Connected landscape mosaics
Forman’s approach includes urban and human-used land as well as wilderness. Landscape elements are connected by animal movements and flows of water, energy and nutrients, placing cities within natural processes. In 1984 he coauthored a report on directions and approaches in landscape ecology with Paul Risser and James Karr.
Effects beyond the road surface
Roads can fragment habitat, isolate animal populations and alter water movement, with consequences for streams and aquatic organisms. Forman examined these effects alongside noise, pollution and animal collisions, treating infrastructure as an influence on surrounding landscapes rather than only the land it occupies.
References: [2]
Ecology and transportation engineering
Road Ecology: Science and Solutions, published in 2003, brought Forman together with authors from ecology, hydrology and transportation. It discussed measures such as vegetated wildlife overpasses and underpasses, considering practical ways to reconcile mobility with habitat connectivity.
References: [2]
Planning at the urban-region scale
His land-use study for metropolitan Barcelona was completed in early 2003. It considered urban growth alongside food, water, recreation and biodiversity over subsequent decades, applying landscape ecology to planning for the wider region on which a city depends.
References: [1]