Identification and Measurement of Anthropogenic Effects in Landscapes

in Jones, Bruce; Fu, Bojie (Eds.) The 8th World congress of the International Association of Landscape Ecology: Proceedings, Beijing, August 18-23, 2011 (2011, August 20)

As a consequence of anthropogenic pressure, landscapes change; deforestation is a well-known example of this type of human-driven landscape change. Landscapes change 42 from entirely natural to ... [more ▼]

As a consequence of anthropogenic pressure, landscapes change; deforestation is a well-known example of this type of human-driven landscape change. Landscapes change 42 from entirely natural to anthropogenic or cultural, in which landscape composition is marked by land covers and uses directly related to the civil society, such as degraded vegetations, agriculture, urban zones, or road networks. Landscape dynamics can be quantified by landscape pattern analysis. Many landscape metrics are available to capture the different features of pattern change. As a consequence of the pattern/process paradigm, the ecological consequences of the observed dynamics can be linked to ecosystem processes and characteristics, such as biodiversity. By means of a series of case studies linking field observations of fauna and flora with cartographic and demographic data, the importance of pattern analysis and landscape management is underlined, as well as the diversity in types of anthropogenic landscape change. Conclusions are drawn with regard to the ecological impact of landscape change. Guidelines are formulated for the characterization and analysis of anthropogenic effects in landscapes by means of pattern analysis. [less ▲]

Multiscalar analysis of the spatial pattern of forest ecosystems in Central Africa justified by the pattern/process paradigm: two case studies

in Boehm, D A (Ed.) Forestry: research, ecology and policies (2011)