Ownership and ecosystem as sources of spatial heterogeneity in a forested landscape,Wisconsin, USA

The interaction between physical environment and land ownership in creating spatial heterogeneity was studied in largely forested landscapes of northern Wisconsin, USA. A stratified random approach was used in which 2500-ha plots representing two ownerships (National Forest and private non-industrial) were located within two regional ecosystems (extremely well-drained outwash sands and moderately well-drained moraines). Sixteen plots were established, four within each combination of ownership and ecosystem, and the land cover on the plots was classified from aerial photographs using a modified form of the Anderson (U.S. Geological Survey) land use and land cover classification system.Upland deciduous forests dominated by northern hardwoods were common on the moraines for both ownerships. On the outwash, the National Forest was dominated by pine plantations, upland deciduous forests, and upland regenerating forests (as defined by <50% canopy coverage). In contrast, a more even distribution among the classes of upland forest existed on private land/outwash. A strong interaction between ecosystem and ownership was evident for most comparisons of landscape structure. On the moraine, the National Forest ownership had a finer grain pattern with more complex patch shapes compared to private land. On the outwash, in contrast, the National Forest had a coarser grain pattern with less complex patch shapes compared to private land. When patch size and shape were compared between ecosystems within an ownership, statistically significant differences in landscape structure existed on public land but not on private land. On public land, different management practices on the moraine and outwash, primarily related to timber harvesting and road building, created very different landscape patterns. Landscape structure on different ecosystems on private land tended to be similar because ownership was fragmented in both ecosystems and because ownership boundaries often corresponded to patch boundaries on private land. A complex relationship exits between ownership, and related differences in land use, and the physical environment that ultimately constrains land use. Studies that do not consider these interactions may misinterpret the importance of either variable in explaining variation in landscape patterns.     

Stream and wetland landscape patterns in watersheds with different cranberry agriculture histories,southern New Jersey,USA

Stream and wetland-landscape patterns in watersheds that drain active-cranberry bogs, abandoned-cranberry bogs, and forest land with no history of cranberry agriculture were compared at three different levels of detail. Stream-pattern variables included drainage density, sinuosity, and the number, density, and length of ditches. Landscape-pattern measures included wetland-patch structure (the size, shape, and number of wetland patches) and cover-type composition. The results of the stream-pattern analysis indicated that the effect of past and present cranberry agriculture on stream-drainage patterns was limited primarily to the occurrence of ditches. A greater number, density, median length, and total length of ditches were observed in cranberry and abandoned-bog basins compared to forest basins. Drainage density and sinuosity of the remaining non-ditched stream segments did not differ between basin types. Excluding areas of active-cranberry bogs where the native vegetation was removed, there was no significant difference in the relative number, size, shape, and composition of the remaining vegetation-cover types between the three basin types. The exact type and extent of vegetation removed to establish bogs in the active and abandoned basins are not known, but based on soil type and vegetation class associations, it was estimated that the largest losses were of pitch pine lowlands and cedar swamps.     

Landscape changes in Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) wetlands of the New Jersey Pinelands

Assessing the long-term sustainability of Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) wetlands in the New Jersey Pinelands is an important management concern. We used aerial photography dating from 1930 through 1991 and recent satellite imagery to quantify successional trends in these wetlands within the 1,473 km² Mullica River basin. Over the 61-yr period the composition of individual cedar patches in the study area changed in response to varying disturbance regimes but total cedar cover remained relatively stable. The dominant transitions were conversion of cedar to shrub cover and succession from shrub to cedar. Cedar harvesting, which was the dominant disturbance, was most intense during the early part of the study period. A decline in successful regeneration of more recent cedar cuts maybe related to an increase in the Pinelands deer herd. Other major disturbances included wildfires and flooding. Most flooding was associated with beaver activity. Although the long-term effects of changing disturbance regimes are unknown, our results suggest a positive outlook for sustainability of Atlantic white cedar wetlands within the Mullica River basin. Important management considerations that can affect cedar sustainability include effective post-harvest management of cut swamps and restoration of cedar in shrub or emergent dominated areas that historically contained cedar. Because hardwood conversion of undisturbed cedar patches was not a major transition, cedar harvesting to rejuvenate stands does not seem necessary to maintain Atlantic white cedar wetlands. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

