Doctor of Philosophy / Division of Biology / Anthony Joern / John Blair / Ecological communities are comprised both of species and their interactions. The importance of species interactions is embraced by ecological network analysis, a framework used to identify non-random patterns in species interactions, and the consequences of these patterns for maintaining species diversity. Here, I investigated environmental drivers of the structure of plant-pollinator and plant-herbivore networks. Specifically, I asked: (1) Do global-scale climate gradients shape mutualistic and antagonistic networks? (2) At a landscape scale (within a 3,487 ha research site), how do contrasting regimes of major grassland disturbances - fire frequency and grazing by bison (Bison bison) - shape plant-pollinator network structure? (3) How do fire and grazing affect plant-grasshopper network structure? And, (4) What is the role of plant species diversity in determining plant-herbivore network structure? At the global scale, variability in temperature was the key climatic factor regulating both antagonistic and mutualistic network structural properties. At the landscape scale, fire and grazing had major consequences for plant-pollinator and plant-herbivore communities. In particular, bison grazing increased network complexity and resistance to species loss for both plant-pollinator and plant-herbivore systems. Results from an experimental grassland restoration that manipulated plant diversity suggest that plant diversity directly affects plant-herbivore structure and increases network stability. Collectively, these results suggest that environmental gradients and plant species diversity regulate the network structure of ecological communities. Determining how the structure of ecological interactions change with environmental conditions and species diversity improves our ability to identify vulnerable communities, and to predict responses of biodiversity to global change.

<p>This dissertation consists of four chapters. The first three chapters examine protected areas (or parks) from multiple perspectives. Parks are the first, and often only, line of defense in efforts to conserve biodiversity. Understanding of their promise and problems is necessary to achieve conservation outcomes. Chapter One determines vegetation patterns in and around parks of differing management categories across the Amazon, Congo, South American Atlantic Coast, and West African forests. Within these forests, protected areas are the principle defense against forest loss and species extinctions. In the Amazon and Congo, parks are generally large and retain high levels of forest cover, as do their surroundings. In contrast, parks in the Atlantic Coast forest and West Africa show sharp boundaries in forest cover at their edges. This effective protection of forest cover is partially offset by their very small size: little area is deep inside park boundaries. Compared to West Africa, areas outside parks in the Atlantic Coast forest are unusually fragmented. </p><p>Chapter Two addresses a human dimension of protected areas. Given certain characteristics, parks areas may either attract or repel human settlement. Disproportionate increases in population growth near park boundaries may threaten their ability to conserve biodiversity. Using decadal population datasets, we analyze population growth across 45 countries and 304 parks. We find no evidence for population growth near parks to be greater than growth of rural areas in the same country. Furthermore, we argue that what growth does occur near parks likely results from a general expansion of nearby population centers. Parks may experience unusual population pressures near their edges; indeed, individual case studies provide examples. There is no evidence, however, of a general pattern of disproportionate population growth near their boundaries.</p><p>Chapter Three provides a review of common approaches to evaluating protection's impact on deforestation, identifies three hurdles to empirical evaluation, and notes that matching techniques from economic impact evaluation address those hurdles. The central hurdle derives from the fact that protected areas are distributed non-randomly across landscapes. Matching controls for landscape characteristics when inferring the impact of protection. Applications of matching have revealed considerably lower impact estimates of forest protection than produced by other methods. These results indicate the importance of variation across locations in how much impact protection could possibly have on rates of deforestation.</p><p>Chapter Four departs from the focus of protected areas and instead addresses a more theoretical aspect of community ecology. Ecological theories suggest that food webs might consist of groups of species forming blocks, compartments or guilds. Chapter Four considers ecological networks (subsets of complete food webs) involving species at adjacent trophic levels. Reciprocal specializations occur when (say) a pollinator (or group of pollinators) specializes on a particular flower species (or group of such species) and vice versa. We characterize the level of reciprocal specialization for various classes of networks. Our analyses include both antagonistic interactions (particularly parasitoids and their hosts), and mutualistic ones (such as insects and the flowers that they pollinate). We also examine whether trophic patterns might be palimpsests. That is, there might be reciprocal specialization within taxonomically related species within a network, but these might be obscured when these relationships are combined. Reciprocal specializations are rare in all these systems even when tested using the most conservative null model.</p> / Dissertation

