Smart Growth Resource Library

Conservation Thresholds for Land-Use Planners

by: Environmental Law Institute

Conservation Thresholds for Land-Use Planners, a new publication from the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), provides a review and synthesis of information from the most up-to-date scientific literature to provide basic thresholds to land use planners to rely upon when making decisions affecting biodiversity.

With more than 1,400 papers and abstracts reviewed for the project and a total of 160 papers selected for inclusion in the review, the report covers conservation thresholds on habitat patch area, percent suitable habitat, edge effects, riparian buffers, and corridors.

The report summarizes what is known within the scientific community about potential land use planning and design thresholds. It offers general guidance on how to transform traditional planning approaches into more ecologically-based conservation tools and provides a platform for identifying gaps in existing knowledge to help guide more in-depth ecological research directly applicable to land use planning.

64 pages; download a PDF version or order a print version directly from ELI at the resource link below.

For nearly three decades, the Environmental Law Institute has played a pivotal role in shaping the fields of environmental law, policy, and management, domestically and abroad. Today, ELI is an internationally recognized, independent research and education center.

Resource: http://www.elistore.org/reports_detail.asp?ID=10839&topic=Biodiversity

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