Measuring Landscapes: A Planner's Handbook

272 Pages·2006·5.09 MB·English

by  Andre Botequilha Leitao

Paper Back cover.
bleed
Trim
PLANNING / ENVIRONMENT
“Lack of planning generally leads to unsuitable spaces, such as fishing spots that L MEASURING
become polluted, building sites that flood, and wildlife reserves cut off by busy high- e
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t
ways. But a completely designed place seems sterile, controlled, boring. Measuring ã
o
Landscapesreveals a rich array of insights and an important big-picture perspective.

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Planners and ecologists, and indeed all who think about changing the land, will be
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enriched by the exploration ahead.”
il LANDSCAPES
—from the foreword by Richard T.T. Forman, Professor, Department of l
e
Landscape Architecture, Harvard University r

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A
Measuring Landscapesintroduces a powerful set of concepts and tools, known as h
landscape metrics, for making conservation and development decisions. These metrics e
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include: n

• A Planner’s
• patch richness

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• class area proportion
c
• mean patch size G
Handbook
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• radius of gyration
r
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• contagion g
a
• edge contrast l
• proximity
among others. Taken together, they measure a landscape’s structure, form, and change
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over time, and bring solid scientific data to land use decisions. Measuring Landscapes
thus serves to bridge the gap between scientists who study the health of landscapes E
and the planners and conservationists working to create livable places and environ-
A
mentally sound habitats.
S
AAnnddrréé BBootteeqquuiillhhaa LLeeiittããoo U
is an Assistant Professor of Landscape Planning at the
Faculty of Engineering and Natural Resources (FERN), University of Algarve, Faro, R
Portugal. I
N
JJoosseepphh MMiilllleerr is in private practice as a landscape architect and ecologist with The G
Faux Group in Annapolis, Maryland, USA.

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JJaacckk AAhheerrnnis Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Massachusetts
A
Amherst.
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KKeevviinn MMccGGaarriiggaallis Associate Professor of Landscape Ecology at the University of D
Massachusetts Amherst. S
C
Cover design by Maureen Gately A
Cover illustration by Lisa V. Leombruni
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E
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Washington • Covelo • London André Botequila Leitão, Joseph Miller,
www.islandpress.org
All Island Press books are printed Jack Ahern, and Kevin McGarigal
on recycled, acid-free paper.

About Island Press
Island Press is the only nonprofit organization in the United States whose
principal purpose is the publication of books on environmental issues and
natural resource management. We provide solutions-oriented informa-
tion to professionals, public officials, business and community leaders,
and concerned citizens who are shaping responses to environmental
problems.
In 2006, Island Press celebrates its twenty-second anniversary as the
leading provider of timely and practical books that take a multidiscipli-
nary approach to critical environmental concerns. Our growing list of
titles reflects our commitment to bringing the best of an expanding body
of literature to the environmental community throughout North America
and the world.
Support for Island Press is provided by the Agua Fund, The Geraldine
R. Dodge Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The William
and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Kendeda Sustainability Fund of the Tides
Foundation, Forrest C. Lattner Foundation, The Henry Luce Founda-
tion, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Marisla
Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Gordon and Betty
Moore Foundation, The Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation, Oak
Foundation, The Overbrook Foundation, The David and Lucile Packard
Foundation, The Winslow Foundation, and other generous donors.
The opinions expressed in this book are those of the author(s) and do
not necessarily reflect the views of these foundations.
ME ASURING
LANDSCAPES

ME ASURING
LANDSCAPES
A Planner’s Handbook
André Botequilha Leitão, Joseph Miller,
Jack Ahern, and Kevin McGarigal
Washington • Covelo • London
Copyright © 2006 Island Press
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without
permission in writing from the publisher: Island Press, 1718 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.,
Suite 300, Washington, DC 20009.
ISLANDPRESSis a trademark of The Center for Resource Economics.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data.
Measuring landscapes : a planner's handbook / André Botequilha Leitão ... [et al.].
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-55963-899-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Landscape ecology. 2. Land use—Planning. 3. Sustainable development.
4. Ecological landscape design. I. Leitão, André Botequilha.
QH541.15.L35M43 2006
333.95'16—dc22
2005031586
British Cataloguing-in-Publication Data available.
Design by Brighid Willson
Printed on recycled, acid-free paper
Manufactured in the United States of America
09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
André Botequilha Leitão dedicates this book to
Fernando H.D.O. Muge, Associate Professor with Aggregation
of Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), Technical University of Lisbon
who had a decisive influence in his academic career,
and for his friendship over many years.

Contents
Foreword xiii
Preface xvii
Acknowledgments xxiii
1. Landscape Ecology: A Spatial and Human-Oriented
Ecology 1
1.1 Foundations of Landscape Ecology 1
1.2 A Landscape Perspective 2
1.3 Main Characteristics of Landscape Ecology 4
1.3.1 Landscape Structure 5
1.3.2 Landscape Function 10
1.3.3 Relationships Between Landscape Structure and Function 10
1.3.4 Landscape Change 14
1.4 Quantifying Landscape Structure 20
1.4.1 What Are Landscape Metrics? 20
1.4.2 Patch, Class, and Landscape-Level Metrics 21
1.4.3 Variability 24
1.4.4 Computing Landscape Metrics 24
2. Planning the Landscape: A Spatial Ecological Approach 27
2.1 Planning and Landscape Ecology 27
2.1.1 Single-Purpose Planning 27
2.1.2 Going Beyond Single-Purpose Planning 28
2.1.3 Applying Scientific Principles in Planning 30
2.2 Planning Landscape Resources 32
2.2.1 Abiotic Resources (Water) 33
2.2.2 Biotic Resources (Wildlife and Biodiversity) 35
2.2.3 Cultural Resources (Housing and Recreation) 39
2.3 A Method of Planning for Sustainability 42
ix