Document Actions

Criteria for Identifying Territories to be Included in the Eco-Network

Jump to:

2. CRITERIA FOR IDENTIFYING TERRITORIES TO BE INCLUDED IN THE ECO-NETWORK

Only territories which meet one or several of the following general requirements were selected as natural cores (territories) of the Dnipro Basin eco-network.

1. They are characterized by enhanced or otherwise unique biodiversity;

2. They represent extant natural landscapes of high interregional significance;

3. They represent man-transformed landscapes of interregional cultural and historical importance.

These general requirements are used to establish a set of criteria for identifying natural cores of an eco-network. (Table 2.1)

Table 2.1. Criteria for identifying areas to be designated as natural cores of an interregional eco-network

*Index*	*Criterion*	*Compliance with a Criterion*
ВЕ	*Bioecological Criteria*
ВЕ-s	Sozological	Protected territories recognized by the Council of Europe and/ or awarded a European diploma
BE-p	Population	Areals densely populated by rare, endemic and relict species
BE-c	Cenosis	Areals inhabited by biotic communities that are important on a regional scale in terms of their dominants and edificators
BE-r	Representativeness	Areals inhabited by flora and fauna that have retained their native or almost native state and are representative of natural zones of the Dnipro Basin
L	*Landscape Criteria*
L-n	Naturalness	Areas with landscapes in their native or almost native state
L-u	Uniqueness	Unique landscapes in their native or almost native state
L-d	Landscape diversity	Areals characterized by a great number of different and contrasting landscapes
L-r	Representativeness	Areals with landscapes in almost native state, which are representative of the Dnipro Basin
L-c	Cultural significance	Landscapes of inter-regional historical and cultural significance
Т	*Territorial Criteria*
Т-a	Sufficiency of size	The size of an areal is large enough for its bioecological, landscape and other features to manifest themselves on a basin-wide and / or larger scale.
Т-c	Territorial integrity	Areals whose biocenters are linked by means of an environmental corridor network into a single interdependent structure

In establishing criteria for designating areas as environmental corridors it is assumed that an environmental corridor is intended to serve as a connecting spatial link between biocenters and eco-network natural cores. Therefore, the primary criterion for identifying environmental corridors is a migration criterion, namely, an environmental corridor is one or several areals that may serve as a conduit for an exchange of genetic material and migration between biocenters (regional and natural cores) of an eco-network. This is possible subject to the following conditions:

1. The length of an environmental corridor does not exceed migration distances of most species inhabiting biocenters

2. The width of an environmental corridor enables populations to effectively use it as a migration and expansion (colonization) channel;

3. Edaphic conditions in an environmental corridor are identical or close to those of the biocenters (natural cores) it connects

4. An environmental corridor does not pose migration barriers and is free from other factors impeding migration and expansion of most species.

These conditions are used to establish criteria for identifying areas as environmental corridors (Table 2.2)

Table 2.2.. Criteria for identifying areas as environmental corridors

*Index*	*Criterion*	*Compliance with a Criterion*
С-d	Effective length	The length of an environmental corridor must not exceed migration and expansion distances of population individuals to be protected by means of an eco-network
C-w	Effective width	Environmental corridor must be wide enough for populations to expand and migrate through it with sufficient effectiveness
C-e	Ecotopical	Edaphic conditions in an environmental corridor must be similar to edaphotopes of the biocenters it connects
C-c	Territorial continuity	An environmental corridor may be continuous or discontinuous. In the latter case discontinuities must not prevent the migration of species
С-h	Hydroecological	The area and/ or water area of a hydroenvironmental corridor must exhibit rich diversity and allow for the migration of species

Next: Legal and Regulatory framework Governing the creation of the Eco-network

Previous: Goals, Objectives and Overall Strategy for Establishing the Transboundary Dnipro Basin Eco-Network

Personal tools

dnipro

Sections

Document Actions

Criteria for Identifying Territories to be Included in the Eco-Network