Characterizing spatial structure of forest landscapes

Abstract

Forest landscape management is based on the premise that resource flows as well as biodiversity levels and ecosystem processes are determined by the array and spatial arrangement of forest conditions, i.e., spatial structure, and its change over time. This paper points out that a quantitative basis for measuring spatial structure is a prerequisite to implementing forest landscape management. Without such, structural objectives cannot be established nor can the understanding of spatial dynamics necessary to achieve structural objectives be mastered. This paper presents a comprehensive collection of measurements, some old and some new, organized in a hierarchical framework. The framework organizes structural measurements by geographical scale, i.e., landscape and patch, and within these by areal, lineal, and topological categories. The hierarchical framework is offered as a means to simplify interpretation of a rather large and complex set of measurements. Using this framework, the paper presents more than two dozen measurements. In each case, the measurements are discussed in terms of calculation algorithm, interpretation, and timber and (or) wildlife habitat context. The potential use of the measurements for quantifying landscape structure is demonstrated with an example. The paper concludes with a general discussion of the implications of the measurements presented for forest landscape management.