Nesting ground abandonment by the maleo (Macrocephalon maleo) in North Sulawesi: Identifying conservation priorities for Indonesia’s endemic megapode

The maleo (Macrocephalon maleo) is an endemic bird of Sulawesi that lays eggs in communal nesting grounds incubated by solar or geothermal sources. In recent years, maleo nesting grounds have become increasingly vulnerable to threats associated with the growing human population of the island. Consequently, the maleo has become one of the most imperiled bird species in Indonesia and is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. We report on the 2004 status of maleo nesting grounds in North Sulawesi focusing on the Bogani Landscape, the region in and around Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park, where the nesting grounds are concentrated. We compare our results to those of a similar study in 1990-1991, examining changes in nesting ground status in relation to habitat and land use factors such as protection status, geographic position (coastal or inland), and distance to forest, human settlements, and roads. Nesting grounds were more likely to be abandoned if they were: (a) in coastal areas; (b) near settlements and roads; and (c) not in protected areas. Binary logistic regression identified connectivity between nesting grounds and forest in 1991 as the best predictor of whether or not sites were abandoned by maleo over the next 12 years; a loss of local continuity between nesting grounds and forest is associated with a sixfold increase in the probability of abandonment. Access to forest was itself highly correlated with other variables examined, and thus represented a composite index of threats to maleo. The application of this model to the 2004 data identified six active nesting grounds that are at high risk of abandonment in the near future, seven at intermediate risk, and five at low risk. These results offer conservationists priorities for future maleo conservation.     

The implications of current and future urbanization for global protected areas and biodiversity conservation

Due to human population growth and migration, there will be nearly 2 billion new urban residents by 2030, yet the consequences of both current and future urbanization for biodiversity conservation are poorly known. Here we show that urban growth will have impacts on ecoregions, rare species, and protected areas that are localized but cumulatively significant. Currently, 29 of the world’s 825 ecoregions have over one-third of their area urbanized, and these 29 ecoregions are the only home of 213 endemic terrestrial vertebrate species. Our analyses suggest that 8% of terrestrial vertebrate species on the IUCN Red List are imperiled largely because of urban development. By 2030, 15 additional ecoregions are expected to lose more than 5% of their remaining undeveloped area, and they contain 118 vertebrate species found nowhere else. Of the 779 rare species with only one known population globally, 24 are expected to be impacted by urban growth. In addition, the distance between protected areas and cities is predicted to shrink dramatically in some regions: for example, the median distance from a protected area to a city in Eastern Asia is predicted to fall from 43 km to 23 km by 2030. Most protected areas likely to be impacted by new urban growth (88%) are in countries of low to moderate income, potentially limiting institutional capacity to adapt to new anthropogenic stresses on protected areas. In short, trends in global ecoregions, rare species, and protected areas suggest localized but significant biodiversity degradation associated with current and upcoming urbanization.     

Global protected areas and IUCN designations: Do the categories match the conditions?

Protected areas are considered fundamental to the preservation of nature. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has standardized categories for protected areas designation, which are intended to represent varying levels of regulatory protection. We evaluate whether the present assignment of protected areas to IUCN categories corresponds to the expected gradient of naturalness in a globally consistent manner. Our proxy of naturalness was a global map of human influence known as Human Footprint (HF). Higher HF values represent less intact natural areas. Our final sample of protected areas included 21,186 IUCN-designated sites that were ?1 km². We used multiple linear regression to test for the effect of IUCN categories on mean HF while accounting for biome and protected area size.The present assignment of protected areas to IUCN categories does not correspond to the expected gradient of naturalness. We observed that IUCN Category Ia areas have higher HF than expected and Category VI protected areas have unexpectedly low HF; Category VI protected areas also are generally larger than protected areas of other categories. Reporting of area protected in different IUCN categories is one measure of progress towards meeting commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity, yet because IUCN categories are not interpreted consistently across the globe, this is not a reliable metric. Further, despite the social, economic and ecological importance of protected areas with a very low HF, our results suggest that the availability of such areas within the global protected areas network is very limited.     

