Title: Quantifying forest fragmentation using Geographic Information Systems and Forest Inventory and Analysis plot data

Author: Meneguzzo, Dacia M.; Hansen, Mark H.

Year: 2009

Publication: In: McRoberts, Ronald E.; Reams, Gregory A.; Van Deusen, Paul C.; McWilliams, William H., eds. Proceedings of the eighth annual forest inventory and analysis symposium; 2006 October 16-19; Monterey, CA. Gen. Tech. Report WO-79. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 143-147.

Abstract: Fragmentation metrics provide a means of quantifying and describing forest fragmentation. The most common method of calculating these metrics is through the use of Geographic Information System software to analyze raster data, such as a satellite or aerial image of the study area; however, the spatial resolution of the imagery has a significant impact on the results. Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plot data also provide a way of quantifying fragmentation using measurements collected on the ground. In this study, the relationship between fragmentation metrics (total edge length, edge density, and forest proportion) calculated using FIA plot data and satellite imagery at two different spatial resolutions, 30 m and 250 m, is compared. Results for total edge length and edge density showed that estimates derived from the 30-m data were consistently larger than those from the FIA data, while estimates from the 250-m data were consistently smaller than those from the FIA data. For forest proportion, the percent forest values found using FIA plot data were very similar to those calculated using satellite imagery.