Landscape changes over time: comparison of land uses, boundaries and mosaics

Autor: Maria José Roldan Martin, Pilar Martín de Agar, Carlos López de Pablo
Rok vydání: 2006
Předmět:
Zdroj: Landscape Ecology. 21:1075-1088
ISSN: 1572-9761
0921-2973
DOI: 10.1007/s10980-006-7245-9
Popis: Changes in the landscape from 1946 to 1999 were studied according to changes in the land uses, boundaries and mosaics therein. The abundances of the different categories of these three landscape elements were calculated using land use maps. Their frequency profiles were compared based on their richness, evenness and diversity. Richness of land uses does not noticeably change. However, these slight changes are spatially perceptible in the landscape when changes in the boundaries and mosaics are considered. For the three landscape elements the least diverse landscapes are obtained in the initial year. The highest landscape diversity is reached, however, in the intermediate years when boundaries or mosaics are considered, whereas the highest value based on land uses occurs in the final period studied. Considering that land uses, boundaries and mosaics provide different information on landscape characteristics and qualities, conditional entropy analyses were conducted in order to ascertain which of the types of landscape elements is most related to landscape change. Boundaries are the element most related to landscape change. Mosaics, however, are the element that best describe each of the years because they integrate the information on land uses and boundaries. From an ecological and management point of view, the three elements should be considered as opposed to just land uses. They compliment each other in the information provided by each one in relation to changes occurring and the effects thereof on landscape structure and functioning.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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