Identification of de facto protected areas in boreal Canada

Canada is dominated by remote wilderness areas that make important conservation contributions, but are currently only protected de facto by their inaccessibility. Mechanisms for the identification and formal protection of such areas can help ensure that they continue to function naturally and provide essential ecosystem services. However, a lack of spatially explicit, publicly available sources of data on anthropogenic disturbances and natural resource extraction challenges the development of detailed wilderness inventories. We suggest that landscape structure can be used to classify areas of natural landscapes, as trained by the landscape structure of protected areas, and demonstrate this approach by mapping de facto protected areas in Canada’s boreal forest. Overall, between 50%, based on landscape structure, and 80%, based on anthropogenic infrastructure alone, of Canada’s boreal zone exists in large, intact blocks. The true extent of boreal wilderness likely falls within this range, as existing infrastructure datasets may omit disturbance and the protected area network in far northern areas proved inadequate to train effective wilderness classifications. We anticipate that such efforts may be improved by refining the identification of training areas or by classifying along additional landscape metrics. Nevertheless, the areas identified are valuable candidates for protected area expansion, and can contribute to a reserve network that meets national and regional conservation targets and is representative of the range of vegetation productivities, which was used as a biodiversity surrogate. Our general approach need not be limited to the boreal forest, as it has the potential to successfully identify relatively undisturbed (or less disturbed) areas over a range of systems and across levels of human influence.     

Efficiency and effectiveness in representative reserve design in Canada: The contribution of existing protected areas

To be effective, reserve networks should represent all target species in protected areas that are large enough to ensure species persistence. Given limited resources to set aside protected areas for biodiversity conservation, and competing land uses, a prime consideration for the design of reserve networks is efficiency (the maximum biodiversity represented in a minimum number of sites). However, to be effective, networks may sacrifice efficiency. We used reserve selection algorithms to determine whether collections of existing individual protected areas in Canada were efficient and/or effective in terms of representing the diversity of disturbance-sensitive mammals in Canada in comparison to (1) an optimal network of reserves, and (2) sites selected at random. Unlike previous studies, we restricted our analysis to individual protected areas that met a criterion for minimum reserve size, to address issues of representation and persistence simultaneously. We also tested for effectiveness and efficiency using historical and present-day data to see whether protected area efficiency and/or effectiveness varied over time. In general, existing protected areas did not effectively capture the full suite of mammalian species diversity, nor are most existing protected areas part of a near-optimal solution set. To be effective, Canada’s network of reserves will require at minimum 22 additional areas of >2700 km². This study shows that even when only those reserves large enough to be effective are considered, protected areas systems may not be representative, nor were they representative at the time of establishment.     

Evaluating effects of deforestation, hunting, and El Niño events on a threatened lemur

Madagascar ranks as one of the world’s top extinction hotspots because of its high endemism and high rate of habitat degradation. Global climate phenomena such as El Niño Southern Oscillations may have confounding impacts on the island’s threatened biota but these effects are less well known. We performed a demographic study of Propithecus edwardsi, a lemur inhabiting the eastern rainforest of Madagascar, to evaluate the impact of deforestation, hunting, and El Niño on its population and to re-evaluate present endangerment categorization under the IUCN. Over 18 years of demographic data, including survival and fecundity rates were used to parameterize a stochastic population model structured with three stage classes (yearlings, juveniles, and adults). Results demonstrate that hunting and deforestation are the most significant threats to the population. Analysis of several plausible scenarios and combinations of threat revealed that a 50% population decline within three generations was very likely, supporting current IUCN classification. However, the analysis also suggested that changing global cycles may pose further threat. The average fecundity of lemurs was over 65% lower during El Niño years. While not as severe as deforestation or hunting, if El Niño events remain at the current high frequency there may be negative consequences for the population. We suggest that it is most critical for this species continued survival to create more protected areas, not only to thwart hunting and deforestation, but also to give this endangered lemur a better chance to recover from and adapt to altered climate cycles in the future.     