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:32:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2007-11-29Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:23:51Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 traficante_c_dr_botfca.pdf: 2025820 bytes, checksum: a678a7a5b0b06a9cb1230d857dc909ae (MD5) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) / O presente trabalho descreveu uma metodologia para o projeto de redes ecológicas na escala territorial, como instrumento de planejamento territorial e urbano que, sob o paradigma da sustentabilidade, pode representar um meio para atenuar o fenômeno da fragmentação dos habitats naturais. Com esta finalidade a metodologia foi aplicada ao triângulo constituído pelos municípios de Agudos – Bauru – Piratininga no estado de São Paulo, Brasil, para dar suporte aos trabalhos de elaboração do Plano Diretor Participativo do Município de Agudos. A caracterização da área foi desenvolvida para evidenciar as reais potencialidades do território, em termos de idoneidade das áreas com maior propensão a hospedar os corredores verdes da rede ecológica. A idoneidade foi determinada através de uma análise multicriterial utilizando o método da Combinação Linear dos Pesos (WLC). Um conjunto de informações ambientais e físicas sobre a área de estudo foi extraído das análises pedológicas, desenvolvidas para a determinação da capacidade de uso. Estas informações foram reinterpretadas e complementadas por dados relativos à conservação da biodiversidade e à preservação do sistema verde e avaliadas com o método WLC. Com base no mapa de idoneidade, foram individualizados os traçados ideais, segundo uma lógica de menor custo, para a instauração de uma série de corredores verdes, que pudessem cumprir a função de conexão entre os pontos nodais da rede ecológica. Os pontos nodais foram escolhidos de modo a privilegiar as áreas verdes que contenham áreas nucleares e o eixo fluvial do Rio Batalha, principal rio da região. Sugeriu-se uma avaliação dos resultados segundo os princípios da ecologia da paisagem, confrontando os cenários projetuais de redes ecológicas (paisagens modificadas – PM) com o cenário zero (isto é, como a paisagem atual – PA)... / This work described a methodology to design ecological networks for a territorial scale, as an instrument for territorial and urban planning. Under the sustainability paradigm, it represented a means to mitigate the phenomenon of habitat fragmentation. Therefore, the methodology was applied to the triangle of the municipalities of Agudos – Bauru – Piratininga, in San Paolo State, Brazil, in order to support the ongoing work for the Participatory Plan for the municipality of Agudos. The area characterization was carried out highlighting the real capabilities of the territory in terms of suitability for the implantation of green corridors for ecological networks. Suitability analysis is determined by a multicriteria evaluation with weighted linear combination method (WLC). A set of environmental and physical information about the study area was derived from pedology investigations developed during the land use capability stage. This information were reconsidered and completed to take into account the biodiversity conservation issue and the green system preservation issue, and later evaluated by the WLC method. Over the suitability map, the best paths for the ecological network were identified through a least cost method in order to interconnect the nodal point of the network, that means, ecological valuable patches with core area and fluvial strips near Batalha River, the most important river in the region. The assessment of the ecological network proposals is based on the landscape ...(Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Orientador: Célia Regina Lopes Zimback / Banca: Sergio Lázsaro de Lima / Banca: Norma Regina Truppel Constantino / Banca: Jandira Liria Biscalquini Talamoni / Banca: Ivan Fúrio Batista / Resumo: O presente trabalho descreveu uma metodologia para o projeto de redes ecológicas na escala territorial, como instrumento de planejamento territorial e urbano que, sob o paradigma da sustentabilidade, pode representar um meio para atenuar o fenômeno da fragmentação dos habitats naturais. Com esta finalidade a metodologia foi aplicada ao triângulo constituído pelos municípios de Agudos - Bauru - Piratininga no estado de São Paulo, Brasil, para dar suporte aos trabalhos de elaboração do Plano Diretor Participativo do Município de Agudos. A caracterização da área foi desenvolvida para evidenciar as reais potencialidades do território, em termos de idoneidade das áreas com maior propensão a hospedar os corredores verdes da rede ecológica. A idoneidade foi determinada através de uma análise multicriterial utilizando o método da Combinação Linear dos Pesos (WLC). Um conjunto de informações ambientais e físicas sobre a área de estudo foi extraído das análises pedológicas, desenvolvidas para a determinação da capacidade de uso. Estas informações foram reinterpretadas e complementadas por dados relativos à conservação da biodiversidade e à preservação do sistema verde e avaliadas com o método WLC. Com base no mapa de idoneidade, foram individualizados os traçados ideais, segundo uma lógica de menor custo, para a instauração de uma série de corredores verdes, que pudessem cumprir a função de conexão entre os pontos nodais da rede ecológica. Os pontos nodais foram escolhidos de modo a privilegiar as áreas verdes que contenham áreas nucleares e o eixo fluvial do Rio Batalha, principal rio da região. Sugeriu-se uma avaliação dos resultados segundo os princípios da ecologia da paisagem, confrontando os cenários projetuais de redes ecológicas (paisagens modificadas - PM) com o cenário zero (isto é, como a paisagem atual - PA)...(Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This work described a methodology to design ecological networks for a territorial scale, as an instrument for territorial and urban planning. Under the sustainability paradigm, it represented a means to mitigate the phenomenon of habitat fragmentation. Therefore, the methodology was applied to the triangle of the municipalities of Agudos - Bauru - Piratininga, in San Paolo State, Brazil, in order to support the ongoing work for the Participatory Plan for the municipality of Agudos. The area characterization was carried out highlighting the real capabilities of the territory in terms of suitability for the implantation of green corridors for ecological networks. Suitability analysis is determined by a multicriteria evaluation with weighted linear combination method (WLC). A set of environmental and physical information about the study area was derived from pedology investigations developed during the land use capability stage. This information were reconsidered and completed to take into account the biodiversity conservation issue and the green system preservation issue, and later evaluated by the WLC method. Over the suitability map, the best paths for the ecological network were identified through a least cost method in order to interconnect the nodal point of the network, that means, ecological valuable patches with core area and fluvial strips near Batalha River, the most important river in the region. The assessment of the ecological network proposals is based on the landscape ...(Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

L'écologie a vu se développer, depuis une vingtaine d'années, une vision systémique se concentrant sur les interactions entre composantes de l'écosystème. L'association de ces composantes fait émerger des propriétés globales et agit en retour sur les propriétés des composantes. Ces propriétés sont dites émergentes. Leur étude a été appliquée aux réseaux trophiques de différents écosystèmes, pour la plupart littoraux, par des approches numériques visant à construire et analyser des modèles statiques. Une telle approche fait le choix de négliger certains aspects : structures spatiales, dynamiques temporelles, forçage des processus, dans l'objectif de favoriser la prise en compte d'un maximum de compartiments dans une vision synthétique. Ce travail repose entièrement sur les résultats acquis sur les différents compartiments et processus, avec comme objectif d'en faire une synthèse, de les confronter, et de dégager des propositions d'étude de nouveaux processus ou compartiments peu renseignés. De ma thèse à aujourd'hui, j'ai travaillé sur des questions relatives aux réseaux trophiques planctoniques avec, dans chaque situation, un contexte appliqué et un objectif fondamental. Celui-ci consiste à comprendre le fonctionnement de ce réseau planctonique. L'axe directeur utilisé pour discuter de la nature de ces différents réseaux trophiques planctoniques est essentiellement celui de Legendre et Rassoulzadegan (1996) reposant sur un gradient entre deux états : le réseau microbien et le réseau herbivore classique. On a ainsi pu dégager de nouveaux modes de fonctionnement des réseaux trophiques planctoniques et ces propriétés dégagées viennent enrichir la réflexion menée sur le problème appliqué soulevé dans chaque milieu. Suite à mon recrutement à l'Université de La Rochelle, la demande du LBEM était que je travaille sur les vasières intertidales tempérées, en couplant benthos et colonne d'eau. Le choix de conserver une approche en modèles statiques afin de prendre en compte au maximum la diversité fonctionnelle imposait de modifier les outils numériques pour les adapter à cet écosystème macrotidal. Les innovations apportées ont principalement concerné la modification de l'algorithme de l'analyse inverse par une approche de Monte Carlo, le couplage spatial par les flux de transport et des saisons, le développement d'indices basés sur les chaînes de Markov (liens lents ou rapides entre compartiments). L'application de ces méthodes à l'ensemble des données acquises sur le site de Brouage dans les Pertuis Charentais a permis de dégager les caractéristiques suivantes : i) rôle primordial du réseau microbien benthique : microphytobenthos, bactéries hétérotrophes, foraminifères, ii) rôle de cul-de-sac de la matière organique par les foraminifères (la place exacte des foraminifères dans le réseau reste à déterminer), iii) la nématofaune est la plaque tournante du réseau, iv) le réseau est importateur de détritus et exportateur de matière de « qualité », au sens de l'exergie. A partir de ce modèle, des scénarios ont pu être simulés sur des scenarii de culture et la conséquence d'une chute des productions primaires sur la nourriture disponible. Le modèle couplé en boites spatiales a permis de dégager 3 modes de fonctionnement distincts en fonction de la hauteur sur la zone intertidale. Outre ce travail sur la vasière de Brouage un travail de comparaison inter – sites a été initié par l'établissement