A retrospective analysis of land cover change using a polygon shape index

Comber, Alexis; Birnie, Richard; Hodgson, M. E. A.

doi:10.1046/j.1466-822x.2003.00028.x

Cited by 24 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…We used the shape index to measure the convolution of the seashore (i.e. how perimeter and area relate to each other; ): where p is the perimeter in metres, and A is the area in square metres (Comber et al. , 2003; Cousins & Aggemyr, 2008).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Aggemyr¹,

Cousins

2012

Journal of Biogeography

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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.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Aggemyr¹,

Cousins

2012

Journal of Biogeography

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“…For instance, the interactions of a given patch with adjacent land cover types affect both land use exploitation by humans and vegetation dynamics. Accordingly, some landscape processes like anthropogenic disturbance or secondary plant succession can be best identified via measurement of patch adjacency structure (see Comber et al, 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of adjacency analysis for quantifying landscape changes

Smiraglia¹,

Zavattero

Ricotta³

et al. 2007

Plant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all As

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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

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“…Moreover, indices developed in the context of solving one problem may not be applicable to others and hence efforts for developing a new method should be focused on analysing shapes in the context of each particular problem 5 and satisfying a set of basic requirements 2 . For example, a number of researchers have focused on indices for use in urban areas 6,7 , ecology 8,9,10 and remote sensing 11 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A GIS-based shape index for land parcels

2013

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Shape analysis is of interest in many fields of spatial science and planning including land management in rural areas. In particular, evaluating the shape of existing land parcels is critical when implementing rural development schemes such as land consolidation. However, existing land parcel shape indices have major deficiencies: completely different shapes of parcels may have the same index value or similar parcel shapes may have different index scores. Thus, there is a clear requirement for a more accurate and reliable measurement method. This paper therefore presents a new parcel shape index (PSI) which integrates a geographical information system (GIS) with a multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) method. It involves the amalgamated outcome of six geometric measures represented by value functions involving a mathematical representation of judgements by experts that compare each geometric measure with that of an optimum parcel shape defined for land consolidation projects. The optimum shape has a PSI value of 1 while the worst shape has a value close to 0. The shape measures used in the model include length of sides, acute angles, reflex angles, boundary points, compactness and regularity. The paper uses data for two case study areas in Cyprus to demonstrate the superiority of the new PSI over three existing shape indices employed in other studies. The methodology utilized here can be implemented in other disciplines dealing with the assessment of objects that can be compared to an optimum.

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A retrospective analysis of land cover change using a polygon shape index

Cited by 24 publications

References 25 publications

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

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

The use of adjacency analysis for quantifying landscape changes

A GIS-based shape index for land parcels

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