The use of adjacency analysis for quantifying landscape changes

Abstract

The analysis of landscape changes in space and time plays an important role in landscape ecology. Analyzing landscape dynamics through time may be crucial for identifying historical and current processes that shape the actual landscapes and for developing predictive landscape models for ecosystem management and conservation. In this view, the propensity of land cover patches to change is at least partially related to the nature of their contact types. The interactions of a given patch with adjacent land cover types affect both land use exploitation by humans and vegetation dynamics. The aim of this paper is to use patch boundary dynamics for describing the landscape changes that occurred in the Lepini Mountains (central Italy) during 1954 – 2000. Results show an increase in landscape complexity in the Mediterranean land units and a corresponding decrease in landscape complexity in the Temperate land units. This differential trend is due to a complex, human-driven temporal dynamics of Mediterranean ecosystems that generates heterogeneity as opposed to a diffuse landscape abandonment in the Temperate region that leads to a more homogeneous boundary structure.     

Landscape structure and land use history influence changes in island plant composition after 100 years

Aim We investigated how current and historical land use and landscape structure affect species richness and the processes of extinction, immigration and species turnover. Location The northern part of the Stockholm archipelago, Baltic Sea, Sweden. We resurveyed 27 islands ranging from 0.3 to 33 ha in area. Methods We compared current plant survey data, cadastral maps and aerial photographs with records obtained from a survey in 1908, using databases and a digital elevation model to examine changes in plant community dynamics in space and time. We examined the effects of local and landscape structure and land use changes on plant species dynamics by using stepwise regression in relation to eight local and three landscape variables. The eight local variables were area, relative age, shape, soil heterogeneity, bedrock ratio, number of houses, forest cover change, and grazing 100 years ago. The three landscape variables were distance to mainland, distance to closest island with a farm 100 years ago, and structural connectivity. Hanski’s connectivity measure was modified to incorporate both connectivity and fragmentation. Results The investigated islands have undergone drastic changes, with increasing forest cover, habitation, and abandonment of grassland management. Although the total species richness increased by 31% and mean island area by 23%, we found no significant increase in species richness per unit area. Local variables explain past species richness (100 years ago), whereas both local and landscape variables explain current species richness, extinctions, immigrations and species turnover. Grazing that occurred 100 years ago still influences species richness, even though grazing management was abandoned several decades ago. The evidence clearly shows an increase in nitrophilous plant species, particularly among immigrant species. Main conclusions This study highlights the importance of including land use history when interpreting current patterns of species richness. Furthermore, local environment and landscape patterns affect important ecological processes such as immigration, extinction and species turnover, and hence should be included when assessing the impact of habitat fragmentation and land use change. We suggest that our modified structural connectivity measure can be applied to other types of landscapes to investigate the effects of fragmentation and habitat loss.     

Assessing the response of open-habitat bird species to landscape changes in Mediterranean mosaics

In Mediterranean landscapes, wildfires and land abandonment lead to major landscape modifications primarily by favouring the presence of open, shrub-like habitats. At present, we know very little of how these changes affect patterns of species occurrence at the landscape scale. In this work, we analyse the impact of these landscape changes on the occurrence patterns of eight open-habitat species by using presence/absence data collected in the Catalan Breeding Bird Atlas (NE Spain). We compared the species occurrence patterns along habitat gradients for three different landscape settings: a semi-permanent farmland–forest landscape (i.e. with variable proportions of farmland and forests) and two landscape settings which mimic those favoured by land abandonment and fire: farmland–shrubland landscapes and mosaic landscapes (i.e. variable proportions of farmland and forest coexisting with a shrubby matrix). In the forest–farmland landscape, we found a dominant negative effect of adjacent forest on species occurrence rates. This overall effect mostly disappeared in farmland–shrubland landscapes composed by two habitats with more similar vegetation structure. In mosaic landscapes, the general negative effect of forest habitats also appeared to be partially compensated by the presence of a shrubby matrix. Our results suggest that landscape gradients induced by fire and to some degree also land abandonment, mainly favouring availability of shrublands may potentially enhance the resilience of threatened open-habitat species at the landscape scale by increasing the range of potential habitats used. The analysis of species-occurrence patterns along predefined habitat gradients appears as a useful tool to predict potential species responses to land use change.     

