest patches and biocorridors could increase

the attractiveness for large mammals.

The railway should not be a problem for migration in the region in future, because 2 special

underpasses 25 meters wide and 8 meters high in both corridors are building under reconstructed

railway at present. Realization of these mitigation measures were enforced by NGOs and state

nature conservation bodies. Their parameters are within the limits for large mammals with the

highest space demands as defined by And'l et al. (2006). Future research and monitoring will

show, how the theoretical permeability works in the practice.

Both studied corridors within the Czech Republic are important for large mammals including

protected species of large carnivores and the corridors should be protected by spatial plan. This

target has been reached by demands of nature conservation bodies and FoE active participation in

SEA and spatial planning procedures. However, there are still threats for both localities: new gas

station in “Custom-house” and an industry area in “Jablunkov”. Investor intentions have not been

allowed so far but the real conservation of migration corridors need permanent control of all

decision making processes.

Vsetín region

Background information and methods

The area covers several mountain ranges and hills near the border with Slovakia. To conserve

good connectivity of the area (currently without highway or very frequented road) we investigated

spatial plans of municipalities in Vsetín region. We were interested in conflicts of existing migration

corridors with the plans of municipalities or superior institutions, focusing on two valleys: 27 km

long valley of Vsetínská Be&va river (between Vsetínské hills and Javorníky Mts.) and 20 km long

valley of rivers Senice and St/elenka (between Javorníky Mts. and Vizovické hills and Bílé Karpaty

– White Carpathians).

Corridors suitable for migrations of large mammals were defined as gaps between build-up area

with minimum of 100 meters wide at the bottleneck, connecting over a valley two mountain

ranges.

Results and discussion

There are were 18 potential migration corridors found in two surveyed valleys. 2 of them have

been currently destroyed by new family houses, other 7 are already too narrow and cannot ensure

the migration of large mammals (but can be suitable for smaller mammals). Finally only 9

corridors now fulfil the criteria for large mammal passages and out of them only 2 are protected in

the spatial plan as biocorridors (Bojda et al. 2010). Both of them lay in the valley of Senice and

Strelenka rivers.

The connection to the Vizovické hills is important since it can enable migrations to the west –

Morvian gate. The north part of the White Carpathians (including Slovak part) is one of 3 core

areas for the brown bear in the eastern part of the Czech Republic (Kutal et al. 2010). The main

future threat is planned highway R49 across Vizovické vrchy and planned new industry areas in

lowlands.

Moravian gate region

Background information

There are mostly agricultural lands with low forest cover in Moravian gate. At the distance of 5 km

between two large forested area there are three parallel unnatural barriers: the most frequented

Czech railway No. 270, four-lane highway R47 and new motorway D47 (D1) (in operation from

2008).


91

During the planing process and EIA procedure, a green bridge was suggested in 04 section of D47

(49°34'11"N, 17°38'43"E) in order to ensure the permeability of highway between Maleník

massive and Oderské hills. During the construction works, Investor (Road and Motorway

Directorate of the Czech Republic) rejected the construction of green bridge and asked Ministry of

the Environment to cancel the condition for realization of the green bridge. As a compensation,

investor suggested the land purchase and planting of forest in the corridor between Maleník and

Oderské vrchy. The permeability of the highway should be ensured by vegetation leading the

animals under existing bridges. The change of the condition was approved by Ministry in February

2010.

FoE CZ investigated how are the possibilities of migration of large mammals according the

changed conditions of the Ministry of the Environment.

Methods

We investigated permeability of 4 bridges on D47 highway according the methodology set by

And'l et al. (2006). Since the parallel road R47 has no mitigation measures and it is placed on the

level of surrounding landscape, we have assessed the possibilities by monitoring the traffic during

the night.


Two underpasses – bridges closest to the axis of the corridor do not fulfil the criteria for migration

of mammals with the highest space demands. One of them was built even narrower than planned

– contradictory to the building approval. Other underpasses can be used for the large mammals,

but they are located 3–5 kilometres from the axis of the corridor, what would double the length of

the corridor. The attractiveness of the long and fractional corridor for large mammals is a question

for other research.

