Habitat Fragmentation, Connectivity Conservation and Related Key-Concepts: Temporal Trends in Their Recurrences on Web of Science (1960-2020)

In this work, we analyzed the temporal trends of nine selected key terms used in the habitat fragmentation arena, quantifying their number (and frequency) of recurrence on Web of Science from 1960 to 2020. The most used key (focal) terms (stepping stones, habitat corridors, landscape connectivity), showed a progressive increase from 1981 to 2020, with landscape connectivity showing the highest increase in frequency in the last decade (2011-2020). Among the key secondary terms (recurring < 5%), although corridors, continuity, and contiguity showed a slight growth over the decades, connectivity conservation showed the most significant increase. This last landscape-related term recently replaced other local-scale concepts (as stepping stones and corridors) as a consequence of a change of perspective. Conversely, ecological network planning, used in landscape planning and less in conservation biology, showed a comparable fewer recurrence. This gap in recurrences could be due to a bias in our research approach, as Web of Science is a search engine that does not intercept grey literature (as plans and reports) drawn up by Public Agencies which rarely appears in scientific journals.

Automated summary

This study analyzed the temporal trends of nine key terms in the habitat fragmentation field and found that the most commonly used terms have been increasing over the years, with landscape connectivity showing the highest increase in frequency. On the other hand, the term ecological network planning appeared less frequently in the research.