ASSESSMENT OF LANDSCAPE ECOLOGICAL METRICS: SHAPE COMPLEXITY AND FRAGMENTATION OF THE ABANDONED STRIP MINE PATCHES

The study of the structure and function of landscapes has been a demanding field that reveals issues in man and environment interactions. Various landscape metrics have been adopted to assess both natural and man-made processes which helped understanding patterns and functions of the landscape. This study examines two of those metrics: fragmentation and patch shape complexity. Two methods for each metric were applied to assess the recovering abandoned strip mine areas in Toby Creek watershed located in Northwestern Pennsylvania. Contagion and Patch-Per-Unit area (PPU) represented fragmentation, and Fractal Dimension and Square Pixel (SqP) represented patch shape complexity. Similar metrics were statistically analyzed in order to reveal differences and/or similarities. BACKGROUND Environmental sustainability is the underlying and fundamental goal for landscape ecology. It provides the concepts and methodologies necessary to understand interactions between natural and cultural landscapes. It implies that ecological knowledge is the fundamental scientific basis t