Multiscale analysis of the urbanization pattern of the Phoenix metropolitan landscape of USA: Time,space and thematic resolution

Investigating the ecological consequences of urbanization require knowledge of land-cover dynamics. Quantification of land-use/land-cover change in Phoenix, Arizona during the period of 1985–2005 using landscape metrics computed from Landsat-derived maps revealed temporal patterns of landscape composition and configuration. With accelerated urbanization the landscape as a whole became more fragmented ecologically and more complex compositionally and geometrically. However, the majority of individual patches became more compact in shape. Urban land covers, especially xeric residential, increased substantially and the desert decreased by 20%. Spatial and thematic resolution of data was shown to have large effects on the analysis of land-cover pattern. Our results, while agreeing in general with previously reported scaling relations with respect to changing spatial grain and extent, showed that scaling relations are also robust and consistent across thematic resolutions and time periods. Some metrics behaved unpredictably and some exhibited scale-free behavior. Compositional metrics, such as patch density, diversity, evenness, and largest patch index, were well correlated with vegetative cover, its spatial variation, and population density. Many of these correlations exhibited hump-shaped patterns with respect to increasing grain size, indicating a characteristic scale at approximately 500–1000 m. By simultaneously manipulating spatial and thematic resolutions, the importance of the Modifiable Area Unit Problem in relating landscape patterns to vegetation and socio-economic variables was also demonstrated. Additionally, highly variable desert vegetation due to precipitation variability poses a challenge for accurately quantifying urbanization pattern in arid environments. Choosing appropriate spatial, temporal and thematic resolutions is essential in meeting this challenge.     

Spatiotemporal changes of landscape pattern in response to urbanization

The combined method of urban gradient analysis and landscape metrics in analyzing the changes of landscape pattern has been widely applied since its introduction by Luck and Wu (2002). In order to address the temporal dynamics of landscape change, this study integrated transect analysis with temporal trend analysis and specifically discussed how changes of residential pattern are related to forms of urban growth. Using Dane County, Wisconsin, USA as an example, a 60 km transect passing through the City of Madison was set up to represent a continuum of rural-urban-rural landscapes. Changes of landscape pattern from 1968 to 2000 were analyzed by FRAGSTATS with four metrics—percentage of landscape (PLAND), Shannon's evenness index (SHEI), patch density (PD), and mean patch size (MPS). Findings from metric analyses revealed that the degree of land-use diversity and landscape fragmentation is positively related to the degree of urbanization.Specifically, at the class-level, residential land-use type shows the strongest positive relationship to the degree of urbanization in all of the class-level metrics adopted. Changes in residential land-use pattern were further analyzed with the number of housing units. The analyses revealed that there are different patterns of residential development along the transect in the study area—with the core urban area expanding outward in a contiguous manner while the rural areas have scattered development. This study demonstrated the additional insights into landscape change by integrating the spatial and the temporal perspectives and by targeting the forms of residential developments.     

Social Landscape Metrics: Measures for Understanding Place Values from Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS)

Landscape metrics are used in landscape ecology to quantify landscape characteristics related to structure, function and change by quantifying the structure and distributional pattern of landscape elements such as plants, animals and other physical landscape features. To date, there has been little published research on landscape metrics that include social perceptions of landscape. In this paper, we introduce the concept of social landscape metrics that quantify human perceptions of place resulting from the use of public participation geographic information systems (PPGIS). We present and explain a set of social landscape metrics that measure the composition and configuration of human perceptions of landscapes from multiple study areas using empirical data from PPGIS studies. We distinguish between two classes of social landscape metrics, boundary and inductive, present methods to develop them, and describe some of their applications to land use planning and management. We conclude with a discussion of future research needs for advancing knowledge about social landscape metrics.     

Spatio-temporal dynamics and evolution of land use change and landscape pattern in response to rapid urbanization

Analyzing spatio-temporal characteristics of land use change is essential for understanding and assessing ecological consequence of urbanization. More importantly, such analysis can provide basic information for appropriate decision-making. By integrating historical high spatial-resolution SPOT images and spatial metrics, this study explored the spatio-temporal dynamics and evolution of land use change and landscape pattern in response to the rapid urbanization process of a booming-developing city in China from 1996 to 2006. Accurate and consistent land use change information was first extracted by the change detection method proposed in this study. The changes of landscape pattern were then analyzed using a series of spatial metrics which were derived from FRAGSTATS software. The results indicated that the rapid urbanization process has brought about enormous land use changes and urban growth at an unprecedented scale and rate and, consequently, given rise to substantial impacts on the landscape pattern. Findings further revealed that cropland and water were the major land use types developed for urban sprawl. Meanwhile, the landscape pattern underwent fundamental transition from agricultural-land-use dominant landscape to urban-land-use dominant landscape spanning the 10 years. The results not only confirmed the applicability and effectiveness of the combined method of remote sensing and metrics, but also revealed notable spatio-temporal features of land use change and landscape pattern dynamics throughout the different time periods (1996–2000, 2000–2003 and 2003–2006).     

景观格局对城市热岛效应影响研究——以武汉市为例

城市化的快速发展给城市带来了各种各样的生态环境问题,城市热岛效应(UHI)是近年来被广泛关注的一个问题,研究城市热岛效应对改善城市生态环境有着重要意义。以武汉市为例,研究探讨了武汉市景观格局对城市热岛效应的影响。地表温度与景观指数之间的相关性分析表明城市景观的组成与分布影响着城市热岛效应。运用景观格局的方法对城市热岛效应进行研究,对于理解城市生态环境以及通过合理的土地利用规划缓解城市化进程对城市生态环境造成的包括热岛效应在内的各种影响具有重要意义。     

Integrating time and the third spatial dimension in landscape structure analysis

Over the last decades, landscape metrics have been increasingly used to describe and analyse landscape structure. This article highlights some limitations of standard landscape structure analysis approaches and examines four major developments in this field: ways of integrating the height dimension of surface and vegetation into landscape metrics, the delineation of ‘meaningful’ landscape units comprising the relief, the problem of relating pattern and scale, and the challenges posed by the analysis of the temporal dimension of landscapes. We demonstrate that (1) the integration of height information and gradients into the approach of landscape metrics is both necessary and possible by means of using digital elevation models from remote sensing and novel analysis techniques, (2) the delineation of 3-D landscape units has enormous potential and (3) there are useful methodical extensions for two-dimensional objects in spatiotemporal investigations of landscapes, namely for analysing land use change and for exploring the interrelations between landscape diversity and species diversity.     

The influence of forest management on landscape structure in the cool-temperate forest region of central Japan

Comprehension of historical changes in landscape and forest management will provide valuable insights into current ecosystems and biodiversity and will support future management decisions and conservation strategies. This study clarified changes in the forest landscape of the cool-temperate forest region of central Japan from 1947 to 1997. We used a geographic information system to reconstruct past forest landscapes at four times (1947, 1962, 1975, and 1997) based on interpretation of aerial photographs and landscape metrics calculated using the FRAGSTATS software for spatial pattern analysis. Our results showed that secondary forests, the dominant land use in 1947, decreased greatly in area and became more fragmented, whereas coniferous plantations, which occupied approximately 20% of the total land area in 1947, became the dominant land use (almost 40% of the total land) by 1997. The young coniferous plantations have been established at increasing elevations over time and were mainly created by conversion of secondary forest until 1975. The number of young coniferous plantations and their patch spacing depended on the type of forest management. In the study area, landscape structure changed in response to changes in management of national forests, especially the expansion of afforestation in the 1950s and 1960s and changes in harvesting systems.     

"生态城市设计"专题系列之六区域尺度的城市化与生态效应:地理信息系统的应用

本文探讨如何应用地理信息相关技术以及空间化的景观生态学量化方法,来分析城市与区域空间形式的变化及不同生态效应之间的复杂关系。结合地理信息技术及景观生态学有关斑块、廊道、基质(patch-corridor- matrix)所组成的土地嵌合体理论(land mosaic),以台北盆地东半部基隆河流域为个案对城市与区域空间形式进行演算,包含了斑块紧密性程度、城市斑块形状及景观碎形向度等景观生态指针的应用;配合可视化空间资料的呈现,以此来掌握不同程度的城市及自然景观形式在时间与空间上的变化与分布状况,并衡量其生态影响的相关性及程度。     