Although the main reason for the desertion of the idea of the green bridge was the prize (210

millions CZK, approx. 8,4 millions (), during 2006-2008 there were 2,8 millions ( spent for the

green bridge despite the fact its construction has never started. Until now no actions has started

in favour of land purchase or realization of the biocorridor. Whole action is extremely important as

a bad leading case for future. Additional changes in once approved (and partly realized)

documentation obviously cannot lead to the satisfactory solution for the migration of large

mammals. However, FoE CZ will do their best to change this statement in the case of the Moravian

gate.

Results of the traffic monitoring on parallel R48 is not finished, but preliminary results show only

3,7 % gaps between cars during the night (between working days) are longer than 2 minutes.

References

• And'l P., Gor&icová I., Hanu, F., Moravec F. & Hromková V., 2007: Zaji,t'ní migra&ní

prostupnosti Jablunkovské brázdy pro velké savce v souvislosti s p/edpokládan0m nav0,ením

automobilového provozu na silnici I/11 v úseku Jablunkov – státní hranice 1R/SR po zahájení

provozu závodu Hyundai Motor Company v pr2myslové zón' No,ovice. Evernia s. r. o.,

Liberec, 31 pp (in Czech).

• And'l P., Hlavá& V. & Lenner R., 2006: Migra&ní objekty pro zaji,t'ní pr2chodnosti dálnic a

silnic pro voln' 3ijící 3ivo&ichy. Ministerstvo dopravy, odbor pozemních komunikací, 92 pp (in

Czech).

• Kraj&a T.& Kutal M., 2010: Migrace velk0ch savc2 v Jablunkovském pr2smyku. Hntí DUHA

Olomoc, Olomouc, 27 pp (in Czech).

• Bojda M., Kutal M., Praus L., 2010: Aktuální situace prostupnosti krajiny v údolí Vsetínské

Be&vy a Senice: Nutná ochrana stávajících koridor2 pro velké savce - záv're&ná studie. Hnutí

DUHA Olomouc: 35 pp (in Czech).

• Kutal M., Vá4a M., Bojda M., 2010: Monitoring velk0ch ,elem v Beskydech 2003–2010. Hnutí

DUHA Olomouc, Olomouc, 21 pp (in Czech).

• Mata C., Hervás I., Herranz J., Suárez F. & Malo J. E., 2008: Are motorway wildlife passages

worth building? Vertebrate use of road-crossing structures on a Spanish motorway. Journal of

Environmental Management 88: 407–415, 2008.

• J5drzejewski W. a kol., 2006: Zwierz5ta a drogi: Metody organiczania negatywnego wp!ywu

dróg na populace dzikich zwierz6t. Zak!ad Badania Ssaków Polskiej Akademii Nauk,

Bia!owie7a, Polsko, 95 pp. + I map (in Polish).


92

Friday, 1 October


Ecology and Transportation: Trends and Challenges and Opportunities

Paul J. Wagner

Chair, International Conference on Ecology and Transportation (ICOET), Branch Manager,

Environmental Services Office, Washington State Department of Transportation, PO Box 7331,

Olympia, Washington 98504-7331, USA

ABSTRACT

Awareness of how transportation systems can affect the natural environment has evolved from the

primary focus on animal-vehicle collisions toward more systemic thinking and more coordinated

solutions aimed at promoting transportation that is not only safe, but also ecologically sound. A

growing community of people, concerned with these matters, is bringing new partnerships,

perspectives and resources to bear. Success in this undertaking involves factors in three broad

categories.

1) Technical factors which address the effects of roads and transportation systems on

organisms, ecosystems and ecological processes, as well as measures that can be implemented to

minimize effects. Current trends include: increased attention to multi species approaches;

integration of aquatic and terrestrial approaches; more detailed evaluation of crossing structure

effectiveness; and landscape scale planning for ecological connectivity.

2) Process factors which address how ecological considerations can be integrated into the

processes transportation planning, construction and operation. Current trends here include:

expanded institutional frameworks for project coordination; expanded public involvement;

initiatives for sustainability as well as climate change adaptation strategies.

3) Catalyzing factors which help build and maintain momentum, affect change, new thinking,

and new solutions and partnerships Current trends here include: Increased public interest in road

ecology issues; policy direction from government and other organizations; increased academic

research focus; and coordinated research strategies.

This discussion provides an overview of the current trends, as well as challenges and opportunities

for these factors of Road Ecology in North America.

