Landscape Fragmentation and Ecological Connectivity in Human-Modified Landscapes

Anthropogenic landscape transformation is accelerating across terrestrial ecosystems worldwide, reshaping habitat structure and disrupting the ecological connectivity that wildlife populations depend on for movement, gene flow, and persistence. Agricultural expansion, urbanization, infrastructure development, and climate change are fragmenting habitats at unprecedented rates, with cascading consequences for biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and conservation planning.This Research Topic focuses on landscape fragmentation and ecological connectivity in human-modified landscapes. It aims to bring together research that quantifies how fragmentation reshapes habitat configuration and connectivity, and that identifies strategies to maintain or restore functional connectivity where human land use dominates. The collection emphasizes applied conservation science, drawing on spatial ecology, landscape modeling, connectivity analysis, and species distribution approaches.A central objective is to advance conservation strategies that move beyond isolated protected areas toward landscape-scale approaches built on corridors, stepping-stones, and matrix management. Within this framework, human–wildlife coexistence is addressed as one important application area — showing how connectivity planning can reduce conflict and support shared use of human-modified landscapes — rather than as a separate, equally weighted theme.This Research Topic welcomes contributions addressing:• Habitat fragmentation and landscape ecology• Ecological corridors and functional connectivity• Connectivity modeling and conservation prioritization• Maintaining and restoring connectivity in agricultural and human-modified landscapes• Matrix management and landscape-scale conservation design• Biodiversity and movement responses to land-use change• Restoration ecology and landscape resilience• Connectivity planning under climate and socio-economic change• Human–wildlife coexistence as an applied outcome of connectivity-focused planningThe collection encourages submissions spanning multiple taxa, ecosystems, and geographic regions, particularly biodiversity hotspots and understudied human-modified landscapes. Topic editors: Prameek Kannan, Oluwatobi Emmanuel Olaniyi Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83367/landscape-fragmentation-and-ecological-connectivity-in-human-modified-landscapes