地被花卉在内蒙古鄂尔多斯园林绿化中的应用

为在鄂尔多斯地区景观的营造不受高费用草坪的限制，需要筛选能够在一定程度上替代草坪的优良地被种类。基于此目的，研究选取内蒙古鄂尔多斯的4个绿化项目为样本区，通过对设计、施工和养护过程的跟踪调研，对所应用地被植物的种类、表现性状、景观效果进行观测、调查和分析，初步总结适宜在该地区园林绿化中使用的一部分地被种类，同时提出不同地被种类配置及其组合方式，为提高相关地区整体园林绿化品质提供一定的实践依据。     

Influence of landscape structure on local and regional climate

This paper discusses the physical linkage between the surface and the atmosphere, and demonstrates how even slight changes in surface conditions can have a pronounced effect on weather and climate. Observational and modeling evidence are presented to demonstrate the influence of landscape type on the overlying atmospheric conditions. The albedo, and the fractional partitioning of atmospheric turbulent heat flux into sensible and latent fluxes is shown to be particularly important in directly affecting local and regional weather and climate. It is concluded that adequate assessment of global climate and climate change cannot be achieved unless mesoscale landscape characteristics and their changes over time can be accurately determined.     

The change of a satoyama landscape and its causality in Kamiseya,Kyoto Prefecture,Japan between 1970 and 1995

We focused on patterns of land use in a particular satoyama landscape (Japanese traditional rural landscape, comprised of an integral social and ecological network of a village and its surroundings, such as agricultural lands, open forestlands and forests), and the effects of human activities upon them during Japan’s economic growth of the last few decades. Changes of landscape patterns and their probable causes were traced since the beginning of the 1900s to the present, and clarified. Societal, economic and technological changes, especially those that occurred after 1970, were considered the focal points from which major landscape changes developed. We compared the spatial features, patterns of land use and landscape diversities of each land unit, defined in terms of both their natural and man-made conditions for the year 1970, to those of 1995. We found land-use diversity to be strongly related to changes in the patterns of land use, with a decrease in diversity for all land units after 1970. Diversity of forest-age distribution on the other hand, increased. These changes, with the complex, changing patterns of each land unit, could be explained by differences in accessibility from the village and variations in the topography, as well as land ownership of the land units. We selected those land units found to have responded to these factors between 1970 and 1995, and classified them into four types of pattern changes, determined mainly by accessibility and topography.This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Landscape division,splitting index,and effective mesh size: new measures of landscape fragmentation

Anthropogenic fragmentation of landscapes is known as a major reason for the loss of species in industrialized countries. Landscape fragmentation caused by roads, railway lines, extension of settlement areas, etc., further enhances the dispersion of pollutants and acoustic emissions and affects local climatic conditions, water balance, scenery, and land use. In this study, three new measures of fragmentation are introduced: degree of landscape division (D), splitting index (S), and effective mesh size (m). They characterize the anthropogenic penetration of landscapes from a geometric point of view and are calculated from the distribution function of the remaining patch sizes.First, D, S, and m are defined, their mathematical properties are discussed, and their reactions to the six fragmentation phases of perforation, incision, dissection, dissipation, shrinkage, and attrition are analysed. Then they are compared with five other known fragmentation indices with respect to nine suitability criteria such as intuitive interpretation, low sensivity to very small patches, monotonous reaction to different fragmentation phases, and detection of structural differences. Their ability to distinguish spatial patterns is illustrated by means of two series of model patterns. In particular, the effective mesh size (m), representing an intensive and area-proportionately additive measure, proves to be well suited for comparing the fragmentation of regions with differing total size.     

