| [Back to front page] | Impacts of fragmentation Fragmentation occurs when a forest or habitat is broken up into unconnected parts by clearance for agriculture or settlement. It is believed that this will disrupt the reproduction abilities of species living in these areas. Most of the research effort on fragmentation is in Costa Rica, where
CIFOR and its partners are studying reproductive ecology and other aspects of invertebrate
biodiversity. The research site in Costa Rica is in an area in the northwest of the
country, where cattle ranching has historically cleared large areas of forest, leaving a
pattern of riverine fragments. Detailed vegetation surveys have been undertaken in 22 of
these fragments, and samples have been collected from four species. In late 1997 analyses
were undertaken on these samples at the University of Alberta, Canada. Experimental
controlled pollinations have been used to study the mechanisms controlling the degree to
which species may be self-pollinated. Three major pollinators have been found: moths,
small bees and large bees.
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