Fragments are minimally disturbed natural areas that did not meet habitat core requirements for inclusion in the cores database for some reason related to size, minimum thickness or the centroid of a cell fell outside the inner habitat core edge buffer. They are typically smaller than 100 acres in size and/or less than 200 meters wide and often highlight narrow riparian corridors. They can comprise a large portion of the landscape’s surface in areas significantly fragmented by roads, railroads, agriculture and other human dominated activities. While smaller than a core, these areas may represent highly valuable local resources in that they may serve as complimentary assets that improve the ecosystem function of neighboring cores, green infrastructure building blocks in highly fragmented landscapes void of cores,  stepping stones for facilitating local connectivity, and pose opportunities for habitat restoration among others.

Fragments are minimally disturbed natural areas that did not meet habitat core requirements for inclusion in the cores database for some reason related to size, minimum thickness or the centroid of a cell fell outside the inner habitat core edge buffer. They are typically smaller than 100 acres in size and/or less than 200 meters wide and often highlight narrow riparian corridors. They can comprise a large portion of the landscape’s surface in areas significantly fragmented by roads, railroads, agriculture and other human dominated activities. While smaller than a core, these areas may represent highly valuable local resources in that they may serve as complimentary assets that improve the ecosystem function of neighboring cores, green infrastructure building blocks in highly fragmented landscapes void of cores,  stepping stones for facilitating local connectivity, and pose opportunities for habitat restoration among others.