SUMMARY
In the present study, the design of ecological corridors and buffer zones is proposed as a measure for the expansion and restoration of the connectivity of the habitat of the game species Santamartamys rufodorsalis in the north center of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, located in north of Colombia. The methodology used, the result of modifications of the proposal by Bentrup (2008), was based on the analysis of geographic parameters that define areas with the best territorial suitability for the habitat of the species. Likewise, the study is based on a cost analysis that, through a Geographic Information System, allows defining the potential location of the functional connectors. In this way, the model provides reliable information that allows the exact layout of corridors and buffer zones to be proposed. As will be seen in due course, the methodology used can be adjusted for other species.
Keywords: ecological corridors; buffer zones; Santamartamys rufodorsalis; Colombia.
