Spatio-temporal analysis for characterizing the landscape of the Biosphere reserve of Menorca (Spain) using remote sensing data

摘要

Optical images from the Biosphere reserve of Menorca (Spain) are processed to analyze the spatial pattern of the landscape and to determine whether the spatial configuration influences its dynamics. Indices of the landscape pattern are calculated todescribe patch shape and interactions among land covers. The descriptors are computed at a patch level: the number and the edge of the patches, and its shape complexity using the fractal dimension; and at a class level: the heterogeneity index, the largest patch index and the probability of adjacency among classes. We use neutral models to compare the results of real landscapes with those generated by simulation. Two kinds of neutral models are performed: random landscapes and landscapes with contagion. Moreover, a Bayesian approach, reveals how the spatial pattern influences the land cover dynamics. We estimate the probability of change from the class i to the class j in a time step, conditioned to the state of its 4 nearest neighbors. This kind of analysis is represented in a three dimensional matrix we termed spatio-temporal matrix. In the case of Menorca, and during the 1984-1992 period, we can conclude that land cover changes are not strictly Markovian, the change of state of a cell is not simply a function of its current state but it is influenced by surrounding cells.