d'un modèle à deux saisons sur la vasière de l'Aiguillon, au nord des Pertuis Charentais. Le fonctionnement trophique de cette vasière est très proche de celui de Brouage. Il s'en démarque surtout par un rôle moindre des bivalves cultivés et une forte exportation de matière par les poissons brouteurs (mulets). Outre une indication sur l'évolution naturelle des écosystèmes, les propriétés émergentes des réseaux trophiques peuvent être indicatrices d'un état d'évolution sous la pression de l'Homme. Il est alors nécessaire de développer des indicateurs d'écosystèmes capables d'évaluer les changements des environnements côtiers. L'utilisation des indices d'analyse des réseaux devrait permettre de passer à une vision systémique, s'intéressant aux interactions plutôt qu'aux stocks. Seule une comparaison étendue de nombreux réseaux en utilisant toujours les mêmes techniques permettra d'aller plus loin, en cherchant à observer vers quelles propriétés évoluent les systèmes, naturellement et sous pression anthropique.

The thesis research deals with the characteristics of a given (land)register from the perspective of natural, geographical and historical situation. The individual parts of the local USES are described further. The characteristics of individual segments are accompanied by a present condition of the particular segment. The photo documentation can be found in the attachment. USES evaluation was done using the methodology of evaluation of ecological networks in the landscape. New elements that should give the current USES more power in its function were also suggested. The obtained results were compared with land adjustments abroad. The thesis is complemented with a search related to that topic.

Les stratégies de conservation de la nature évoluent de la protection stricte d'espaces isolés et dépourvus d'activités humaines, à l'intégration des enjeux de biodiversité dans le développement territorial. Ce changement de perspective, des aires protégées à la territorialisation de l'environnement, suppose de gérer la complexité et d'appréhender la nature collectivement et met l'accent sur les relations entre science, politique et société. Cette thèse, fondée sur une approche pluridisciplinaire, a eu pour objectif l'élaboration de recommandations pour répondre aux enjeux d'une conservation intégrée de la biodiversité. S'inscrivant dans le contexte de l'avènement des stratégies de réseau écologique en France, notre recherche porte à la fois sur les méthodes spatiales et sur les dispositifs socio-techniques en charge de planifier la conservation intégrée de la biodiversité. Chacune de ces parties a mené à des résultats et conclusions qui leur sont propres et a contribué à une réflexion plus globale sur le rôle de l'expertise technique pour répondre à ces nouveaux enjeux. Nous montrons comment une approche trop technique, centrée notamment sur la spatialisation du réseau écologique, tend non seulement à limiter le partage au sein du collectif et donc l'adhésion des acteurs mais aussi à fournir une vision réductrice et partielle des enjeux de conservation. A l'inverse, un positionnement de l'expertise en accompagnement du dialogue territorial favorise l'apprentissage social et aboutit à un cadre d'action publique qui intègre davantage les incertitudes et la complexité du vivant. Le processus participatif doit donc permettre d'opérer un glissement de l'expertise technique comme fondement de l'action publique à l'expertise collective qui assure l'intégration des savoirs et savoirs-faire de tous. Ainsi l'enjeu n'est pas celui du compromis entre science, technique et débat social mais plutôt celui de la gestion de leur interaction et de leur complémentarité. / Nature conservation strategies evolve from the strict protection of isolated and devoid of human activity spaces, to the integration of biodiversity issues in territory development. This change in perspective requires the development of a collective management of complexity and a collective conception of nature and highlights the developing relationship between science, policy and society.Based on a multidisciplinary approach, the objective of this thesis was the elaboration of recommendations for integrated conservation. In the context of the advent of ecological network strategies in France, our research concerns both the spatial methods and the socio-technical process which are in charge of the conservation planning. The analysis of these two issues has produced results pertinent to each theme and more general reflection concerning the role of technical expertise in the development of such new issues. We show how an overly technical approach, which notably aims to spatially identify the network, tends to limit the collective sharing of major issues and thus the adherence of the stakeholders to conservation goals, and also provide a reductive and partial vision of conservation issues. In contrast, a position of expertise which accompanies the dialogue on territory favors social learning and leads to a framework for public action which more fully integrates both the uncertainty and complexity of the natural world. The participative process could thus allow tfor a transition from technical to collective expertise as the foundation of public action, which ensures the inclusion of general knowledge and know-how. In this way, the issue is not of a compromise between science, technique and social debate, but of the way that they can complement each other through interaction and how this interaction may be conducted.

