Spatial processes causing change

Spatial processes causing change

Spatial attributes of spatial processes
Processes associated with land clearance
Fragmentation
Variegation

There are five main processes involved in bringing about land transformation. These are:

perforation - the process of making 'holes' in a habitat. This is the most common beginning to land transformation
dissection - the carving up of subdividing an area using equal lines
fragmentation - the breaking up of habitat into smaller land parcels. The pieces are widely and unevenly spaced
shrinkage - the decrease of objects or patches in size
attrition - the disappearance of objects or patches and corridors. This is common in changing landscapes where particularly small patches disappear

These processes overlap through land transformation. They can start with perforation or dissection and end up with attrition (Forman, 1995).

Fragmentation is one of the major threats to world biodiversity today but it is important to remember that this is only one pattern of land transformation responsible for changing landscape structure (Yates et al., 1994), and fragmentation can be just one phase in transforming land.

The other spatial processes described in this topic are also ecologically significant in bringing about changes to the landscape and it is important to consider these too, although most concentration in landscape ecological research has been on the causes and effects of fragmentation.

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