Disentangling road network impacts: The need for a holistic approach

Excerpt

The scale and rate of development of linear disturbances has increased dramatically in the past decade. Traditional and alternative energy development, logging and mining activities, together with off-highway vehicles and exurban development, have increased the density of linear disturbances on public and private lands throughout the world. In developing countries, the replacement of livestock with motor vehicles as the dominant form of transportation has had unforeseen consequences (figure 1) (Okayasu et al. 2007). In the western United States, some of the greatest increases are associated with energy development (Brooks and Lair 2005; Watts et al. 2007). In the Powder River Basin of northeastern Wyoming, an additional 28,572 km (17,754 mi) of roads and 42,095 km (26,157 mi) of pipelines and overhead electric lines are planned to support energy development activities between 2003 and 2013 (BLM 2003). Road construction generally leads to increased off-road vehicle use as land becomes more accessible to a growing global population (Cordell et al. 2005; Okayasu et al. 2007; Chomitz and Gray 1996).

We argue that the dramatic increase in linear disturbances occurring globally has the potential to drastically alter landscape ecosystem processes, including soil and water conservation, and thus presents one of the greater challenges…