Dynamics of Forest Fragmentation and Connectivity Using Particle and Fractal Analysis

Abstract

The ever decreasing area of forests has lead to environmental and economical challenges and has brought with it a renewed interest in developing methodologies that quantify the extent of deforestation and reforestation. In this study we analyzed the deforested areas of the Apuseni Mountains, which has been under economic pressure in recent years and resulted in widespread deforestation as a means of income. Deforested surface dynamics modeling was based on images contained in the Global Forest Database, provided by the Department of Geographical Sciences at Maryland University between 2000 and 2014. The results of the image particle analysis and modelling were based on Total Area (ha), Count of patches and Average Size whereas deforested area distribution was based on the Local Connected Fractal Dimension, Fractal Fragmentation Index and Tug-of-War Lacunarity as indicators of forest fragmentation or heterogeneity. The major findings of the study indicated a reduction of the tree cover area by 3.8%, an increase in fragmentation of 17.7% and an increase in heterogeneity by 29%, while fractal connectivity decreased only by 0.1%. The fractal and particle analysis showed a clustering of forest loss areas with an average increase from 1.1 to 3.0 ha per loss site per year. In conclusion, the fractal and particle analysis provide a relevant methodological framework to further our understanding of the spatial effects of economic pressure on forestry.

The Use of Sholl and Kolmogorov Complexity Analysis in Researching on the Sustainable Development of Creative Economies in the Development Region of Bucharest‒Ilfov, Romania

“…Fractal analysis has been used since the 1980s as a tool to understand the complexity of the system, and has been applied in spatial analysis to study the phenomenon of urban agglomeration [29], forest dynamics [30] or economic phenomena [31]. It can be compared to classical approaches to binary fractal analysis such as Ruler Dimension [32,33] BoxCounting [29,[34][35][36], Dilation Dimension [29,37], Mass Dimension [38], Local Connected Fractal Dimension [39], Perimeter-Area Dimension [40,41], Information Dimension [42], Minkowski Dimension [43], Multifractal Dimension [44,45] or recently Fractal Fragmentation Index [46][47][48].…”

Application of Fractal and Gray-Level Co-Occurrence Matrix Indices to Assess the Forest Dynamics in the Curvature Carpathians—Romania

“…This intra-mountain depression is one of the largest in the country with Bras , ov, a city with 227,961 inhabitants in 2011 [31] (Figure 1a). Forests in Romania cover 6.86 million ha (28.8% of the national territory) and show irregular geographical distribution (57% mountain regions, 37% hills and 6% plains) [32]. Among tree species, a mosaic can be identified, with dominant broadleaved species (76%) of beech (Fagus sylvatica), fir (Abies alba), spruce (Picea abies), oak (Quercus robur), ash (Fraxinus excelsior) and pine (Pinus) [32].…”

“…Forests in Romania cover 6.86 million ha (28.8% of the national territory) and show irregular geographical distribution (57% mountain regions, 37% hills and 6% plains) [32]. Among tree species, a mosaic can be identified, with dominant broadleaved species (76%) of beech (Fagus sylvatica), fir (Abies alba), spruce (Picea abies), oak (Quercus robur), ash (Fraxinus excelsior) and pine (Pinus) [32]. In terms of deforestation, the economic need for wood, resulted in pronounced deforestation (Figure 1b).…”

Forest Climax Phenomenon: An Invariance of Scale

“…"Fractals are dynamic process-structures that etch time into space; by illuminating fractals, we self-reflexively illuminate the observer in the observed in nothing short of nature herself" [24]. However, it is necessary to clarify that, contrary to ideal fractals, landscape patterns can be considered fractals only for limited scale intervals; this is due to the dimensionality of successional elements, determined by their regeneration response to disturbance [25]. Watt [26] was the first to link space and time at the landscape scale.…”