Indicators of hemeroby for the monitoring of landscapes in Germany

The article discusses the concepts of “closeness to nature” and “hemeroby”, and outlines a method to establish two indicators of hemeroby. Until now Germany's national land use monitoring systems have lacked an indicator to capture the naturalness respectively hemeroby of the landscape. Based on digital spatial data on land use (DLM-DE) and the mapping of potential natural vegetation, these indicators have now been estimated for the whole of Germany and illustrated cartographically. The indicators have been integrated into a land use monitoring system (IOER-Monitor). A hemeroby index that considers all hemeroby classes of a reference area (e.g. administrative unit and regular grid cell) is presented as well as an indicator named “Proportion of certain natural areas”. The results on hemeroby of several time-cuts can be used to estimate the cumulative impact of land use changes on the environmental status.     

Issues in using landscape indicators to assess land changes

Landscape indicators, when combined with information about environmental conditions (such as habitat potential, biodiversity, carbon and nutrient cycling, and erosion) and socioeconomic forces, can provide insights about changing ecosystem services. They also provide information about opportunities for improving natural resources management. Landscape indicators rely on data regarding land cover, land management and land functionality. Challenges in using landscape indicators to assess change and effects include (1) measures of land management and attributes that are reliable, robust and consistent for all areas on the Earth do not exist, and thus land cover is more frequently utilized; (2) multiple types of land cover and management are often found within a single landscape and are constantly changing, which complicates measurement and interpretation; and (3) while causal analysis is essential for understanding and interpreting changes in indicator values, the interactions among multiple causes and effects over time make accurate attribution among many drivers of change particularly difficult. Because of the complexity, sheer number of variables, and limitations of empirical data on land changes, models are often used to illustrate and estimate values for landscape indicators, and those models have several problems. Recommendations to improve our ability to assess the effects of changes in land management include refinement of questions to be more consistent with available information and the development of data sets based on systematic measurement over time of spatially explicit land qualities such as carbon and nutrient stocks, water and soil quality, net primary productivity, habitat and biodiversity. Well-defined and consistent land-classification systems that are capable of tracking changes in these and other qualities that matter to society need to be developed and deployed. Because landscapes are so dynamic, it is crucial to develop ways for the scientific community to work together to collect data and develop tools that will enable better analysis of causes and effects and to develop robust management recommendations that will increases land's capacity to meet societal needs in a changing world.     

Land-use changes assessed by overlay or mosaic methods: Which method is best for management planning?

Environmental planning must determine management practices for a given territory based on the landscape processes that have occurred over time and their consequences. Therefore, environmental planning decisions must be based on strong empirical evidence that can be easily understood by all involved parties. Several studies have highlighted the methodological deficiencies that occur when obtaining and interpreting such issues, particularly in heterogeneous landscapes with complex interactions. In this paper, we evaluated two methodological approaches that are used in management planning, land use/cover change (LUCC) and mosaic change (MC) to compare their effectiveness and suitability for supporting decision-making. We applied these methods to the coastal landscape of São Sebastião Island, Brazil, which has undergone many changes in the last 50 years. For two years, land use/cover maps were produced using GIS and assessed according to changes in landscape elements (LUCC) and boundaries (MC). Overall, the LUCC failed to identify sets with similar structural heterogeneities in the landscape. However, the LUCC is easier for stakeholders to understand and apply than the MC. The MC method better presented the evolution of the relationship between the landscape elements and heterogeneity.     

Suburban scenario development based on multiple landscape assessments

Housing suburbanisation led in the past decades to problems caused by deconcentration of population and intensive area-consumption. Major social, economic and ecological functions for a sustainable spatial decision support in the suburban landscape are described and functionalised by indicators and modelled using GIS with the aim to minimise the problems related to the suburbanisation. The indicators chosen include human-ecological functions, accessibility and infrastructure development and the regulation and regeneration of population and biocoenosis. Out of a balanced list of 11 indicators (one is used twice) the regulation of traffic noise immissions, the landscape accessibility to the nearest freeway and the habitat network integration of sites are modelled, assessed and discussed detailed. The indicator modelling operationalises a wide range of methods including the analysis of travel costs, distance functions, visibility analysis and landscape metrics on the basis of public available data (biotope types, digital elevation model and road data). The methods are applied to a suburban agricultural landscape northeast of Leipzig in Saxony/Germany (66 km²). Three scenarios developed for the aggregation of multiple considerations are demonstrated with maps — based on the status quo of the “(mono)-functional landscape”, the “multi functional landscape” and the “sustainable landscape”. The scenarios aggregate an increasing number of indicators to form a comprehensive assessment. The result maps clearly show the suitable areas for private housing that fulfil e.g. silence, recreational functions while simultaneously ensuring nature protection. The paper emphasises the integrative prospects of landscape functions for monitoring, indicator assessment and the integration to land use decision-making in the context of spatial planning.     

