[A review on road ecology].

Roads are a widespread and increasing feature of most landscapes, and have great ecological effects, e.g., increased mortality of animals and plants and habitat loss from road construction, alteration of the physical and chemical environment, and changes in roadsides vegetation. The great impact on animal population includes road-kills, limiting population, road avoidance causing home arrange shift, modification of movement pattern and barrier effect subdividing habitat and populations. Roads alter landscape spatial pattern and interrupt horizontal ecological flows strongly. These impacts can be assayed by indices of road density, road-effect zone and road location. Furthermore, important applications of road ecology to planning, conservation and management are essential and potential. Road ecology presents us a surprising frontier of ecology.