Measuring landscape fragmentation in the European context: a comparative approach

Landscape fragmentation (LF) consists of the progressive subdivision of original habitat areas in smaller and more isolated patches and is associated to ecosystem discontinuity and diminishing biodiversity. Transport and mobility infrastructures (TMIs) are major drivers of LF and trigger negative effects, such as loss of habitat, increased mortality of vegetal species, and death of wild animals killed by vehicular traffic. A rich literature focuses on the assessment of LF and proposes several measures. In this paper, we aim at assessing LF in Italy and Wales at the sub regional level. We use the Barrier Fragmentation Index (BFI), the Urban Fragmentation Index (UFI), and the effective mesh size (meff) and assess the interplay between these metrics.