Changzhou is a city near the Yangtze River delta on the east coast of China that has undergone extensive urban development. “From 2006 to 2014, the built-up area in the city increased by 25.68%” [Gao 2017: 2]. This study is part of an effort to boost biodiversity and ecosystem services in the city, which, at the time of the study, had a few protected patches but no corridors connecting them.
The authors identified potential corridors by comparing three different methods for assessing the level of resistance wildlife would face in moving across the landscape from one habitat patch to another. Corridors were identified by mapping out the paths of least resistance. Potential corridors consisted mainly of riparian greenspaces, followed by forest and farmland, and included between 3.45% and 16% built-up space, depending on the method used. Corridor width was assumed to be 30m. Connection of the most important protected patches should be prioritized in corridor construction.
Gao, Yu, et al., 2017, Constructing ecological networks based on habitat quality assessment: a case study of Changzhou, China, Scientific Reports 7, https://www.nature.com/articles/srep46073.