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Mapping landscape ecological patterns using numeric and categorical maps
1United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States of America.
Plos One
|November 15, 2023
Summary
GraySpatCon is an open-source tool that calculates landscape pattern metrics from categorical or numeric maps. It supports both patch-corridor-matrix and landscape gradient models, offering an advantage in computational efficiency.
Area of Science:
- Landscape Ecology
- Spatial Analysis
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Background:
- Landscape ecology traditionally uses categorical maps and the patch-corridor-matrix model.
- Numeric landscape features and the landscape gradient model receive less attention.
- A need exists for tools that integrate both models and data types.
Purpose of the Study:
- Introduce GraySpatCon, an open-source tool for calculating landscape pattern metrics.
- Enable analysis of both categorical and numeric raster maps.
- Support both patch-corridor-matrix and landscape gradient conceptual models.
Main Methods:
- GraySpatCon calculates 51 landscape pattern metrics from pixel value frequencies and adjacencies.
- The tool supports moving window analysis for continuous maps and global analysis for single values.
- Implementation in GuidosToolbox and R desktop environments is described.
Main Results:
- GraySpatCon effectively calculates a variety of landscape pattern metrics from diverse map types.
- Moving window analysis can identify scale domains, as demonstrated with percent tree cover data.
- GraySpatCon shows a substantial computational efficiency advantage over related R software.
Conclusions:
- GraySpatCon provides a versatile and efficient solution for landscape pattern analysis.
- The tool facilitates the integration of categorical and numeric data in landscape ecology.
- GraySpatCon enhances the exploration of landscape patterns across different scales and models.
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