Data from: Landscape Corridors (LSCorridors): a new software package for modeling ecological corridors based on landscape patterns and species requirements

1.Maintaining connectivity is one of the main challenges for biodiversity
conservation worldwide. Ecological corridors are important to maintain
landscape connectivity, but their efficiency depends on landscape patterns
and species responses at different spatial extents and landscape contexts.
2.We developed a new ecologically oriented free software package,
LandScape Corridors (LSCorridors), to improve ecological corridor design
by considering biodiversity responses to landscape attributes at a variety
of spatial extents. LSCorridors considers stochastic variation, species
perception and landscape influence on organisms in the design of
ecological corridors. In addition to the least cost path algorithm, we
propose four different methods for the simulation of multiple-path
functional ecological corridors. One method uses the information for each
pixel separately whereas the three other methods permit corridor
simulation considering the landscape context at different spatial extents.
3.LSCorridors permits to simulate corridors for species with different
requirements and considers that different species perceive and respond to
the surrounding landscape in different ways, as many species may choose to
move through areas that may not be the most permeable ones in the
landscape. Two parameters in LSCorridors modulate the stochasticity in
corridors simulations. The first parameter is the level of variability
added to the input resistance map in each simulation, resulting in more
variable and spatially spread-out corridors. The other parameter is the
spatial extent that may influence each pixel; larger extents result in
larger spatial zones affecting each pixel during corridors simulations.
Additionally, when considering spatial influence, the simulations may be
performed for species highly, medially or less sensitive to habitat
quality. 4.Some currently available software are not free or depend on a
paid GIS software to work. In addition, some software do not support large
matrices in their simulations, limiting their use. LSCorridors is designed
to deal with large rasters, is based on strictly freeware software, and is
freely available online. This allows the users to implement new methods
for modeling multi-scale and ecologically-based corridors. 5.LSCorridors
is a potential tool for the identification of protected areas, as corridor
simulation considers species movement and landscape connectivity,
essential characteristics to aid in large-scale biodiversity conservation,
especially in anthropogenic landscapes. LSCorridors provides what we may
call a zone for conservation, showing a set of connected areas in the
landscape which may be ordered according to their potential for ecological
corridors or which may be used as an aid for conservation strategies or
ecological restoration projects.

1.维持连通性是全球生物多样性保护面临的核心挑战之一。生态廊道对于维持景观连通性至关重要，但其有效性取决于不同空间尺度和景观背景下的景观格局及物种响应。
2.我们开发了一款新的生态导向免费软件包LandScape Corridors（LSCorridors），通过考虑生物多样性在不同空间尺度下对景观属性的响应，以优化生态廊道设计。LSCorridors在生态廊道设计中纳入了随机变异、物种感知及景观对生物的影响。除最小成本路径算法外，我们还提出了四种不同方法用于模拟多路径功能性生态廊道：一种方法单独利用每个像素的信息，而另外三种方法则允许在不同空间尺度下结合景观背景进行廊道模拟。
3.LSCorridors能够为具有不同需求的物种模拟廊道，并考虑到不同物种对周围景观的感知和响应存在差异——许多物种可能选择穿过景观中并非最具渗透性的区域。LSCorridors包含两个参数用于调节廊道模拟中的随机性：第一个参数是每次模拟中添加到输入阻力图的变异程度，可产生更多样化且空间分布更广的廊道；第二个参数是可能影响每个像素的空间尺度，更大的尺度会在廊道模拟中导致影响每个像素的空间区域扩大。此外，在考虑空间影响时，模拟可针对对栖息地质量高度敏感、中度敏感或低度敏感的物种进行。
4.目前可用的部分软件并非免费，或依赖付费的地理信息系统（GIS）软件运行。此外，一些软件在模拟中不支持大型矩阵，限制了其应用范围。LSCorridors设计用于处理大型栅格数据，基于纯免费软件开发，且可在线免费获取。这使得用户能够实现多尺度、基于生态的廊道建模新方法。
5.LSCorridors是识别保护区域的潜在工具，因为其廊道模拟考虑了物种移动和景观连通性——这两项是助力大规模生物多样性保护（尤其是在人为景观中）的关键特征。LSCorridors提供了我们所称的‘保护区域’，展示了景观中一组相互连接的区域，这些区域可根据其作为生态廊道的潜力排序，或用作制定保护策略及生态恢复项目的辅助工具。