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1.
Temporal change in forest fragmentation at multiple scales   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  
Previous studies of temporal changes in fragmentation have focused almost exclusively on patch and edge statistics, which might not detect changes in the spatial scale at which forest occurs in or dominates the landscape. We used temporal land-cover data for the Chesapeake Bay region and the state of New Jersey to compare patch-based and area–density scaling measures of fragmentation for detecting changes in the spatial scale of forest that may result from forest loss. For the patch-based analysis, we examined changes in the cumulative distribution of patch sizes. For area–density scaling, we used moving windows to examine changes in dominant forest. We defined dominant forest as a forest parcel (pixel) surrounded by a neighborhood in which forest occupied the majority of pixels. We used >50% and ≥60% as thresholds to define majority. Moving window sizes ranged from 2.25 to 5,314.41 hectares (ha). Patch size cumulative distributions changed very little over time, providing no indication that forest loss was changing the spatial scale of forest. Area–density scaling showed that dominant forest was sensitive to forest loss, and the sensitivity increased nonlinearly as the spatial scale increased. The ratio of dominant forest loss to forest loss increased nonlinearly from 1.4 to 1.8 at the smallest spatial scale to 8.3 to 11.5 at the largest spatial scale. The nonlinear relationship between dominant forest loss and forest loss in these regions suggests that continued forest loss will cause abrupt transitions in the scale at which forest dominates the landscape. In comparison to the Chesapeake Bay region, dominant forest loss in New Jersey was less sensitive to forest loss, which may be attributable the protected status of the New Jersey Pine Barrens.  相似文献   

2.
Southern Appalachian forests are predominantly interior because they are spatially extensive with little disturbance imposed by other uses of the land. Appalachian mountaintop mining increased substantially during the 1990s, posing a threat to the interior character of the forest. We used spatial convolution to identify interior forest at multiple scales on circa 1992 and 2001 land-cover maps of the Southern Appalachians. Our analyses show that interior forest loss was 1.75–5.0 times greater than the direct forest loss attributable to mountaintop mining. Mountaintop mining in the southern Appalachians has reduced forest interior area more extensively than the reduction that would be expected based on changes in overall forest area alone. The loss of Southern Appalachian interior forest is of global significance because of the worldwide rarity of large expanses of temperate deciduous forest.  相似文献   

3.
Analyzing the effect of scale on landscape pattern indices has been a key research topic in landscape ecology. The lack of comparability of fragmentation indices across spatial resolutions seriously limits their usefulness while multi-scale remotely sensed data are becoming increasingly available. In this paper, we examine the effect of spatial resolution on six common fragmentation indices that are being used within the Third Spanish National Forest Inventory. We analyse categorical data derived from simultaneously gathered Landsat-TM and IRS-WiFS satellite images, as well as TM patterns aggregated to coarser resolutions through majority rules. In general, majority rules tend to produce more fragmented patterns than actual sensor ones. It is suggested that sensor point spread function should be specifically considered to improve comparability among satellite images of varying pixel sizes. Power scaling-laws were found between spatial resolution and several fragmentation indices, with mean prediction errors under 10% for number of patches and mean patch size and under 5% for edge length. All metrics but patch cohesion indicate lower fragmentation at coarser spatial resolutions. In fact, an arbitrarily large value of patch cohesion can be obtained by resampling the pattern to smaller pixel sizes. An explanation and simple solution for correcting this undesired behaviour is provided. Landscape division and largest patch index were found to be the least sensitive indices to spatial resolution effects. This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.  相似文献   

