Investigation of landscape patterns of the Mouteh Wildlife Refuge using Geographic Information Systems

摘要

Landscape ecology as a modern interdisciplinary science offers new concepts, theories, and methods for land evaluation and management. One main part of landscape ecology is describing patterns in the landscape and interpreting the ecological effects of these patterns on flora, fauna, flow of energy and materials. Landscape studies require methods to identify and quantify spatial patterns of landscape. Quantification of spatial patterns is essential to understand landscape functions and processes. Landscape indices as diversity and naturalness can provide quantitative information about landscape pattern. Remote sensing and GIS techniques have high ability for landscape researchers to specify map and analyze landscape patterns. In this study the changes in a selected set of indices were investigated, in order to strengthen the management efforts of Mouteh wildlife refuge in Iran. Using different satellite analysis, Land use/ land cover map were produced from satellite data and then the number and size of land cover patches, the degree of naturalness, and the diversity indices were calculated by GIS approaches and compared for a 35 years. The results showed an increasing concern with regards to unplanned human activities. Some improvements of the natural landscape also occurred in the core protected zone of the study area. To sum up, attention to conservation of natural landscape in this area is important in order to repair the natural conditions of habitats.