Linking Land Cover Change with Landscape Pattern Dynamics Induced by Damming in a Small Watershed

Abstract

Cascade damming can shape land surfaces; however, little is known about the specific impacts of dam construction on watershed land cover changes. Therefore, we developed a framework in which remote sensing, transition patterns, and landscape metrics were coupled to measure the impact of dam construction on watershed land cover changes and landscape patterns in the Longmen–Su (L–S) Creek, a small headwater watershed in Southeast China. During the transition and post-impact periods of dam construction, the land cover in the L–S Creek watershed underwent dynamic changes within the affected area. Changes in land cover were dominated by a surge in water and buildup and a decrease in woodland and cropland areas; bareland also increased steadily during construction. Woodlands and croplands were mainly flooded into water areas, although some were converted to bareland and built-up areas owing to the combined impact of dam construction and urbanization. By linking land cover changes with landscape patterns, we found that land use changes in water were significantly associated with landscape fragmentation and heterogeneity in the impacted zone. Our research demonstrates how damming can change land cover locally and may provide a basis for sustainable land management within the context of the extensive development of cascade hydropower dams.

Scenario Simulation of Land Use and Cover under Safeguarding Ecological Security: A Case Study of Chang-Zhu-Tan Metropolitan Area, China

“…Landscape metrics can quantitatively express the characteristics of patch, shape, and clustering in land use/cover patterns [81]. We selected eight indices, including the number of patches, mean patch size, edge density, fractional dimension, contagion, aggregation index, Shannon's diversity index (SHDI), and Shannon's evenness index (SHEI).…”

Geospatial Analysis with Landsat Series and Sentinel-3B OLCI Satellites to Assess Changes in Land Use and Water Quality over Time in Brazil

“…The values of suspended material on the water surface for the year 2021 are very high, showing that the water quality underwent a process of degradation in this period, demonstrating a possible negative influence of agricultural production on the water quality of the Capinguí Dam reservoir. The use of remote sensing becomes of fundamental importance in the evaluation of metric patterns of the landscape, capable of measuring the characteristics of the water in the geospatial perspective [65]. Figure 4 displays the composition of the Sentinel-3B OLCI images focused on CHL_NN concentrations.…”

Intensity Analysis to Communicate Detailed Detection of Land Use and Land Cover Change in Chang-Zhu-Tan Metropolitan Region, China

“…Early versions of the Intensity Analysis, which emerged from earlier measurements of single intervals, have achieved popularity [34][35][36][37]. Nevertheless, interpreting the Intensity Analysis is more straightforward because of its clear hierarchies, graphical expressions, and, in particular, more insightful explanations of the causes of temporal changes in LULC [26,38,39]. For example, why is the transition size from category M to category N larger than the transition size from other categories to category N?…”