4.
Cumming  Steve  Vervier  Pierre 《Landscape Ecology》2002,17(5):433-444
Forest managers in Canada need to model landscape pattern or spatial configurationoverlarge (100,000 km2) regions. This presents a scalingproblem, as landscape configuration is measured at a high spatial resolution,but a low spatial resolution is indicated for regional simulation. We present astatistical solution to this scaling problem by showing how a wide range oflandscape pattern metrics can be modelled from low resolution data. Our studyarea comprises about 75,000 km2 of boreal mixedwoodforest in northeast Alberta, Canada. Within this area we gridded a sample of 84digital forest cover maps, each about 9500 ha in size, to aresolution of 1 ha and used FRAGSTATS to compute a suite oflandscape pattern metrics for each map. We then used multivariate dimensionreduction techniques and canonical correlation analysis to model therelationship between landscape pattern metrics and simpler stand table metricsthat are easily obtained from non-spatial forest inventories. These analyseswere performed on four habitat types common in boreal mixedwood forests: youngdeciduous, old deciduous, white spruce, and mixedwood types. Using only threelandscape variables obtained directly from stand attribute tables (totalhabitatarea, and the mean and standard deviation of habitat patch size), ourstatistical models explained more than 73% of the joint variation in fivelandscape pattern metrics (representing patch shape, forest interior habitat,and patch isolation). By PCA, these five indices captured much of the totalvariability in the rich set of landscape pattern metrics that FRAGSTATS cangenerate. The predictor variables and strengths of association were highlyconsistent across habitat classes. We illustrate the potential use of suchstatistical relationships by simulating the regional, cumulative effects ofwildfire and forest management on the spatial arrangement of forest patches,using non-spatial stand attribute tables.This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.  相似文献   

5.
Where the potential natural vegetation is continuous forest (e.g., eastern US), a region can be divided into smaller units (e.g., counties, watersheds), and a graph of the proportion of forest in the largest patch versus the proportion in anthropogenic cover can be used as an index of forest fragmentation. If forests are not fragmented beyond that converted to anthropogenic cover, there would be only one patch in the unit and its proportional size would equal 1 minus the percentage of anthropogenic cover. For a set of 130 watersheds in the mid-Atlantic region, there was a transition in forest fragmentation between 15 and 20% anthropogenic cover. The potential for mitigating fragmentation by connecting two or more disjunct forest patches was low when percent anthropogenic cover was low, highest at moderate proportions of anthropogenic cover, and again low as the proportion of anthropogenic cover increased toward 100%. This fragmentation index could be used to prioritize locations for restoration by targeting watersheds where there would be the greatest increase in the size of the largest forest patch.  相似文献   

6.
Subtropical forest loss resulting from conversion of forest to other land-cover types such as grassland, secondary forest, subsistence crop farms and small forest patches affects leaf nitrogen (N) stocks in the landscape. This study explores the utility of new remote sensing tools to model the spatial distribution of leaf N concentration in a forested landscape undergoing deforestation in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Leaf N was mapped using models developed from RapidEye imagery; a relatively new space-borne multispectral sensor. RapidEye consists of five spectral bands in the visible to near infra-red (NIR) and has a spatial resolution of 5 m. MERIS terrestrial chlorophyll index derived from the RapidEye explained 50 % of the variance in leaf N across different land-cover types with a model standard error of prediction of 29 % (i.e. of the observed mean leaf N) when assessed on an independent test data. The results showed that indigenous forest fragmentation leads to significant losses in leaf N as most of the land-cover types (e.g. grasslands and subsistence farmlands) resulting from forest degradation showed lower leaf N when compared to the original indigenous forest. Further analysis of the spatial variation of leaf N revealed an autocorrelation distance of about 50 m for leaf N in the fragmented landscape, a scale corresponding to the average dimension of subsistence fields (2,781 m2) in the region. The availability of new multispectral sensors such as RapidEye thus, moves remote sensing closer to widespread monitoring of the effect of tropical forest degradation on leaf N distribution.  相似文献   

7.
Mapping Spatial Patterns with Morphological Image Processing   总被引：4，自引：3，他引：1  
We use morphological image processing for classifying spatial patterns at the pixel level on binary land-cover maps. Land-cover pattern is classified as ‘perforated,’ ‘edge,’ ‘patch,’ and ‘core’ with higher spatial precision and thematic accuracy compared to a previous approach based on image convolution, while retaining the capability to label these features at the pixel level for any scale of observation. The implementation of morphological image processing is explained and then demonstrated, with comparisons to results from image convolution, for a forest map of the Val Grande National Park in North Italy.  相似文献   

