| The landscape habitat evaluation tool was developed to evaluate and maintain habitat, biodiversity, and ecosystem processes that would otherwise be lost, fragmented, isolated, or degraded in conventional development. The tool applied at a meso scale involves four phases of evaluation: an indicator assessment; focal species assessment; selection of habitat patches; and selection of priority nodes and linkages. Together these four phases of evaluation are used to create an urban regional habitat network prior to the implementation of suburban development. This evaluation tool is intended to provide municipal planning authorities with a means to identify and maintain spatial habitat networks during the initial stages of long range planning.; The demonstration of the tool in a case study along Calgary's southwestern boundary illustrated the ecological and potential economic benefits of urban regional habitat networks. The results of this case study indicated that future development based on conventional practice would maintain 65% of the habitat currently existing on the landscape. In comparison, 87% would be maintained if development was implemented using the proposed landscape habitat evaluation tool. Although the land allocated to more traditional development decreased by 1,963 ha, property value assessments indicate that houses abutting natural open spaces offer greater economic return to the developer. Based on these findings, the landscape habitat evaluation tool has the potential to maintain functional habitat and provide an economically viable alternative approach to conventional development. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
