Comparing ecological networks in peri-urban landscapes: an application to Italy

Ecological networks consist of ensembles of habitat areas connected through material or immaterial corridors and are one the major counteractions to landscape fragmentation, i.e. the process of subdivision of large portion of green zones into smaller and more isolated areas. In this paper we study two ecological networks for the towns of Nuoro and Sassari (Italy) by applying complex network analysis tools able to describe their structure through simple and intuitive measures. Results are interesting, as they comparatively provide us with useful indication about the basic characteristics and the most central patches of the systems.