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Landscape heterogeneity: concepts, quantification, challenges and future perspectives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2023

Vinicius Tonetti Open the ORCID record for Vinicius Tonetti [Opens in a new window] ,
João Carlos Pena ,
Marina DA Scarpelli ,
Larissa SM Sugai ,
Fábio M Barros ,
Paula R Anunciação ,
Paloma M Santos ,
André LB Tavares  and
Milton C Ribeiro
Vinicius Tonetti*
Affiliation:
São Paulo State University (UNESP), Institute of Biosciences, Department of Biodiversity, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
João Carlos Pena
Affiliation:
São Paulo State University (UNESP), Institute of Biosciences, Department of Biodiversity, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil Laboratório de Genética & Biodiversidade, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Goiás, 74690-900 Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil
Marina DA Scarpelli
Affiliation:
Queensland University of Technology, Computer Science School, Science Faculty, Brisbane, Australia
Larissa SM Sugai
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Departamento de Ecología, Terrestrial Ecology Group (TEG), Madrid, Spain
Fábio M Barros
Affiliation:
Consultoria, Planejamento e Estudo Ambientais (CPEA), São Paulo, Brazil
Paula R Anunciação
Affiliation:
Biology Department, UFLA – Federal University of Lavras, Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Paloma M Santos
Affiliation:
Instituto de Pesquisa e Conservação de Tamanduás no Brasil, Parnaíba, Piauí, Brazil
André LB Tavares
Affiliation:
São Paulo State University (UNESP), Institute of Biosciences, Department of Biodiversity, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
Milton C Ribeiro
Affiliation:
São Paulo State University (UNESP), Institute of Biosciences, Department of Biodiversity, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
*
Correspondence to: Dr Vinicius Tonetti, E-mail: v.tonetti@unesp.br
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Summary

The intrinsic complexity, variety of concepts and numerous ways to quantify landscape heterogeneity (LH) may hamper a better understanding of how its components relate to ecological phenomena. Our study is the first to synthesize understanding of this concept and to provide the state of the art on the subject based on a comprehensive systematic literature review of 661 articles published between 1982 and 2019. Definitions, terminologies and measurements of LH were diverse and conflicting. Most articles (534 out of 661) did not provide any definition for LH, and we found great variation among the studies that did. According to our review, only 10 studies measured the effects of different land-cover types on biotic or abiotic processes (functional LH). The remaining 651 studies measured physical attributes of the landscape without mentioning that different land-cover types may impact biotic and abiotic processes differently (structural LH). The metrics most frequently used to represent LH were the Shannon diversity index and proportion of land-cover type. Most metrics used as proxies of LH also coincided with those used to represent non-heterogeneity metrics, such as fragmentation and connectivity. We identify knowledge gaps, indicate future perspectives and propose guidelines that should be addressed when researching LH.

Keywords

functional heterogeneityhabitat heterogeneitylandscape compositionlandscape configurationlandscape ecologyspatial heterogeneitystructural heterogeneity
Type
Subject Review
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 50 , Issue 2 , June 2023 , pp. 83 - 92
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Foundation for Environmental Conservation

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