Development of a location-weighted landscape contrast index based on the minimum hydrological response unit

The changing patterns of watersheds in a landscape, driven by human activities, play an important role in non-point source pollution processes. This paper aims to improve the location-weighted landscape contrast index using remote sensing and GIS technology to account for the effects of scale and ecological processes. The hydrological response unit(HRU) with a single land use and soil type was used as the smallest unit. The relationship between the landscape index and typical ecological processes was established by describing the influence of the landscape pattern on non-point source pollution. To verify the research method, this paper used the Yanshi River basin as a study area. The results showed that the relative intensity of non-point source pollution in different regions of the watershed and the location-weighted landscape contrast index based on the minimum HRU can qualitatively reflect the risk of regional nutrient loss.

Spatio-temporal evolution analysis of landscape pattern and habitat quality in the Qinghai Province section of the Yellow River Basin from 2000 to 2022 based on InVEST model

Habitat quality is an important indicator for evaluating the quality of ecosystem.The Qinghai Province section of the Yellow River Basin plays an important role in the ecological protection of the upper reaches of the Yellow River Basin.To comprehensively analysis the alterations of habitat quality in the Qinghai Province section of the Yellow River Basin,this study utilized the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs(InVEST)model to calculate the habitat quality index and analyze the spatio-temporal variation characteristics of habitat quality in the study area from 2000 to 2022,and calculated seven landscape pattern indices(number of patches,patch density,largest patch index(LPI),landscape shape index(LSI),contagion index(CONTAG),Shannon diversity index,and Shannon evenness index)to research the variation of landscape pattern in the study area.The results showed that the number of patches,patch density,LPI,LSI,Shannon diversity index,and Shannon evenness index increased from 2000 to 2022,while the CONTAG decreased,indicating that the landscape pattern in the Qinghai Province section of the Yellow River Basin changed in the direction of distribution fragmentation,shape complexity,and heterogeneity.The average value of the habitat quality index in the Qinghai Province section of the Yellow River Basin from 2000 to 2022 was 0.90.Based on the value of habitat quality index,we divided the level of habitat quality into five categories:lower(0.00-0.20),low(0.20-0.40),moderate(0.40-0.60),high(0.60-0.80),and higher(0.80-1.00).Most areas were at the higher habitat quality level.The lower habitat quality patches were mainly distributed in Longyang Gorge and Yellow River-Huangshui River Valley.From 2000 to 2022,the habitat quality in most areas was stable;the increase areas were mainly distributed in Guinan County,while the decrease areas were mainly distributed in Xining City,Maqen County,Xinghai County,Qumarleb County,and Darlag County.To show the extent of habitat quality variation,we calculated Sen index.The results showed that the higher habitat quality area had a decrease trending,while other categories had an increasing tendency,and the decreasing was faster than increasing.The research results provide scientific guidance for promoting ecological protection and high-quality development in the Qinghai Province section of the Yellow River Basin.

Spatio-temporal Evolution and Optimization of Landscape Ecological Risk in Karst Mountainous Areas

[Objective]The ecological vulnerability and landscape ecological risk of karst mountainous areas have increased as a result of enhanced disturbance of natural resources by human activities.This paper aimed to explore the characteristics of ecological risk evolution under different landscape patterns in the region,with a view to providing reference for land classification protection,sustainable use of resources and regional ecological risk optimization in karst mountainous areas.[Method]Taking Huangping County,a typical karst mountainous area,as an example,eight evaluation factors of natural and landscape patterns were selected to construct a landscape ecological risk evaluation model,to quantitatively explore the spatio-temporal evolution of landscape ecological risk and the trend of risk level transfer in the study area from^(2)010-2018,and to reveal the complex relationship between ecological risk and topography in karst mountainous areas.[Result]①From 2010 to 2018,land use types changed to different degrees,with the most amount of woodland transferred out(1627.37 hm^(2))and the most amount of construction land transferred in(1303.93 hm^(2));a total of 3552.31 hm^(2) of land was transferred,with a change ratio of 2.13%,and there was a significant conversion between construction land,arable land,and woodland.②From 2010 to 2018,the landscape ecological risk in the study area changed significantly,and the landscape ecological risk index decreased from 0.3441 to 0.1733,showing an upward and then downward trend;the landscape ecological risk of the whole region was dominated by low-risk and lower-risk zones,and the ecological risk level generally shifted from a high level to a low level,and the ecological environment was improved.③There was a negative correlation between ecological risk and topographic position,and high-risk zones were mainly distributed among low topographic zones;with the change of time,the advantage of risk level for the selection of topography was gradually weakened,and the influence of anthropogenic factors on the ecological risk of the landscape was becoming more and more prominent.[Conclusion]This paper can provide theoretical basis for land use optimization and ecological protection in karst mountainous areas.

