Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Ecological Indicators journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolind Delimitation of ecological corridors between conservation units in the Brazilian Cerrado using a GIS and AHP approach Daniela Torres Morandi a , Luciano Cavalcante de Jesus França b , Eduarda Soares Menezes a , Evandro Luiz Mendonça Machado a , Marcelo Dutra da Silva c , Danielle Piuzana Mucida a, ⁎ a Department of Forest Engineering, Federal University of the Jequitinhonha and Mucuri Valleys (UFVJM), Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil b Department of Forestry Science, Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil c Institute of Oceanography, Federal University of Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Analytic hierarchy process Geographical information system Landscape ecology Least-cost path Multiple criteria analysis ABSTRACT The Brazilian Cerrado is a biodiversity hotspot of global importance; however, it is fragmented. The objective of this study is to identify suitable areas for ecological corridors (ECs) between two conservation units (CUs) lo- cated in the Espinhaço Range Biosphere Reserve (ERBR) in the Cerrado biome, Brazil, based on analytic hier- archy process (AHP), least-cost path (LCP) methods and landscape metrics. The methodology was based on the use of the AHP as a decision-making tool. Using the AHP, relative weights were attributed to the criteria used in the construction of land use, occupation, terrain slope and permanent preservation area (PPA) maps, which were then used for the delimitation of ECs in a GIS environment based on the LCP approach and landscape metrics. The results included a proposal of three ECs, listed as A, B and C, with areas of 34.28, 27.04 and 28.80 km 2 , respectively. The use of the AHP minimizes the subjectivity of the criteria used. The analyses identified that the ECs had similar habitat quality to that of the conservation units. EC-A presented the largest area of natural vegetation. EC-B presents comparable vegetation to that of EC-A and the shortest connection. EC-C contains the largest area of monoculture and is the least suitable option, given the choice of ECs. Additional studies using other spatial algorithms should be used to find paths to optimize distances and costs for establishing ECs in Brazil and/or other world ecoregions. 1. Introduction The Cerrado is considered a biodiversity hotspot (Myers et al., 2000). It is also one of the Brazilian domains most anthropized and threatened by human activity (Beuchle et al., 2015). In recent decades, public policies in Brazil have encouraged agriculture, livestock farming and exotic monoculture plantations in its territory. Therefore, extensive natural areas have been replaced, generating a mosaic of vegetation fragments of different sizes and degrees of conservation (Oliveira et al., 2017). Landscape fragmentation affects structural parameters (disposition and composition) and biodiversity (Lord and Norton, 1990; Salazar et al., 2017; Buffa et al., 2018). Barriers created by fragmentation can hinder the flow of genes and individuals among the remaining frag- ments (Cheptou et al., 2017). The isolation of populations caused by anthropogenic fragmentation can intensify competition, resulting in an alteration of habitat structure and quality (Metzger et al., 1998; Muchailh et al., 2010; Buffa et al., 2018). Habitat loss is detrimental to the maintenance and quality of biodiversity, but this loss is not directly related to fragmentation (Hadadd et al., 2015). This controversy is as- sociated with the uncertainty of the role of shrinking fragment size and increased isolation in relation to declining biodiversity and ecosystem degradation (Fahrig, 2003; Hadadd et al., 2015). According to the principles of evolutionary ecology (Cheptou et al., 2017), scientific research has revealed that fragmentation has simultaneous and com- plex effects that occur over very long time scales (Ibanez et al., 2014). Researchers agree that habitat destruction is detrimental to the main- tenance and quality of biodiversity, but these negative effects are not directly related to fragmentation (Hadadd et al., 2015). In Brazil, the traditional strategy for the conservation of biodiversity relies on the creation of conservation units (CUs). The CUs are char- acterized by a tendency towards long-term isolation, similar to con- servation hotspots. To protect diversity and allow genetic exchange between species, the use of ecological corridors (ECs) is necessary. ECs allow the connection of habitat patches, facilitating the flow of re- sources and organisms among patches (Gurrutxaga et al., 2010; Salazar https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106440 Received 19 March 2019; Received in revised form 13 April 2020; Accepted 20 April 2020 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: danielle.piuzana@ufvjm.edu.br (D.P. Mucida). Ecological Indicators 115 (2020) 106440 1470-160X/ © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. T