Evaluating the efficacy of zoning designations for protected area management

Protected areas worldwide are facing increasing pressures to co-manage human development and biodiversity conservation. One strategy for managing multiple uses within and around protected areas is zoning, an approach in which spatial boundaries are drawn to distinguish areas with varying degrees of allowable human impacts. However, zoning designations are rarely evaluated for their efficacy using empirical data related to both human and biodiversity characteristics. To evaluate the effectiveness of zoning designations, we developed an integrated approach. The approach was calibrated empirically using data from Wolong Nature Reserve, a flagship protected area for the conservation of endangered giant pandas in China. We analyzed the spatial distribution of pandas, as well as human impacts (roads, houses, tourism infrastructure, livestock, and forest cover change) with respect to zoning designations in Wolong. Results show that the design of the zoning scheme could be improved to account for pandas and their habitat, considering the amount of suitable habitat outside of the core zone (area designated for biodiversity conservation). Zoning was largely successful in containing houses and roads to their designated experimental zone, but was less effective in containing livestock and was susceptible to boundary adjustments to allow for tourism development. We identified focus areas for potential zoning revision that could better protect the panda population without significantly compromising existing human settlements. Our findings highlight the need for evaluating the efficacy of zoning in other protected areas facing similar challenges with balancing human needs and conservation goals, not only in China but also around the world.     

Current status and conservation of the gray snub-nosed monkey Rhinopithecus brelichi (Colobinae) in Guizhou, China

Gray snub-nosed monkeys Rhinopithecus brelichi (Colobinae), categorized as endangered on the IUCN Red List, are endemic to Guizhou, China. To evaluate the species’ current status we surveyed five sites in the Mt Fanjing area between August 2007 and June 2008. These sites were identified from previous surveys and interviews with local officials and villagers. Four sub-populations, with a total of ca. 750 individuals, were located in mixed deciduous and evergreen broad leaf forest at 800-2200 m asl. Identified threats to the species include (1) accidentally injured or killed by poaching, (2) loss or alteration of habitat through wood extraction, and (3) loss or alteration of habitat through economic activities, such as building projects and illegal mining. We recommend that several actions can be taken to alleviate the anthropogenic pressure on the ecosystem including: (1) designating specific forest reserve for sustainable wood extraction, (2) utilizing biogas to reduce firewood demands, (3) introducing local people to bamboo utilization for generate greater cash income, (4) educating for young people and encouraging them to work in developed areas, and (5) encouraging the villagers to move out the mountain.     

松嫩平原粮食主产区农村居民点格局及影响因素分析

揭示粮食主产区农村居民点格局及其影响因素,对城镇化背景下农村居民点整理有重要意义。该文综合运用GIS空间统计、核密度分析、全局聚类检验及空间热点探测法,从农村居民点规模、密度以及集聚特征分析农村居民点格局,并探索地形地貌、农业生产力水平及区位条件对农村居民点格局的影响。结果表明：1）微型、小型及中型居民点数量繁多,其公共基础设施不配套,破坏耕地完整性,已不适应农业生产力的发展及内部居民生活;2）农村居民点核密度最高值为1.58个/km2,整体分布密度相对较低,规模呈现全局低值集聚特征,符合粮食主产区特点。克山镇、双河镇北部、古北乡北部、向华乡东北部、北兴镇中部以及河南乡中部农村居民点呈小规模集聚,西联镇、西河镇、发展乡、克山农场、西建乡部分区域以及古城镇、向华乡、北联镇的零星区域的农村居民点呈大规模集聚;3）地形地貌是农村居民点初始区位形成的基础,但随着社会经济的转型,农业生产力水平的提高对粮食主产区农村居民点格局调整有较大的推动作用。区位因素中城镇辐射对居民点格局影响仅限于一定范围,交通道路显著改变居民点局部空间格局,具有明显的距离衰减效应。该研究可为松嫩平原粮食主产区农村居民点布局优化与调控提供参考。     

Methodological considerations in reserve system selection: A case study of Malagasy lemurs

Although data quality and weighting decisions impact the outputs of reserve selection algorithms, these factors have not been closely studied. We examine these methodological issues in the use of reserve selection algorithms by comparing: (1) quality of input data and (2) use of different weighting methods for prioritizing among species. In 2003, the government of Madagascar, a global biodiversity hotspot, committed to tripling the size of its protected area network to protect 10% of the country’s total land area. We apply the Zonation reserve selection algorithm to distribution data for 52 lemur species to identify priority areas for the expansion of Madagascar’s reserve network. We assess the similarity of the areas selected, as well as the proportions of lemur ranges protected in the resulting areas when different forms of input data were used: extent of occurrence versus refined extent of occurrence. Low overlap between the areas selected suggests that refined extent of occurrence data are highly desirable, and to best protect lemur species, we recommend refining extent of occurrence ranges using habitat and altitude limitations. Reserve areas were also selected for protection based on three different species weighting schemes, resulting in marked variation in proportional representation of species among the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species extinction risk categories. This result demonstrates that assignment of species weights influences whether a reserve network prioritizes maximizing overall species protection or maximizing protection of the most threatened species.     