Development of a New Index for Integrating Landscape Patterns with Ecological Processes at Watershed Scale

Understanding the relationship between landscape pattems and ecological processes has been a central yet challenging research theme in landscape ecology. Over the past decades, many landscape metrics have been proposed but few directly incorporated ecological processes. In this paper, we developed a landscape index, namely, location-weighted landscape index （LWLI） to highlight the role of landscape type in ecological processes, such as nutrient losses and soil erosion. Within the framework of the Lorenz curve theory, we develop this index by integrating land- scape pattern and point-based measurements at a watershed scale. The index can be used to characterize the contribution of landscape pattern to ecological processes （e.g. nutrient losses） with respect to a specific monitoring point in a watershed. Through a case study on nutrient losses in an agricultural area in northeastern China, we found that nutrient losses tended to be higher for a watershed with a higher LWLI value, and vice versa. It implied that LWLI can be used to evaluate the potential risk of nutrient losses or soil erosion by comparing their values across watersheds. In addition, this index can be extended to characterize ecological processes, such as the effect of landscape pattern on wildlife inhabitation and urban heat island effect. Finally, we discuss several problems that should be paid attention to when applying this index to a heterogeneous landscape site.

Land Use Changes along Rail Traffic Routes in Wuhan City Based on Landscape Indexes

Based on analyzing the remote sensing images of Wuhan City in 1998,2002 and 2008,information about the land use changes along rail traffic routes before and after the construction of these routes are extracted,and 9 landscape indexes are applied to quantitatively study the change trend of its land use pattern.The results show that the construction of rail traffic routes has brought enormous changes to the land use pattern along the routes,say,built-up area has become the dominant type which has been rapidly concentrating into patches;the amounts of small patches,such as grass land,have gradually declined and shown an imbalanced distribution.

Proposal of Landscape Space Transfer Index and Changes of Landscape Area Based on Transfer Matrix——With Yutian County in Xinjiang as a Study Case

The most significant changes of landscape in a certain period are landscape area changes and spatial changes of landscape patches.Based on transfer matrix and total amount change of landscape area,landscape space transfer index and landscape area change index were established,and then applied to analyze plain oasis and desert in Yutian County,Xinjiang Uyghur Nationality Autonomous Region,the results showed that landscape space transfer in this region was drastic,but total landscape area changed only slightly,thus space transfer index was much higher than area change index,which indicated that landscapes in arid area were given with particular spatial undulant features and sensitivity,while man-made landscapes(artificial oasis) are stable and expanding to some extent.With landscape space transfer index as the comprehensive indicator,space transfer intensity of landscape within a certain period can be demonstrated,which is favorable for the comparison of landscape change intensity among different types and within different periods,in addition,some macroscopic change features of landscapes can also be reflected by comprehensively analyzing landscape space transfer index and landscape area change index.

Changes of Wetland Landscape Pattern Indexes in the Middle Reaches of the Huaihe Valley in China

Relief map of the middle reaches of the Huaihe Valley in 1950s, remote sensing images of 1980 and 2000 are utilized to abstract and interpret land use maps of the study area in different periods and also the distribution map of different wetland types on the basis of secondary classification of wetland. Landscape index analysis is applied to analyze and evaluate ecological changes of wetland landscapes in the middle reaches of the Huaihe Valley. The analysis results show that landscape pattern indexes change greatly from 1950s to 1980, but change slightly since 1980. Such a trend demonstrates that wetland landscapes in the study area change from "diversified and complicate" to "unitary and fragmented", wetland system has drastically-reducing components, a great number of transitional zones become extinct, connectivity and heterogeneity of wetland landscapes are largely reduced, integrity and balance of wetland system is broken, as a result, ecological service functions of wetland degrade or cannot be fully utilized.

