Forest Fragmentation: Causes, Ecological Impacts and Implications for Landscape Management

Abstract

In order to enable the development of appropriate landscape manage- ment plans, the causes and impacts of fragmentation should be fully understood. A new definition, incorporating the key aspects cited in landscape ecological literature since the 1980s, is proposed in order to shed light on the matter of fragmentation. By means of two case stud- ies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Oriental Province) and in North Benin, the key role of anthropogenic activities in landscape fragmentation is evidenced; the spatial dispersion of forest vegetation is linked to population density and land use change. The potential impact of fragmentation on biodiversity is shown by an analysis of forest diver- sity in Ivory Coast (Tanda region), and by a study of edge effects on two rodent species in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kisangani). The chapter is concluded by an study on how planned corridors, assum- ing a spatial regrouping of existing teak plantations, could contribute to the conservation and management of remaining natural forest patches in the Atlantic Department in Benin.