Spatial pattern analysis for quantification of landscape structure of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve,Central India

Landscape structure is often regarded as an important factor that governs the distribution and abundance of species. Therefore it is critical to understand the landscapes and their dynamics. Patterns of landscape elements strongly influence the ecological characteristics. This study was designed to document and map the current status of the tropical dry deciduous forest of the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), Central India, (using IRS P6 LISS IV data) and to describe its landscape structure at three levels of organization viz. landscape, class, and patch. The study area was classified into 10 land cover classes that include 6 vegetation classes. The landscape structure was analyzed using FRAGSTATS using 12 set of indices. The TATR landscapes have a total of 2,307 patches with a mean patch size of 25.67 ha and patch density of 1.7 patches per km². Amongst all land cover classes, mixed bamboo forest is dominant—it occupied maximum area (77.99%)—while riparian forest is least represented (0.32%). Mixed forest has maximum number of patches among all vegetation classes. Results have shown that despite being dominant in the area, mixed bamboo forest has low patch density (0.25/100 ha). Dominance of mixed bamboo forest is attributed to large patch sizes and not to the number of patches. This study has focussed on the approach of integrating satellite forest classification and forest inventory data for studying forest landscape patterns.