| Landscape Ecology vol. 5 no. 4 pp 239-253 (1991) SPB Academic Publishing bv, The Hague (2008) | |||||||||||||||
Abstract | |||||||||||||||
| Models of local small-scale ecological processes can be used to describe related processes at larger spatial scales if the influences of increased scale and heterogeneity are carefully considered. In this paper we consider the changes in the functional representation of an ecological process that can occur as one moves from a local small-scale model to a model of the aggregate expression of that process for a larger spatial extent. We call these changes "spatial transmutation". We specifically examine landscape heterogeneity as a cause of trans- mutation. Spatial transmutation as a consequence of landscape heterogeneity is a source of error in the prediction of aggregate landscape behavior from smaller scale models. However, we also demonstrate a procedure for taking advantage of spatial transmutation to develop appropriately scaled landscape functions. | |||||||||||||||
Publication details | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||