Introduction

Human understanding of the relationship between ecology and transportation has advanced,

broadened and deepened significantly in the last two decades. Addressing the safety of motorists

is always an important starting point, but this work has begun to also include broader ecological

concepts of Road Ecology. As knowledge has grown in this area, we have improved our

understanding of the ecological issues related to roads and transportation systems, but have also

become more proficient with measures to avoid and minimize these effects. At the same time the

importance of promoting ecologically sound transportation has become more widely accepted

within and beyond the transportation community. This is being recognized as an integral part of

larger environmental initiatives such as endangered species conservation, climate change

adaptation, restoring ecosystem habitat connectivity and protecting biodiversity.

Promoting ecologically sound transportation relies on factors in three areas: our technical

knowledge about the ecological effects; the process of coordination for developing transportation

infrastructure and catalyzing factors which help support the sharing and application of information.

These address three broad questions:

1) Technical: What are the ways roads and transportation systems affect organisms, ecosystems

and ecological processes, and what measures that can be implemented to minimize effects?

2) Process: How can this ecological knowledge be best integrated into the planning and decision

making and implementation processes?

3) Catalyst: How is awareness raised, knowledge shared and, support created, to keep

momentum and realize the benefits for the traveling public and the natural environment?

Friday, 1 October

93

1. TECHNICAL FACTORS

These factors relate to understanding the effects of roads and transportation systems on

organisms, ecosystems and ecological processes, and the measures that can be implemented to

minimize these effects. This includes ecological science as well as engineering. Addressing animal

vehicle collisions is an important starting point, but approaches have evolved that include broader

attention to habitat fragmentation, ecological connectivity planning and population genetics. While

there are many site specific situations with unique attributes which have generated their own

special analysis and solutions, some general trends can be observed.

Trends

Multi species approaches. While there have been many cases where a single species is the focus

due to its protected status, special management concern or specific safety issue, there is a general

trend toward analyses projects and solutions which address the needs of many species. For

example, wildlife crossing structures have frequently been designed primarily to direct large

mammals off roadways to avoid collisions, but more of these are being located and designed to

provide connectivity for large and small animals with various levels of vagility.

Integration of aquatic and terrestrial approaches The barrier effect of roads has been well

recognized for many terrestrial species, but is becoming better understood and more widely

addressed with respect to aquatic species, particularly migratory species such as anadromous

salmonids. The passage needs for aquatic species are being more thoroughly studied and

quantified. Culverts are being evaluated for fish passage characteristics in more and more places.

More guidance is available for design of aquatic passage at stream crossings and in many places

passage for aquatic and terrestrial species can achieved in the same structure. Design approaches

that mimic natural stream channels are being used.

Crossing structure effectiveness evaluation More detailed evaluation of crossing structure

effectiveness is being conducted. This is partly due to the increasing number of wildlife crossings

which have been constructed as well advances in affordable camera technology. This is producing

useful data on the attributes of effective crossing structures.

Landscape level ecological connectivity planning Numerous planning efforts for habitat connectivity

have been completed or are under way at the state or ecoregion level. Many of these are

partnership efforts involving governmental agencies, academics and NGOs.

Climate change mitigation and adaptation planning A few efforts have begun with planning for

adaptation strategies for climate change. These address considerations for infrastructure planning

as well as natural resource planning and are a natural intersection for issues related to road

ecology.

Challenges

Some of the biggest challenges come from the fact that ecological baseline is degraded or

degrading in many situations and therefore the context includes many environmental stressors on

species and habitats in addition to the transportation infrastructure. More species are regularly

proposed for state and Federal lists of threatened and endangered species, and the broad trend in

many cases is toward modification and toss of natural habitat and increased habitat

fragmentation. This can make it difficult to isolate and understand the potential effects of a

planned project and also poses challenges to developing effective mitigation measures. The

quantity and complexity of potential environmental impacts can be daunting and can have high

cost and schedule ramifications.

Opportunities

With challenges come opportunities and today there is more experience and knowledge available

as well as, more examples, both positive and negative to draw from. A significant opportunity for

transportation to play a positive role in addressing ecological issues lies in the effective use project

mitigation. Various mitigation efforts are often employed to reduce or compensate for project

impacts. In some cases, if the supporting plans and process are n place, these efforts can also

support larger conservation objectives or implement an aspect of a watershed or species recovery

plan.