Program Development and Implementation of Landscape Pattern Indexes for Land Use Based on RS

Interpretation results of RS images were taken as the foundation, ETM RS images of July 15, 2009 as the data source, ENVI was applied for the preprocessing, Arc GIS used to finish the interpretation, master data obtained, and VB used to complete program development. 12 representative landscape pattern indexes were selected, Excel data used to create Access database, and VB used to complete the program development. Selection of landscape pattern indexes, program development process and program usage were summarized, through comparing its results with Excel calculation results, it was found that calculation results of this program were correct, the usage was convenient, so needs of most users could be satisfied.

Simulation of leaf area index and biomass at landscape scale

The method for simulating the temporal and spatial distribution patterns of leaf area index (LAI) and biomass at landscape scale using remote sensing images and surface data was discussed in this paper. The procedure was: (1) annual maximum normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) over the landscape was calculated from TM images; (2) the relationship model between NDVI and LAI was built and annual maximum LAI over the landscape was simulated; (3) the relationship models between LAI and biomass were built and annual branch, stem, root and maximum leaf biomass over the landscape were simulated; (4) spatial distribution patterns of leaf biomass and LAI in different periods all the year round were obtained. The simulation was based on spatial analysis module GRID in ArcInfo software. The method is also a kind of scaling method from patch scale to landscape scale. A case study of Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve was dissertated. Analysis and primary validation were carried out to the simulated LAI and biomass for the major vegetation types in the Changbai Mountain in 1995.

Development of a landscape index to link landscape pattern to runoff and sediment

Linking landscape indexes to ecological processes is the key topic of landscape ecology.However,traditional landscape metrics based on the Patch-Mosaic Model have no ecological significance.In this study,the runoff-sediment landscape index coupling land use,topography,soil,and vegetation factors was constructed to link landscape patterns to runoff and sediment.In the study area,the runoffsediment landscape index at the class scale showed an increasing trend from 0.10 in 1995 to 0.26 in 2015.Cropland had a higher runoff-sediment landscape index compared to grassland or forestland.At the landscape scale,the runoff-sediment landscape index showed a decreasing trend since 1995;furthermore,it decreased by 36.24%in 2015 compared with the index in 1990.The runoff-sediment landscape index had higher correlations with runoff and sediment compared with traditional landscape metrics.Redundancy analysis showed that the runoffsediment landscape index had a higher contribution to runoff and sediment compared to traditional landscape metrics,explaining 90.1%of the variability.The soil erosion risk assessed by the runoff-sediment landscape index showed an increasing trend upstream of the Dali River watershed.More attention should be paid to this area in future vegetation restoration attempts,as exploring the impact of landscape pattern changes on ecological processes,especially hydrological processes,plays an important role in comprehensive watershed management.

An enhanced landscape aggregation index

The aggregation index (AI) is a classical ecology calculation method, which has been widely used for measuring the aggregation level of spatial patterns within a landscape scale in landscape ecological studies. However, it has certain limitions. For instance, identical results can be obtained by AI even when the shape and number of landscape patches are totally different in two landscape units. Furthermore, the value of AI approaches to 1 if the landscape patch is large enough. To solve these problems, a logical limitation of the original AI equation was revised firstly. Secondly, an improved AI-J was developed based on the awareness of the effects of spatial distribution characteristics of patches and changing spatial scale on AI operation. Finally, the accuracy of AI and AI-J results were evaluated through a case study of city green patches in Chengdu, P. R. China. The results show that the calculated result of AI-J is more precise than that of AI and AI-J can be used to compare a certain landscape class under different spatial scales.