Conserving Africa’s rain forests: problems in protected areas and possible solutions

Problems and correlates of success in the conservation of Africa’s rain forests were evaluated for 16 protected areas in 11 countries, representing approximately half of all protected areas in this biome. Data were obtained from questionnaires, published and unpublished accounts, and direct observations. Despite numerous problems, all protected areas conserved indigenous rain forest biodiversity more effectively than did alternative land uses. More than half the protected areas suffered extensive ecological isolation. Effective management of protected areas was seriously compromised by inadequate funding and government support. Dense human populations, often resulting from immigration, constituted major threats to protected areas. Perceived conservation success was greatest for large protected areas surrounded by similar habitat with strong public support, effective law enforcement, low human population densities, and substantial support from international donors. Contrary to expectations, protected area success was not directly correlated with employment benefits for the neighboring community, conservation education, conservation clubs, or with the presence and extent of integrated conservation and development programs. Studies are needed to better understand what shapes positive pubic attitude towards protected areas because none of the conventional public outreach programs were correlated with public attitude. We also identify apparent deficiencies in foreign assistance to these protected areas. The single most important short-term strategy was considered to be the improvement of law enforcement effectiveness through greater technical and financial support. Nine medium-term strategies are identified, including provision of adequate and secure long-term funding, establishing research and monitoring programs, and developing more appropriate conservation and development programs. Long-term strategies deal with two ultimate causal factors, mainly attitudes and value systems, and stabilizing human populations. Future success of Africa’s protected areas is contingent upon long-term international assistance including contingencies mandating realistic performance standards.     

The role of social aggregations and protected areas in killer whale conservation: The mixed blessing of critical habitat

Protected areas are often proposed as tools for conserving endangered populations of marine megafauna. Our study area includes a voluntary no-entry reserve embedded within wider critical habitat for Threatened ‘northern resident’ killer whales under Canada’s Species at Risk Act. Our study quantified the reserve’s importance to whales by assessing habitat preference in a behavioural context, and population-level implications of that preference given threats from human activities, such as oil spills resulting from shipping traffic. We recorded summertime activities of whales from 1995 to 2002. Whales were observed on 397 of 530 (74.9%) days. Whales showed strong preference for the reserve over adjacent waters, and used it preferentially for feeding and beach-rubbing. While the area comprises ∼0.001% of the whales’ range, an overall average of 6.5% of the population was present each day. Frequently, >50% of this small population was aggregated in the restricted and heavily trafficked waterway of Johnstone Strait. Using the Potential Biological Removal equation, we calculated potential annual mortality limits (ML) of 2.2 animals. Mean group size in the area exceeded ML on 55.8% of days overall, and 98.8% of days when conditioning on whale presence. The whales’ high reliance on a trivial fraction of their range means that opportunities are routine for one stochastic, catastrophic event to cause population decline. On 20 August 2007, a barge loaded with ∼10,000 L of diesel sank in the area, exposing 25% of the population. This underscores the importance of identifying critical habitat for threatened populations, and ensuring meaningful protection.     

巴山南部山区乡村聚落时空变化特征及影响因素——以重庆市城口县为例

为探究山区乡村聚落的时空变化特征,以巴山南部城口县为例,基于2010年、2015年、2019年乡村聚落斑块数据,通过GIS空间分析和景观指数方法,从聚落分布、规模、形态和区位4个角度分析了城口县乡村聚落的时空变化特征,并运用空间误差回归模型揭示其影响因素。结果表明：(1)城口县乡村聚落空间集聚趋势增强;聚落分布呈现“西北密,东南疏”,高密度区范围向乡镇中心缩减;(2)与2010年比较,2019年城口县聚落数量减少而规模明显增加;乡村聚落规模以小型化为主,由小规模逐渐向大规模发展;聚落形状不规则并趋于复杂化,乡镇中心周边及主要道路河流两侧的形状不规则程度较大,且程度增大;(3)聚落主要分布在海拔<1 500 m,坡度<25°范围内,沿河流和道路呈带状分布;低地缓坡处和河流道路两侧为聚落扩张区,海拔和坡度较高的地区为聚落收缩区;(4)人口规模、坡度和距乡镇中心距离是城口县乡村聚落规模变化的首要因素。综上所述,自然因素塑造城口县乡村聚落的基本格局,而区位因素、社会经济因素及政策因素进一步推动乡村聚落演化。研究结果可为秦巴山区乡村聚落布局优化提供依据,对改善山地乡村人居环境、推动山...     