Transportation projects are often defined to address deficiencies or provide improvements in

safety or mobility. Another opportunity for addressing technical issues is ecological retrofit, where

road projects are defined and prioritized to address an ongoing environmental issue in the


94

transportation system such as a riparian habitat loss along a streamside road or existing fish

barriers. These types of problems are often addressed as part of a planned road project, but

under ecological retrofit, remedies are implemented on a stand alone project basis according to

the ecological gain.

Climate change adaptation planning is a complex, multi-stakeholder undertaking, which is offers

some opportunities for incorporating ecological retrofit, such as larger stream crossing structures

in areas anticipating increased runoff. This planning also could provide a coordination avenue for

habitat connectivity planning and forward thinking mitigation projects targeted to anticipated

conservation needs

2. PROCESS FACTORS

These factors relate to the integration of ecological considerations into transportation planning,

construction and operation. Traditionally this has been largely influenced through the project

environmental documentation and permitting process, but also as a result of policy and guidance

direction within transportation and resource agencies. Sometimes environmental considerations

can be perceived as competing interests with meeting transportation objectives, and the issues

can be complex and even contentious. At the same time, many agencies have found effective

ways to incorporate environmental issues into the transportation process and have developed

special teams, tasks and communication to support this.

Trends

Institutional frameworks for project coordination In general, transportation agencies are tending

to engage environmental issues as an essential part of doing their work effectively and thoroughly,

rather than as an obstacle to success. Creative resolutions to these issues are often promoted as

examples of good stewardship. Many transportation agencies have partnered with resource

agencies, creating dedicated transportation liaison positions at federal and state level to improve

project coordination.

Early project coordination There have been many process improvement efforts at the state level to

improve interagency and inter disciplinary coordination for transportation planning. These tend to

focus on early coordination, and may involve special project tracking procedures, creation of

dedicated teams and points of contact as well as improved communication measures.

Expanded public involvement with project environmental issues There has been an increase in

public involvement and citizen interest in the ecological aspects of transportation projects and in

support of decisions which demonstrate improved stewardship. In some places this has lead to

citizen monitoring programs to collect information on animal activity near roads, animal vehicle

collisions and use of crossing structures.

Sustainability initiatives There is currently a significant focus on the concepts of sustainability in

transportation. This is a far reaching topic which contemplates future needs and resource

constraints. This includes modal choices, materials selection and recycling, new technologies and

many other concepts, in addition to addressing ecological effects for environmental sustainability.

Challenges

The process challenges include the unavoidable fact that environmental regulations are complex,

and tend to become more so over time. Sometimes these involve competing or overlapping

interests and jurisdictions. These needs must be addressed in a context of limited financial and

staffing resources, which makes it difficult to show rapid progress.

Opportunities

The weaving together of conservation and transportation planninng objectives through the use of

conservation /mitigation banks, in-lieu fee programs or other agreements is a very promising

opportunity which has been effective in many places. The development of strategies for

sustainability provides an opportunity to include ecological retrofit and other environmental

concepts in larger system level planning initiatives.

3. CATALYZING FACTORS

These factors help build and maintain momentum. They affect change, new thinking, and new

solutions and partnerships. They help encourage and enable the technical and scientific

information to be effectively shared and applied to projects and planning efforts.

Friday, 1 October

95

Trends

Expanding awareness of issues and solutions increased awareness of the issues has raised the

visibility with decision makers and the general public of the need to implement transportation

work that is ecologically sound. This is evident in media coverage and is generally viewed as a

positive attribute, when proposals are well explained and justified. At the same time, in a time

where budgets are being reduced, there is increased concern that transportation investments are

being made in a prudent and responsible way.

Governmental policy direction Policy documents ranging from site specific agreements, to multi-

state strategies recent Western Governor’s Association and even the Federal transportation budget

support the idea that better integration of ecology and transportation is good public policy.

Expanded Academic focus on Road Ecology There has been a significant expansion of study of

Road Ecology with several academic centers and specific programs of study established in the past

decade. Partnership approaches have been used to combine funding and staff resources into

effective research programs.

Improved coordination among practitioners There is a active and growing interaction through

committees, organizations such as the Transportation Research Board (TRB), and the American

Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) , list serves, conferences and

publications. This has provided synergy through shared ideas.

Challenges

The primary challenges for catalyzing factors are the limitations on funding and staff resource

which has been made very critical by the recent economic downturn. This has forced difficult

decisions, budget cuts and tradeoffs and many agencies have lost staff and funding for

environmental work.