伊犁河流域土地利用/覆被变化对生态系统服务价值的影响——基于强度分析模型

人类活动引起的土地利用/覆被变化(Land Use/Cover Change, LUCC)和景观格局的改变会对生态系统服务价值(Ecosystem Service Value, ESV)产生影响,但大多数对LUCC的分析方法都缺乏对各土地利用类型内部转换过程的深入信息挖掘。因此,利用强度分析模型在由浅入深的三个层次(时间间隔、地物类型、转换)上系统地,定量地分析新疆伊犁河流域1980—2015年土地利用变化强度时空分布的动态特征,同时对流域景观格局的演变和生态系统服务价值进行评估研究,探讨ESV对土地利用变化强度的响应特征。结果表明：(1)伊犁河流域土地利用强度呈现先增强后减弱的变化趋势(2)在1980—2015年期间,流域内景观格局斑块聚集性减弱、破碎化加剧、景观多样性增加、各地类景观均衡化发展,生态系统服务总价值增加了0.49亿元,其中水域和林地占流域总生态系统服务价值的47.94%。(3)伊犁河流域优势景观斑块面积的增加、形状多样化、各斑块聚集化发展会促使流域生态系统服务价值的增加,土地利用变化强度与ESV存在明显的正相关关系。通过系统地分析多个层次下的土地利用景观变化,以及生态...     

Land‐use changes as major drivers of mountain pine (Pinus uncinata Ram.) expansion in the Pyrenees

Aim To assess the spatial patterns of forest expansion (encroachment and densification) for mountain pine (Pinus uncinata Ram.) during the last 50 years at a whole mountain range scale by the study of different topographic and socio‐economic potential drivers in the current context of global change. Location The study area includes the whole distributional area of mountain pine in the Catalan Pyrenees (north‐east Spain). This represents more than 80 municipalities, covering a total area of 6018 km². Methods Forest cover was obtained by image reclassification of more than 200 pairs of aerial photographs taken in 1956 and 2006. Encroachment and densification were determined according to changes in forest cover, and were expressed as binary variables on a 150 × 150 m cell‐size grid. We then used logistic regression to analyse the effects of several topographic and socio‐economic variables on forest expansion. Results In the period analysed, mountain pine increased its surface coverage by 8898 ha (an increase of more than 16%). Mean canopy cover rose from 31.0% in 1956 to 55.6% in 2006. Most of the expansion was found on north‐facing slopes and at low altitudes. Socio‐economic factors arose as major factors in mountain pine expansion, as encroachment rates were higher in municipalities with greater population losses or weaker primary sector development. Main conclusions The spatial patterns of mountain pine expansion showed a good match with the main patterns of land‐use change in the Pyrenees, suggesting that land‐use changes have played a more important role than climate in driving forest dynamics at a landscape scale over the period studied. Further studies on forest expansion at a regional scale should incorporate patterns of land‐use changes to correctly interpret drivers of forest encroachment and densification.     

Towards a core set of landscape metrics for biodiversity assessments: A case study from Dadia National Park,Greece

Spatial heterogeneity has an important influence on a wide range of ecological patterns and processes, and many landscape metrics in GIS environment are used to facilitate the investigation of the relation between landscape structure and biodiversity. Data reduction analyses have been applied to tackle the problem of highly correlated indices, but valid landscape predictors for fine scale Mediterranean forest-mosaics are still missing. Therefore, we analyzed the landscape structure of Dadia National Park, Greece, a Mediterranean forest landscape of high biodiversity, characterized by pine, oak and mixed woodland. By distinguishing nine land cover classes, 119 variables were computed and factor analysis was applied to detect the statistical dimensions of landscape structure and to define a core set of representative metrics. At landscape level, diversity of habitats, fragmentation and patch shape and at class level dominance of mixed forest and the gradient from one pure forest type to another turned out to be the crucial factors across three different scales. Mapping the encountered dimensions and the representative metrics, we detected that the pattern of landscape structure in Dadia National Park was related to dominating habitat types, land use, and level of protection. The evaluated set of metrics will be useful in establishing a landscape monitoring program, to detect the local drivers of biodiversity, and to improve management decisions in Dadia NP and similar mosaic-landscapes.     

