Ecological corridors and landscape planning: A study to develop a regional network of protected areas in Sardinia (Italy)

Ecological corridors (ECs) aim at establishing or maintaining ecological connectivity among habitat patches in terms of migration of wild species, climate change adaptation, and maintenance and restoration of ecological processes. In Sardinia, the Regional Landscape Plan (RLP) defines a spatial taxonomy of the region in relation to landscape components characterized by environ-mental relevance in order to establish protection levels. Building on previous research works, this study aims at defining and implementing a methodology to identify ECs connecting the Sardinian protected areas and at assessing the relations between ECs and the spatial taxonomy defined by the RLP.