Das Grüne Band ist ein Biotopverbund entlang der ehemaligen innerdeutschen Grenze auf einer Gesamtlänge von 1393km. Das vorbildliche Naturschutzprojekt Grünes Band regte nicht nur die Entwicklung des Europäischen Grünen Bandes entlang des ehemaligen Eisernen Vorhangs in Europa an, sondern führte auch zu großem Interesse in Korea, die Naturschutzpolitik auf die entmilitarisierte Zone (DMZ) Koreas zu übertragen, nach einer eventuellen Vereinigung Nord- und Südkoreas. Allerdings litt Grünes Band oft unter einer Gefährdung des Naturschutzstatus und an Konflikten zwischen Akteuren, die eng mit sozialpolitischen Faktoren, z.B. dem politischen Umfeld nach der Wiedervereinigung, und mit den bestehenden ökologischen Faktoren verbunden waren. Diese Dissertation widmet sich unter Zuhilfenahme des Governance-Ansatzes den oben genannten Herausforderungen und der Untersuchung der Entwicklung des Schutzrahmens für das Grüne Band. Das Governance-Konzept ist dabei durch die Verwendung interdisziplinärer Studien grundlegend, um das sozio-ökologische System zu verstehen. Für die Forschungsarbeit wurde der Governance-Analyserahmen unter Berücksichtigung der Skalen (Biotopverbund) und des externen politischen Umfeldes (betreffender sozio-politischer Kontext) gebildet. Die von halb-strukturierten Interviews und anderen verschiedenen Quellen erhobenen Daten wurden für die Analyse verwendet. Basierend auf einem kritischen Verständnis für die Governance der Biodiversität im Grünen Band, identifiziert die Dissertation sowohl die Haupteigenschaften als auch die Erfolgsfaktoren und Herausforderungen der Governance und empfiehlt erstrebenswerte Goverance-Änderungen für den erfolgreichen Schutz des Grünen Bandes. Die Analyse-Ergebnisse stellen auch wertvolle Lektionen für den Naturschutz der DMZ Koreas dar. Als empirische Studie der Governance der Biodiversität trägt die Arbeit zum Diskurs über Skalen- und Kontext-spezifische Berücksichtigung bei der Governance der Biodiversität bei. / The German Green Belt (GB) is a 1,398km long, valuable ecological network along the former border between East and West Germany, created in late 1989 as an outcome of the Cold War. The exemplary project for the conservation of the German GB not only inspired the development of the European GB along the whole former Iron Curtain in Europe, but has also received great interest from Korea for the policy-learning applicable to the conservation of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) after the eventual unification of North and South Korea. However, the German GB has often suffered threats to its conservation, and has witnessed conflicts among involved actors, which were closely related to social and political factors such as the post-reunification policy environment, in addition to ecological factors. The present study intends to address the above challenges as well as to understand the evolution of the conservation framework of the German Green Belt using the governance approach, since the concept of governance is instrumental in understanding a complex socio-ecological system through interdisciplinary study. The governance analysis framework for the research was formulated in specific consideration of scale (ecological network) and external policy environment (relevant socio-political context). The data collected from semi-structured interviews as well as other various sources were used for analysis. Based on a critical understanding of the German GB governance, the present study identifies the main features of its evolution and its success factors and challenges and recommends the desirable changes in the governance for the successful conservation of the German GB. The analysis results also provide useful implications for the Korean DMZ conservation. As an empirical study of biodiversity governance, the present study also contributes to the discourse on biodiversity governance, particularly on its scale- and context-specific considerations.

