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Landscape Characterization / Forest Fragmentation / What is Habitat Fragmentation?
What is Habitat Fragmentation?
Background Materials
Historically, much of Chesapeake Bay watershed was covered by extensive
forests. Following European colonization, much of this area was converted
to human land uses, such as agricultural fields, residential neighborhoods,
and industrial and urban areas. Therefore, the present day landscape we
occupy consist of patches of relatively natural habitat interspersed among
a matrix of human land uses.
Aerial photograph of a forest patch in a matrix of residential and agricultural
land use.
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