A Review on the Effect of Habitat Fragmentation on Ecosystem

Abstract

Habitat fragmentation is considered a primary issue in conservation biology. This concern centers around the disruption of once large continuous blocks of habitat into less continuous habitat, primarily by human disturbances such as land clearing and conversion of vegetation from one type to another. Habitat loss and fragmentation are the primary causes of species extinction worldwide. The largest single threat to biological diversity worldwide is the outright destruction of habitat, along with habitat alteration and fragmentation of large habitats into smaller patches. Fragmentation is caused by both natural forces and human activities, each acting over various time frames and spatial scales. Physical Features of the landscape, associated with very slow geomorphic processes (e.g., erosion) may also cause some patches to remain isolated over evolutionary time-scales. The effects of fragmentation also vary depending on the cause of fragmentation (for example, fragmentation of agri­culture versus for logging). As a result, there is necessity to take effective actions to maintain biodiversity in fragmented landscapes.

Keywords: corridors, fragmentation, island, habitat, metapopulation.