In addition to serving as habitat, shoreland buffer strips also
serve as wildlife corridors by connecting different ecosystems. Thus for
animals that have large territories, or that move from one area to
another, these corridors are critical to their continued survival.
According to landscape ecologists Rogers and Premo (1997), the
inter-connections between ecosystems are as important, if not more
important, than the size of the ecosystems themselves. Noss (1983)
suggests that corridors allow wildlife movement between animal
populations resulting in increased genetic diversity and healthier
species populations. Studies have shown that buffer zones of 300
feet or greater are necessary to maximize the wildlife corridor function
of riparian buffer zones.
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