基于多源遥感数据的景观格局及预测研究

以TM、中巴资源卫星和环境与灾害监测预报小卫星等遥感影像为数据源,利用ENVI 4.7、ARCGIS 9.2、IDRISI 15等软件,研究了西安市辖区的景观特征与空间格局,预测了未来的景观变化,提出了景观格局预测的数据转化和多距离空间分析的精简步骤.结果表明:研究区的景观本底是一个由林地和耕地构成的复合景观基质,建设用地在研究时段内呈现持续增加趋势,且2004-2011年间的增加量高于2000-2004年间的增加量;林地面积略有降低,林地和草地总面积略呈增长趋势,水域和未利用地面积变化较小.研究时段内的景观破碎化程度在降低,林地景观的连通性增强了,耕地的降低了.各景观类型在所设定的最大预期研究尺度下均呈现显著的聚集空间格局;各年和各景观类型之间的聚集、随机和离散的临界阈值差别相对比较大;水域和未利用地的空间聚集强度明显高于耕地、林地、草地和城乡建设用地;耕地和草地空间分布存在一个异质性最大的特征尺度,且均出现了聚集分布、随机分布和离散分布3种分布格局,以2011年最为明显.利用景观指数法和多距离空间聚类分析方法研究景观格局特征的效果要比单一的景观指数法较理想.CA-Markov模型模拟的结果基本能够反映未来的景观格局状况.     

基于CLUE-S模型的三江平原景观格局变化及模拟

三江平原是我国沼泽地集中连片且分布面积最大的地区之一,在维持区域生态安全方面发挥着不可替代的作用.本研究基于3S技术,对1980-2010年三江平原土地利用和景观格局变化进行分析.结果发现: 1980-2010年,研究区景观格局主要变化特征为沼泽地面积减少7135 km²,减幅达59.1%,水田面积增加18010 km²,增幅达610.1%;景观指数分析结果表明,斑块数量增加,景观破碎化越来越严重,景观异质性增加,各景观类型向均匀化方向发展.基于1980-2010年5期土地利用图对CLUE-S模型进行校正和验证,30年时间尺度上模拟结果与真实景观的Kappa指数为0.71,说明模型适宜研究区30年内的模拟研究.基于校正好的模型对2010-2030年湿地变化进行多预案模拟(历史预案、规划预案、生态恢复预案),结果显示,历史预案下,沼泽地面积减少2515.44 km²,水田面积增加19656.24 km²;规划预案下,沼泽地面积减少303.28 km²,水田面积增加1392.08 km²;生态恢复预案下,沼泽地面积增加3585.60 km²,水田面积增加289.72 km².应用景观指数评价模拟结果为:历史预案下,景观格局破碎化越来越严重;规划预案下,景观格局变化不大;生态恢复预案下,湿地面积不断增加,湿地连通性升高,各景观类型向均衡方向发展,景观格局不断优化.     