基于GIS的上海市景观格局梯度分析

 定量分析景观格局及其变化对于监测和评价城市化的生态后果十分重要。该研究应用基于GIS的梯度分析与景观指数相结合的方法定量分析了上海市城市化的空间格局。沿一条自西向东64 km长6 km宽和另一条自南向北66 km长6 km宽的样带,应用移动窗口计算了一系列景观指数。结果表明,城市化的空间格局可以用梯度分析与景观指数来定量,不同的土地利用类型沿景观格局梯度确实表现出明显的“空间特征”。多项景观指数可准确地、定量地指示上海地区东西和南北发展轴线上城市化的前沿和城市景观梯度分异的特征。城市化的总体格局是随着城市化程度增加,景观在组分上更多样化,形状上更为复杂以及生态学上更破碎化。此外,该文显示的上海市城市化景观格局比较符合同心圆论的城市发展理论,研究结果支持斑块密度随城市化程度而增加,斑块大小和景观连接度则下降的假说,但与随人类干预程度增强,斑块形状变得更规则的假说不相符和,因此,需要进一步研究来证实该发现。     

Methodological approach for the assessment of environmental effects of agroforestry at the landscape scale

Silvoarable agroforestry, the deliberate combined use of trees and arable crops on the same area of land, has been proposed in order to improve the environmental performance of agricultural systems in Europe. Based on existing models and algorithms, we developed a method to predict the environmental effects of SAF at a farm and landscape scale. The method is comprised of an assessment of soil erosion, nitrogen leaching, carbon sequestration, and landscape diversity and allowed the comparison of the environmental performance of SAF with arable systems using these four indicators.The method was applied to three landscape test sites of 4 km × 4 km each in Spain, France, and The Netherlands, and compared different levels of agroforestry adoption on farmland of different potential productivity. Silvoarable agroforestry was predicted to reduce soil erosion by up to 70%, to reduce N leaching by 20–30%, to increase C sequestration over 60 years by up to 140 tonnes C ha⁻¹, and to increase landscape diversity up to four times. The method developed was executed with widely available landscape and farm structural data and can therefore be applied to other regions in order to obtain a broader assessment of the environmental performance of silvoarable agroforestry systems.     

上海浦东新区城市化过程景观格局变化分析

利用1994和2000年航空遥感影像资料解译的土地利用与覆盖数据,在GIS支持下,采用景观格局指数和梯度方法分析了上海市浦东新区城市化过程中景观格局的变化.结果表明,随着城市化程度的推进,浦东新区由原来以农业为主的格局逐渐转变成以居民地、公共设施和工厂为主的城市景观格局,农田占地比例由1994年的71.45%下降到2000年的41.32%,居民地、公共设施和工厂总占地由1994年的18.2%上升到2000年的41.9%.整体景观格局的破碎化程度和异质性都有所增加,斑块个数由1994年的4.08个·km^-2上升至2000年28.65个·km^-2,面积平均加权由24.43 km²减少到1.75 km²,聚集度由98.31下降为95.09,多样性和均匀性指数分别由0.4697和0.5284增至0.7509和0.8343.在样带梯度分析中,景观格局指数能检测出城市化梯度及城市化程度不断向郊区递减的趋势,城市化水平较高地区以人工景观为主,表现出斑块个数多且面积小、斑块形状简单和景观多样性高等景观特征.景观格局动态变化分析是了解城市化过程中城市形态、结构及生态过程的基础.     

Habitat quality and connectivity in agricultural landscapes: The role of land use systems at various scales in time

Connectivity is a key concept of landscape ecology as it relates to flows and movements of organisms as driven by landscape structure. More and more aspects of landscape heterogeneity are considered in measuring connectivity, as the diversity of crops in agricultural landscapes. In this paper, we explored the value of considering changes and cumulated effects of connectivity over time. As an example, we analysed connectivity among patches influenced by maize over 7 years in an agricultural landscape in Brittany, France.Clear temporal patterns appeared: maize is concentrated in certain parts of the landscape, but over the period the whole area, 70% of the landscape, used for maize was connected. Instead of discrete patches, maize may produce large clusters allowing movement from patch to patch from year to year. This reinforces the importance of understanding land use allocation rules within farms and landscapes to evaluate the ecological effects of agriculture.     

