Evaluation of landscape connectivity between protected areas using pinch points

Abstract

Protected areas, where the interaction of human and nature gain significant ecological, biological, cultural and scenic values and determining character over time, is also of vital importance in maintaining this interaction and protecting its integrity. The protected areas in Bursa, contribute to the landscape heterogeneity of the city and significantly support biological diversity. In this study, the protected areas in Bursa and the landscape connectivity between them and the effectiveness of protected areas related to land use in supporting landscape connectivity were evaluated. For this, the 2018 land use/land cover map was used and corridor connections were determined using the least-cost-path and Euclidean distance methods. The pinch points between these corridors were estimated using circuit theory. The pair of protected areas with the highest effective resistance (37.52) has been nature park and wildlife protection area. Least effective resistance value was calculated between seed stand and national park. The maximum value of the pinch points between all protected areas was calculated as 0.10. The pinch points between protected areas in the landscape represented the areas where movement between protected areas would be directed. Even a small loss of space at pinch points can compromise the connection between protected areas disproportionately. Therefore, determining the pinch points in the landscape has a very important place in planning studies.

Keywords

• düğüm noktaları
• peyzaj bağlantılılığı
• korunan alanlar
• arazi örtüsü/arazi kullanımı
• bursa
• pinch points
• landscape connectivity
• protected areas
• land cover/land use
• bursa