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Natural Habitat Loss: Causes and Implications of Structural and Functional Changes

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Life on Land

Synonyms

Habitat destruction; Habitat fragmentation; Habitat loss; Habitat size reduction; Isolation of habitat patches

Definitions

Natural habitats represent a basic spatial domain in which various species of animals, plants, and other organisms live, grow, are born and reproduce. In the contemporary context, natural habitats suffer from many forces that primarily alter their structural characteristics but also the functional roles they play in the ecological systems on various scales. Beside habitat fragmentation, habitat loss is the most common phrase that explains process of structural (physical) modification of large and interconnected natural habitats into smaller and segregated patches that have permanently lost their original properties and functionality during this process.

Introduction

Actual structural and functional characteristics of natural habitats are results of long and complex adaptation process of ecological systems to specific environmental factors. These...

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Correspondence to Boris Radić .

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Radić, B., Gavrilovic, S. (2021). Natural Habitat Loss: Causes and Implications of Structural and Functional Changes. In: Leal Filho, W., Azul, A.M., Brandli, L., Lange Salvia, A., Wall, T. (eds) Life on Land. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95981-8_6

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