The length of road in four different classes (earth/unimproved, two-lane loose, two-lane paved, multilane paved) in southern and northern Ontario was assessed in each decade from 1935-2005 based on the Ontario Road Map (ORM) that is updated by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation every 2 years. Road data from the southern Ontario portion of the ORM by decade for the period 1935-1995 were digitized and summarized by Fenech et al. (2000). The ORM for 2005 were digitized by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. Changes in the length of classes of roads for the southern Ontario portion of the ORM were assessed over the period 1935-2005 (Figures 1 and 2). Analyses of changes in the northern Ontario portion of the ORM are ongoing and will be added to this indicator when completed. A preliminary assessment showed that the total length of ORM roads in this part of the province increased from about 3,400 km in 1935 to more than 13,300 km in 2005.
It is important to note that due to limitations of scale, the ORM does not include all roads within the province. The ORM includes about 20% of the roads included in the digital Ontario Road Network (OMNRF 2014). For example thousands of kilometres of municipal streets and forest access roads do not show up on the map. However, using the ORM provides a consistent means of tracking changes in the road network in Ontario through time back to 1935, and provides a reliable index of pressures related to road density.
Related Target(s)
References:
Coffin, A.W. 2007. From roadkill to road ecology: a review of the ecological effects of roads. Journal of Transportation Geography 15:396–406.
Fahrig, L., and T. Rytwinski. 2009. Effects of roads on animal abundance: An empirical review and synthesis. Ecology and Society 14:21-41.
Fenech, A., B. Taylor, R. Hansell, and G. Whitelaw. 2000. Major road changes in southern Ontario 1935-1995: Implications for protected areas. University of Toronto, Integrated Mapping Assessment Project, Toronto, ON.
Forman, R.T.T., and L.E. Alexander. 1998. Roads and their major ecological effects. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 29:207–231.
Gelbard, J. L. and J. Belnap. 2003. Roads as conduits for exotic plant invasions in semiarid landscape. Conservation Biology 17:420–432.
Jaeger, J.A.G, J. Bowman, J. Brennan, L. Fahrig, D. Bert, J. Bouchard, N. Charbonneau, K. Frank, B. Gruber, and K. Tluk von Toschanowitz. 2005. Predicting when animal populations are at risk from roads: an interactive model of road avoidance behavior. Ecological Modelling 185:329–348.
Keller, I., and C.R. Largiader. 2003. Recent habitat fragmentation caused by major roads leads to reduction of gene flow and loss of genetic variability in ground beetles. Proc. R. Soc. London. B 270:417–423.
Ontario Biodiversity Council (OBC). 2010. State of Ontario’s biodiversity 2010. A report of the Ontario Biodiversity Council, Peterborough, ON.
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR). 2009. Landscape fragmentation analysis, data inputs and assumptions report for the ecosystem status and trends report for the Mixedwood Plains. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Peterborough, ON.
Ontario Ministry of Transportation (OMTO). 2010. Provincial highway traffic volumes 1988-2010. Ontario Ministry of Transportation, Toronto, ON.
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. 2014. User guide for ORN road net element LIO data class. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Queen’s Printer for Ontario, Toronto, ON.
Sanzo, D., and S.J. Hecnar. 2006. Effects of road de-icing salt (NaCl) on larval wood frogs (Rana sylvatica). Environmental Pollution 140:247–256.
Trombulak, S.C., and C.A. Frissel. 2000. Review of the ecological effects of roads on terrestrial and aquatic communities. Conservation Biology 14:18–30.
Warren, P.S., M. Katti, M. Ermann and A. Brazel. 2006. Urban bioacoustics: it’s not just noise. Animal Behaviour 71:491–502.
One of the most important impacts of roads on wildlife populations is the direct mortality of animals as they are hit and killed by vehicles. In Ontario alone, there are approximately 14,000 wildlife/vehicle collisions reported each year (almost all involving large herbivores such as deer). There are many more unreported collisions involving smaller mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians (Ontario Road Ecology Group 2010). For instance, over a 5-month study period, more than 24,000 vehicle-verte…
Read More