Using remote sensing to inform conservation status assessment: Estimates of recent deforestation rates on New Britain and the impacts upon endemic birds

Remote sensing is increasingly used by policy-makers and conservationists to identify conservation priorities and changes in land cover. This is particularly important in the biodiverse tropics, where there are often few field data. Conservation action is often directed towards areas containing globally threatened species, but there have been few attempts to improve assessments of species’ extinction risk through remote sensing. Here, in a novel approach we use deforestation estimates, measured through satellite imagery, to assess the conservation status of an entire endemic avifauna, based on IUCN Red List criteria. The island of New Britain, east of New Guinea, is of very high global conservation importance, and home to 37 endemic or restricted-range bird species. Analysis suggests 12% of forest cover was lost between 1989 and 2000, including over 20% of forest under 100 m altitude, with substantial areas cleared for commercial oil palm plantations. Application of the IUCN Red List criteria to these new data on area of remaining forest and rates of deforestation indicates that many species are more threatened than previously realised, with the total number of threatened or near threatened species increasing from 12 to 21. Thus, this study highlights the urgency of establishing and effectively managing protected areas in suitable lowland forests of New Britain. More broadly, it demonstrates another potential of remote sensing to assist strategic conservation decisions.     

A new abundance estimate for Maui’s dolphin: What does it mean for managing this critically endangered species?

Hector’s dolphin Cephalorhynchus hectori is found only in New Zealand waters. We carried out a population survey of the North Island subspecies Cephalorhychus hectori maui, also known as Maui’s dolphin. The total population size estimate is 111 individuals (95% confidence interval = 48-252). The small population size confirms its critically endangered IUCN status. A sustainable level of human-caused mortality for this population would be 0.16 (one dolphin every 6.4 years). This essentially means that fisheries bycatch, and where possible other human impacts, need to be eliminated to allow population recovery. A protected area has been created to reduce the threat from entanglement in fishing gear. Gillnet fishing is prohibited along a 210 nautical mile stretch of coastline. The main concerns are that gillnet fishing is still allowed inside harbours and trawling continues inside the protected area.     

Anthropogenic transformation of soils in the Pokrovskoe-Streshnevo Park (Moscow) and adjacent residential areas

The diversity of soils within the specially protected natural territory of Pokrovskoe-Streshnevo in Moscow is discussed. The soils of this large park are not affected by the modern construction activities that delete the features inherited from the early stages of the anthropogenic transformation of soils in Moscow. They are characterized by the book-like type of soil memory, which makes it possible to trace several sequences of the anthropogenic soil transformation. The background natural soils-rzhavozems (Chromic Cambisols)—have been transformed into agrogenic soils (agrosols) and postagrogenic soils (postagrosols) under abandoned plowlands, into urbo-soils and urbanozems in the areas of former or modern settlements, and into techno-soils in the areas of active excavation works and engineering reclamation. The change in the character of the land use without the accumulation of osediments on the surface leads to the development of polygenetic soil horizons.     

Corvid response to human settlements and campgrounds: Causes, consequences, and challenges for conservation