Study on Urban Quality Assessment Index System of Waterfront Landscapes

Urban waterfront space as an essential part of urban landscape belt refl ects unique city images and cultures, and it is an important region for urban leisure activities. With the promotion of new urbanization, population explosion has had new requirements on existing waterfront landscape spaces. Accurate assessment of the quality of waterfront landscaping scheme is the premise and basis of building high-quality landscapes. This paper, on the basis of landscape trialism, landscape assessment standards from the perspectives of landscape environment, landscape aesthetics, and landscape function, elaborated the relationship among the three aspects, proposed the basic framework for the quality assessment of urban waterfront landscapes, and refi ned the control factors, summarized the specific assessment factors, in order to establish an index system fit for the quality asssessment of urban waterfront landscapes, and provide references for urban waterfront landscaping in China.

Study on Landscape Pattern Index-based Connectivity Analysis of the Primary Farmland Protection Zones

Farmland and primary farmland protection are important contents of land management and land use planning of China. In the new round of land use planning and database construction, primary farmland protection zones are required to have high integrity and connectivity. Using landscape pattern indexes, the integrity and connectivity of primary farmland protection zones was studied in Licheng District of Jinan City. The results showed that, except patch area standard deviation, the other indexes including average patch area, patch area variation coefficient, patch edge density, largest patch index, and mean euclidean nearest-neighbor, all indicate high connectivity of primary farmland protection zones after layout adjustment. A simple and convenient method for identifying the integrity and connectivity of primary farmland protection zones was supplied.

The Construction of Tiankeng Landscape Evaluation Model and the Index System

Based on researches done by other scholars,this paper summarized tiankeng's landscape characteristics and analyzed them.By referring to the methods and standards of tourism resources evaluation,tiankeng landscape evaluation model has been built.The evaluation index system was built in terms of the model and tiankeng's characters.After the evaluating factors and index were established,the weights of them have been figured out by AHP method.For the first time tiankeng has been studied from the view of landscape.However,this primary study about tiankeng landscape evaluation will offer reference for its tourism development and protection.It also lays the foundation for the construction of a better system.

Study on the Vegetation Landscape Pattern of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province

This study aimed to provide theoretical bases for optimized land use in minority settlements at high altitude. On the basis of forest form map and land use type map (1∶250 000) of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province in 2007, this study carried out further analysis and assessment on the landscape pattern and fragmentation degree of Ganzi from the perspective of overall landscape characteristics, area and perimeter of patches, quantity and fractal dimension of patches and so on with the support of geo-info systematical software ArcCIS and landscape structure analysis software Fragstats. The results showed that among all landscape elements alpine meadow and evergreen broad-leaved shrubs take up a larger part as temperate and cool temperate grassland and marsh are scattered with small areas; deciduous and broad-leaved as well as their mixed forest have higher landscape fragmentation degree, on the whole, the fragmentation degree of forest type is higher than that of meadow and shrub; fractal dimensions of landscape components are all small and tend to 1, which indicates that the folded degree of all landscape boundaries are small.

Analysis of Changing Landscape Pattern in Baiyangdian before and after Ecological Water Supplement Project Based on RS and GIS

By using TM remote sensing images of Baiyangdian Wetland in 1989,1999,2003 and 2004,taking the water area between Anxin County and Cangzhou where most of Baiyangdian Wetland water body lies for landscape classification,changes in landscape pattern of Baiyangdian before and after the water supplement were analyzed with landscape indexes calculated by Fragstats3.3. The results showed that after the water supplement,from the perspective of landscape cell index,fractal dimension of major ecosystems in Baiyangdian decreased to some extent;from the perspective of landscape diversity index,diversity index of the study region also decreased,which demonstrated that ecosystem diversity in this region reduced,land cover grew to simplification;and the decreasing evenness degree of the study region also showed the uneven development of its ecosystems. That is to say,water supplement has brought favorable ecological changes to the eco-environment of Baiyangdian,which has further optimized the health condition of ecosystems in this region.

