Management of vegetation corridors: maintenance, rehabilitation and establishment

Corridors can be natural, remnant, or cultural. The major uses recognized for corridors are as conduits or habitat for wildlife, as functional landscape units, eg, for shelter-belts, and for aesthetic purposes. The management requirements for a given corridor depend heavily on its mode of origin and its function. Management difficulties arise because of the linear nature of the corridor, and the presence of edges and disturbance both outside and inside the corridor. Many corridors do not have nature conservation as their primary role, and this leads to conflicts of interest. An integrated management strategy is required which involves adequate planning, development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation at all stages. Research and management can effectively interact, and clear management priorities have to be set. Provision of an adequate corridor network, whether for wildlife or other purposes, requires the maintenance of existing corridors, the rehabilitation of degraded corridors and the establishment of new corridors. Most corridor management is at present reliant on local experience rather than a sound scientific basis; the challenge to researchers is to provide that basis. -from Authors