Opportunities

There is a great deal of interest and enthusiasm and support for promoting ecologically sound

transportation. There are more opportunities to learn from others than ever before. Partnership

approaches have been successful in many places for policy development, project planning,

mitigation development, public outreach, citizen monitoring coordinated research strategies.

Conclusion

There has been significant progress in understanding and addressing the ecological effects of

transportation. Considering the challenges involved the continuation of progress into the future

may rely as much on partnerships and catalysts as on technical and process advances.


Green bridges and other structures for permeability of highways in Croatia: Case of

large carnivores

Djuro Huber, Josip Kusak


Biology Department of the Veterinary Faculty University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10000

Zagreb, Croatia

Introduction

Habitat fragmentation has been recognized as one of the most significant factors contributing to

the decline of biodiversity in Europe (Damarad and Bekker 2003). Large mammals, and especially

large carnivores, are sensitive to habitat fragmentation and destruction because of their low

numbers, large ranges and direct persecution by humans (Linnell et al. 1996; Noss et al. 1996).

Preserving or restoring habitat continuity is recognized as one of main tasks when the

conservation of large mammals is the goal (Clevenger and Waltho 2000; Kaczensky et al. 2003).

Two new fenced highways were constructed through the main portion of the large carnivore’s core

area in Croatia. The Zagreb - Rijeka highway (Gorski kotar highway) was built during the period

from 1996 to 2004. The Bosiljevo – Split – Dubrovnik highway (Lika and Dalmatia highway),

branching of Zagreb – Rijeka highway was built till near Plo&e town in the period from 2003 to

2008 (Figure 1). Both highways cut though the most forested part of Croatia and though the


96

range of all three large carnivores which live in Croatia (bear, wolf and lynx) possibly splitting the

Dinaric mountain range into a northern and a larger southern part. Due to the mountains they

transect, these highways have numerous viaducts and tunnels which help maintaining the habitat

continuity. However, to further improve the permeability of highways, eleven additional green

bridges (overpasses) (Figure 2), one additional tunnel and five additional viaducts, were added to

the objects constructed due to topography itself. The need for such objects was recognized in part

due to previous studies of bear movements (Huber and Roth 1993), and bear mortality caused by

traffic (Huber et al. 1998), as well as the impact of traffic on all three large carnivores in Croatia

(Kusak et al., 2000) .

We studied if these new highways present a barrier for the movements of large mammals, or do

they have enough crossing structures which ensure permeability and habitat continuity? In this

paper we summarized already published monitoring data concerning northern highway through

Gorski kotar (Kusak et. al. 2009) and compared them with first monitoring data for three green

bridges on the Lika part of highway.

Materials and methods

We studied the impact of highways on large and medium sized mammal movements by the use of

radio-telemetry, IR counters, by reading signs on sand-tracks and by photo traps (Kusak et al.

2009). We compared the data from the two highways and related them to habitat features in

regions where those highways were situated.

Figure 1: Wolf distribution (bear and lynx distributions are inside the area of wolf distribution)

in Croatia in relation to highways and crossing structures built in Croatia in the period

from 1997 to 2008.

Friday, 1 October

97

Figure 2: Green bridge Kon#&ica (150m) built in 2008 and is one of ten green bridges in

Croatia on the highway to the south (Lika and Dalmatia).


There are differences in the three studied sections mostly due to different topography of three

regions (Table 1).

Table 1: Highways in Croatia with numbers and sizes of all objects that can serve as

possible crossing structures for animals. The last green bridge was in the section which

was still under the construction, and as such was not included in this study.

Region Highwa

y length

(m)

Bridge

N (m)

Underpass

N (m)

Tunnel

N (m)

Viaduct N

(m)

Green

bridge

(n)

Total N

(%)

Gorski

kotar

68500 3 (898) 24 (246) 12

(10045)

16 (5996) 1 (100) 56 (25.3)

Lika 160940 16

(2595)

26 (336) 7 (18842) 18 (6594) 4 (480) 71 (17.9)

Dalmatia

*

137739 7 (2262) 71 (525) 6 (38338) 20 (4056) 5 (800) 109 (8.3)

Total 367179 26

(5755)

121

(1107)

25

(32725)

54

(16646)

10

(1380)

236

(15.7)

*includes part finished until the end of 2008 (to 'estanovac exit)