太湖流域土地利用与景观格局演变研究

基于遥感、GIS技术和景观生态学方法,以太湖流域为研究区域,在1985年、1995年和2000年的土地利用图基础上,分析了土地利用与景观格局演变.结果表明,15年间,太湖流域农田呈减少趋势,建设用地、林地、草地、水体呈增加趋势,其中农田的减少占土地利用总减少量的89.64%,建设用地的增加占土地利用总增加量的79.21%;由于人类活动的干预,太湖流域景观结构与景观异质性发生了较大变化.从景观尺度上看,斑块密度、多样性指数和均匀度指数呈降低趋势,边界密度、优势度指数、景观形状指数呈增加趋势;从斑块尺度上看,各景观组分的异质性指数及其变化过程有较大的差异,体现了景观生态系统的复杂性.人口增长、经济、政策等因素是太湖流域近15年景观格局动态变化的主要驱动力.太湖流域土地利用变化产生了景观碎化、边缘效应、生境退化等景观生态效应.可通过调整景观尺度上的土地利用方式,使太湖流域生态建设及水土资源实现可持续发展.     

景观指数耦合景观格局与土壤侵蚀的有效性

景观格局分析是景观生态学中揭示景观变化及其生态效应的主要方法,而景观指数是景观格局分析中广泛使用的工具。土壤侵蚀是土壤物质在景观中的迁移和再分配过程,受地形、植被和人类活动及其空间格局的调控。运用景观格局分析揭示景观格局变化特别是土地利用/覆被格局变化对土壤侵蚀的影响是土壤侵蚀研究中应用景观生态学原理和方法的典型。在当前的研究中,斑块-廊道-基质范式下建立的景观指数对侵蚀过程的解释能力不断受到质疑,建立筛选适用的景观指数的原则和方法十分必要。以延河流域碾庄沟小流域为例,利用WATEM/SEDEM模型模拟多个年份流域侵蚀产沙和输沙量;基于土地利用/覆被数据,利用Fragstat4.2软件,计算了相应年份流域斑块、边界密度、形状、集聚与分散和斑块类型多样性4个方面的代表性景观指数。在此基础上,分析了景观指数与流域侵蚀产沙和输沙之间的关系,讨论了景观指数在土壤侵蚀研究中的有效性,在景观和斑块类型水平上分析了景观指数表达"源"、"汇"两大类景观类型的空间格局与侵蚀产沙和输沙之间的关系的一致性。结果表明:斑块-廊道-基底范式下发展的景观指数在指示景观格局的土壤侵蚀效应时存在局限。相对而言,斑块类型尺度的景观指数更能有效表达景观格局与土壤侵蚀的关系。基于景观类型在土壤侵蚀过程中的"源"、"汇"功能,提出了在土壤侵蚀研究中筛选适用的景观指数的原则:(1)对"源"、"汇"两类景观类型,景观指数与土壤侵蚀状况表征变量的相关系数符号相反;(2)对同为"源"或"汇"景观类型的多个景观类型,景观指数与土壤侵蚀表征变量的相关系数应具有符号一致性。尽管景观指数在斑块类型水平上具有一定的有效性,但用其预测景观格局变化的侵蚀效应有很大的不确定性。因此,基于土壤侵蚀过程与景观格局的作用机制发展新型的景观指数是增强景观格局分析预测土壤侵蚀过程的能力的途径。     

Scale dependence of landscape metrics and their indicatory value for nutrient and organic matter losses from catchments

We investigated scale dependence of landscape metrics and the relationship between land use parameters and FRAGSTATS-based landscape metrics (edge density (ED), patch density (PD), mean shape index (SHAPE_MN), mean euclidean nearest neighbor index (ENN_MN), contagion (CONTAG), patch richness density (PRD), and Shannon's diversity index (SHDI)) and nutrient/organic-matter-based water quality indicators (BOD₇ and COD_KMnO4 values, total-N and total-P concentrations in water) in 24 catchments with various land use patterns in Estonia. We used the Basic Map of Estonia (1:10,000), the Base Map of Estonia (1:50,000) and the CORINE Land Cover Map (1:100,000). In scale analysis, we calculated landscape metrics on artificial and real landscapes. Scale analysis showed that responses of landscape metrics to changing grain size vary among landscapes and metrics. Analysis of artificial landscapes showed that mean euclidean nearest neighbor distance and contagion are directly dependent on grain size and should therefore be used carefully. When finding relationships between landscape metrics and water quality indicators, significant differences between the relationships derived from the Base Map and the CORINE Land Cover Map were found. In the case of the Base Map, landscape metrics correlated strongly with land use and showed no expected relationships with water quality data. This underlines the importance of land use classification in such kind of analysis. Correlation between the landscape metrics calculated on the basis of the CORINE Land Cover Map and water quality data was stronger than in the case of the Base Map. The COD_KMnO4 value significantly correlated with all land use types. For instance, the COD_KMnO4 values are higher when fens and natural areas form a higher proportion of the catchments’ land use. Except for the BOD₇ value, all the water quality indicators showed significant correlation with urban land use proportions. Strong relationship between the patch density and the COD_KMnO4 value is most likely caused by the fact that both parameters were significantly correlated with the proportion of natural areas. As the landscape metrics depend on pixel size, topographic scale, and land use classification, and as the effect of land use on water quality in catchments is the most significant of the factors, it was impossible to separate the influence of land use pattern from the influence of FRAGSTATS-based landscape metrics.     

Classification of the heterogeneous structure of urban landscapes (STURLA) as an indicator of landscape function applied to surface temperature in New York City

Defining landscape structure and key relationships between landscape structure and function is challenging in urban areas characterized by density and patchy spatial patterns. In order to trace the spatial and temporal patterns of urban landscape structures, compare patterns across cities, or inform urban design principles, we need to classify the landscape in a way that captures context and landscape heterogeneity, but can be broadly applied across different cities or landscape variations within a city. In this study, we introduce a simple and reproducible approach for classifying the structure of urban landscapes (STURLA) that utilizes heterogeneous, composite classes which represent combinations of built and natural features, and examine the response of a landscape function – surface temperature.This classification approach is unique in that it develops composite (as opposed to homogeneous) classes, which are defined a posteriori, based on compositions of adjacent structural elements that emerge in the urban landscape, using a cellular grid to define units of analysis. We test the separability of classes that emerge from this approach, and find that it is possible to discern classes – comprised of the mix of land and building covers common in urban areas – which have meaningfully distinct temperature signatures. This classification approach may be extended to multiple cities and ecological indicators in order to offer insight into the relationship between urban landscape structure and ecosystem response, in a way that accounts for interactions among different types of urban landscape surfaces. We suggest that this approach can support spatial prioritization of landscape function needs in urban development and design approaches for improving particular types of functioning, such as reductions in urban heat.     

Canopy arthropod assemblages along a precipitation and latitudinal gradient among Douglas-fir Pseudotsuga menziesii forests in the Pacific Northwest of the United States

Insects are particularly sensitive to environmental conditions and can serve as responsive indicators of changing climatic patterns and habitat conditions. However, changes in patterns of abundance over environmental gradients in forest ecosystems are poorly known. To examine landscape patterns of invertebrate assemblages, arboreal arthropods were collected during two seasons (spring and summer) by bagging branches from the lower, middle and upper canopy levels from six stands in nine second-growth (100–150 yr old) forests and old-growth (500 yr old) forests in Washington and Oregon. Detrended correspondence analysis and multi-response permutation procedure showed that the composition of the canopy assemblages varied significantly with latitude, precipitation and tree age. Indicator analysis was used to assess each taxon's importance in response to the environmental variables. Individual taxa showed associations with latitudinal and precipitation gradients, and between old-growth and mature Douglas-fir. These effects may be used to anticipate the impacts of climate change or land use scenarios on the spatial patterns of forest invertebrate assemblages.     

Does the composition of Scarabaeidae (Coleoptera) communities reflect the extent of land use changes in the Brazilian Amazon?

Scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) have been used to investigate the effects of environmental disturbances on forest structure and diversity. This group is recognized as sensitive to habitat perturbations and ecosystem changes. Here we examine the effects of anthropogenic impacts on Scarabaeidae composition, testing the following hypotheses: (1) Scarab beetle communities react to land use disturbances with predictable trends, (2) disturbed habitats are able to retain only a part of the Scarab beetle community of native forests or late secondary forests; (3) habitats largely differ in terms of species richness, taxonomic diversity and ecological composition, supporting exclusive and indicator species. We selected areas of native forest, agriculture, pasture for extensive livestock and secondary forests in different stages of regeneration. Our results show that the Scarabaeidae species were not indifferent to the gradient of structural changes represented by the studied areas. In fact, their patterns of habitat preference reveals communities more abundant and diverse in pristine habitats. In contrast, disturbed habitats, dominated by agricultural activities and pasture, indicated clear detrimental effects on the abundance of all forest Scarab beetle specialists. On the other hand, the generalist species, mainly associated with open environments, seemed to be favoured by the prevailing conditions induced by agricultural activities. Overall, the composition of the Scarab beetle communities is variable and sensitive to those structural gradients and, therefore, capable of responding as useful ecological indicators for assessing the extent of land use change or degradation.     

