Fragmentation of landscapes
The expansion of settlements and infrastructures drives urban sprawl, as well as landscape fragmentation, which in turn fragments the habitats of animals, plants and other organisms. Landscape fragmentation is therefore one of the leading causes of declining biodiversity. Fragmentation also changes the character of landscapes and lowers their quality.
poor
negative
Landscape fragmentation is increasing across all regions. Effective mesh size in Switzerland as a whole has decreased from 248km2 in 2014 to 229km2 in 2020, or 1.2% annually. The degree of landscape fragmentation is greatest in the Central Plateau. In the Alps, the degree of landscape fragmentation is significantly lower. Increased fragmentation is driven by increasing settlement areas and related access roads, as well as the construction of new transport infrastructures.
- Related indicators
- Sealed area
- Urban sprawl
Landscape Fragmentation in Europe, an EEA–FOEN joint report (no 2/2011), provides calculations and rankings for many European countries with respect to landscape fragmentation.
Effective mesh size is a metric used to calculate the extent of landscape fragmentation. It expresses the probability that two randomly selected points are connected without the need to cross settlement areas. Settlement areas include transport routes that are more than three metres wide. The calculations do not include areas higher than 2,100 metres above sea level or lakes. Effective mesh size is measured in square kilometres (km2). The larger the mesh size, the lower the degree of landscape fragmentation.
| Targeted trend | Initial value | Final value | Variation in % | Observed trend | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stabilisation | 2014 | 2020 | (1) -7.47 | (1) Decrease | negative |
| (1) Switzerland | |||||
Further information