Path analysis of spatial predictors of front-yard landscape in an anthropogenic environment

Contagious spatial patterns were shown to exist in the landscape of front-yards in street sections of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Montréal. Neighbour mimicry was hypothesized as the mechanism behind this pattern (Zmyslony and Gagnon 1998). To assess the role of spatial environmental factors in structuring this pattern, we carried out a path analysis on the front-yard landscape with five spatial factors: relative distance, street side, width, depth and type of front-yard. We removed all non-significant factors from our model with simple Mantel tests and untangled the common spatial component from the relationship between spatial factors and front-yard landscape with partial Mantel tests. We then used path analysis to evaluate the relative importance of all significant spatial factors in structuring front-yard landscape and to determine the r ² (% of landscape variation explained by spatial factors). Results showed that (1) among all spatial environmental factors, distance (proximity) remained the best predictor of front-yard vegetation – distance alone explained an average of 20% of the landscape variation of a street section, (2) depth, width and type of front-yard also structured the front-yard landscape independently of distance, (3) front-yard landscape expresses greater similarity within the same side of a street section, and (4) in two street sections of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, spatial factors predicted over 40% of the landscape variation. This suggests (1) that landscape contagion exists also in highly humanized environments and (2) that the mimicry phenomenon was induced not only by proximity, but also by similar environmental conditions in same side street sections and whole street sections. Finally, we suggest that street sections are a very useful and appropriate unit of analysis of urban ecosystems.     

Forest roads and landscape structure in the southern Rocky Mountains

Roadless areas on public lands may serve as environmental baselines against which human-caused impacts on landscape structure can be measured. We examined landscape structure across a gradient of road densities, from no roads to heavily roaded, and across several spatial scales. Our study area was comprised of 46,000 ha on the Roosevelt National Forest in north-central Colorado. When forest stands were delineated on the basis of seral stage and covertype, no relationship was evident between average stand size and road density. Topography appeared to exert a greater influence on average stand size than did road density. There was a significant positive correlation between the fractal dimension of forest stands and road density across all scales. Early-seral stands existed in greater proportions adjacent to roads, suggesting that the effects of roads on landscape structure are somewhat localized. We also looked at changes in landscape structure when stand boundaries were delineated by roads in addition to covertype and seral stage. Overall, there was a large increase in small stands with simple shapes, concurrent with a decline in the number of stands > 100 ha. We conclude that attempts to quantify the departure from naturalness in roaded areas requires an understanding of the factors controlling the structure of unroaded landscapes, particularly where the influence of topography is great. Because roads in forested landscapes influence a variety of biotic and abiotic processes, we suggest that roads should be considered as an inherent component of landscape structure. Furthermore, plans involving both the routing of new roads and the closure of existing ones should be designed so as to optimize the structure of landscape mosaics, given a set of conservation goals.     

Quantifying the agricultural landscape and assessing spatio-temporal patterns of precipitation and groundwater use

Quantitative agricultural landscape indices are useful to describe functional relationships among climatic conditions, groundwater dynamics, soil properties and agricultural land use for mathematical models. We applied methods of regression statistics, variance component estimation and a Geographical Information System (GIS) to construct indices describing crops and soils and to establish functional relationships among these variables. This paper describes the development of indices and the partitioning of the spatial and temporal variation in groundwater models using the data from Tulare County, California, which was selected as the study area. Indices of ground surface elevation, total crop water demand, soil water infiltration rate, and soil production index explain 91% of the variation in average spring groundwater level. After relating spatial patterns of groundwater use to indices of crop and soil properties, we found that mean groundwater use is positively related to total crop water demand and soil water infiltration rate while the variation in groundwater use was negatively correlated with the crop water demand and soil water infiltration rate and positively related to soil water holding capacity. The spatial variation in groundwater use was largely influenced by crops and soil types while the temporal variation was not. We also found that groundwater use increased exponentially with decreasing annual precipitation for most townships. Based on these associations, groundwater use in each township can be forecast from relative precipitation under current methods of agricultural production. Although groundwater table depth is strongly affected by topography, the statistically significant indices observed in the model clearly show that agricultural land use influences groundwater table depth. These simple relationships can be used by agronomists to make water management decisions and to design alternative cropping systems to sustain agricultural production during periods of surface water shortages.     

Rates and patterns of landscape change between 1972 and 1988 in the Changbai Mountain area of China and North Korea

Satellite imagery was used to quantify rates and patterns oflandscape change between 1972 and 1988 in the Changbai MountainReserve and its adjacent areas in the Peoples Republic of Chinaand North Korea. The 190,000 ha Reserve was established as anInternational Biosphere Reserve by The United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1979. It is themost important natural landscape remaining in Chinastemperate/boreal climate. The images used in this research cover atotal area of 967,847 ha, about three-fourths of which is in China.Imagery from 1972 and 1988 was classified into 2 broad cover types(forest and non-forest). Overall, forests covered 84.4% of thestudy area in 1972 and 74.5% in 1988. Changes in forest coverwithin the Reserve were minimal. The loss of forest cover outsidethe Reserve appears to be strongly associated with timberharvesting at lower elevations. Landscape patterns in 1988 weremore complex, more irregular, and more fragmented than in 1972.This is one of the few studies to assess landscape changes acrosstwo countries. The rates and patterns of forest-cover loss weredifferent in China and North Korea. In North Korea, extensivecutting appears to have occurred prior to 1972 and this hascontinued through 1988 while in China, most cutting appears to haveoccurred since 1972.     

Factors affecting the distribution and abundance of Western grey kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus) and euros (M. robustus) in a fragmented landscape

All the remnants of native vegetation in a 1680 km² area of the central wheatbelt of Western Australia were assessed for use by two species of kangaroo (Western grey kangaroo Macropus fuliginosus and euro M. robustus). Use was determined from faecal pellet density. Densities over large areas (100 km²) varied with the amount of residual native vegetation in the area. The less the vegetation the lower was the faecal density, indicating that increased separation between remnants has led, over the 50–70 years since fragmentation, to lower kangaroo densities.The densities of kangaroos in 152 individual remnants of >2 ha were examined in relation to their physical attributes (e.g. area, edge length, distance to nearest remnant, presence of linkages and the vegetation types present), and to an index of isolation from human disturbance. Few remnants <2 ha were used by kangaroos.Canonical discriminant analysis showed that separation of remnants without kangaroos from those with kangaroos was associated with many of the attributes. Of these, the numbers of vegetation types and their proportions and the degree of isolation from human disturbance were of greatest importance. Regression analyses were done to obtain predictors of densities within remnants grouped according to the kangaroo species using the remnants. These showed that the importance of attributes differed for different groupings. Isolation from human disturbance was the most important factor for remnants that had either species, but not for the larger ones that had both species. For euros, density increased with the rank of the linkage to other remnants and decreased with the percentage of the remnant in open woodland. For Western grey kangaroos, rank for distance to nearest remnant was significant. Since the study area is representative of a much larger area, the findings should have wide applicability.     

Anthropogenic landscape changes in Central Europe and the role of bioindication

Anthropogenic landscape changes in Central Europe occurred in several stages. Characteristic features include an acceleration in the sequence of changes, a continual increase in the scope and complexity of ecologic problems, growing destabilization of the natural household and a rising proportion of irreversible changes.Various bioindication techniques are excellently suited for detecting and evaluating landscape changes, as reflected in a large number of case studies. Of these, a number are classified by the authors according to the following criteria: landscape features/components, structure of the test area, and time framework for the studies.Thorough changes must be brought about in man's relation with nature to remedy the aggrevated environmental situation, with these priorities: making human thinking and action compatible with the environment, transforming material production along ecological lines, and applying ecological principles to landscape management, for example in the form of landscape planning.     

