Research
Making scientific research accessible
Here you’ll find easy-to-read summaries of scientifically rigorous, evidence-based and peer-reviewed publications from around the world to help you better plan, build and manage ecologically sustainable linear infrastructure.
Research summaries are listed chronologically according to when they were published here. To find information on a specific topic, please use the SEARCH function and search by keywords, including topic, species, location and/or author.
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The first comprehensive mapping of Brazil’s remaining road- and railroad-less areas
By mapping road- and railroad-less areas in Brazil we identified priority areas for conservation and restoration. Our study also demonstrated that there is less native vegetation near roads and railroads compared to further away.
Impacts of Roads on Wildlife and Conservation in China
We searched Chinese and international databases for peer-reviewed papers on road ecology in China and found 170 papers. Our review of those focussed on identifying ecological impacts, research themes, knowledge gaps, and future research directions. The transport network in China is one of the largest in the world, and our review will guide our work in China and abroad.
Roads Reduce Amphibian Abundance in Ponds
Ponds in Hungary located in the road-effect zone – the area within 1 km of a highway – had a lower abundance of larval amphibians (tadpoles and newt larvae). There were also fewer amphibian larvae in ponds that were surrounded by a high percentage of roads, while there were more larvae of some species in ponds surrounded by large areas of connected wetland and terrestrial habitat.
Alternative routes for a major Indonesian mining road to reduce environmental and financial costs
On the megadiversity island of Sumatra, Indonesia, a mining corporation has gained government approval to construct a major, 88-kilometer-long road that would cut across the Harapan Rainforest, one of the last surviving tracts of lowland rainforest on the island. We use strategic land-use-planning methods to identify alternate routes for the road that have far lower environmental and economic costs than the road being currently planned.
Roadkill-hotspot analysis can help save wildlife from getting killed on roads by prioritizing road sections for fencing
In order to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions, is it better to use a few long, or many short, fences (FLOMS)? We devised an adaptive plan for prioritizing road sections for fencing, based on roadkill hotspots and coldspots, considering multiple scales and the FLOMS trade-off.
Could roads be simplifying bird communities?
Great Britain has seen traffic levels increase while bird species are declining but there is limited understanding about this link. This study assessed the spatial associations between roads and birds across Britain.
Roads Threaten Millions of Birds and Mammals in Europe Each Year
Around ~194 million birds and ~29 million mammals could be killed each year on European roads, and some species are particularly vulnerable to additional mortality even with low rates of roadkill.
Road Ecology Research in Africa
This research is a review of the road ecology publications and research that have been done in Africa to date to identify the areas and species that have been researched and the lessons learned from these as well as to identify recommendations for further areas of research.