8.
The discipline of landscape ecology recognizes the importance of measuring habitat suitability variables at spatial scales relevant to specific organisms. This paper uses a novel multi-scale hierarchical patch delineation method, PatchMorph, to measure landscape patch characteristics at two distinct spatial scales and statistically relate them to the presence of state-listed endangered yellow-billed cuckoos (Coccyzus americanus occidentalis) nesting in forest patches along the Sacramento River, California, USA. The landscape patch characteristics calculated were: patch thickness, area of cottonwood forest, area of riparian scrub, area of other mixed riparian forest, and total patch area. A third, regional spatial variable, delineating the north and south portions of study area was also analyzed for the effect of regional processes. Using field surveys, the landscape characteristics were related to patch occupancy by yellow-billed cuckoos. The area of cottonwood forest measured at the finest spatial scale of patches was found to be the most important factor determining yellow-billed cuckoo presence in the forest patches, while no patch characteristics at the larger scale of habitat patches were important. The regional spatial variable was important in two of the three analysis techniques. Model validation using an independent data set of surveys (conducted 1987–1990) found 76–82% model accuracy for all the statistical techniques used. Our results show that the spatial scale at which habitat characteristics are measured influences the suitability of forest patches. This multi-scale patch and model selection approach to habitat suitability analysis can readily be generalized for use with other organisms and systems.  相似文献   

9.

Context

Identifying the drivers shaping biological assemblages in fragmented tropical landscapes is critical for designing effective conservation strategies. It is still unclear, however, whether tropical biodiversity is more strongly affected by forest loss, by its spatial configuration or by matrix composition across different spatial scales.

Objectives

Assessing the relative influence of forest patch and landscape attributes on dung beetle assemblages in the fragmented Lacandona rainforest, Mexico.

Methods

Using a multimodel inference approach we tested the relative impact of forest patch size and landscape forest cover (measures of forest amount at the patch and landscape scales, respectively), patch shape and isolation (forest configuration indices at the patch scale), forest fragmentation (forest configuration index at the landscape scale), and matrix composition on the diversity, abundance and biomass of dung beetles.

Results

Patch size, landscape forest cover and matrix composition were the best predictors of dung beetle assemblages. Species richness, beetle abundance, and biomass decreased in smaller patches surrounded by a lower percentage of forest cover, and in landscapes dominated by open-area matrices. Community evenness also increased under these conditions due to the loss of rare species.

Conclusions

Forest loss at the patch and landscape levels and matrix composition show a larger impact on dung beetles than forest spatial configuration. To preserve dung beetle assemblages, and their key functional roles in the ecosystem, conservation initiatives should prioritize a reduction in deforestation and an increase in the heterogeneity of the matrix surrounding forest remnants.
  相似文献   

10.
Wickham  J.  Riitters  K. H. 《Landscape Ecology》2019,34(9):2169-2182
Context

Remote sensing has been a foundation of landscape ecology. The spatial resolution (pixel size) of remotely sensed land cover products has improved since the introduction of landscape ecology in the United States. Because patterns depend on spatial resolution, emerging improvements in the spatial resolution of land cover may lead to new insights about the scaling of landscape patterns.

Objective

We compared forest fragmentation measures derived from very high resolution (1 m2) data with the same measures derived from the commonly used (30 m?×??30 m; 900 m2) Landsat-based data.

Methods

We applied area-density scaling to binary (forest; non-forest) maps for both sources to derive source-specific estimates of dominant (density ≥?60%), interior (≥?90%), and intact (100%) forest.

Results

Switching from low- to high-resolution data produced statistical and geographic shifts in forest spatial patterns. Forest and non-forest features that were “invisible” at low resolution but identifiable at high resolution resulted in higher estimates of dominant and interior forest but lower estimates of intact forest from the high-resolution source. Overall, the high-resolution data detected more forest that was more contagiously distributed even at larger spatial scales.

Conclusion

We anticipate that improvements in the spatial resolution of remotely sensed land cover products will advance landscape ecology through re-interpretations of patterns and scaling, by fostering new landscape pattern measurements, and by testing new spatial pattern-ecological process hypotheses.

