Functional Connectivity Assessment of Urban Green Spaces for Wildlife Movement

Abstract

Urbanization has dramatically changed the natural habitats, causing fragmentation and loss of
biodiversity in urban areas. The paper assesses the functional connectivity in urban green spaces to
determine how they help with the movement of wildlife in the city of Chennai, India. The selection of
the six representative green spaces was based on size, ecological nature, and space location, such as
the Guindy National Park, Pallikaranai Marshland, and Semmozhi Poonga. Data on the land use,
vegetation density (NDVI: 0.20.7), presence of wildlife, and anthropogenic disturbances were
collected through a multi-method combination comprising Geographic Information System (GIS),
remote sensing, and field-based ecological surveys. The Least-Cost Path Analysis, Graph Theory, and
Circuit Theory models were used to measure connectivity to determine movement corridors,
ecological hubs, and permeability of the landscape. The findings showed that the larger green land
areas, such as Pallikaranai Marshland (connectivity index: 0.88) and Guindy National Park (0.84), had
strong connectivity, whereas smaller areas, such as Semmozhi Poonga (connectivity index: 0.49), had
weak connectivity because of high urban resistance. The statistical results showed that vegetation
density (r = 0.72, p < 0.001) and patch size (r = 0.65, p < 0.01) had a positive impact on connectivity,
whereas road density and human disturbances negatively affected wildlife movement. The findings
have indicated the role of habitat quality and spatial organizational structure in maintaining ecological
networks. The research arrives at the conclusion that conservation of biodiversity requires
improvement in connectivity by means of ecological corridors, higher vegetation cover, and fewer
urban barriers. The suggested framework will contribute to the development of evidence-based urban
planning models that will result in resilient and wildlife-friendly cities.