abstract: Landscape restoration is a global priority as evidenced by the United Nations’ 2020 goal to restore 150 million hectares of land worldwide. Restoration is particularly needed in estuaries and their watersheds as society depends on these environments for numerous benefits. Estuary restoration is often undermined by social-ecological scale mismatch, the incongruence between governing units and the bio-physical resources they seek to govern. Despite growing recognition of this fact, few empirical studies focus on scale mismatches in environmental restoration work. Using a sub-basin of Puget Sound, Washington, U.S.A., I analyze scale mismatches in estuary restoration. I take a network science approach because governance networks can bridge scale mismatches. I combine quantitative social network analysis (SNA), geographic information systems (GIS), and qualitative interview analysis. Spatial network analysis reveals several areas with weak scale mismatch bridging networks. These weak social networks are then compared to ecological restoration needs to identify coupled social-ecological restoration concerns. Subsequent study investigates jurisdictional and sectoral network integration because governance siloes contribute to scale mismatch. While the network is fairly well integrated, several sectors do not interact or interact very little. An analysis of collaboration reasons disentangles the idea of generic collaboration. Among three relationship types considered, mandated relationships contribute almost 5.5 times less to perceived collaboration productivity than shared interest relationships, highlighting the benefits of true collaborations in watershed governance. Lastly, the effects of scale mismatch on individual restoration projects and landscape level restoration planning are assessed through qualitative interview analysis. Results illustrate why human-environment processes should be included in landscape restoration planning. Social factors are not considered as constraints to restoration but rather part of the very landscape fabric to be restored. Scale mismatch is conceptualized as a complex social-ecological landscape pattern that affects the flow of financial, human, and natural capital across the landscape. This represents a new way of thinking about scale mismatch and landscape restoration in complex multi-level governance systems. In addition, the maps, network diagnostics, and narratives in this dissertation can help practitioners in Puget Sound and provide proofs of concepts that can be replicated elsewhere for restoration and broader conservation sciences. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Geography 2015

Le concept de « réseau écologique » souligne l'importance de la connectivité écologique entre différents espaces naturels. Produit des évolutions historiques des pratiques de conservation et des nouvelles découvertes scientifiques, ce concept propose une nouvelle manière d'appréhender la protection de la nature. De nombreuses initiatives de « réseaux écologiques » ont ainsi lieu à travers le monde, notamment dans les Alpes. Elles témoignent de cette nouvelle conception de la protection de la nature, qui dépasse la simple conservation d'espèces pour s'orienter vers la préservation de systèmes écologiques. L'application de ce concept est étudiée dans trois régions alpines en Allemagne, Suisse et France. Sur ces territoires, de nombreuses initiatives différentes viennent se superposer, engendrant des questionnements quant à la coordination et la coopération entre ces divers échelles, acteurs, actions et les objectifs qui en découlent. En plus de ses impacts purement écologiques, la démarche de réalisation de réseaux écologiques semble également offrir un potentiel particulier allant au-delà des objectifs liés à la protection de la nature. Ce sont également ces autres effets fortuits qui sont au cœur de la recherche : le potentiel mobilisateur de l'outil offrant des possibilités particulières de gouvernance territoriale, les liens existants et potentiels avec l'aménagement du territoire, et les nouvelles logiques d'acteurs. Le concept de réseaux écologiques est venu bouleverser les pratiques de protection de la nature entrainant des modifications de la perception de la nature par la société et transformant ainsi également la relation entre la société et la nature. / The concept of “ecological networks” emphasises the importance of ecological connectivity between different natural areas. As a result of the historical evolutions of nature conservation practices and new scientific evidence this concept provides a new approach to nature protection. Numerous initiatives of “ecological networks” exist worldwide and also in the Alps. They are evidence of this new conception of nature protection going beyond the conservation of single species aiming the protection of functioning ecosystems. The implementation of this concept is analysed in three alpine regions in Germany, Switzerland and France. In these regions various different initiatives are overlapping one another generating interrogations concerning the coordination and cooperation between the different scales, actors, actions and related aims. In addition to the pure ecological impacts the creation of ecological networks seems to offer a particular potential going beyond the general objectives related to nature protection. These additional casual effects are in the centre of this research: the potential of the tool to mobilise various categories of different actors, the particular possibilities of regional governance, the prospective and existing links with spatial planning. The concept of ecological networks has completely changed nature protection practice inducing modifications of the perception of nature by society and therefore of the relation between society and nature.