Remote Sensing and Geospatial Analysis for Landscape Pattern Characterization - Landscape Ecology for Sustainable Environment and Culture - page 198

Keywords Landscape patterns Remote sensing GIS Data quality Thematic
resolution Spatial scale Ecological processes
11.1 Introduction
Landscape pattern characterization aims to map, quantify, and interpret landscape
spatial patterns, and is therefore critical to address the spatial interaction between
landscape patterns and ecological processes (Turner 2005 ). An increasing number
of indices or metrics have been developed to quantify various landscape aspects
(e.g. McGarigal and Marks 1995 ; McGarigal et al. 2009 ). These metrics can be
derived from categorical maps that are predominately produced through remote
sensing (e.g. Yang and Liu 2005a ; Wang and Yang 2012 ). And various landscape
elements are normally represented as digital maps, and geographic information
systems (GIS) can be used to relate these elements in search of their causal
relationship (e.g. Serneels and Lambin 2001 ; Hietel et al. 2004 ). Furthermore,
spatially explicit modeling techniques can be used to examine the underlying
landscape dynamics being linked with various biophysical and socio-economic
conditions (e.g. Yang and Lo 2003 ; Hepinstall et al. 2008 ; Paudel and Yuan 2011 ).
Although remote sensing, GIS, and spatial analysis have been widely used for
landscape pattern characterization (c.f. Turner and Gardner 1991 ; Steiniger and
Hay 2009 ), there have been some major limitations when landscape ecologists
utilize these techniques in their specific applications. First, with an increasing use
of remote sensing and GIS in landscape ecological studies, many do not address
some key technical issues, such as the potential uncertainty or error relating to
landscape pattern measure, analysis, and modeling. For example, according to a
recent study conducted by Newton et al. ( 2009 ), among 438 research papers
published in the journal Landscape Ecology for the years 2004-2008, more than
one third of these studies explicitly mentioned remote sensing but there was a
frequent lack of important technical details, with approximately three-quarter
failing to provide any assessment of uncertainty or error in image classification and
mapping. Without these critical technical details, the quality and credibility of the
scientific research would be open to question.
On the other hand, landscape ecologists were among the earliest groups who
benefited from the use of remote sensing and geospatial techniques, as attested by
Carl Troll's pioneering work in African savannah landscape analysis through the
use of aerial photographs (Troll 1939 ). However, few scholars in landscape
ecology are fully aware of the latest development in these techniques. For
example, existing landscape ecological studies that incorporated a remote sensing
component have predominately used aerial photographs and Landsat imagery, with
few targeting new types of data acquired in optical and microwave portions of the
electromagnetic spectrum (Cohen and Goward 2004 ; Newton et al. 2009 ).
This chapter will provide an overview on the utilities of remote sensing and GIS
techniques for landscape pattern characterization. While remote sensing allows a