Fragmentation of the landscape
Nowadays there are few remaining large areas that are not intersected by wide roads or railways. The areas of countryside in between the urban areas and major transport infrastructure are often much smaller than 100 km2.
Current situation
The countryside has been intersected by motorways and other main roads linking urban centres. Buildings and the transport infrastructure have given the landscape a fragmented appearance. The railway lines and the shipping canals are also visible barriers in the landscape. Few of the intervening areas are bigger than 150 km2, and many are even smaller than 100 km2. And the fragmentation becomes even more acute if roads less than 7 m wide are also included.
This physical fragmentation is not in itself equivalent to ecological fragmentation: the latter is the fragmentation of the habitat of individual species, and it may vary greatly from species to species. Birds generally do not experience railways as barriers, but small animals that travel overland certainly find the large roads an obstacle.
Technical note
The map is based on the 1:250 000 digital topographical map. The boundaries of intervening areas are formed by urban or other built-up areas, railways, and roads wider than 7 metres. Sometimes roads appear to end abruptly on the map. This happens whenever a section of road falls into a different class (less than 7 m wide).
