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84 <br /> Landscape: For the scale of this project, a large heterogeneous land area(for example,multiple square <br /> miles or several thousand hectares) consisting of a cluster of interacting ecosystems repeated in similar <br /> form(such as a watershed)(ELI 2003). <br /> Landscape conservation: An approach that brings people together across geographies, sectors, and <br /> cultures to collaborate on conserving our important landscapes and the myriad ecological, cultural, and <br /> economic benefits they provide(Network for Landscape Conservation, <br /> http://landscapeconservation.ore/about/what-is-landscape-conservation <br /> Landscape/Habitat Indicator Guild: A group of species that have similar habitat and movement needs, <br /> respond in similar ways to landscape fragmentation, and collectively serve as indicators of landscape <br /> habitat integrity(Hall 2008). <br /> Landscape habitat integrity: Defined by Hall(2008)as simply the inverse of the degree of landscape <br /> fragmentation. <br /> Least cost corridor: A corridor representing areas of lowest movement cost between two discrete <br /> endpoints(habitat patches), determined by a threshold of total movement cost above the cost of the least <br /> cost path. <br /> Least cost path(shortest path): In cost distance analysis(or shortest path modeling),the single path <br /> with the lowest total sum between two endpoints (habitat patches). In raster-based GIS analysis,the least <br /> cost path is only a single pixel wide,which is unlikely to represent the exact path taken by an organism. <br /> (Wade et al. 2015) <br /> Matrix: A component of the landscape,often altered from its original state by human land use,which may <br /> vary in attributes from human-dominated to natural, and in which corridors and habitat patches are <br /> embedded(Hilty et al. 2019). <br /> Metapopulation: A network of semi-isolated populations with some level of regular or intermittent <br /> migration and gene flow among them, in which individual populations may be extinct but then be <br /> recolonized from other subpopulations (ELI 2003). <br /> Movement barrier: A physical object or environmental condition that obstructs or prohibits animal <br /> movement from one part of the landscape to another. <br /> Natural community: A distinct and recurring assemblage of populations of plants, animals,bacteria, and <br /> fungi naturally associated with each other and their physical environment(Schafale 2012). <br /> Natural Heritage Element Occurrence(NHEO): Occurrences of rare plants and animals, exemplary or <br /> unique natural communities, and important animal groupings, as tracked and documented by NCNHP. <br /> Collectively,these plants, animals,natural communities, and animal assemblages are referred to as <br /> "elements of natural diversity"or simply as"elements."Maps of NHEOs are maintained and distributed <br /> by NCNHP and are updated quarterly(NCWRC 2013). <br /> Natural Heritage Natural Area(NHNA): Terrestrial or aquatic sites that are of special biodiversity <br /> significance as defined by NCNHP. A site's conservation priority rating or significance may be due to the <br /> presence of rare species,rare or high-quality natural communities or other important ecological features. <br /> Maps of NHNAs are updated quarterly. (NCNHP 2019d,NCWRC 2013) <br /> Non-native species: Any species that has been introduced(either intentionally or accidentally)to an area <br /> outside its natural past or present distribution. This includes any part(gametes, seeds, eggs, or <br /> propagules)of such species that might survive and subsequently reproduce.Nonnative species can be <br /> invasive, injurious, or beneficial where they occur. (NCWRC 2015) <br /> Resilience: The ability to retain essential processes in the face of disturbances or expected shifts in <br /> ambient conditions; ecosystem resilience provides the ability to support native diversity(NCWRC 2015). <br /> Appendix B: Glossary 3 <br />