Defining dual-axis landscape gradients of human influence for studying ecological processes.

ABSTRACT: Ecological processes are strongly shaped by human landscape modification, and understanding the reciprocal relationship between ecosystems and modified landscapes is critical for informed conservation. Single axis measures of spatial heterogeneity proliferate in the contemporary gradient ecology literature, though they are unlikely to capture the complexity of ecological responses. Here, we develop a standardized approach for defining multi-dimensional gradients of human influence in heterogeneous landscapes and demonstrate this approach to analyze landscape characteristics of ten ecologically distinct US cities. Using occupancy data of a common human-adaptive songbird collected in each of the cities, we then use our dual-axis gradients to evaluate the utility of our approach. Spatial anal

SUBMITTER: Padilla BJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8601559 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature