Corridors

What comes to mind when you hear the word 'corridor'? How might this be relevant to landscapes?

This page explains what corridors are and how they are formed. Other pages will give you information on:

Characteristics of corridors
Advantages and disadvantages of corridors
Scale and corridors
Types of corridors

What are corridors?

Corridors have been described as 'narrow strips of land which differ in structure from the matrix' (Forman and Godron, 1986). They can be isolated but are usually attached to patches of similar vegetation type.

Corridors are formed by the same mechanisms as patches. They arise out of 2 main processes:

• disturbance
  
  
• reflections of underlying environmental resources
  

Are you ready to check your understanding of patch, corridor and matrix?

You will have noticed that Forman and Godron have been referred to often in the sections on patches and corridors. You would benefit from considering their article in Reading 1.4 on 'Patches and structural components for a landscape ecology.'