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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
Scale is
represented as both grain and extent.
Extent refers to the area being investigated. Grain is the size of individual
units of observation (McGarigal
and Marks, 1994).
Patch size
depends on the phenomenon being investigated so scale is a function of 'the
level of spatial resolution
at which the landscape is perceived or considered' (Forman
and Godron, 1986)
Heterogeneity
is implicit in the landscape, which means that as the scale of analysis is altered
- different levels of heterogeneity found in the landscape can be observed.
As the scale of observation becomes finer, more detail becomes apparent so what
is detected in the landscape are patches within patches. This means that the
pattern detected in the landscape is a function of the scale of analysis.
The scale
and dynamics of human land use can vary considerably from natural processes.
Increased human activity in the landscape can result in the rescaling of landscape
pattern in both space and time. Human land use not only rescales patch dynamics
but also changes the shape of patch boundaries, introduces novel patches and
homogenises landscape pattern (Urban
et al., 1987).
Human induced pattern varies more temporally than 'natural' patterns because it is determined by not only natural constraints in the landscape but also cultural and economic constraints and personal whims (Urban et al., 1987).
Read
Reading 1.2 by Urban, O'Neill and Shugart to help you understand spatial patterns
More?
Reading 1.3 "Scale sensitive ecological properties" by Bissonette is a helpful article.
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