Land use changes and associated environmental impacts on the Mediterranean shallow Lake Stymfalia, Greece

Land cover and land use changes affect ecological landscape functions and processes. Land use changes mainly caused by human activities, is a common reason for wetlands degradation worldwide. Lake Stymfalia, located at Peloponnese, southern Greece, is an ancient wetland with a great ecological value. Lake Stymfalia has been severely degraded and transformed during the past 60 years due to agricultural activities in the surrounding areas and watercourses alterations. In this context, we investigated the land cover/ use changes and the role of the reed beds in the terrestrialization process of this shallow wetland. This particular effort utilized remotely sensed data and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) techniques to estimate land use alterations for the period 1945–1996. Patch related landscape indices were generated to analyze impacts on landscape features. Spatial and thematic information concerning the surface area and the major land cover types of the lake for years 1945, 1960, 1972, 1987, 1992, and 1996 was obtained from aerial photographs and land surveys of the area, and was stored in the GIS database. The 1996 map was ground verified, corrected and updated to 2004 conditions. From the spatio-temporal analysis of the stored data, a permanent decrease of the open water surface has been observed between the years 1945 and 1996. The results indicated that the reed beds expanded dramatically, increasing by 89.3%, and is the predominant aquatic vegetation of the whole wetland. Open water areas and wet meadows decreased by 53.7 and 96.5% respectively. Landscape analyses and, in particular, the use of selected landscape metrics, proved useful for detecting and quantitatively characterising dynamic ecological processes. As land cover/use analysis of the wetland has shown much serious environmental degradation, conservation measures should be undertaken urgently.     

Integrating small-scale landscape elements into land use/cover: The impact on landscape metrics’ values

Over the last 30 years the use and misuse of landscape metrics has been widely studied. However, there has been less attention on incorporating small-scale landscape elements into landscape analysis. Data type used in the analysis can be either vector or raster, while the raster format is more widely used. However, using large-scale topographical vector databases has several advantages – they cover whole countries with very detailed and accurate topographical data. Despite the high level of detail, their amount in Mb is small, which allows simultaneously to analyse large areas. The peculiarity of vector data is that small-scale landscape elements are mapped as point elements or lines. For calculating landscape metrics, the integration of these features and LULC (land use/cover) polygons is needed. In the current study we investigated how integration of point and linear elements into polygon layers affects the values of landscape metrics. Adding line buffers influenced metrics’ values more than adding point elements. The ensemble of point and linear objects is similar to linear objects. Our study revealed that integrating small-scale landscape elements into land use/cover layers by using buffers gives more realistic values if the buffer size is in compliance with the size of the phenomena in the real world and suitable landscape metrics are chosen. However, the metrics that responded to adding small-scale landscape elements in correspondence with their real world impact on landscape metric values might not always be the best ecological indicators in terms of small-scale landscape elements. Another issue is that values of landscape metrics depend directly on the number of classes determined in the data specification, and on the data model. If the number of mappable point and linear objects changes, or the data model of the linear objects changes, the values of landscape metrics differ.     

How does forest landscape structure explain tree species richness in a Mediterranean context?

Although the strong relationship between vegetation and climatic factors is widely accepted, other landscape composition and configuration characteristics could be significantly related with vegetation diversity patterns at different scales. Variation partitioning was conducted in order to analyse to what degree forest landscape structure, compared to other spatial and environmental factors, explained forest tree species richness in 278 UTM 10 × 10 km cells in the Mediterranean region of Catalonia (NE Spain). Tree species richness variation was decomposed through linear regression into three groups of explanatory variables: forest landscape (composition and configuration), environmental (topography and climate) and spatial variables. Additionally, the forest landscape characteristics which significantly contributed to explain richness variation were identified through a multiple regression model. About 60% of tree species richness variation was explained by the whole set of variables, while their joint effects explained nearly 28%. Forest landscape variables were those with a greater pure explanatory power for tree species richness (about 15% of total variation), much larger than the pure effect of environmental or spatial variables (about 2% each). Forest canopy cover, forest area and land cover diversity were the most significant composition variables in the regression model. Landscape configuration metrics had a minor effect on forest tree species richness, with the exception of some shape complexity indices, as indicators of land use intensity and edge effects. Our results highlight the importance of considering the forest landscape structure in order to understand the distribution of vegetation diversity in strongly human-modified regions like the Mediterranean.     

