Sustainable Landscape Planning to Mitigate Wildlife–Vehicle Collisions

Autor: Ancuta Fedorca, Mihai Fedorca, Ovidiu Ionescu, Ramon Jurj, Georgeta Ionescu, Marius Popa
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Land, Vol 10, Iss 7, p 737 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 10070737
2073-445X
DOI: 10.3390/land10070737
Popis: Road development, traffic intensification, and collisions with wildlife represent a danger both for road safety and species conservation. For planners, deciding which mitigation methods to apply is often problematic. Through a kernel density estimate, we analyzed 715 crossing locations and wildlife–vehicle collisions (WVCs) involving brown bears, lynx, wolf, red deer, roe deer, and wild boar in the Southeastern Carpathian Mountains. We identified 25 WVC hotspots, of which eight require urgent mitigation of existing infrastructure. Moreover, many of these hotspots are in Natura 2000 sites, along road sections where vegetation is in close proximity, animal movement is the highest, and driver visibility is low. Our study is the first in Romania to recommend practical solutions to remediate WVC hotspots and benefit sustainable landscape management.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals