Landscape metrics to analyze the forest fragmentation of Chitteri Hills in Eastern Ghats, Tamil Nadu

Abstract

Chitteri Hills of Eastern Ghats is primarily covered by evergreen forests and deciduous forests. Forest Management, change in landuse and rapid economic development has caused a minor change in the landscape of Chitteri. In the current study the forest fragmentation was assessed using the Fragstat 4.0 software for different classes using specifi c metrics. Fragstats 4.0 spatial pattern analysis was applied for different landuse classes that was derived from landuse and landcover maps prepared using the Landsat 8 digital data. The results from the above analysis have shown that there was more fragmentation in the Chitteri Hills. Class Area (CA), Percentage of Landscape (PLAND), Largest Patch Index (LPI), Number of Patches (NP), Patch Density (PD), Area Weighted Mean Shape Index (AWMSI) at the class level was quantifi ed in the present study. These spatial metrics were found to be very simple and helpful in quantifi cation of the complex spatial processes and can be used as an effective means for monitoring the Chitteri Landscape.

Forest Habitat Fragmentation in Mountain Protected Areas Using Historical Corona KH-9 and Sentinel-2 Satellite Imagery

“…Many recent papers employed Landsat medium-resolution imagery time series, together with selected landscape metrics, to map changes in forest patterns and to evaluate the fragmentation of forest habitats [98][99][100][101]. Part of them are dedicated to environmentally protected areas, such as Natura 2000 forested sites [62,102], fragile forest ecosystems under anthropogenic pressure [103,104] or urban-forested grounds [105], but there are other studies with predictive modelling of forest habitats fragmentation [106] based on long-time series analysis.…”

Assessment of forest fragmentation in greater Gir landscape area, Gujarat using geospatial techniques

“…The increase in the number of patches could be attributed to conversion of the forest to other categories like road construction (Narmada, 2021).…”

“…Increase in number of fragments, leading to isolation of patches and there was further decrease in mean patch size. The increase in the number of patches could be attributed to conversion of the forest to other categories like road construction(Narmada, 2021).…”

Characterizing landscape fragmentation of Koitobos river sub-basin, Trans-Nzoia, Kenya

“…This process involves the division of the landscape into smaller patches, signifying a transformation tailored for human utilization [ 31 ], which detrimentally impacts biodiversity. Notably, it emerges as a significant consequence of land degradation, diminishing crucial ecosystem connections [ 32 ]and habitat corridors across the landscape [ [33] , [34] , [35] ]. Analyzing landscape fragmentation holds the potential to inform strategic development approaches aimed at enhancing land restoration and conservation efforts [ 15 , 36 ].…”

“…Various studies have been carried out to assess the rate and degree of LULC change in Kenyan ecosystems and water towers [ [25] , [27] , [28] , [33] , [34] ]. The findings of this research indicate that, while there is a notable spatial and temporal growth of farmlands, grazing areas, and barren areas, the majority of watersheds are characterized by a reduction in ecosystems such as forests, shrublands, grasslands, wetlands, and water bodies.…”