The role of landscape history and persistent biogeographical patterns in shaping the responses of Mediterranean land snail communities to recent fire disturbances

Aims To assess the impact of various fire regimes over the past 30 years on land snail communities and to analyse the role of recent landscape history and the influence of biogeography in shaping the response patterns of gastropod communities following disturbances by fire. Location South-eastern France (Provence) and Mediterranean region. Methods Stratified sampling within 12 sites was undertaken with regard to fire regime (i.e. number of fires, fire intervals and age of the last fire) occurring over the past 30 years. The study was complemented by a historical analysis using aerial photographs, old maps of vegetation cover and an analysis of the biogeographical composition of malacofaunas. Data were investigated using Correspondence Analysis and Sørensen coefficient of similarity. Results When a disturbance regime (land use or fire disturbances) has been maintained over decades or centuries, land snail communities appear highly modified and tend to be composed of only Mediterranean and xerophilous species. However, low fire regimes, since the 1970s, do not seem to greatly affect the composition of gastropod communities. Indeed, shade-loving, mesophilous and European range species persist even after successive fires within some sites. In addition, the malacofaunas have a higher component of European range species with increasing distance from the Mediterranean sea. Main conclusions Analysis of the response patterns of gastropod communities to fire shows a response to numerous different factors. The composition of current land snail communities is not only the result of (more or less) recent patterns of fire regimes but also of anthropogenic disturbances, of landscape changes over the last centuries and of subsequent structure of the pre-fire habitat, as well as of the influence of a biogeographical gradient. However, the response patterns observed and the persistence of pre-fire communities imply the presence of cryptic refuges located within burned areas.     

Analysis of land consolidation projects and their impact on land use change,landscape structure,and agricultural land resource protection: case studies of Pilsen-South and Pilsen-North (Czech Republic)

Within the countries of the former socialist bloc, the changes in the politico-economic system at the end of the 1990s created a situation where it was (and still is) necessary to restore agricultural land resource property rights, to adjust the structure of agricultural land to current needs and to improve the current state of environmental resources. This case study covers 19 cadastral areas in the western part of the Czech Republic that were affected by the land consolidation process during 2000–2006. The main task of this study was to document how land consolidation processes could affect the change of land use and landscape structure and whether the land consolidation planners take into account the protection of natural resources. The increased acreage of grasslands was the most important change which has occurred in the land use in the 19 analysed cadastral areas, before and after land consolidations. In the studied area, the changes of land use involved 6.8 % of the total land consolidation area. This area of grassland significantly increased the protection of agricultural land from water erosion. In terms of changes in the landscape structure, the construction of new field road networks is the most important result. The results confirm the importance of land consolidation processes not only for the organization and recovery of ownership and cadastral records but also for the improvement of agricultural use of landscape and protection of natural resources such as soil, water and plant and animal communities.     

Multiple Methods in the Study of Driving Forces of Land Use and Land Cover Change: A Case Study of SE Kajiado District,Kenya

This landscape-scale study combines analysis of multitemporal satellite imagery spanning 30 years and information from field studies extending over 25 years to assess the extent and causes of land use and land cover change in the Loitokitok area, southeast Kajiado District, Kenya. Rain fed and irrigated agriculture, livestock herding, and wildlife and tourism have all experienced rapid change in their structure, extent, and interactions over the past 30 years in response to a variety of economic, cultural, political, institutional, and demographic processes. Land use patterns and processes are explored through a complementary application of interpretation of satellite imagery and case study analysis that explicitly addresses the local–national spatial scale over a time frame appropriate to the identification of fundamental causal processes. The results illustrate that this combination provides an effective basis for describing and explaining patterns of land use and land cover change and their root causes.     

Multidimensional analysis of landscape dynamics in a Central African forest-savannah mosaic

Most landscape cover assessments for conservation programmes rely largely on remote sensing analyses. These analyses, however, neglect how people inhabiting protected zones perceive and structure land cover. Using socio-ecological systems (SES) analysis in a forest-savannah mosaic on the Congo Basin forest edge (Democratic Republic of Congo), we investigated how human practices, landscape perceptions and land use patterns affected forest cover. We conducted remote sensing analysis using a Sentinel-2 satellite image and 187 GPS landmarks, producing a land cover map with 11 classes. Our results yielded an 81.85% correspondence with additional 164 GPS landmarks, a robust score in tropical areas. We conducted 40 individual interviews, eighteen focus group discussion workshops and nine months of participant observation of human practices to identify 19 land units and elaborate a granular SES system structuring the landscape. Integrating local knowledge and practices with general ecological and agronomic processes, we developed a landscape dynamics model revealing progressive forest colonisation of savannahs. Our methods demonstrate that a forest-edge landscape cover evaluation through remote sensing and local knowledge can contribute to finer-grained assessment of land cover and ecosystem services. This assessment can assist conservation efforts by considering local populations' practices on and perceptions of landscape change.     

