Landscape ecological assessment of green space fragmentation in Hong Kong

Abstract

A large body of the literature has assessed the complicated process of landscape fragmentation, while few studies have tackled urban green space (UGS) systems in the urban context, especially in compact cities like Hong Kong. The fragmentation index was modeled using landscape metrics to assess green space fragmentation in Hong Kong. Our results indicate that the set of parameters that can be used to analyze the fragmentation of UGS includes: AREA_MN, PD, SHAPE_MN, ENND_MN, CONNECT, DIVISION, MESH and SPLIT. According to the fragmentation index, five fragmentation levels were identified in the study area. The built-up areas in Kowloon and along the coast of Hong Kong Island exhibited the highest fragmentation level of green spaces, while the countryside of the New Territories had the lowest. The uneven distribution of green cover results in an uneven distribution of UGS fragmentation levels. The eight metrics and the PCA technique employed were validated with respect to their applicability to analyzing green space fragmentation in this study. The results of this study could contribute to our understanding of fragmentation from a landscape ecological perspective. They will also be useful in the appropriate, future planning of urban green spaces to increase connectivity, form green networks and realize sustainability in compact cities.