Suitability of different landscape metrics for the assessments of patchy landscapes in West Africa

Inkoom, Justice Nana; Frank, Susanne; Greve, Klaus; Walz, Ulrich; Fürst, Christine

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.10.031

Cited by 70 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Landscapes have been considered as a system composed of functionally interacting land units [1], which can be characterized based on the diversity and abundance of land cover and landscape pattern metrics [2]. Landscapes are also locations of human activities within which the sustainable use of resources is an important research topic [3], and thus, they are often regarded as a suitable scale for research on the effects of human activities on the environment [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of Landscape Ecological Risk at the Optimal Scale: A Case Study of the Open Coastal Wetlands in Jiangsu, China

Liu

et al. 2018

IJERPH

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Detailed analysis of the evolution characteristics of landscape ecological risk is crucial for coastal sustainable management and for understanding the potential environmental impacts of a man-made landform landscapes (MMLL). As a typical open coastal wetland, large-scale human activities (e.g., tidal reclamation, fishery activities, wind farm construction, and port construction) have substantially affected the evolution of the coastal ecological environment. Previous landscape ecological risk assessment studies have documented the effectiveness of assessing the quality of ecological environment processes. However, these studies have either focused on the noncoastal zone, or they have not considered the evolution of the spatial characteristics and ecological risk evolution of the landscape at an optimal scale. Here, we present a landscape ecological risk pattern (LERP) evolution model, based on two successive steps: first, we constructed an optimal scale method with an appropriate extent and grain using multi–temporal Landsat TM/OLI images acquired in the years 2000, 2004, 2008, 2013 and 2017, and then we calculated landscape ecological risk indices. Based on this model, the entire process of the spatiotemporal evolution of ecological risk patterns of the open coastal wetlands in Jiangsu, China, was determined. The principal findings are as follows: (1) The main landscape types in the study area are tidal flats and farmland, and the main features of the landscape evolution are a significant increase in aquafarming and a substantial decrease in the tidal flat area, while the landscape heterogeneity increased; (2) In the past 20 years, the areas of low and relatively low ecological risk in the study region were greatly reduced, while the areas of medium, relatively high, and high ecological risk greatly increased; the areas of high-grade ecological risk areas are mainly around Dongtai and Dafeng; (3) The area of ecological risk from low-grade to high-grade occupied 71.75% of the study area during 2000–2017. During the previous periods (2000–2004 and 2004–2008), the areas of low-grade ecological risk were transformed to areas of middle-grade ecological risk area, while during the later periods (2008–2013 and 2013–2017) there was a substantial increase in the proportion of areas of high-grade ecological risk. Our results complement the official database of coastal landscape planning, and provide important information for assessing the potential effects of MMLL processes on coastal environments.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of Landscape Ecological Risk at the Optimal Scale: A Case Study of the Open Coastal Wetlands in Jiangsu, China

Liu

et al. 2018

IJERPH

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“…This improves forest habitat which will minimize ecological disturbances like man-animal conflict, species extinction and colonization etc. Generally, scattering method of plantation in vacant land must increase forest area but it also creates complexity (Bogucki et al, 2012) which is not good for habitat structure (Inkoom et al, 2018) as well as ecological balance. So land-use selection for plantation is a big factor for increasing and maintaining forest habitat structural quality in a fragmented forest landscape.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to some ecologists proper landuse management raises the regional habitat quality and mitigates several ecological issues like man-animal conflict, species extinction (Desai & Hedges., 2010;Fernando, et, al. 2008;Inkoom, Frank, Greve, Walz, & Fürst, 2018). It may be possible if the existing forest patch is restructured by suitable land alteration, it will raise habitat quality (forest core and shape).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial alteration of fragmented forest landscape for improving structural quality of habitat: a case study from Radhanagar Forest Range, Bankura District, West Bengal, India

Mandal

Chatterjee

2020

Geology, Ecology, and Landscapes

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Anthropogenic pressures create a complex pattern of forest habitat shape structure in Radhanagar Forest Range (RFR) in Bankura district. Habitat landscape design controls existing bio-geographical process. High fragmented and more complex habitat make imbalance in ecological process in the study area. Therefore, a measure is very urgent to control fragmentation process. Spatial alteration is one of the best methods to improve habitat quality which reduces habitat shape complexity. Fragmentation and structural composition of habitat will be understood through the interpretation of several geometric indices like perimeter area ratio (PAR), shape index (SI), and fractal dimension (FD). These indices are used to know the nature of habitat fragmentation in Radhanagar Forest range. The main objective of the study is to reduce habitat shape complexity by spatial alteration. Therefore, two types of map, one is existing forest land cover and another is selected areas altered forest land cover of Radhanagar Forest Range are prepared using ERDAS 9.3 and ArcGIS 10.3 version software. Then these maps are analyzed through FragStat 4.2 version software to get above mentioned indices. The study compares the indices values to know the structural quality of forest shape from both maps. The comparison address that altered forest habitat structural quality is better than existing forest landscape habitat quality. Therefore, landuse alteration in a forest matrix is obviously area specific in respect of its shape structure. ARTICLE HISTORY

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“…Landscape ecological risk can be shown as the vulnerability of landscape function and structural changes to external influences [49][50][51]. Thus, this study built an evaluation model using the landscape fragmentation index and the vulnerability index to measure the stress on ecological land.…”

Section: Modeling Of Landscape Ecological Risk Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elevated Risk of Ecological Land and Underlying Factors Associated with Rapid Urbanization and Overprotected Agriculture in Northeast China

et al. 2019

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Ecological land with considerable ecological value can be regarded as an important indicator in guaranteeing ecosystem function and sustainable development. Generally, the urbanization process has been considered to be the primary factor affecting ecological land use. However, the influence of agricultural development, particularly in a typical farming area, has rarely been studied. In this paper, we present a method to assess the ecological risk of ecological land (ELER) in a black soil area in northeastern China. Furthermore, the underlying factors were detected using the geographically weighted regression model, which took into account conditions of natural elements, the urbanization process, and grain production conditions. The results indicate that ecological land experienced remarkable changes with an evident loss and decline from 1996–2015. The ELER progressively increased in the concentrated farming area and the western agro-pastoral ecotone, and the ecological land in the eastern forest area was always at a high risk level. According to the regression coefficients, the relationships between influence factors and ELER could be better explained by the variables of elevation, slope, proportion of rural residential area, and ratio of cultivated land area to residential area. To summarize, agricultural occupation and urban expansion were verified as the two main causes of ecological land loss, as well as elevated risks. In light of the current situation, measures such as policy adjustment and ecological restoration should be taken to avoid risk and optimize land use.

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Suitability of different landscape metrics for the assessments of patchy landscapes in West Africa

Cited by 70 publications

References 59 publications

Evolution of Landscape Ecological Risk at the Optimal Scale: A Case Study of the Open Coastal Wetlands in Jiangsu, China

Evolution of Landscape Ecological Risk at the Optimal Scale: A Case Study of the Open Coastal Wetlands in Jiangsu, China

Spatial alteration of fragmented forest landscape for improving structural quality of habitat: a case study from Radhanagar Forest Range, Bankura District, West Bengal, India

Elevated Risk of Ecological Land and Underlying Factors Associated with Rapid Urbanization and Overprotected Agriculture in Northeast China

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