Supplementing land-use statistics with landscape metrics: Some methodological considerations

Landscape monitoring usually relies on land-use statistics which reflect th e share of land-sue/land cover types. In order to understand the functionin g of landscapes, landscape pattern must be considered as well. Indicators w hich address the spatial configuration of landscapes are therefore needed. The suitability of landscape metrics, which are computed from the type, geo metry and arrangement of patches, is examined. Two case studies in a surfac e mining region show that landscape metrics capture landscape structure but are highly dependent on the data model and on the methods of data analysis . For landscape metrics to become part of policy-relevant sets of environme ntal indicators, standardised procedures for their computation from remote sensing images must be developed.