Object-oriented image analysis to extract landscape elements in urban fringes, Central Japan

A method enabling the object-oriented image analysis of landscape elements incorporating topographic data was designed and tested on a Japanese countryside target area. IKONOS data (four multispectral bands with a spatial resolution of 4 m and a panchromatic band with a spatial resolution of 1 m) acquired on 23 April 2001 were used. Definiens v.5 software (Definiens AG, München, Germany) was employed for the classification. The initial segmentation was multiresolution and bottom-up, and each segment identified was considered to be one object. Two classifications employing the same landscape elements and ground truth data were implemented. One classification adopted an object-based image analysis classification method based on spectral characteristics; the other utilized an object-oriented image analysis (OOIA) that allows for a suitable scale parameter to be selected independently for each landscape element. In addition, topographic data derived from field surveys (walking surveys) and topographic maps were used to create a topographic database delineating the boundary between valley bottoms and the adjacent slopes (elevation: about 10 m). These data were then integrated into the OOIA analysis. The accuracies of the two classifications were assessed by comparing the results to a master landscape map produced directly from aerial photographs and on-site observations. The object-oriented method using the topographic data resulted in a higher overall kappa coefficients (0.63–0.47) than the object-based method. These results indicate that object-oriented image analysis of very high resolution data used in combination with topographic data can be an effective tool for landscape classification in Japan, where historical land-use patterns have resulted in finely dissected landscapes.     

基于GIS-Logistic耦合模型的下辽河平原景观格局变化驱动机制分析

以东北三省开发强度最大的辽河中下游地区—下辽河平原为研究对象,从自然因素和人文因素两个方面,构建下辽河平原景观格局演变的驱动机制指标体系,其中自然驱动力包括气候因素、DEM提取值;人文驱动力主要包括人口状况、经济发展、人民生活水平和科学技术进步四大方面。利用美国地质勘探局(USGS)长时间序列的遥感影像数据,获取了下辽河平原1980—2010年地表景观格局的分布特征,提取下辽河平原近30年来各景观类型的空间分布信息,根据各景观类型面积增长和消退的演变规律,利用Logistic回归模型分析不同时间段下景观格局演变的驱动机制,结果表明:1耕地面积的先增后减,林地、草地面积的先减后增,以及建设用地面积的持续增加是研究区景观格局演变的主要特征;2Logistic回归模型分析的结果表明,不同时期内景观类型变化的驱动因子及其影响力存在一定的差异,但是总体来讲,在中小尺度下,自然驱动因素相对于人文驱动因素的影响较弱,人口、经济发展、城市化水平、技术等因子对于下辽河平原各景观类型的变化具有较强的驱动作用。     

苏南典型乡镇景观梯度变化

基于2009年Quickbird卫星影像和GIS空间分析技术,采用土地利用程度综合指数和景观格局指数,结合梯度分析方法,研究了苏南典型乡镇(辛庄镇)土地利用强度和景观结构的城乡梯度变化,并分析了土地利用强度与景观格局的关系。结果表明:水田是辛庄地区的优势景观类型,村镇建设用地、鱼塘和水体也是当地的主要景观类型。镇区的土地利用强度明显大于农村地区,随着与镇中心距离的增加,土地利用程度综合指数逐渐降低。镇区景观空间聚集度大,景观结构较为规则,破碎化程度较低;农村地区景观空间离散度大,形状复杂,破碎化现象严重,景观格局有待优化。土地利用强度与斑块密度、景观形状指数呈显著的负相关(P<0.05),与香农多样性、均匀度指数呈极显著正相关(P<0.01),与聚集度指数呈显著相关,说明随着土地开发强度的增加,城镇景观向着多样化和均匀化的方向发展,建设用地成为优势景观,空间聚集度不断加大。     

