| Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools. |
Spatial modelling of vegetation change in dynamic landscapes: a review of methods and applicationsSchool of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand
SAGES, University of Melbourne, Melbourne 3010, Australia Because of the spatiotemporal scales involved and the logistical constraints in collecting landscape-level data, spatially explicit simulation models have become important tools in ecological and biogeographical studies conducted over broad extents. Here we review the methods used and some of the applications of landscape-level models of succession and disturbance dynamics. Mechanistic and stochastic models are compared and contrasted and the development, over the last 15 years, of spatial landscape models of ecological change is discussed. Coarse-grained spatial landscape models are compared with finer-grained individual-based approaches (eg, forest gap models). Management and monitoring applications of landscape models are considered alongside a discussion of the appropriate use of models in this context. A key area where spatial landscape models of the type described here need to develop is improved integration with the social sciences - both in terms of the parameters and the processes that the models incorporate. Finally issues related to scale and scaling are outlined and, in particular, the utility of methods for linking ecological models operating at disparate scales (eg, forest gap models versus landscape models) is examined.
Key Words: disturbance • fire • forest gap model • individual-based model • landscape ecology • landscape model • scaling • spatial information systems • spatially explicit simulation model • succession model
Progress in Physical Geography, Vol. 30, No. 1,
47-72 (2006) This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
 |
|
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
