Issues related to the detection of boundaries

Ecotones are inherent features of landscapes, transitional zones, and play more than one functional role in ecosystem dynamics. The delineation of ecotones and environmental boundaries is therefore an important step in land-use management planning. The delineation of ecotones depends on the phenomen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Landscape ecology 2000-07, Vol.15 (5), p.453-466
Main Authors: FORTIN, M.-J, OLSON, R. J, FERSON, S, IVERSON, L, HUNSAKER, C, EDWARDS, G, LEVINE, D, BUTERA, K, KLEMAS, V
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Aquatic ecosystems
Biological and medical sciences
Boundaries
Ecosystem dynamics
Ecotones
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects. Techniques
Land management
Land use
Management planning
Remote sensing
Statistical methods
Teledetection and vegetation maps
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Summary:Ecotones are inherent features of landscapes, transitional zones, and play more than one functional role in ecosystem dynamics. The delineation of ecotones and environmental boundaries is therefore an important step in land-use management planning. The delineation of ecotones depends on the phenomenon of interest and the statistical methods used as well as the associated spatial and temporal resolution of the data available. In the context of delineating wetland and riparian ecosystems, various data types (field data, remotely sensed data) can be used to delineate ecotones. Methodological issues related to their detection need to be addressed, however, so that their management and monitoring can yield useful information about their dynamics and functional roles in ecosystems. The aim of this paper is to review boundary detection methods. Because the most appropriate methods to detect and characterize boundaries depend of the spatial resolution and the measurement type of the data, a wide range of approaches are presented: GIS, remote sensing and statistical ones.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0921-2973
1572-9761
DOI:10.1023/A:1008194205292