Landscape Analysis to Assess the Impact of Development Projects on Forests

Sustainability

Sanghyuk Lee¹  Jong-Chul Jeong²  Jaeyong Choi³  Peter Sang-Hoon Lee⁴  Seung Yong Ji⁵ 

[1] Forest Resources, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Korea;Daejeon Development Institute, Daejeon 34863, Korea;;Department of Environment &Department of Geoinformatics, Namseoul University, Cheonan 31020, Korea;Institute of Agricultural Science, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Korea;

关键词: development impact on forest landscape;    fragmentation analysis;    impact range estimation;    forest environment;    landscape scale;    forest landscape change;   

DOI  :  10.3390/su8101012

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The consistent demand for development of forest lands in South Korea has resulted in the need for a new approach to estimate environmental impacts in order to sustainably manage forests. In this study, two types of development were selected: golf courses and industrial complexes. Using FRAGSTATS ver. 4.2 (University of Massachussetts, Amherst, MA, USA), the fragmentation effects of each development type were analyzed based on forest area within project sites and buffer zones ranging up to 2000 m. Each type had representative landscape metrics reflecting the average impact ranges by forest area: “Number of Patches”, “Patch Density” and “Total Edge Length” for golf courses; “Number of Patches”, “Patch Density” and “Connectance Index” for industrial complexes. Golf courses with the smallest forest area had a larger impact range than those with larger forest areas. For industrial complexes, the impact range increased with forest area. Although individual sites exhibited some variation in impact range, they were generally consistent with the overall patterns observed. Investigating tree growth by buffer zone showed the ecological effect of development. To comprehensively manage development of forest lands, further research on other development types is needed. These results could be useful for creating a decision-making system with regard to development on forest lands.

【 授权许可】

Unknown