Global assessment of landscape pattern changes from 1992 to 2020
Global assessment of landscape pattern changes from 1992 to 2020
Context: changes in landscape patterns, which refer to the composition and spatial configuration of land use and land cover (LULC) classes in a landscape, can have negative impacts on biodiversity and environmental processes such as carbon cycles. Such impacts are both dependent on the spatial extent of changes and which LULC classes are affected, but previous global-scale landscape pattern assessments have focused on single LULC classes or landscape-level measurements only. A comprehensive, multiscale analysis across multiple LULC types is therefore key for understanding the full impact of landscape pattern change on the environment.
Objectives: we assessed global-scale change in landscape patterns for six LULC classes from the HILDA+ dataset (urban, cropland, pasture/rangeland, forest, unmanaged grass/shrubland, and sparse/no vegetation) between 1992 and 2020.
Methods: six class-level landscape metrics with predictable scaling behaviour across landscape extents were calculated at global scale for each LULC class and year. Landscape metrics were quantified for five landscape extents (100, 400, 1600, 6400 and 25,600 km2). Trends in landscape metrics were evaluated and linked to changes in LULC composition (area) and configuration over time.
Results: unmanaged grass/shrubland LULC expanded in area and showed increased number of patches, edge length, and complexity in shapes, while pasture/rangeland and forest LULC tended to decline in area, number of patches, and edge length. Even though there was high spatial heterogeneity in landscape pattern change for all LULC classes, neighbouring 100 km2 landscapes often showed the same directional change in area and fragmentation.
Conclusions: global landscape pattern change was highly variable for all LULC classes between 1992 and 2020, suggesting that drivers of LULC change act on local to regional scales. We expect that the multiscale global dataset of landscape metrics generated here will have future applications in understanding the drivers of landscape pattern change and its environmental impacts.
Woodman, Tamsin L.
f64d5f2f-2cc7-4b7c-a11f-14d2357bd2d0
Alexander, Peter
9b0e0950-b6fa-414e-8bc0-c259dea3f36d
Burslem, David F.R.P.
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Travis, Justin M.J.
eeb29958-d843-49e0-8583-7515a7b7708c
Winkler, Karina
6234a21b-8efa-4d81-89bb-13a7c6c35a0c
Eigenbrod, Felix
43efc6ae-b129-45a2-8a34-e489b5f05827
16 October 2025
Woodman, Tamsin L.
f64d5f2f-2cc7-4b7c-a11f-14d2357bd2d0
Alexander, Peter
9b0e0950-b6fa-414e-8bc0-c259dea3f36d
Burslem, David F.R.P.
10e7f0c6-86ca-46b3-b6e9-b8743b908729
Travis, Justin M.J.
eeb29958-d843-49e0-8583-7515a7b7708c
Winkler, Karina
6234a21b-8efa-4d81-89bb-13a7c6c35a0c
Eigenbrod, Felix
43efc6ae-b129-45a2-8a34-e489b5f05827
Woodman, Tamsin L., Alexander, Peter, Burslem, David F.R.P., Travis, Justin M.J., Winkler, Karina and Eigenbrod, Felix
(2025)
Global assessment of landscape pattern changes from 1992 to 2020.
Landscape Ecology, 40 (11), [196].
(doi:10.1007/s10980-025-02210-0).
Abstract
Context: changes in landscape patterns, which refer to the composition and spatial configuration of land use and land cover (LULC) classes in a landscape, can have negative impacts on biodiversity and environmental processes such as carbon cycles. Such impacts are both dependent on the spatial extent of changes and which LULC classes are affected, but previous global-scale landscape pattern assessments have focused on single LULC classes or landscape-level measurements only. A comprehensive, multiscale analysis across multiple LULC types is therefore key for understanding the full impact of landscape pattern change on the environment.
Objectives: we assessed global-scale change in landscape patterns for six LULC classes from the HILDA+ dataset (urban, cropland, pasture/rangeland, forest, unmanaged grass/shrubland, and sparse/no vegetation) between 1992 and 2020.
Methods: six class-level landscape metrics with predictable scaling behaviour across landscape extents were calculated at global scale for each LULC class and year. Landscape metrics were quantified for five landscape extents (100, 400, 1600, 6400 and 25,600 km2). Trends in landscape metrics were evaluated and linked to changes in LULC composition (area) and configuration over time.
Results: unmanaged grass/shrubland LULC expanded in area and showed increased number of patches, edge length, and complexity in shapes, while pasture/rangeland and forest LULC tended to decline in area, number of patches, and edge length. Even though there was high spatial heterogeneity in landscape pattern change for all LULC classes, neighbouring 100 km2 landscapes often showed the same directional change in area and fragmentation.
Conclusions: global landscape pattern change was highly variable for all LULC classes between 1992 and 2020, suggesting that drivers of LULC change act on local to regional scales. We expect that the multiscale global dataset of landscape metrics generated here will have future applications in understanding the drivers of landscape pattern change and its environmental impacts.
Text
Global landscape patterns - Landscape Ecology - revised
- Accepted Manuscript
Text
s10980-025-02210-0
- Version of Record
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 20 August 2025
Published date: 16 October 2025
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 506210
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/506210
ISSN: 0921-2973
PURE UUID: 4fe44c24-7788-4e81-bcb7-dcf1b489b27c
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Date deposited: 30 Oct 2025 17:38
Last modified: 05 Nov 2025 02:43
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Contributors
Author:
Tamsin L. Woodman
Author:
Peter Alexander
Author:
David F.R.P. Burslem
Author:
Justin M.J. Travis
Author:
Karina Winkler
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