Most of the terrestrial Earth is dominated by human land uses where fragmented natural habitats intermix. One urgent conservation need is thus to identify where habitat connectivity can be protected or restored to overcome the effects of fragmentation. My dissertation analyzes the role of riparian forests for habitat connectivity in Chile. My thesis is that riparian forests can play an important role in connecting habitat for forest species because a) rivers span across watersheds, and b) existing riparian buffer regulations protect forests near rivers. I combined spatial analysis of land use and birds' density models with restoration scenarios to answer the following three questions: 1) how do agriculture and topography shape the connectivity provided by riparian forests? 2) How do birds respond to the connectivity of riparian forests in agricultural land? And, 3) where should efforts to enforce existing riparian buffer laws be targeted to increase habitat connectivity the most? I, first, calculated the structural connectivity of riparian forests along an environmental gradient for large watersheds of Chile, predicting that deforestation due to agriculture would create many riparian corridors in humid landscapes. I found that current forms of agricultural land use decrease the connectivity by fragmenting riparian forests and that riparian forest corridors contributed to short-distance forest connectivity. Second, I evaluated the effect of structural connectivity of riparian forests on bird density in agricultural lands. I found that the majority of the birds that persist in agricultural areas can thrive in small and isolated forest patches, while one forest understory specialist species was only present within continuous forest cover; either in large forests patches or corridors. Third, I quantified the effect of restoration along riparian buffer on broad-scale connectivity for forest wildlife, according to existing regulations. Using two forest specialist species as models, I used network graph analysis to quantify the change in habitat connectivity that result from two restoration scenarios, a 30 and a 200-m buffer. My scenario modeling suggested that enforcement of the two buffer sizes could increase broad-scale connectivity for the two forest species with varying minimum habitat requirements (10 and 25 ha). In summary, in landscapes well suited for tree growth, agriculture and topography resulted in little connectivity of the forest in flatlands, where habitat connectivity is most needed. My work identifies options for improving wildlife habitat connectivity in this flatlands. Future conservation strategies could focus on 1) creating habitat for the majority of species by adding more small and isolated riparian forests, and 2) creating connected habitat, via riparian corridors, that would benefit the specialized species as well. Effective enforcement of riparian buffer protection, as well as restoration, would help provide broad-scale habitat connectivity for forest wildlife.