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LANDSCAPE FRAGMENTATION ANALYSIS USING LANDSCAPE METRICS AND CORINE LAND COVER DATA. CASE STUDY: CURVATURE SUBCARPATHIANS (ROMANIA)
Abstract
Recent research has demonstrated that landscape fragmentation causes biodiversity loss. Our main objective was to evaluate the landscape fragmentation by analyzing land use and land cover (LULC) change in the Subcarpathian area, during the post-communist period. We used the spatial data from the EEA CORINE Land cover database (CLC 1990 and CLC 2012) to calculate six landscape metrics in the Patch Analyst 4 (Grid) software, in order to express the modifications in size, composition, spatial distribution of patches (NumP, MPS, LPI, MCA, AWMSI, TE). The change in each LULC class was determined and spatially represented using the TerrSet Software. The results have shown less change for the forest, agricultural fields, aquatic and artificial surfaces, with over 90% unmodified size, while the semi-natural surfaces are only 37.6% unmodified. The Kappa (KIA) index value is 0.82, indicating a good statistical concordance. The main processes we have recorded were the higher fragmentation of forest and semi-natural areas, while some of the agricultural areas were getting more compact, as a consequence of political change in society. This is a phenomenon which is not that common and that might show a transition towards different forms of agricultural exploitation, with possible good consequences for biodiversity conservation in the areas where it manifests. The cross tabulation analysis shown the reduction of the forest (5.94% reduction, 49.08% of which is semi-natural areas) and the agricultural fields increased with 11.54%. In the study area, the landscape fragmentation is induced by the amplification and intensification of some activities, such as infrastructures, forest exploitation and grazing. Local, national and international policies need to be more efficiently activated in order to ensure the protection, conservation and landscape sustainable valorization.
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