  相似文献   

11.
Wolter  Peter T.  White  Mark A. 《Landscape Ecology》2002,17(2):133-155
Landsat TM satellite data covering an approximate 5-year interval (1990–1995) were used to quantify spatial pattern and transition rates between forest ecological states for a 2.76 million ha region in northeast Minnesota. Changes in forest cover were stratified by Ecological Subsection, management status, and by ownership categories using a 1995 digital ownership layer. Approximately 4.2% of the 1990 mature forested area was converted to early successional types by 1995. Of this 4.2%, private lands accounted for 33%, federal lands 31%, county lands 20% and state lands 16%. Notable conversion percentages by cover type category were spruce-fir (−5.3%), aspen-birch(−4.7%), jack pine (−4.6%) and black spruce(−3.0%). Transition rates were also adjusted to fit ten-year time intervals. Shannon-Weaver Eveness and edge density of cover types increased over the study period as relative contagion and interior forest area decreased. These trends suggest both smaller patches and a more even distribution of cover types. Area of upland conifers, lowland conifers and lowland hardwoods decreased while the area of mature upland hardwoods increased in most patch size classes except the > 500 ha class which showed a substantial decrease in area. The area of early successional types increased in most patch size classes. Non-industrial private forestland had the lowest proportion of interior forest of all ownership categories -decreasing by 13.5% in five years. Smaller average cut-unit size sand uncoordinated forest management is the likely cause since cutting rates between private and public forestland were similar. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.  相似文献   

12.
Landscape structure in the Eastern US experienced great changes in the last century with the expansion of forest cover into abandoned agricultural land and the clearing of secondary forest cover for urban development. In this paper, the spatial and temporal patterns of forest cover from 1914 to 2004 in the Gwynns Falls watershed in Baltimore, Maryland were quantified from historic maps and aerial photographs. Using a database of forest patches from six times—1914, 1938, 1957, 1971, 1999, and 2004—we found that forest cover changed, both temporally and spatially. While total forest area remained essentially constant, turnover in forest cover was very substantial. Less than 20% of initial forest cover remained unchanged. Forest cover became increasingly fragmented as the number, size, shape, and spatial distribution of forest patches within the watershed changed greatly. Forest patch change was also analyzed within 3-km distance bands extending from the urban core to the more suburban end of the watershed. This analysis showed that, over time, the location of high rates of forest cover change shifted from urban to suburban bands which coincides with the spatial shift of urbanization. Forest cover tended to be more stable in and near the urban center, whereas forest cover changed more in areas where urbanization was still in process. These results may have critical implications for the ecological functioning of forest patches and underscore the need to integrate multi-temporal data layers to investigate the spatial pattern of forest cover and the temporal variations of that spatial pattern.  相似文献   

13.
Different organisms respond to spatial structure in different terms and across different spatial scales. As a consequence, efforts to reverse habitat loss and fragmentation through strategic habitat restoration ought to account for the different habitat density and scale requirements of various taxonomic groups. Here, we estimated the local density of floodplain forest surrounding each of ~20 million 10-m forested pixels of the Upper Mississippi and Illinois River floodplains by using moving windows of multiple sizes (1?C100 ha). We further identified forest pixels that met two local density thresholds: ??core?? forest pixels were nested in a 100% (unfragmented) forested window and ??dominant?? forest pixels were those nested in a >60% forested window. Finally, we fit two scaling functions to declines in the proportion of forest cover meeting these criteria with increasing window length for 107 management-relevant focal areas: a power function (i.e. self-similar, fractal-like scaling) and an exponential decay function (fractal dimension depends on scale). The exponential decay function consistently explained more variation in changes to the proportion of forest meeting both the ??core?? and ??dominant?? criteria with increasing window length than did the power function, suggesting that elevation, soil type, hydrology, and human land use constrain these forest types to a limited range of scales. To examine these scales, we transformed the decay constants to measures of the distance at which the probability of forest meeting the ??core?? and ??dominant?? criteria was cut in half (S 1/2, m). S 1/2 for core forest was typically between ~55 and ~95 m depending on location along the river, indicating that core forest cover is restricted to extremely fine scales. In contrast, half of all dominant forest cover was lost at scales that were typically between ~525 and 750 m, but S 1/2 was as long as 1,800 m. S 1/2 is a simple measure that (1) condenses information derived from multi-scale analyses, (2) allows for comparisons of the amount of forest habitat available to species with different habitat density and scale requirements, and (3) can be used as an index of the spatial continuity of habitat types that do not scale fractally.  相似文献   