Assessment and illustration of cultural ecosystem services at the local scale – A retrospective trend analysis

There is a need to develop non-monetary methods for the assessment of cultural ecosystem services, in order to integrate them into the ES framework in a more balanced way. With this in mind, an adequate and comprehensive indicator base and mapping methods are required to communicate and discuss cultural ecosystem services, for it to be understood holistically. Referring to land use changes as an important driver for ES changes, we demonstrate the analysis of cultural ecosystem services trends, in a retrospective, as a supporting tool to better understand social and natural interactions as drivers behind land use changes, which are reflected in the landscape scene. There are two main outcomes of this study: (1) first, we developed and tested a catalogue of indicators as an approach to evaluate cultural ecosystem services trends at the local scale and (2) we established a mapping method for cultural ecosystem services trends in parallel with land use changes. This we did following the example of the afforestation processes which had taken place since the 19th century in the suburban area of Göttingen (Lower Saxony/Germany), called Hainberg. Our main conclusion is that cultural ecosystem services trends can indicate the reasons and drivers for land use changes that can be beneficial to forest/landscape management issues by means of the restoration of lost services. The proposed assessment method can be integrated into the development of future landscape plans, e.g. by providing information on historical guiding principles.     

Comparison of land use/land cover change and landscape patterns in Honghe National Nature Reserve and the surrounding Jiansanjiang Region,China

Land use and land cover change (LUCC) determines landscape patterns and affects the ability of ecosystems to provide the services and biodiversity on which humans ultimately depend. The Honghe National Nature Reserve is a biodiversity-rich area in the Jiansanjiang region of northeast China. In this study, the LUCC and landscape patterns were compared between the reserve and the Jiansanjiang region. With remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) procedures, satellite images from 1989, 2001 and 2010 were used to calculate dynamics of LUCC amplitudes, landscape pattern index, transition matrix. The influence of LUCC on the wetland landscape of the nature reserve was discussed in the context of broader LUCC analyses. The results showed that land uses in the studied regions changed remarkedly over the time period; swamp area declined significantly as arable land increased. The ecological landscape index showed that distinct landscape patches were small, scattered and highly fragmented, moving toward a more monotonous landscape. Anthropogenic activities such as farming directly decreased the wetland landscape diversity. Furthermore, anthropogenic factors diminished wetland areas indirectly through climatic factors, namely air temperature and precipitation levels. National and regional policies on agriculture and water use have been highly influential, and the Honghe National Nature Reserve is highly susceptible to land use changes in the surrounding Jiansanjiang region.     

Indicators of landscape organization and functionality in semi-arid former agricultural lands under a passive restoration management over two periods of abandonment

Abandoned lands previously used for agricultural purposes may constitute an opportunity for understanding the variables involved in the restoration of native ecosystems over time. In this study, we assessed the functional status of an abandoned farmland currently used for conservation, using a methodology based on indicators of landscape organization and soil surface. We analyzed changes in plant cover, patch and interpatches structure and several soil surface properties during two periods of land abandonment (less and more than 40 years). Using this methodology, we characterize the potential of the ecosystem to capture and transfer resources, and the state of functional properties such as infiltration capacity, soil stability and nutrient cycling.We detected a significant development of the shrub layer and an increase of the number, type and area occupied by vegetated patches in old fields. The contribution of vegetated patches to the recovery of stability, infiltration and nutrient functions was significant at the local scale. Nonetheless, when analyzing the landscape as a whole only the nutrient cycling index was significantly higher in old fields. The lack of improvement of the stability and infiltration in old fields can lead to further degradation and indicates that even though vegetation cover may have improved over time in old fields, the current cover might not be enough to prevent further degradation by erosion. Our results reinforce the importance of using functionality indexes in future studies focused on adequate restoration measures to protect the function of desert ecosystems, especially when aimed for biodiversity conservation. Hence, the use of monitoring systems based on organization and function indicators is a useful tool to represent the current state and potential recovery of previously disturbed ecosystems, provided that the time scale is taken into account.