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Science 23 November 2007:
Vol. 318. no. 5854, p. 1240
DOI: 10.1126/science.1145349
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Technical Comments

Comment on "Roadless Space of the Conterminous United States"

Evan H. Girvetz,1,2*{dagger} Jochen A. G. Jaeger,1{ddagger} James H. Thorne2

Watts et al. (Reports, 6 May 2007, p. 736) introduced a metric of landscape pattern called roadless volume (RV). However, as with most previous metrics, RV does not explicitly address ecological processes. We demonstrate that RV can produce results inconsistent with the notion of landscape connectivity and contend that more ecologically relevant metrics are available.

1 Road Ecology Center, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
2 Information Center for the Environment, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.

{dagger} Present address: College of Forest Resources, Box 352100, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195–2100, USA.

{ddagger} Present address: Concordia University, Department of Geography, Planning, and Environment, 1455 de Maisonneuve Boulevard West, Suite H1255, Montréal, Québec H3G 1M8, Canada.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: girvetz{at}u.washington.edu

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)