Profillidis 2014). Secondly, railways require less land occupancy than other means
of transportation, and land use is perhaps the main driver of biodiversity loss
globally (Pereira et al. 2012). For example, Profillidis (2014) notices that the
“high-speed Paris–Lyon line (a distance of 427 km) occupies as much space as the
Paris airport at Roissy.” This is not a mere detail; it is already an important issue in
highly human-populated areas, and it is becoming important globally as the human
population grows and pressure on available arable land increases (Profillidis 2014).
More recently, the protection of the habitats crossed by railways and their
wildlife has become a main factor to be taken into consideration when designing
new railways or maintaining existing ones (Clauzel et al. 2013; Profillidis 2014),
associated with an increased societal awareness of the importance of biodiversity
(Pereira et al. 2012). However, compared to other transportation systems, such as
roads, less is known about the impact of railways on wildlife, as well as its
specificities. Whereas there is a large body of research on road ecology, much less
exists on railway ecology (Popp and Boyle 2017). Therefore, as the global railway
network increases, and more countries promote railways over road or air transportation of people and goods, we feel that a review of the state-of-knowledge in
railway ecology is needed. Railway ecology is an emerging field, but with scarce
(and scattered) information about its effects on biodiversity (e.g., Dorsey et al.
2015; Popp and Boyle 2017). This present book deals with the impacts of railways
on biodiversity along four main topics: wildlife mortality; habitat loss and exclusion
of species from their habitats; barrier effects; and exotic species invasions and
impacts of other environmental disturbances caused by railways.
Although railway ecology shares several characteristics with road ecology, it also
has some specificities. For instance, traffic on railways tends to be lower than on
roads, but the speed of the vehicles can be much greater. Railway ecology can also
benefit from studies on the impacts of power lines, these are present in railways when
trains are powered by electricity, but their height is usually lower than that of other
power lines. Therefore, although railways share some characteristics with other
linear infrastructures, they also have some particularities that warrant independent
consideration. In this book we highlight the characteristics that railways share with
other linear infrastructures, identify which measures can be applied to railways, and
show what makes the impacts of railways unique, as well as the required mitigation
measures.
The impacts of railways on wildlife have received less attention than those of
roads probably because one of its major impacts, vehicle-animal collisions, is not
visible to the general public (Wells et al. 1999; Cserkész and Farkas 2015).
Ordinarily, only the train crews are aware of the animal mortality caused by collisions, as railway right-of-ways have typically restricted access (Wells et al. 1999).
In some cases, researchers have studied the impacts caused by railways combined
with those of roads (e.g., Vos et al. 2001; Ray et al. 2002; Proctor et al. 2005; Arens
et al. 2007; Li et al. 2010), and some studies have found similar impacts of both
networks, namely, wildlife collisions (e.g., Cserkész and Farkas 2015). However,
often only the road impacts are highlighted, probably because the road network
tends to be more spatially developed than the railway network.
1 Railway Ecology
5
of transportation, and land use is perhaps the main driver of biodiversity loss
globally (Pereira et al. 2012). For example, Profillidis (2014) notices that the
“high-speed Paris–Lyon line (a distance of 427 km) occupies as much space as the
Paris airport at Roissy.” This is not a mere detail; it is already an important issue in
highly human-populated areas, and it is becoming important globally as the human
population grows and pressure on available arable land increases (Profillidis 2014).
More recently, the protection of the habitats crossed by railways and their
wildlife has become a main factor to be taken into consideration when designing
new railways or maintaining existing ones (Clauzel et al. 2013; Profillidis 2014),
associated with an increased societal awareness of the importance of biodiversity
(Pereira et al. 2012). However, compared to other transportation systems, such as
roads, less is known about the impact of railways on wildlife, as well as its
specificities. Whereas there is a large body of research on road ecology, much less
exists on railway ecology (Popp and Boyle 2017). Therefore, as the global railway
network increases, and more countries promote railways over road or air transportation of people and goods, we feel that a review of the state-of-knowledge in
railway ecology is needed. Railway ecology is an emerging field, but with scarce
(and scattered) information about its effects on biodiversity (e.g., Dorsey et al.
2015; Popp and Boyle 2017). This present book deals with the impacts of railways
on biodiversity along four main topics: wildlife mortality; habitat loss and exclusion
of species from their habitats; barrier effects; and exotic species invasions and
impacts of other environmental disturbances caused by railways.
Although railway ecology shares several characteristics with road ecology, it also
has some specificities. For instance, traffic on railways tends to be lower than on
roads, but the speed of the vehicles can be much greater. Railway ecology can also
benefit from studies on the impacts of power lines, these are present in railways when
trains are powered by electricity, but their height is usually lower than that of other
power lines. Therefore, although railways share some characteristics with other
linear infrastructures, they also have some particularities that warrant independent
consideration. In this book we highlight the characteristics that railways share with
other linear infrastructures, identify which measures can be applied to railways, and
show what makes the impacts of railways unique, as well as the required mitigation
measures.
The impacts of railways on wildlife have received less attention than those of
roads probably because one of its major impacts, vehicle-animal collisions, is not
visible to the general public (Wells et al. 1999; Cserkész and Farkas 2015).
Ordinarily, only the train crews are aware of the animal mortality caused by collisions, as railway right-of-ways have typically restricted access (Wells et al. 1999).
In some cases, researchers have studied the impacts caused by railways combined
with those of roads (e.g., Vos et al. 2001; Ray et al. 2002; Proctor et al. 2005; Arens
et al. 2007; Li et al. 2010), and some studies have found similar impacts of both
networks, namely, wildlife collisions (e.g., Cserkész and Farkas 2015). However,
often only the road impacts are highlighted, probably because the road network
tends to be more spatially developed than the railway network.
1 Railway Ecology
5