Spatial pattern analysis for quantification of landscape structure of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve,Central India

Landscape structure is often regarded as an important factor that governs the distribution and abundance of species. Therefore it is critical to understand the landscapes and their dynamics. Patterns of landscape elements strongly influence the ecological characteristics. This study was designed to document and map the current status of the tropi-cal dry deciduous forest of the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve （TATR）, Central India, （using IRS P6 LISS IV data） and to describe its landscape structure at three levels of organization viz. landscape, class, and patch. The study area was classified into 10 land cover classes that include 6 vegetation classes. The landscape structure was analyzed using FRAG-STATS using 12 set of indices. The TATR landscapes have a total of 2,307 patches with a mean patch size of 25.67 ha and patch density of 1.7 patches per km2. Amongst all land cover classes, mixed bamboo forest is dominant-it occupied maximum area （77.99%）-while riparian forest is least represented （0.32%）. Mixed forest has maximum number of patches among all vegetation classes. Results have shown that despite being dominant in the area, mixed bamboo forest has low patch density （0.25/100 ha）. Dominance of mixed bamboo forest is attributed to large patch sizes and not to the number of patches. This study has focussed on the approach of integrating satellite forest classification and forest inven-tory data for studying forest landscape patterns.

A township-level assessment of forest fragmentation using morphological spatial pattern analysis in Qujing,Yunnan Province,China

Forest fragmentation is an integral part of global change.Understanding forest fragmentation patterns and dynamics are of great significance for maintaining ecosystem stability.There are great differences in the interference of natural and human factors on forests in different towns of mountainous cities,and the characteristics of forest fragmentation are also obviously different.Forest fragmentation has been broadly studied,yet,it remains poorly understood at the township-scale within mountainous cities.In this study,the spatial form of forest landscape and forest fragmentation modes of towns were examined in Qujing City,Yunnan Province,China for the years of 2006 and 2016,relying heavily on the morphological spatial pattern analysis(MSPA)and K-means clustering algorithm.Results in 2016 showed that the forest landscape morphology of Qujing could be divided into seven classes:core,perforation,islet,bridge,edge,branch and ring;with landscape areas of 41.94%,1.22%,7.04%,11.12%,23.26%,11.74%and 3.68%respectively.Compared with 2006,the changes of landscape area were 1.71%,0.02%,0.30%,1.65%,0.20%,0.19%and 0.05%respectively.The townships in Qujing varied significantly in their landscape fragmentation patterns,and these patterns were spatially dependent.Different forest landscape forms have positive spatial correlations and differences.The forest fragmentation modes of towns can be divided into four types:Low anthropogenic towns,high anthropogenic towns,complex terrain towns and gentle terrain towns.Different ways of human activities play a decisive role in forest landscape fragmentation.The expansion of construction land and agricultural land intensifies forest fragmentation;however,man-made orderly and planned ecological restoration will greatly improve the forest coverage and improve the spatial form of urban forest landscape.

Optimizing Spatial Pattern Analysis in Serial Remote Sensing Images through Empirical Mode Decomposition and Ant Colony Optimization

Serial remote sensing images offer a valuable means of tracking the evolutionary changes and growth of a specific geographical area over time.Although the original images may provide limited insights,they harbor considerable potential for identifying clusters and patterns.The aggregation of these serial remote sensing images(SRSI)becomes increasingly viable as distinct patterns emerge in diverse scenarios,such as suburbanization,the expansion of native flora,and agricultural activities.In a novel approach,we propose an innovative method for extracting sequential patterns by combining Ant Colony Optimization(ACD)and Empirical Mode Decomposition(EMD).This integration of the newly developed EMD and ACO techniques proves remarkably effective in identifying the most significant characteristic features within serial remote sensing images,guided by specific criteria.Our findings highlight a substantial improvement in the efficiency of sequential pattern mining through the application of this unique hybrid method,seamlessly integrating EMD and ACO for feature selection.This study exposes the potential of our innovative methodology,particularly in the realms of urbanization,native vegetation expansion,and agricultural activities.

Spatial patterns of Picea crassifolia driven by environmental heterogeneity and intraspecifi c interactions

Research on the spatial patterns of tree populations is critical for understanding the structure and dynamic processes of forests.However,little is known about how the underlying drivers shape these patterns and species interactions in forest systems.In this study,spatial point pattern analysis investigated the combined eff ects of intraspecifi c interactions and environmental heterogeneity on the spatial structure and internal maintenance mechanisms of Picea crassifolia in the Qilian Mountain National Nature Reserve,China.Data were obtained from a 10.2-ha dynamic monitoring plot(DMP)and sixteen 0.04-ha elevation gradient plots(EGPs).Under complete spatial randomness,both mature trees and saplings in the DMP demonstratedlarge-scale aggregation with negative correlations.In EGPs,saplings were clustered in small mesoscales,mature trees were randomly distributed,and the interactions of saplingstrees at all elevations were not correlated.By eliminating the interference of environmental heterogeneity through the inhomogeneous Poisson process,saplings in the DMP and EGPs were clustered in small scales and trees randomly distributed.Intraspecifi c associations were negatively correlated,in the DMP and at low elevations,and no correlations in high elevations of EGPs.In the vertical scale,saplings showed a small-scale aggregation pattern with increase in elevation,and the aggregation degree fi rst decreased and then increased.The interactions of saplings-trees and saplings–saplings showed inhibitions at small scales,with the degree of inhibition gradually decreasing.Spatial patterns and associations of adults–adults did not change signifi-cantly.The results revealed that intraspecifi c interactions and environmental heterogeneity regulated the spatial patterns of P.crassifolia at small and large scales,respectively.Environmental heterogeneity might be the most decisive factor aff ecting the spatial patterns of saplings,while trees were more aff ected by intraspecifi c interactions.Moreover,competition between trees in this area could be more common than facilitation for the growth and development of individuals.

