Florian Hartig Theoretical Ecology & Ecological Data Science

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Biodiversity conservation in dynamic landscapes: trade-offs between number, connectivity and turnover of habitat patches

Karin Johst, Martin Drechsler, Astrid J. A. van Teeffelen, Florian Hartig, Claire C. Vos, Silke Wissel, Frank Wätzold, Paul Opdam

Journal of Applied Ecology, 48(5), 1227–1235 (2011)
Cite this
@article{johst2011biodiversity,
  author = {Karin Johst and Martin Drechsler and Astrid J. A. van Teeffelen and Florian Hartig and Claire C. Vos and Silke Wissel and Frank Wätzold and Paul Opdam},
  title = {Biodiversity conservation in dynamic landscapes: trade-offs between number, connectivity and turnover of habitat patches},
  journal = {Journal of Applied Ecology},
  volume = {48},
  number = {5},
  pages = {1227–1235},
  year = {2011},
  doi = {10.1111/j.1365-2664.2011.02015.x},
}

DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2011.02015.x
Cited by 97 (Google Scholar) · 100 (OpenAlex), as of 07 September 2026

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Abstract

Many species are adapted to landscapes with characteristic dynamics generated by ongoing habitat destruction and creation. Climate change and human land use, however, may change the dynamics of these landscapes. Studies have repeatedly shown that many species are not able to cope with such changes in landscape dynamics. Conservation policies must therefore explicitly address this threat. Using an analytical formula for the rapid assessment of metapopulation lifetime in dynamic landscapes, we investigate if and how changes in one landscape attribute may be compensated by changes in another to maintain species viability, considering both spatial (number, connectivity of patches) and temporal (patch destruction and creation rates) landscape attributes. We show that increasing patch destruction can be compensated to a certain extent by improvements in other spatial and/or temporal landscape attributes, though the trade-offs are generally nonlinear and species respond differently depending on their dispersal ability. Two practical management recommendations follow: monitoring the current level of landscape attributes is indispensable, since the effectiveness of conservation measures depends on it; and compensating increased patch destruction with increased patch creation is only suitable for species with high dispersal propensity, meaning policies relying on such compensation, like offsetting and conservation banking, are feasible only for this type of species.

What the paper shows and why it matters (AI-generated)

Landscapes shaped by ongoing habitat destruction and creation force a real trade-off between how many habitat patches exist, how connected they are, and how fast they turn over — and this paper works out, via an analytical metapopulation formula, which combinations of those attributes a species can actually survive. Only species with strong dispersal ability can be compensated for patch loss by creating new patches elsewhere, a specific, testable constraint that has since shaped habitat-network design work from wetland connectivity in China to cost-effective conservation policy under climate change.