Fragmentation and internal disturbance of native vegetation reserves in the Perth metropolitan area, Western Australia

摘要

Remnant vegetation in metropolitan areas tends to be highly fragmented and affected by disturbances from the urban environment. A rapid survey in 71 nature reserves in the metropolitan of Perth noted surrounding land uses, types of disturbances, rated the level of weeds, rubbish, formal and informal walking paths and fire influence, and estimated vegetation condition. These data were analysed against information on reserve area and shape, connectivity to other native vegetation, period of patch encapsulation, distance from the city centre and local population density to reveal patterns of fragmentation and disturbance in the metropolitan area.