148Nature, food, and water
BanCut•Nai+Ula•Por•SanSto+Sap+Ott+Seo*
Eas•Abe•MexBra+ Iqu•Bar+Ber+Teg•Kag•Kua+Edm•Atl•Number of natural landscapes in urban regionNumber of gaps and narrow connections betweennatural landscapes2
0
2
4
6
8
468 10 12
Sdt+Te hBei*
MosCaiRom+Erz• Can•Rah•= Gap
= Narrow connectionFigure 6.5Number of gaps and connections between natural landscapes relative to
number of natural landscapes. Natural landscapes are >100 km^2 and compact in
shape. Vegetation gaps or breaks separate landscapes and are caused by human
clearing, not an intervening river, ridge, or valley. A connection refers to continuous
vegetation in a narrows or ‘‘isthmus” or corridor between landscapes. London,
Bucharest, Chicago, Philadelphia, Nantes, and Samarinda have 0 or 1 natural
landscape present. See Chapter5 fornatural vegetation types, Figure 6.3 caption for
landscape types, and Figure 6.2 caption for city information.Where several natural landscapes are present, regional connectivity may be
only slightly reduced. However, where few natural landscapes are present, this is
an acute problem for regional connectivity. Here reestablishing the connection
is ahigh priority.
[N13]Atleast half of the major gaps between natural landscapes are located near the
metropolitan area(Figure6.6).
These gaps are particular problems in disrupting regional connectivity
forwildlife, both because of present human usage and potential future
urbanization.