Land cover mapping with patch-derived landscape indices

Automated-classification procedures of satellite imagery are mainly based on surface reflectance and generally ignore shape and size of landforms. On the other hand, quantitative landscape ecology has been focused on the patch concept as a landscape unit due to its relevance in the theory and practice of the conservation of species in human-modelled landscapes. The present paper explores how landscape metrics can introduce the component of spatial pattern of landscape elements to enhance land cover classification reliability. In particular, a method is proposed to extract patch-derived indices and to introduce them in a supervised classification of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images as neo-channels. To extract patch-derived indices, an image segmentation method based on edge detection was used to define patches without an a priori knowledge of land cover classes. We calculated four patch indices: area, perimeter, shape index and fractal dimension. These indices were introduced in the classification to test the improvement of classification reliability. Well-known additional information (texture and topographic features) was also tested for comparison purposes. The method was tested for mapping land cover types in a mountainous region in the French Pyrenees, the Massif of Arize. The results of classification reliability allowed us to conclude that patch indices and topographic features significantly improved the discrimination of land cover classes. The combination of these additional information types by means of data fusion is useful for land cover classification purposes.     

Impacts of land-use change on mammal diversity in the upper reaches of Minjiang River, China: Implications for biodiversity conservation planning

The objective of this study was to assess land use change and the related biodiversity variations in the forest landscape of the upper reaches of Minjiang River, China. We examined temporal changes of land use at different periods. Remotely sensed images taken in 1974, 1986 and 2000 were rectified and classified based on the physiognomic characteristics of the vegetation. We applied landscape pattern metrics based on landscape composition, the shape and size of patches and patch isolation. We also calculated the suitable area for mammals in the upper reaches of Minjiang River and biodiversity of medium and large-sized mammals with Genera-Family index (G-F index). As a result of timber harvesting and increase of population, the forest area decreased and other land-use types increased. The suitable area for mammals decreased by 81,339 ha from 1974 to 2000, about 21.55% of the habitat in 1974. The number of medium and large-sized mammal species had decreased from 31 to 26, with G-F index decreased by 0.11, about 20% that of 1974. It can be concluded that landscape change and suitable habitat play an important role in protecting mammal diversity.     

Planning an ecological network of Xiamen Island (China) using landscape metrics and network analysis

Most Chinese municipal governments and urban planners have attempted to conserve and create urban greenspace in response to rapid urbanization. It is a major task for urban landscape planners to construct an effective and harmonious urban ecological network and maintain a sustainable urban development environment. In this paper, the present situation and a recent greenway augment plan of Xiamen Island were assessed using a series of landscape metrics. The results showed that the recent greenway augment plan could improve the present greenway system considerably. The improvements were indicated by decrease in patch density, and increase in total class area and edge density on the patch level, landscape diversity, landscape evenness and landscape connectivity on the landscape level. On the basis of these analyses, a number of alternative planning scenarios were designed by using network analysis methods for improving the ecological network of Xiamen Island. An alternative planning scenario was proposed to decrease the degree of landscape fragmentation, increase the shape complexity of greenway patches and enhance the landscape connectivity. The results indicated that methods which integrate landscape metrics with network analyses could not only quantitatively assess the present situation and the rationality of planning for urban greenway systems, but also facilitate the design of planning scenarios for urban ecological networks, enabling them to meet the principles of conformity, harmony, circulation, safety, diversity and sustainability. The principles and methods of landscape ecology, and the greenway concepts that have originated in the West can be useful for Chinese landscape planning and can be applied to greenway development in China.     

Changes in landscape structure of “yatsu” valleys: a typical Japanese urban fringe landscape

This study focuses on the ‘yatsu’ landscape of the southern Kanto Region, in central Japan. This agricultural landscape consists of narrow, branching valleys where rice is cultivated in irrigated paddies, and surrounding slopes and uplands devoted to a variety of landscape types, such as dry vegetable field, orchard, bamboo grove and coppice woodland. Two sites were selected, one with a long history of suburban development, and another just in the process of development. Changes in the landscape over a 30-year period, from 1960 to 1990, were identified and analyzed using aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) software. In the more intensively developed site, total forest area decreased while patch size of grassland, residences and bare ground increased together with the total number of patches. These changes in landscape element type were caused primarily by direct conversion of one type to another. In the less developed site, the total area and mean patch size of deciduous broad-leaved forest increased, and the total number of patches did not change. Changes at this site were caused mostly by the abandonment of traditional land management practices. The results of this study indicate that not only landscape element types, but also boundary types are influenced by urbanization. Of particular importance is the finding that the ecological function of boundaries is reduced by human intervention. This means that forest-floor herbaceous plants and woody plants with low dispersal capability will likely be adversely affected as residential development expands.     