Spatial connectivity and distribution of landscape type in the natural secondary forests of eastern mountainous region,northeast China——a case study of Mao'ershan region in Heilongjiang Province

Mao'ershan region is representative in the natural secondary forested region of the eastern mountainous region, northeast China. The landscape nearest neighbor index and landscape connectivity index were calculated with ARC/INFO software for Mao'ershan region. The spatial distribution of the landscape of the region was analyzed. The results showed that the landscape connectivity index of non-woodland was significantly higher than that of woodland. The landscape connectivity index of natural forest was nearly equal to zero, which means its fragmentation degree is high. The nearest neighbor index of plantation was lower than that of natural forest and non-forestland. Among the man-made forests, the distance index of the coniferous mixed plantation is the lowest, and its pattern is nearly glomeration. The landscape pattern of natural forest presented nearly random distribution. Among non-forest land, the distance index of cut blank was the lowest, and its pattern was also nearly glomeration. Keywords Landscape type - Landscape pattern - Nearest neighbor index - Landscape connectivity index - Natural secondary forest - Northeast China CLC number S759.92 Document code A Foundation item: This paper was supported by the Key Project of State Department of Science Technology (2002BA515B040).Biography: LI SHu-juan (1977), female. Lecture in Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, P. R. China.Responsible editor: Zhu Hong

Landscape pattern and diversity of natural secondary forests in the eastern mountainous region, northeast China:A case study of Mao'ershan region in Heilongjiang Province

Mao抏rshan region is a representative natural secondary forested region in the eastern mountainous region, north-east of China. Under the support of ARC/INFO, the landscape pattern and landscape diversity of Maoerhshan region were studied by combining the forest type map (1:10000), which was drawn from the aerial photographs (1999), field investigation and land utilization map (1:10000). The selected indices included patch number, patch size, patch density index, richness index, dominance index, evenness index and diversity index. The results showed that the landscape dominant forest type in Mao抏rshan region was softwood broad-leaved forest. In all landscape types, the average patch area of natural secondary for-ests was bigger than that of artificial forest. The patch density index of each landscape formed in artificial forest was higher than that of natural secondary forest. The landscape diversity index and landscape evenness index of natural forest were highest, the landscape heterogeneity was also, but the landscape dominance was lower. In natural forest, the control effects of landscape elements on landscape-structure, function and its change were weakened. The artificial forest was on the contrary.

Investigation of the Species Diversity of Urban Landscape Plant Communities in Maanshan City of Anhui Province

Landscape plant communities from various kinds of green spaces in Maanshan City are investigated,and totally 290 species of vascular plants are found(including varieties) which respectively belong to 198 genera and 95 families.The dominant species in each plant community,species richness,species diversity and community dissimilarity are analyzed,and the results show that ① The component of dominant species in the green spaces of scenic areas is obviously different from that in other three green spaces;the importance values of 10 dominant species in the green spaces of roads and scenic areas take a higher ratio,respectively 75.56% and 64.95% of the total,while those in the green spaces of parks and courtyards take a lower ratio,47.56% and 49.79% respectively.② Species diversities of different green spaces also vary greatly,among which the Simpson and Shannon-Wiener indexes of the shrub layer in scenic areas are the highest,0.91 and 2.55 respectively,and the species diversities of all green spaces follow the sequence of scenic areas > parks > courtyards > roads;species diversity negatively correlates with disturbance degree and is directly influenced by plant furnishing and community construction.③ The dissimilarity coefficient between plant species in the green spaces of scenic areas and others is high,among which that of its shrub-layer species is the highest.

Quantitative Analysis of Land Use Landscape Pattern in Shihezi Desert Oasis

Based on the land use status map of Shihezi City,the land use landscape map of Shihezi City was made with the support of GIS then many landscape indices were selected to quantitatively analyze the landscape pattern characteristics of Shihezi Oasis from three aspects of landscape diversity index,landscape space configuration index and plaque characteristics index. The results showed that the main plaque types of the landscape in Shihezi reclamation area are arable land and water areas,which totally account for 58% of the total area; farmland,gardens,woodland,urban sites,industrial and mining land use were embedded in this oasis landscape in the form of mosaics,and their fractal index was high due to the strong impact of human activities; arable land and mining land distribution was scattered,but marshes and other uncultivated land were relatively concentrated. The dominance degree of the landscape was low because there was no advantageous type in this landscape and all patches distributed equably which was easily to be disturbed so that the whole landscape was unstable. Comprehensively speaking,the landscape in Shihezi region was rather complicate,and its diversity index,fragmentation degree and heterogeneity were high.