Measuring habitat fragmentation: An evaluation of landscape pattern metrics
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Date
2014
Authors
Wang, Xianli
Blanchet, F. Guillaume
Koper, Nicola
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Wiley
Abstract
Landscape patterns influence a range of ecological processes at multiple spatial scales. Landscape pattern metrics are often used to study the patterns that result from the linear and nonlinear interactions between spatial aggregation and abundance of habitat. However, many class-level pattern metrics are highly correlated with habitat abundance, making the use of these metrics as a measure of habitat fragmentation problematic. We argue that a class-level pattern metric should be (1) able to differentiate landscapes across a range of spatial aggregations, and (2) independent of habitat abundance. Based on these criteria and using both simulated and actual landscapes, we evaluated 64 class-level pattern metrics. These metrics were reclassified into four groups based on their correlation with aggregation and abundance. Among all these metrics, nine were considered robust for fragmentation measurements, which cover most of the characteristics that define pattern, including core area, shape, proximity / isolation, contrast, and contagion / interspersion.
Description
Keywords
landscape pattern metrics; fragmentation; habitat abundance; simulated landscape; spatial aggregation
Citation
1. Wang, X., Blanchet, G., Koper, N. 2014. Measuring habitat fragmentation: An evaluation of landscape pattern metrics. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 5(7): 634-646.