城市化背景下的小城市景观格局变化分析——以浙江省乐清市为例

中小城市是今后吸纳城市化人口的重要组分,理解其格局与过程对城市可持续发展至关重要。景观格局的时空变化是探索城市化驱动力、城市化对环境—经济—社会影响的基础。研究基于景观生态学原理,利用长三角小城市——乐清市2005年—2009年连续五年的土地利用类型矢量数据,分析各年份土地利用变化,并运用Arc GIS内嵌Patch Analysis软件进行景观格局指数计算,从斑块类型水平和景观水平对景观格局变化进行了分析。结果显示,在斑块类型水平上,五年间建设用地面积大幅增加,其他用地类型破碎化程度加剧,?本连通度较高的林地越来越分散。在景观水平上,景观结构趋于破碎化,斑块形状更加复杂,将此结果与全球多个中小城市进行比较,这为研究城市化驱动下生态系统功能变化提供基础信息与依据。     

缩尺效应对粗粒料压实密度影响的试验研究

堆石料的级配缩尺后的试验替代料与原级配料的试验结果之间存在一定的差异,弄清这种差异对准确把握原级配堆石料的力学性质十分重要。将缩尺效应归结为最大粒径和级配结构两部分变化产生的影响。利用土的连续级配方程结合相似级配法缩尺的思路,设计了大量最大粒径分别为20,40和60 mm的试验级配。对各级配粗粒料进行了表面振动压实试验,研究了最大粒径和级配结构对粗粒料压实密度的影响。最大粒径和级配结构对粗粒料压实密度的影响可以用一定的函数形式定量表述,建立了考虑缩尺效应的粗粒料压实密度的预测模型,探讨了该模型对不同性质粗粒料的适用性,并用多组室内最大干密度试验数据进行了验证。此外,提出了一种能够定量研究粗粒料缩尺效应的思路。     

Retail structural dynamics and the forces behind big-box retailing

Recent change on the American retail landscape warrants a revisit to the catastrophe framework originated by Harris and Wilson (1978). A retail revolution, centered around the growth of big-box retailing, is recreating metropolitan retail structure. Alterations to both the sizes and spatial distributions of retailers in nearly every sector have resulted. This research presents a theoretical inquiry into the forces behind this change through an adoption and extension of the catastrophe theory framework. Results suggest that changes in retail structure, though they have altered consumer behavior, are more attributable to changes in the cost structures of firms than to changes in the preferences of consumers. Received: June 2000/Accepted: December 2000     

城市绿地景观格局对“核心生境”质量的影响探究

城市化进程中自然栖息地的锐减是导致生物多样性缺失的直接原因。当前保留年份较久的残存栖息地可作为"核心生境"在城市生态系统服务功能中发挥重要作用。以韩国首尔特别市为例,基于4期解译后的卫星图像判别城市林地内的"核心生境",并选取22个城市公园作为样本,运用Fragstats工具和InVEST模型分别计算景观格局指数和生境质量指数,模拟了林地生境质量和影响其变化的主导景观格局因子。研究发现:1)毗邻建设用地的林地生境质量指数明显低于城市边缘山区;2)面积对于生境单元值的影响具有尺度差异性,相对于较大尺度样本,中小尺度样本的"核心生境"单元值受面积影响较小;3)样本生境的景观格局对"核心生境"质量的主导影响可概括为绿地形状因子和绿地聚合因子(因子分析解释度为96.022%),且具有显著的线性回归关系。     

The effects of human impact on spatial structure of the riparian vegetation along the Ashida river, Japan

