Landscape fragmentation

The indicator is a measure of the degree to which movement between different parts of the landscape is interrupted by barriers. The more barriers fragmenting the landscape, the higher the effective mesh density. Landscape fragmentation is measured in number of meshes per 1 000 km2 - the effective mesh density (seff). The more barriers fragmenting the landscape, the higher the effective mesh density. The effective mesh size (meff) expresses the probability that any two points chosen randomly in a region are connected; that is, not separated by barriers such as transport routes or built-up areas. This can be interpreted as the probability that two animals, placed in different locations somewhere in a region, can find each other within the region without having to cross a barrier such as a road, urban area, or major river. Thus, it indicates the ability of animals to move freely in the landscape without encountering such barriers. The more barriers fragmenting the landscape, the lower the probability that the two points are connected, and the lower the effective mesh size. meff is measured in km2. The effective mesh density is easy to calculate from the effective mesh size: It is simply a question of how many times the effective mesh size fits into an area of 1 000 km2.