Focal Patch Hurvitz - University of Washington - 2002

Landscape Ecology Analysis
Focal Patch
Hurvitz
University of Washington

1. FocalPatch Extension
Phil Hurvitz 2002
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Phil Hurvitz
Avian Conservation Lab Meeting
8. March. 2002
The FocalPatch Extension

2. FocalPatch Extension
Phil Hurvitz 2002
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Overview
•Landscape Ecology
•Landscape Configuration
•Landscape Ecology Metrics
•Fragstats
•Focal Functions in GIS
•The FocalPatch Extension
•Patch Metrics and Utilization Distributions
•Fragstats Revisited

3. FocalPatch Extension
Phil Hurvitz 2002
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Overview
•Landscape Ecology
•Landscape Configuration
•Landscape Ecology Metrics
•Fragstats
•Focal Functions in GIS
•The FocalPatch Extension
•Patch Metrics and Utilization Distributions
•Fragstats Revisited

4. FocalPatch Extension
Phil Hurvitz 2002
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Landscape Ecology
•Background

Landscape ecology emphasizes the interaction between spatial pattern and
ecological process -- that is, the causes and consequences of spatial
heterogeneity across a range of scales.
  Two important aspects of landscape
ecology distinguish it from other subdisciplines within ecology.
 
First, landscape ecology explicitly addresses the importance of spatial
configuration for ecological processes. 
Not only is landscape ecology
concerned with how much there is of a particular component but also with
how it is arranged.
 
Second, landscape ecology often focuses upon spatial extents that are
much larger than those traditionally studied in ecology. Landscape
ecology offers new concepts, theory and methods that are revealing the
importance of spatial patterning on the dynamics of interacting ecosystems.
http://ravel.zoology.wisc.edu/mgt/ (Monica G. Turner)

5. FocalPatch Extension
Phil Hurvitz 2002
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Landscape Ecology
•Background, continued
•Effect of spatial configuration on ecological
process
•Ecological process across large spatial scale
•GIS must be a central (tool = language =
environment) for investigation of landscape
ecology issues

6. FocalPatch Extension
Phil Hurvitz 2002
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Overview
•Landscape Ecology
•Landscape Configuration
•Landscape Ecology Metrics
•Fragstats
•Focal Functions in GIS
•The FocalPatch Extension
•Patch Metrics and Utilization Distributions
•Fragstats Revisited

7. FocalPatch Extension
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Landscape Configuration
•Varying configurations occur in both
managed and unmanaged areas
east of Seattle
Yakima area
near Hanford
(images from Terraserver)

8. FocalPatch Extension
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Landscape Configuration
•Different configurations can have very
different effects on ecological function
•Movement of plants & animals (enhancement
or inhibition)
•Edge/interior effects, isolation

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Landscape Configuration
•Understanding landscape configuration and
composition is a central problem in
management of ecosystems
•Loss or maintenance of “natural”
(“sustainable”?) ecological functionality
•Configuration and composition affect
ecological processes

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Landscape Configuration
•Varying scale of landscape configuration can
have varying effects on different species
(image from Fragstats manual)

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Overview
•Landscape Ecology
•Landscape Configuration
•Landscape Ecology Metrics
•Fragstats
•Focal Functions in GIS
•The FocalPatch Extension
•Patch Metrics and Utilization Distributions
•Fragstats Revisited

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Landscape Ecology Metrics
•Patterns and differences are immediately
recognized by the eye + brain
•Landscape Ecology Metrics allow these patterns in
space to be described quantitatively

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Landscape Ecology Metrics
•Quantification of patch configuration on the
landscape
•Central quantitative basis for much analysis
& understanding in Landscape Ecology
•Attempt to quantify either individual
patches, classes, or the entire landscape
•Assess continuity, contiguity, or
fragmentation of landscape elements

14. FocalPatch Extension
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Overview
•Landscape Ecology
•Landscape Configuration
•Landscape Ecology Metrics
•Fragstats
•Focal Functions in GIS
•The FocalPatch Extension
•Patch Metrics and Utilization Distributions
•Fragstats Revisited

15. FocalPatch Extension
Phil Hurvitz 2002
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Fragstats
•Developed by Kevin McGarigal & Barbara
Marks, OSU 1994
•Computer program for calculating a number
of patch, class, and landscape ecology
metrics
•Integrated with ESRI GIS
• fragstats.aml from McGarigal & Marks
•ArcView Extension Patch Analyst (Rob
Rempel)

16. FocalPatch Extension
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Fragstats L.E. Metrics: Classes
•Area
•Patch density, patch size & variability
•Edge
•Shape
•Core area
•Nearest neighbor
•Diversity
•Contagion & interspersion

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Fragstats
•Patch metrics
(image from Fragstats manual)

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Fragstats
•Class metrics
(image from Fragstats manual)

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Fragstats
•Landscape metrics
(image from Fragstats manual)