大城市边缘区景观破碎化空间异质性——以北京市顺义区为例

探索大城市边缘区景观破碎化格局及其空间异质性特征,有助于把握景观动态的变化机制及其生态问题.以北京市顺义区这一典型大城市边缘区为例,基于土地利用分类数据,采用有效粒度尺寸方法,对1992年、1999年和2009年景观破碎化空间变异进行了地统计学分析,主要包括尺度依赖性、空间异质性、空间格局及其生态过程的分析.研究结果表明:1)景观破碎化空间变异具有明显的尺度依赖性特征,由空间自相关部分引起的空间异质性较高;1992年和1999年景观破碎化空间总变异相对缓和,2009年空间总变异强烈;通过不同尺度上的异质性对比,选取1000m幅度作为研究区景观破碎化的空间异质性分析较为适宜.2)景观破碎化空间异质性表现出明显的上升趋势,土地利用斑块破碎化不断加剧,其中1999-2009年间的表现尤为强烈.3)景观破碎化高值区呈现出由东部向西部转移的态势,并且其空间布局具有集聚性与分散性的显著特征,空间上相似属性聚集与相异属性聚集的空间格局十分突出.4)景观破碎化空间自相关作用主要来自高强度社会经济活动的影响,并表现出明显的区位特征.该研究结果可为土地、城镇规划以及景观生态建设提供参考.     

岷江上游景观边界网络格局分析

格局与过程是景观生态学研究的核心内容,与基于斑块的研究相比,基于边界的研究是格局与过程研究的一个新的切入点.以岷江上游地区为例,基于TM影像数据,应用RS、GIS、Fragstats等软件,选用边界长度、边界密度、边界海拔、结点数量、网眼大小、网络连接度等指数,研究了景观边界网络格局的变化,并分析了与之相关的生态过程.结果表明,在1974～2000年期间,由于人为干扰强度的加剧,岷江上游景观边界网络结构变得更加复杂,在早期以边界长度增加为主,网络连接度变大,在后期以边界数量和结点数量增加为主,网络连接度变小;森林景观与低坡位景观类型间的边界减少,森林下线上移;农田与林地的边界在早期增加,1986年后减少,而与灌木林地的边界持续增加;随着林地的蚀退,森林结构变得简单化,而农田、灌木林地、草地等景观类型的结构变得更加复杂.     

北京市近二十年景观破碎化格局的时空变化

基于1993—2013年3期时间序列的遥感影像获得的一、二级景观类型的土地覆盖数据,利用移动窗口法和空间主成分分析法研究景观破碎度空间分布格局和破碎化过程。结果表明:北京市正处于快速城市化阶段,20年间其建设用地面积增加了1000.8 km~2,增长47.14%,而耕地面积减少21.86%;全市破碎化程度增加,其中,景观斑块总数增加了15.26%,而景观斑块的平均面积缩小了15.35%,景观形状指数(LSI)从88.426增加到98.897;北京市景观破碎化格局的空间异质性较大,但没有方向性偏好,却表现了"两极化"发展趋势,其中,高破碎化区域和低破碎化区域的面积增加,中等破碎化的区域面积减少,核心大城区和山区的景观破碎度降低,而新兴城区和郊区的景观破碎度增大;北京市景观破碎化格局的距离效应显著,呈现倒"U"型二次函数关系,其中,2013年的破碎度距离函数为:Y_3=0.1767+0.02898X_3-0.0005167X_3~2,距城市中心20—35 km处的城郊交错区景观破碎化程度最高。景观破碎化格局的分析有助于了解大城市快速发展阶段的景观格局演变规律,为城市生物多样性保护、绿地廊道维护和生态文明城市建设提供理论依据。