Bush cover and range condition assessments in relation to landscape and grazing in southern Ethiopia

Progressive growth of bush cover in dry savannahs is responsible for declines in range conditions. In southern Ethiopia, the Booran pastoralists assisted our understanding of spatial patterns of bush cover and range conditions in 54 landscape patch types grouped into six landscape units within an area of 30000 km². The size of landscape patches sampled was 625 m². We assessed the relationships between bush cover, grass cover and bare soil and grazing pressure and soil erosion and changes in range condition. Externally, political conflicts and internally, break down of land use, and official bans on the use of fire promoted bush cover and the decline in range conditions. Bush cover was negatively correlated with grass cover, and positively correlated with bare soil. Grass cover was negatively correlated with bare soil and grazing pressure in most landscape patch types. Grazing pressure was not significantly correlated with bush cover or bare soil, while soil erosion was directly related to bare soil. Soil erosion was absent in 64% of the landscape patch types, and seemingly not a threat to the rangelands. The relationship between bush cover, grass cover, bare soil and soil erosion is complex and related to climate, landscape geology, and patterns of land use. Main threats to range conditions are bush climax, loss of grass cover and unpalatable forbs. Currently, >70% of the landscape patch types are in poor to fair range conditions. Decline in range conditions, unless reversed, will jeopardise the pastoral production system in southern Ethiopia.     

Spatial simulation of landscape changes in Georgia: A comparison of 3 transition models

Spatial simulation models were developed to predict temporal changes in land use patterns in a piedmont county in Georgia (USA). Five land use categories were included: urban, cropland, abandoned cropland, pasture, and forest. Land use data were obtained from historical aerial photography and digitized into a matrix based on a 1 ha grid cell format. Three different types of spatial simulation were compared: (1) random simulations based solely on transition probabilities; (2) spatial simulations in which the four nearest neighbors (adjacent cells only) influence transitions; and (3) spatial simulations in which the eight nearest neighbors (adjacent and diagonal cells) influence transitions. Models and data were compared using the mean number and size of patches, fractal dimension of patches, and amount of edge between land uses. The random model simulated a highly fragmented landscape having numerous, small patches with relatively complex shapes. The two versions of the spatial model simulated cropland well, but simulated patches of forest and abandoned cropland were fewer, larger, and more simple than those in the real landscape. Several possible modifications of model structure are proposed. The modeling approach presented here is a potentially general one for simulating human-influenced landscapes.     

Alternative spatial resolutions and estimation of carbon flux over a managed forest landscape in Western Oregon

Spatially-distributed estimates of biologically-driven CO₂ flux are of interest in relation to understanding the global carbon cycle. Global coverage by satellite sensors offers an opportunity to assess terrestrial carbon (C) flux using a variety of approaches and corresponding spatial resolutions. An important consideration in evaluating the approaches concerns the scale of the spatial heterogeneity in land cover over the domain being studied. In the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, forests are highly fragmented with respect to stand age class and hence C flux. In this study, the effects of spatial resolution on estimates of total annual net primary production (NPP) and net ecosystem production (NEP) for a 96 km² area in the central Cascades Mountains of western Oregon were examined. The scaling approach was a simple `measure and multiply' algorithm. At the highest spatial resolution (25 m), a stand age map derived from Landsat Thematic Mapper imagery provided the area for each of six forest age classes. The products of area for each age class and its respective NPP or NEP were summed for the area wide estimates. In order to evaluate potential errors at coarser resolutions, the stand age map was resampled to grain sizes of 100, 250, 500 and 1000 m using a majority filter reclassification. Local variance in near-infrared (NIR) band digital number at successively coarser grain sizes was also examined to characterize the scale of the heterogeneity in the scene. For this managed forest landscape, proportional estimation error in land cover classification at the coarsest resolution varied from –1.0 to +0.6 depending on the initial representation and the spatial distribution of the age class. The overall accuracy of the 1000 m resolution map was 42% with respect to the 25 m map. Analysis of local variance in NIR digital number suggested a patch size on the order of 100–500 m on a side. Total estimated NPP was 12% lower and total estimated NEP was 4% lower at 1000 m compared to 25 m. Carbon flux estimates based on quantifying differences in total biomass stored on the landscape at two points in time might be affected more strongly by a coarse resolution analysis because the differences among classes in biomass are more extreme than the differences in C flux and because the additional steps in the flux algorithm would contribute to error propagation. Scaling exercises involving reclassification of fine scale imagery over a range of grain sizes may be a useful screening tool for stratifying regions of the terrestrial surface relative to optimizing the spatial resolution for C flux estimation purposes.     

