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ENV510 Landscape Ecology and GIS
Definitions
& descriptions |
Structure & pattern |
Function
& process | Change
& dynamics | Management
implications
Structure
| Features
| Patches
| Formation
| Characterisitics | Scale
| Geometry | Types
| Matrix | Corridors
| Measurements
| Appearance | Complexity
Patch characteristics
The notion
of a patch tends to imply 'a discrete and internally homogeneous entity' (Kotlier
and Wiens, 1990), but what actually exists in a landscape is not one set
of patches but a hierarchy of patches (patches within patches) forming mosaics
at different scales. This means that the internal structure within a patch at
one scale reflects 'patchiness at finer scales' and the mosaic of which the
patch is a part 'has a structure that is determined by patchiness at broader
scales' (Kotlier and Wiens, 1990).
This means
that landscapes and patches are both spatially and temporally heterogeneous.
When we
talk about spatial heterogeneity or complexity
in the landscape we are talking about habitat patchiness. Temporal
heterogeneity corresponds to variability in patches over time.
By investigating
pattern between and within patches it is possible to understand the complexity
across scales and within the landscape as a whole.
Studies are restricted, in terms of defining patch boundaries, by the scale of the principal data sources used and by the detail within a patch that can be distinguished. Data sources include things like aerial photographs and satellite imagery.
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