14.
We hypothesized that the spatial configuration and dynamics of periurban forest patches in Barcelona (NE of Spain) played a minor role in determining plant species richness and assemblage compared to site conditions, and particularly to both direct (measured at plot level) and potential (inferred from landscape metrics) human-associated site disturbance. The presence of all understory vascular plants was recorded on 252 plots of 100 m2 randomly selected within forest patches ranging in size from 0.25 ha to 218 ha. Species were divided into 6 groups, according to their ecology and conservation status. Site condition was assessed at plot level and included physical attributes, human-induced disturbance and Quercus spp. tree cover. Landscape structure and dynamics were assessed from patch metrics and patch history. We also calculated a set of landscape metrics related to potential human accessibility to forests. Results of multiple linear regressions indicated that the variance explained for non-forest species groups was higher than for forest species richness. Most of the main correlates corresponded to site disturbance variables related to direct human alteration, or to landscape variables associated to indirect human effects on forests: Quercus tree cover (a proxy for successional status) was the most important correlate of non-forest species richness, which decreased when Quercus tree cover increased. Human-induced disturbance was an important correlate of synanthropic and total species richness, which were higher in recently managed and in highly frequented forests. Potential human accessibility also affected the richness of most species groups. In contrast, patch size, patch shape and connectivity played a minor role, as did patch history. We conclude that human influence on species richness in periurban forests takes place on a small scale, whereas large-scale effects attributable to landscape structure and fragmentation are comparatively less important. Implications of these results for the conservation of plant species in periurban forests are discussed.  相似文献   

15.
A computer simulation model was used to derive estimates of the probability of extinction of populations of the endangered species, Leadbeater's Possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri), inhabiting ensembles of habitat patches within two wood production forest blocks in central Victoria, south-eastern Australia. Data on the habitat patches were extracted from forest inventory information that had been captured in the database of a Geographic Information System (GIS). Our analyses focussed on a range of issues associated with the size, number and spatial configuration of patches of potentially suitable habitat that occur within the Ada and Steavenson Forest Blocks. The sensitivity of extinction risks in these two areas to variations in the movement capability ofG. leadbeateri was also examined.Our analyses highlighted major differences in the likelihood of persistence of populations ofG. leadbeateri between the Ada and Steavenson Forest Blocks. These were attributed to differences in the spatial distribution and size of remnant old growth habitat patches as well as the impacts of wildfires. In addition, simulation modelling revealed a different relative contribution of various individual patches, and ensembles of patches, to metapopulation persistence in the two study areas. In those scenarios for the Ada Forest Block in which the impacts of wild-fires were not modelled, our analyses indicated that a few relatively large, linked patches were crucial for the persistence of the species and their loss elevated estimates of the probability of extinction to almost 100%. A different outcome was recorded from simulations of the Steavenson Forest Block which, in comparison with the Ada Forest Block, is characterized by larger and more numerous areas of well connected patches of old growth forest and where we included the impacts of wildfires in the analysis. In this case, metapopulation persistence was not reliant on any single patch, or small set of patches, of old growth forest. We found that in some circumstances the probability that a patch is occupied whilst the metapopulation is extant may be a good measure of its value for metapopulation viability. Another important outcome from our analyses was that estimates of extinction probability were influenced both by the size and the spatial arrangement of habitat patches. This result emphasizes the importance for modelling metapopulation dynamics of accurate spatial information on habitat patchiness, such as the data used in this study which were derived from a GIS.The values for the predicted probability of extinction were significantly influenced by a range of complex inter-acting factors including: (1) the occurrence and extent of wildfires, (2) the addition of logging exclusion areas such as forest on steep and rocky terrain to create a larger and more complex patch structure, (3) estimates of the quality of the habitat within the logging exclusion areas, and (4) the movement capability ofG. leadbeateri. Very high values for the probability of extinction of populations ofG. leadbeateri were recorded from many of the simulations of the Ada and Steavenson Forest Blocks. This finding is the result of the limited areas of suitable old growth forest habitat for the species in the two areas that were targeted for analysis. Hence, there appears to be insufficient old growth forest in either of the two forest blocks to be confident that they will support populations ofG. leadbeateri in the long-term, particularly if a wildfire were to occur in the next 150 years.The results of sensitivity analyses indicated that estimates of the probability of extinction ofG. leadbeateri varied considerably in response to differences in the values for movement capability modelled. This highlighted the need for data on the dispersal behaviour of the species.  相似文献   