Spatial distributions of tropical tree species in northern Vietnam under environmentally variable site conditions

Ecological interactions of species and thus their spatial pat- terns may differ between homogeneous and heterogeneous forests. To account for this, techniques of point pattern analysis were implemented on mapped locations of tree individuals from two 1-ha tropicalforest plots in Vietnam. We analyzed the effect of environmental heterogeneity on tree distributions; spatial distribution patterns of dominant species; inter-specific associations; and conspecific associations between life stages. Our analyses showed that： environmental conditions were homo- geneous at plot 1 but heterogeneous at plot 2; in both plots, all six domi- nant species were aggregated at various scales up to 30 m, and tree spe- cies were aggregated at larger scales in the homogeneous site than in the heterogeneous site; attraction between pairs of species was remarkably higher at the homogeneous site while negative associations were more frequent in the heterogeneous site; some species, H. kurzii, T. ilicifolia （homogeneous plot） and D. sylvatica, S. wightianum （heterogeneous plot） showed a lack of early life-stage individuals near conspecific adults. Moreover, additional clustering of young individuals was independent from conspecific adults, except D. sylvatica in both sites. These findings are consistent with the Janzen-ConneU hypothesis. Overall, habitat het- erogeneity influences spatial patterns and inter-specific associations of the tree species and evidences of self-thinning are shown in most species.

Exploring the spatiotemporal relationship between green infrastructure and urban heat island under multi‐source remote sensing imagery:A case study of Fuzhou City

Green Infrastructure(GI)has garnered increasing attention from various regions due to its potential to mitigate urban heat island(UHI),which has been exacerbated by global climate change.This study focuses on the central area of Fuzhou city,one of the“furnace”cities,and aims to explore the correlation between the GI pattern and land surface temperature(LST)in the spring and autumn seasons.The research adopts a multiscale approach,starting from the urban scale and using urban geographic spatial characteristics,multispectral remote sensing data,and morphological spatial pattern analysis(MSPA).Significant MSPA elements were tested and combined with LST to conduct a geographic weighted regression(GWR)experiment.The findings reveal that the UHI in the central area of Fuzhou city has a spatial characteristic of“high temperature in the middle and low temperature around,”which is coupled with a“central scattered and peripheral concentrated”distribution of GI.This suggests that remote sensing data can effectively be utilised for UHI inversion.Additionally,the study finds that the complexity of GI,whether from the perspective of the overall GI pattern or the classification study based on the proportion of the core area,has an impact on the alleviation of UHI in both seasons.In conclusion,this study underscores the importance of a reasonable layout of urban green infrastructure for mitigating UHI.

Changes in forest structure, species diversity and spatial pattern following hurricane disturbance in a Piedmont North Carolina forest, USA

Aims Large hurricanes have profound impacts on temperate forests,but owing to their infrequent nature these effects have rarely been examined in detail.In 1996,Hurricane Fran significantly damaged many long-term tree census plots in the Duke Forest on the North Carolina Piedmont,thereby providing an exceptional opportunity to examine pre-and post-hurricane forest compositional trajectories.Our goal was to examine immediate,short-term(0–4 years)and longer term(;5 year)hurricane-induced structural,spatial and compositional changes in the tree population(stem d.b.h>1 cm)in the context of our detailed,long-term knowledge of the dynamics of these forests.Methods We surveyed stem damage and tree mortality in 34 long-term permanent plots(ca.70-year record;404–1012 m^(2))and 7 large mapped tree stands(ca.20-year record;5250–65000 m^(2))representing both transition-phase,even-aged pine stands and uneven-aged upland hardwood forests.We employed three types of damage measures to quantify stand-level damage severity:percentage of stems damaged,percentage of basal area lost and a‘stand-level damage index’.Second-order spatial analysis(Ripley’s K-function)was used to investigate patterns in tree mortality.Important findings Our study found hurricane effects on the structural attributes of Piedmont forests to be variable and patchy.Changes in tree species composition,however,were modest.Uprooting was the major damage type for the overstory trees[diameter at breast height(d.b.h.)>10 cm]apparently due to the exposure of the crowns to high wind combined with heavy rainfall prior to and during the storm.Saplings,juvenile trees and small trees(1–10 cm d.b.h.)of the understory and midstory were mainly damaged by being pinned or bent by their damaged large neighbors.Hurricane-induced tree mortality varied weakly among species,was positively correlated with pre-hurricane tree size and remained up to 2-fold higher than pre-hurricane background mortality 5 years after the hurricane.Spatial point pattern analysis revealed a patchy distribution of tree mortality during the hurricane sampling interval.Hurricane Fran resulted in a dramatic increase in average gap size from ca.400 m^(2) pre-hurricane to ca 1100 m^(2) after the hurricane,whereas maximum gap sizes reached 18–34 times larger than the pre-hurricane levels.