Je. Lundquist et al., Using landscape metrics to measure suitability of a forested watershed: a case study for old growth, CAN J FORES, 31(10), 2001, pp. 1786-1792
Citations number
32
Categorie Soggetti
Plant Sciences
Journal title
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF FOREST RESEARCH-REVUE CANADIENNE DE RECHERCHE FORESTIERE
Several metrics for spatial heterogeneity based on distribution of stands s
uitable for old growth were calculated for the actual and optimal condition
s of a watershed in the Medicine Bow National Forest in Wyoming. Optimal co
nditions were based on expert opinions. The actual condition was compared w
ith target conditions using a multivariate method called profiling, which d
evelops profiles based on various spatial statistics and examines the simil
arity of these profiles using a multidimensional scaling (MDS) procedure. P
rofiles for various target landscapes clustered together in MDS space, and
this space could be defined and quantified using a kernel density estimator
. The distance from the centroid of the target space to the position of the
actual stand is used as a measure of dissimilarity. By comparing the condi
tion of a given watershed to that of what experts envisioned would be optim
al, we argue that the relative condition of the watershed can be characteri
zed. We make a distinction between stand-scale metrics and landscape-scale
metrics. We propose that this method may be useful in quantifying changes i
n landscape conditions and could be useful as a monitoring method in forest
plans.