The Dedin green bridge in Gorski kotar was crossed by large mammals 15.8 times per day (Kusak

et al. 2009). This is comparable to the daily use (12.2 to 16.3 passes) by ungulates of one

overpass (50 by 95 m) in The Netherlands (van Wieren and Worm 1997) and by sum of 13.7 that

passed per day under all monitored (N=11) underpasses together in Banff NP (Clevenger and

Waltho 2000). The total number of crosses per day over/under four monitored crossing structures

in Gorski kotar is five times higher than under all underpasses on phases 1 and 2 of the highway

in Banff NP (Kusak et al. 2009). As the length of monitored crossing structures represented only

16% of all objects on the length of the highway through Gorski kotar, the total highway

permeability, with included unmonitored structures, may be three to four times higher.

In the period from 26.10.2005 to 28.02.2008, we monitored the use of three green bridges on the

highway to the south, in Lika region. We recorded a total of 18423 crosses, giving a total of 27.99

crosses per day, for all three objects together (Table 2) what was in average 6.5 less pre day per


98

green bridge compared to the use of Dedin green bridge. That could be due to lover animal

density, difference in habitat surrounding crossing structures and increased human disturbance.

Table 2: The length of monitoring periods, total number of crosses and daily use of three

green bridges monitored in Lika region in the period from 26.10.2005 to 28.02.2008.

Green bridge Days of monitoring N crosses N crosses per day

Iva&eno brdo 592.42 5921 10.15

Medina gora 710.96 7451 10.43

Varo,ina 682.73 5051 7.41

TOTAL 662.04 18423 27.99

The analysis of the green bridges use by different species revealed some striking differences. The

frequency of ungulate crossings was highest on Iva&eno brdo, while there was lowest frequency of

large carnivores crossing (*2

= 8.68, df = 2, p<0.01). It was opposite on Medina gora, high rate of

large carnivores crossing with rather low rate of ungulates crossing (difference not significant),

and without a single appearance of red deer. The presence of a man and dog was observed on all

three crossing structures, with the highest frequency on Varo,ina green bridge (Figure 3). This

coincides with lover overall crossing frequency for this crossing structure, and low frequency of

large carnivores. Strong positive correlation was found between crossing frequencies of ungulates

and man with dog (Spearman Rank R= 0.78, p= 0.003), then for ungulates and dog (Spearman

Rank R= 0.82, p= 0.001). It is evident that human disturbance can influence the use of crossing

structure by animals. Ungulates in Banff NP are sensitive to structural attributes of the

underpasses, whilst large carnivores are sensitive to distance to town and human activity level

(Clevenger and Waltho 2000). Similar pattern was found by Kusak et al. (2009); crossing

structures highly used by large carnivores are less used by large herbivores.

Figure 3: Number of crosses of three monitored green bridges in Lika.

We have confirmed that all large mammals use green bridges on regular basis, but the frequency

and patterns of crossings vary during day, as well as between large mammal species and groups.

No difference in frequency and patterns of usage was found between the three bridges. There is

also a strong negative correlation between human passage and passage of large carnivores as well

as between passage of large carnivores and ungulate passage, and positive correlation between

human and ungulates passage. Therefore, in order to increase usage of green bridges by large

carnivores, human influence at green bridges should be eliminated or at least minimized. To

achieve this, the Minister of Culture, pursuant to the Nature Protection Act (Anon. 2008), with the

approval of the Minister of the Sea, Tourism, Transport and Development, and the Minister of

Environmental Protection, Physical Planning and Construction, issued the “Ordinance on wildlife

crossings” (Anon. 2007) that restricts the human use of animal crossing structures. Crossing

structures are marked by signs made in accordance with these regulations. Signs are placed on

the side of the road (Figure 4) and on the crossing structures itself and at a distance of 300 m

from the structure.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Iva!eno brdo Medina gora Varošina

Green bridge

N crosses per day

Large carnivoresUngulatesMan and dog

Friday, 1 October

99

Figure 4: The sign on the highway telling that the object is crossing structure

for wild animals.

Literature Cited

• Anonymous (2007) Ordinance on Wildlife Crossings. Official Gazette No 70/05: 278. (in

Croatian

• Anonymous, (2008) Changes and Additions to Nature Protection Act. Official Gazette No

139/08: 3887. (in Croatian)

• Clevenger AP, Waltho N (2000) Factors influencing the effectiveness of wildlife underpasses in

Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. Conservation Biology 14:47-56

• Damarad T, Bekker GJ (2003) COST 341 - Habitat fragmentation due to transportation

infrastructure: Findings of the COST Action 341.:1-16

• Huber D, Roth HU (1993) Movements of European brown bears in Croatia. Acta Theriologica

38:151-159.