Effects of landscape spatial structure on movement patterns of the hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus)

A large-scale experimental landscape study was conducted to examine the use of corridors and the forest matrix habitat by the hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus). The role of micro- habitat selection by S. hispidus in influencing routes of movement was also investigated. The experimental landscape consisted of ten 1.64-ha patches (each 128×128 m) established in a loblolly (Pinus teada) forest. Four of the patches were isolated while the other six were connected in pairs by a 32-m wide corridor. Cotton rats (N=96) were simultaneously released into both an isolated and connected patch, and monitored by radiotelemetry for 10 days. We found that the forest matrix was not a barrier to movements of cotton rats. Fifty percent of the cotton rats moved through the matrix. Corridors had no significant effect on the number of animals leaving connected patches (60%) compared to isolated patches (50%). However, corridors were the preferred route to leave a connected patch. Colonization success for cotton rats leaving connected and isolated patches did not significantly differ. Cotton rats exhibited micro-habitat preferences and these preferences differed within patch/corridor and matrix habitats. In patch/corridor habitats, cotton rats selected sites with tall (>1 m) shrubs and high percent cover. In the forest matrix, cotton rats selected sites with abundant cover by vines and low tree canopy cover. Movement patterns of Sigmodon hispidus are not strongly influenced by large-scale landscape spatial structures. Micro-habitat selection, however, does influence movement patterns. These findings have important implications regarding habitat connectivity for small mammals.     

Cumulative effects of roads and logging on landscape structure in the San Juan Mountains,Colorado (USA)

In the southern Rocky Mountains of temperate North America, the effects of Euro-American activities on disturbance regimes and landscape patterns have been less ubiquitous and less straightforward in high-elevation landscapes than in low-elevation landscapes. Despite apparently little change in the natural disturbance regime, there is increasing concern that forest management activities related mainly to timber harvest and to the extensive network of roads constructed to support timber harvest, fire control, and recreation since the late 1800s have altered disturbance regimes and landscape structure. We investigated the magnitude of change in landscape structure resulting from roads and logging since the onset of timber harvest activities in 1950. We found limited evidence for significant impacts in our study area when all lands within the landscape were considered. The relatively minor changes we observed reflected the vast buffering capacity of the large proportion of lands managed for purposes other than timber (e.g., wilderness). Significant changes in landscape structure and fragmentation of mature forest were, however, evident on lands designated as suitable timberlands. Roughly half of the mature coniferous forest was converted to young stands; mean patch size and core area declined by 40% and 25%, respectively, and contrast-weighted edge density increased 2- to 3-fold. Overall, roads had a greater impact on landscape structure than logging in our study area. Indeed, the 3-fold increase in road density between 1950–1993 accounted for most of the changes in landscape configuration associated with mean patch size, edge density, and core area. The extent of area evaluated and the period over which change was evaluated had a large impact on the magnitude of change detected and our conclusions regarding the ecological significance of those changes. Specifically, the cumulative impact on landscape structure was negligible over a 10-year period, but was notable over a 40-year period. In addition, the magnitude of change in landscape structure between 1950–1993 varied as a function of landscape extent. At the scale of the 228000 ha landscape, change in landscape structure was trivial, suggesting that the landscape was capable of fully incorporating the disturbances with minimal impact. However, at intermediate scales of 1000–10000 ha landscapes, change in landscape structure was quite evident, suggesting that there may be an optimal range of scales for detecting changes in landscape structure within the study area.