Modelling indicators and indices of landscape complexity: an approach using G.I.S.

Abstract

The study of complex environmental systems steadily gains momentum in the domain of environmental sciences. The complexity of landscapes, however, still lacks a proper definition, as well as a straightforward method for its calculation. The assessment of landscape complexity is indeed a difficult undertaking and research results hitherto published in the scientific literature demonstrate that several problems arise when the structural (quantitative) and the functional (qualitative) aspects of landscapes are considered to assess their complexity. With this paper, a straightforward method is proposed for deriving indicators of landscape complexity. This method relies on the identification of three key indicators which are necessary to describe landscape complexity: diversity, fractality and function. Three rules are given for applying these indicators to the study of landscape complexity. These three indicators are subsequently used to derive an index of structural and an index of functional landscape complexity (IS and IF, respectively). Example calculations of landscape complexity are given, based on a model landscape. Using a G.I.S., it is demonstrated that a distinction should be made between the concept “complexity of landscape change” and the concept “change in the landscape complexity”. The usefulness of G.I.S. for studying landscape structural complexity is significant for calculating IS and IF indices, albeit restricted by their limited topological capabilities for handling boundary calculations between adjacent land units.