16.
A better understanding of scaling-up effects on estimating important landscape characteristics (e.g. forest percentage) is critical for improving ecological applications over large areas. This study illustrated effects of changing grain sizes on regional forest estimates in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan of the USA using 30-m land-cover maps (1992 and 2001) produced by the National Land Cover Datasets. The maps were aggregated to two broad cover types (forest vs. non-forest) and scaled up to 1-km and 10-km resolutions. Empirical models were established from county-level observations using regression analysis to estimate scaling effects on area estimation. Forest percentages observed at 30-m and 1-km land-cover maps were highly correlated. This intrinsic relationship was tested spatially, temporally, and was shown to be invariant. Our models provide a practical way to calibrate forest percentages observed from coarse-resolution land-cover data. The models predicted mean scaling effects of 7.0 and 12.0% (in absolute value with standard deviations of 2.2 and 5.3%) on regional forest cover estimation (ranging from 2.3 and 2.5% to 11.1 and 23.7% at the county level) with standard errors of model estimation 3.1 and 7.1% between 30 m and 1 km, and 30 m and 10 km, respectively, within a 95% confidence interval. Our models improved accuracy of forest cover estimates (in terms of percent) by 63% (at 1-km resolution) and 57% (at 10-km resolution) at the county level relative to those without model adjustment and by 87 and 84% at the regional level in 2001. The model improved 1992 and 2001 regional forest estimation in terms of area for 1-km maps by 15,141 and 7,412 km2 (after area weighting of all counties) respectively, compared to the corresponding estimates without calibration using 30 m-based regional forest areas as reference.  相似文献   

17.
Impact of scale on morphological spatial pattern of forest   总被引：1，自引：1，他引：0  
Assessing and monitoring landscape pattern structure from multi-scale land-cover maps can utilize morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA), only if various influences of scale are known and taken into account. This paper lays part of the foundation for applying MSPA analysis in landscape monitoring by quantifying scale effects on six classes of spatial patterns called: core, edge, perforation, branch, connector and islet. Four forest maps were selected with different forest composition and configuration. The sensitivity of MSPA to scale was studied by comparing frequencies of pattern classes in total forest area for various combinations of pixel size (P) and size parameter (S). It was found that the quantification of forest pattern with MSPA is sensitive to scale. Differences in initial composition and configuration influence the amount but not the general tendencies of the variations of morphological spatial pattern (MSP) class proportions with scale. Increase of P led to data generalization resulting in either a removal of the small size features or their potential transformation into other non-core MSP classes, while an increase of S decreases the MSP core area and this process may transform small core areas into the MSP class islet. We established that the behavior of the MSPA classes with changing scale can be categorized as consistent and robust scaling relations in the forms of linear, power, or logarithmic functions over a range of scales.  相似文献   