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Fragstats L.E. Metrics: Examples
•Landscape Similarity Index (LSIM)
•For each patch type, LSIM is the proportion
(percentage) of the landscape in that class
•Indicates the relative dominance of each different
class

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Fragstats L.E. Metrics: Examples
•Edge Contrast Index (EDGECON)
•Edge contrast values [0, 1] are specified for each
combination of patch types
•EDGECON is the sum of (patch perimeters * edge
contrast values)
•Indicates a “weighted” perimeter

22. FocalPatch Extension
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Fragstats L.E. Metrics: Examples
•Fractal Dimension
•Indication of the convolution of shape for each
patch
•R: 1 FRACT 2
•Approaches 1 for simple shapes (circle, square)
•Approaches 2 for highly convoluted shapes

23. FocalPatch Extension
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Overview
•Landscape Ecology
•Landscape Configuration
•Landscape Ecology Metrics
•Fragstats
•Focal Functions in GIS
•The FocalPatch Extension
•Patch Metrics and Utilization Distributions
•Fragstats Revisited

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Focal Functions in GIS
•Processing occurs on a central cell in
conjunction with the values associated in its
neighborhood
•“Moving window”
•“Kernel”

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Focal Functions in GIS
•Example of the focal mean function
7.18
6
8) 44 6 16 21 16 22 8 (27



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Focal Functions in GIS
•ArcInfo & ArcView
focal functions
are all “basic”
statistical

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Overview
•Landscape Ecology
•Landscape Configuration
•Landscape Ecology Metrics
•Fragstats
•Focal Functions in GIS
•The FocalPatch Extension
•Patch Metrics and Utilization Distributions
•Fragstats Revisited

28. FocalPatch Extension
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FocalPatch Extension
•Application of focal processing on land
cover grids
•Instead of using ArcInfo focal statistics,
calculates Fragstats Landscape Ecology
metrics on a focal basis

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FocalPatch Extension
•New ArcView 3.x extension

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FocalPatch Extension
•Creates point features

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FocalPatch Extension
•Creates CWED file

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FocalPatch Extension
•Runs on points

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FocalPatch Extension

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FocalPatch Extension
•Output files

35. FocalPatch Extension
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FocalPatch Extension
•On a cell-by-cell basis
•Creates a point feature at the cell center
•Extracts the region in a user-specified radius
around the point
•Calculates landscape metrics for that circle
•Places metrics back into point attribute table

36. FocalPatch Extension
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FocalPatch Extension
•Extract circle from habitat grid at user-
defined radius

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FocalPatch Extension
•Calculate landscape metrics
Rempel’s interface
Rempel’s batch script

38. FocalPatch Extension
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FocalPatch Extension
•Calculates
landscape metrics
•Values represent the
landscape metrics
for the focal region
around the central
cell

39. FocalPatch Extension
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FocalPatch Extension
•Points can be used for interpolation of
surfaces
•Surfaces can represent any of the landscape
metrics

40. FocalPatch Extension
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Overview
•Landscape Ecology
•Landscape Configuration
•Landscape Ecology Metrics
•Fragstats
•Focal Functions in GIS
•The FocalPatch Extension
•Patch Metrics and Utilization Distributions
•Fragstats Revisited

41. FocalPatch Extension
Phil Hurvitz 2002
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Patch Metrics and Utilization Distributions
•Some animal species respond to large
regions of landscapes
•Typical animal-landscape relationships are
explored either by point processes or by
land cover types
•Is there a relationship between landscape
metrics and actual animal usage of
landscape?
•Which landscape characteristics do animals
respond to ?

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Patch Metrics and Utilization Distributions
utilization distribution (UD)
limit processing to UD

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Patch Metrics and Utilization Distributions
contrast-weighted edge surfaceutilization distribution

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Patch Metrics and Utilization Distributions
•Regression techniques will be used to
determine strength of relationship between
utilization and landscape metrics
•Multiple regression
•Raster regression within GRID

45. FocalPatch Extension
Phil Hurvitz 2002
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Overview
•Landscape Ecology
•Landscape Configuration
•Landscape Ecology Metrics
•Fragstats
•Focal Functions in GIS
•The FocalPatch Extension
•Patch Metrics and Utilization Distributions
•Fragstats Revisited

46. FocalPatch Extension
Phil Hurvitz 2002
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Fragstats Revisited
•Version 3 of Fragstats:
“ Analysis Type.–Chose between “standard”
and “moving window”
Moving Window.--If moving window mode
is selected, then FRAGSTATS will conduct
a moving window analysis and output a
separate grid for each metric selected.”

47. FocalPatch Extension
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Fragstats Revisited
•Does Fragstats
v.3 actually
perform moving
window analysis?

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Final Question
•Given that Fragstats v.3 might perform
focal analysis of landscape data, is it worth
it to continue development of an ArcView
3.X interface for focal Fragstats analysis?
•What are the benefits of having this within
the ArcView environment?
•Can this be considered original work?