• Huber D, Kusak J, Frkovic A (1998) Traffic kills of brown bears in Gorski kotar, Croatia. Ursus

10:167-171.

• Kaczensky P, Knauer F, Kr3e B, Jonozovi& M, Adami& M, Gossow H (2003) The impact of high

speed, high volume traffic axes on brown bears in Slovenia. Biological Conservation 111:191-

204.

• Kusak J, Huber D, Frkovi8 A (2000) The effects of traffic on large carnivore populations in

Croatia. Biosphere Conservation 3:35-39

• Kusak J., D. Huber, T. Gomer&i8, G. Schwaderer, G. Gu3vica (2009). The permeability of

highway in Gorski kotar (Croatia) for large mammals. Eur J Wildl Res 55:7–21.

• Linnell JD, Smith ME, Odden J, Kaczensky P, Swenson JE (1996) Carnivores and sheep farming

in Norway. 4:1-118.

• Noss RF, Quigley HB, Hornocker MG, Merrill T, Paquet PC (1996) Conservation biology and

carnivore conservation in the Rocky Mountains. Conservation Biology 10:949-963

• van Wieren SE, Worm PB (1997) The use of a wildlife overpass by large and small mammals. J

Wildl Res 2:191–194.

Index of authors

100

Index of authors

A And'l, P. ..............................................60

Andreas, M. ..........................................60

B Benedito, V..................................... 47, 83

Bláhová, A............................................60

Bojda, Michal ........................................87

Böttcher, Marita ....................................71

Butler, F...............................................67

D Dinetti, Marco .......................................36

Dolan, L.M.J..........................................67

E Emmerson, M........................................67

Enetjärn, Anders ...................................85

Esswein, Heide......................................63

F Finnerty, E.J. ........................................67

Folkesson, Lennart ................................. 5

François, D. ..........................................15

Freitas, Simone R. .................................. 9

G García-Suikkanen, C. ....................... 47, 83

Gielen, E. ....................................... 47, 83

Ginot, A. ..............................................15

Gor&icová, I. .........................................60

H Hara, Fumihiro ......................................55

Hernández, C.................................. 47, 83

Hidalgo, Jaume .....................................41

Hlavá&, V..............................................60

Huber, Djuro.........................................95

J Jaeger, Jochen A.G. ...............................22

Jan&a, Martin ........................................87

Jones, Darryl ........................................19

Jooss, Rüdiger.......................................75

Jullien, A. .............................................15

K Kaczmarczyk, Eva .................................12

Kienast, Felix ........................................22

Klenke, Reinhard...................................75

Kraj&a, Tomá,.......................................87

Kusak, Josip......................................... 95

Kutal, Miroslav ..................................... 87

L Lang, Stefan ........................................ 26

Lesbarrères, David................................ 30

Lindberg, Gunnar.................................... 5

Lindberg, Niklas.................................... 85

Llauró, Jesús ........................................ 41

M Madriñán, Luis F. .................................. 22

Mallard, F. ........................................... 15

Martin, Anne ........................................ 79

Melin, Anna............................................ 5

Metzger, Jean Paul .................................. 9

Mináriková, T. ...................................... 60

Mykitchak, Taras .................................. 50

N Niemi, Milla .......................................... 79

Nummi, Petri........................................ 79

P Pernkopf, Lena ..................................... 26

Puig, Jordi............................................ 44

R Reck, Heinrich ...................................... 71

Remolar, A......................................47, 83

Reshetylo, Ostap .................................. 50

Romportl, D. ........................................ 60

S Schultz, Björn ...................................... 71

Schwarz-von Raumer, Hans-Georg.....22, 63

Schwick, Christian................................. 22

Soukup, Tomas .................................... 22

Sousa, Cláudia O. M. ............................... 9

Strnad, M. ........................................... 60

T Tanskanen, Ari ..................................... 79

V Varga, Diego ........................................ 41

Vera, P. ..........................................47, 83

Villarroya, Ana...................................... 44

W Wagner, Paul J. .................................... 92

Whelan, P.M......................................... 67

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