18.
Habitat fragmentation is considered a major cause of biodiversity loss, both on terrestrial and marine environments. Understanding the effects of habitat fragmentation on the structure and dynamics of natural communities is extremely important to support management actions for biodiversity conservation. However, the effects of habitat fragmentation on marine communities are still poorly understood. Here we evaluated whether habitat fragmentation affects the structure of epifaunal communities in the sublittoral zone, in the northern coast of São Paulo state, Brazil. Five experimental landscapes were constructed, each one forming a large continuous patch. After 4 weeks, each landscape was cut on three patches of different sizes. Epifaunal macroinvertebrate communities were sampled at the edge and interior of experimental landscapes before manipulation to evaluate edge effects. After four more weeks, communities from the three patch sizes were also sampled to evaluate patch size effects. We compared the diversity of communities at different levels of fragmentation by total abundance, rarefied taxon richness, Shannon–Wiener diversity index, Simpson’s dominance index, and abundance of dominant taxa. Higher taxon richness and gastropod abundance were recorded in the patch edges, but no significant differences were found among patch sizes. We found a significant effect of habitat fragmentation, with lower abundances of Gammaridea (the dominant taxon), Ophyuroidea, and Pycnogonida after the experimental fragmentation. Lower abundances of dominant taxa resulted in higher diversity and lower dominance in fragmented landscapes when compared to integral, pre-manipulation landscapes. Our results suggest that fragmentation of landscapes in the system studied can reduce dominance, and that even small patch sizes can be important for the conservation of macroinvertebrate diversity.  相似文献   

19.
Forest fragmentation is an increasingly common feature across the globe, but few studies examine its influence on biogeochemical fluxes. We assessed the influence of differences in successional trajectory and stem density with forest patch size on biomass quantity and quality and N transformations in the soil at an experimentally fragmented landscape in Kansas, USA. We measured N-related fluxes in the laboratory, not the field, to separate effects of microclimate and fragment edges from the effects of inherent biomass differences with patch size. We measured net N mineralization and N2O fluxes in soil incubations, gross rates of ammonification and nitrification, and microbial biomass in soils. We also measured root and litterfall biomass, C:N ratios, and δ13C and δ15N signatures; litterfall [cellulose] and [lignin]; and [C], [N], and δ13C and δ15N of soil organic matter. Rates of net N mineralization and N2O fluxes were greater (by 113% and 156%, respectively) in small patches than in large, as were gross rates of nitrification. These differences were associated with greater quantities of root biomass in small patch soil profiles (664.2 ± 233.3 vs 192.4 ± 66.2 g m−2 for the top 15 cm). These roots had greater N concentration than in large patches, likely generating greater root derived organic N pools in small patches. These data suggest greater rates of N cycling in small forested patches compared to large patches, and that gaseous N loss from the ecosystem may be related to forest patch size. The study indicates that the differences in successional trajectory with forest patch size can impart significant influence on soil N transformations in fragmented, aggrading woodlands.  相似文献   

20.
Mathematical morphology encompasses methods for characterizing land-cover patterns in ecological research and biodiversity assessments. This paper reports a neutral model analysis of patterns in the absence of a structuring ecological process, to help set standards for comparing and interpreting patterns identified by mathematical morphology on real land-cover maps. We considered six structural classes (core, perforated, edge, connector, branch, and patch) on randomly generated binary (forest, non-forest) maps in which the percent occupancy (P) of forest varied from 1% to 99%. The maps were dominated by the patch class for low P, by the branch and connector classes for intermediate P, and by the edge, perforated, and core classes for high P. Two types of pattern phase changes were signaled by abrupt transitions among the six structural classes, at critical P thresholds that were indicated by increased variance among maps for the same P. A phase change from maps dominated by the patch class to maps dominated by the branch and connector classes was related to the existence of a percolating cluster of forest, and the P threshold varied depending on the co-existence of the core class. A second phase change from the edge class to the perforated class was related to the existence of a percolating cluster of non-core (including non-forest) and represents a change of context from exterior to interior. Our results appear to be the first demonstration of multiple phase changes controlling different aspects of landscape pattern on random neutral maps. Potential applications of the results are illustrated by an analysis of ten real forest maps. The U.S. Government's right to retain a non-exclusive, royalty-free license in and to any copyright is acknowledged.  相似文献   

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