Human development often favors species adapted to human conditions with subsequent negative effects on sensitive species. This is occurring throughout the urbanizing world as increases by generalist omnivores, like some crows and ravens (corvids) threaten other birds with increased rates of nest predation. The process of corvid responses and their actual effects on other species is only vaguely understood, so we quantified the population response of radio-tagged American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos), common ravens (Corvus corax), and Steller’s jays (Cyanocitta stelleri) to human settlements and campgrounds and examined their influence as nest predators on simulated marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) nests on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula from 1995 to 2000. The behavior and demography of crows, ravens, and jays was correlated to varying degrees with proximity to human development. Crows and ravens had smaller home ranges and higher reproduction near human settlements and recreation. Annual survival of crows was positively associated with proximity to human development. Home range and reproduction of Steller’s jays was independent of proximity to human settlements and campgrounds. Local density of crows increased because home ranges of neighboring breeding pairs overlapped extensively (6× more than ravens and 3× more than Steller’s jays) and breeders far from anthropogenic foods traveled 10s of kilometers to access them. Corvids accounted for 32.5% of the predation events (n = 837) we documented on artificial murrelet nests. Small corvids (jays) were common nest predators across our study area but their contribution as predators did not vary with proximity to settlements and campgrounds. In contrast, large corvids (crows and ravens) were rare nest predators across our study area but their contribution varied greatly with proximity to settlements and campgrounds. Managers seeking to reduce the risk of nest predation need to consider the varied impacts and variable behavioral and population responses of potential nest predators. In our situation, removing large corvids may do little to reduce overall rates of nest predation because of the diverse predator assemblage, but reducing anthropogenic food in the landscape may be effective.     

Unlocking the potential of protected areas for freshwaters

Declining trends in the integrity of freshwater systems demand exploration of all possible conservation solutions. Freshwater protected areas have received little attention, despite the prominence of protected areas as conservation interventions for terrestrial and more recently marine features. We argue that a dialogue on freshwater protected areas has been neglected both because few models of good protected area design exist, and because traditional notions of protected areas translate imperfectly to the freshwater realm. Partly as a result of this conceptual disconnect, freshwaters have been largely ignored in protected area accounting schemes, even though a number of existing freshwater conservation strategies could qualify according to general protected area definitions. Rather than impose terrestrially-motivated ideas about protected areas onto freshwaters, we propose new vocabulary - freshwater focal area, critical management zone, and catchment management zone - that can be used in conjunction with IUCN protected area categories and that recognize the special ecological dynamics of freshwaters, and in particular the critical role of fluvial processes. These terms, which attempt to diffuse concerns about locking away essential ecosystem goods and services, move us toward consideration of protected areas for freshwaters. This conceptual shift, which acknowledges that freshwater conservation may occur remotely from freshwater features, opens the door for improved integration of freshwater, terrestrial, and marine concerns in protected area design and management.     

精准扶贫背景下云南少数民族山区农村居民点空间格局演变

为合理确定山区农村居民点的优化布局方向,科学指导山区农村居民点土地整治和新农村建设,该文以2018年脱贫的原国家级贫困县云南省寻甸回族彝族自治县为研究区,综合运用遥感解译、GIS分析、景观形状指数模型等方法,从空间、规模与形态等方面研究2001-2017年农村居民点的演变特征及其影响因素。研究表明:1)在规模形态方面,农村居民点的演变主要表现为:整体规模扩展显著,景观形状趋于规则,平均斑块规模增大;2)在空间分布方面,农村居民点向地形条件优越地区集聚的特征愈发明显。核密度和聚类检验的分析结果表明,农村居民点斑块规模空间分异明显,分布形态由小规模分散式逐渐向大规模集聚式发展;3)自然地理因素是影响山区农村居民点分布格局的基本因素,而社会经济因素、区位因素以及政策因素是促使其空间分布变化的重要因素。该研究可对地质灾害频发的西南边疆贫困山区的农村的脱贫攻坚工作提供一定的实践指导作用,并为其农村居民点空间布局优化提供科学的理论依据。     

石油城市县域农村居民点空间格局分析

应用渐变尺度研究方法和GIS的空间分析功能,对大庆市肇源县的农村居民点空间格局进行分析。在油田用地周围建立的步长为1 km,范围为研究区边界的12个缓冲区,宏观上农村居民点用地的个数和面积随步长的增加呈现出先快后慢的递减趋势;在不同集中程度的油田用地集中区内,农村居民点的个数和面积占全部农村居民点的个数和面积的比例,与该集中程度下油田用地的面积占全部油田用地面积的比例呈现非常相似的规律性变化。在公路周围建立的步长为1 km,范围为研究区边界的15个缓冲区内,宏观上农村居民点的个数和面积随步长的增加也呈现出先快后慢的递减趋势。由此说明油田用地和公路在宏观上对农村居民点空间格局具有显著的影响,油田用地和公路的选址及位置的改动对石油城市县域农村居民点空间格局的影响必须予以足够重视。