A vegetation map was prepared to clarify both the differences of patch size in each vegetation type and the changes of patch size in each river reach in the Ashida river running through the east part of Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. With use of this map, the area and perimeter of each patch were measured. The microscale landform and distance from the river mouth of each patch were also recorded to analyze the habitat of vegetation and land-use. The vegetation and land-use types in the river were reflected in different patch size distributions. These were roughly divided into following four groups by cluster analysis: group A characteristic of large size patches occupying the major part; group B comprising a variety of patches from large size to small size; group C consisting of small patches covering the major part and group D with small number of patches. The vegetation types in group A tended to be observed mainly on river bank slope and major bed, while group B had a trend to occur mainly on minor bed and waterside lowland. For further scrutinization, the distributions of patch size in vertical course of the river were addressed after dividing the major part of the stream into four sections namely, 0–10, 11–20, 21–30 and 31–43 km from the river mouth, respectively. The smaller patches become dominant as the river reaches go upstream. The major vegetation types in group A were observed on artificial lands including bank slope and major bed, suggesting that human impacts such as flood protection works and regular mowing affected the spatial structure of riparian vegetation.     

A multi-scale, multi-model approach for analyzing the future dynamics of European land use

Europe’s rural areas are expected to witness massive and rapid changes in land use due to changes in demography, global trade, technology and enlargement of the European Union. Changes in demand for agricultural products and agrarian production structure are likely to have a large impact on landscape quality and the value of natural areas. Most studies address these changes either from a macro-economic perspective focusing on changes in the agricultural sector or from a local perspective by analyzing recent changes in landscapes for small case studies. This paper describes a methodology in which a series of models has been used to link global level developments influencing land use to local level impacts. It is argued that such an approach is needed to properly address the processes at different scales that give rise to the land use dynamics in Europe. An extended version of the global economic model (GTAP) and an integrated assessment model (IMAGE) are used to calculate changes in demand for agricultural areas at the country level while a spatially explicit land use change model (CLUE-s) was used to translate these demands to land use patterns at 1 km² resolution. The global economic model ensures an appropriate treatment of macro-economic, demographic and technology developments and changes in agricultural and trade policies influencing the demand and supply for land use related products while the integrated assessment model accounts for changes in productivity as result of climate change and global land allocation. The land use change simulations at a high spatial resolution make use of country specific driving factors that influence the spatial patterns of land use, accounting for the spatial variation in the biophysical and socio-economic environment. Results indicate the large impact abandonment of agricultural land and urbanization may have on future European landscapes. Such results have the potential to support discussions on the future of the rural area and identify hot-spots of landscape change that need specific consideration. The high spatial and thematic resolution of the results allows the assessment of impacts of these changes on different environmental indicators, such as carbon sequestration and biodiversity. The global assessment allows, at the same time, to account for the tradeoffs between impacts in Europe and effects outside Europe.     

Evaluation of the ecological efficiency of landscape protection in areas of different protection status. A case study from Poland

Poland ratified the ELC in 2004 and by 2015 the existing forms of landscape protection constituted a major tool for its implementation. The ecological efficiency of landscape protection in Poland in terms of the different kinds of protection status was evaluated. The main goal was to get general information about the dynamics of the changes in the landscape fragmentation process and the relationships between the landscape changes and the level of landscape protection on a national scale. A set of metrics using a CLC data-set at four points in time: 1990, 2000, 2006 and 2012 were examined. The metrics calculations were completed using FRAGSTATS 4.2.1 and Statistica software. Results confirmed that landscape protection depends on the level of protection assigned to it (the regime). In addition, it was demonstrated that the forms of the protected landscape areas are characterised by lower efficiency and higher landscape fragmentation dynamics when compared to those in unprotected areas. It also turns out that the newly established protection types such as Natura 2000 areas are characterised as insufficient tools to efficiently counteract growing human pressure. Although over 40% of the area of Poland falls under protection, merely 3% of this is characterised by a high efficiency of landscape protection.     

City size distributions and spatial economic change

"The concept of the city size distribution is criticized for its lack of consideration of the effects of interurban interdependencies on the growth of cities. Theoretical justifications for the rank-size relationship have the same shortcomings, and an empirical study reveals that there is little correlation between deviations from rank-size distributions and national economic and social characteristics. Thus arguments suggesting a close correspondence between city size distributions and the level of development of a country, irrespective of intranational variations in city location and socioeconomic characteristics, seem to have little foundation." (summary in FRE, ITA, JPN, )