Landscape Metrics

This lecture covers landscape metrics used in landscape ecology to characterize landscapes based on spatial patterns and ecological processes. It explains the concept of landscape metrics, indices for categorical map patterns, and the analysis of landscape composition and configuration. The lecture delves into the development of landscape metrics algorithms, the differentiation processes they reveal, and the critical values of standard normal distribution. It also discusses the importance of spatial indices, the types of metrics developed, and the challenges faced in quantifying landscape structure. The lecture concludes with a review of relevant process characteristics, data models, and landscape metrics, emphasizing the transition from discrete, categorical variables to surface metrics for continuous variables.