A peer-reviewed open-access journal Nature ConservationPatterns 19: 19–37 of(2017) distribution and landscape connectivity of the stag beetle... 19 doi: 10.3897/natureconservation.19.12457 RESEARCH ARTICLE http://natureconservation.pensoft.net Launched to accelerate biodiversity conservation Patterns of distribution and landscape connectivity of the stag beetle in a human-dominated landscape Francesca Della Rocca1, Giuseppe Bogliani1, Pietro Milanesi2 1 Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 1, 27100 Pavia, Italy 2 Swiss Ornithological Institute, Seerose 1, 6204 Sempach, Switzerland Corresponding author: Francesca Della Rocca (
[email protected]) Academic editor: G.M.Carpaneto | Received 28 February 2017 | Accepted 12 June 2017 | Published 31 July 2017 http://zoobank.org/AF08AEC0-BB47-402D-AE1A-39298E6DFA92 Citation: Della Rocca F, Bogliani G, Milanesi P (2017) Patterns of distribution and landscape connectivity of the stag beetle in a human-dominated landscape. In: Campanaro A, Hardersen S, Sabbatini Peverieri G, Carpaneto GM (Eds) Monitoring of saproxylic beetles and other insects protected in the European Union. Nature Conservation 19: 19–37. https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.19.12457 Abstract Urbanisation and the spread of agriculture have resulted in high levels of forest loss, habitat fragmentation and degradation in many regions of the world. In Italy, the Po Plain is the most human-dominated land- scape of the country and, after decades of exploitation, old-growth forests have been reduced to small and isolated patches, often threatened by invasive tree species such as the black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia). In these habitats, the occurrence of many forest-dependent species is related to the quality and availability of suitable areas, as well as the connectivity between the remaining forested patches.