A comparison of quantitative methods for examining landscape pattern and scale

Ecologists have long recognized the importance of spatial and temporal patterns that characterize heterogeneity in landscapes. However, despite the realization that inferences about ecological phenomena are scale dependent, little attention has been paid to determining appropriate scales of measurement (e.g., plot or grain size) in studies of landscape dynamics or ecosystem change. This paper compares the results from three data sets using several quantitative methods available for characterizing landscape heterogeneity and/or for determining scale of measurement. Methods evaluated include tests of non-randomness, estimation of patch size, spectral analysis, fractals, variance ratio analysis, and correlation analysis. The results showed that no one method provides consistently good estimates of scale. Thus, sampling strategies for landscape studies should be derived from estimates of patch size and/or scale of pattern obtained from more than one of these methods.