Description:    Landscape connectivity, defined as the degree to which the landscape facilitates or impedes movement among resource patches, has been considered to be a key issue for biodiversity conservation. However, the use of landscape connectivity measurements has been strongly criticised due to uncertainties in the methods used and the lack of validation. Moreover, measurements are typically restricted to the population level, whereas management is generally carried out at the community level. Here, we used satellite imagery and network metrics to predict the landscape connectivity at community level for semi-natural herbaceous patches in an urban area near Paris (France). We tested different measurement methods, both taking into account and ignoring the spatial heterogeneity of matrix resistance estimated by the normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI), and quantifying the link strength between patches with the shortest path and flow metrics. We assessed the fit of these connectivity predictions with empirical data on plant communities embedded in an urban matrix. Our results indicate that the best fit with the empirical data is obtained when the connectivity is estimated with the flow metric and takes into account the matrix heterogeneity. Overall, our study helps to estimate the landscape connectivity of urban areas and makes recommendations for ways in which we might optimise landscape planning with respect to conservation of urban biodiversity. Content Type Journal Article Category Research Article Pages 1-11 DOI 10.1007/s10980-012-9817-1 Authors Audrey Muratet, ODBU, Observatoire Départemental de la Biodiversité Urbaine, Direction de la Nature, des Paysages et de la Biodiversité, Conseil Général de la Seine-Saint-Denis, Hôtel du Département, 93006 Bobigny Cedex, France Romain Lorrillière, UMR 7204 CNRS-MNHN-UPMC, Conservation des Espèces, Restauration et Suivi des Populations, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 61 Rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France Philippe Clergeau, UMR 7204 CNRS-MNHN-UPMC, Conservation des Espèces, Restauration et Suivi des Populations, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 61 Rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France Colin Fontaine, UMR 7204 CNRS-MNHN-UPMC, Conservation des Espèces, Restauration et Suivi des Populations, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 61 Rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France Journal Landscape Ecology Online ISSN 1572-9761 Print ISSN 0921-2973