Grantee Research Project Results
2000 Progress Report: A Hierarchical Patch Dynamics Approach to Regional Modeling and Scaling
EPA Grant Number: R827676Title: A Hierarchical Patch Dynamics Approach to Regional Modeling and Scaling
Investigators: Wu, Jianguo , Green, Douglas
Institution: Arizona State University
Current Institution: Arizona State University - West
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: October 15, 1999 through October 14, 2002
Project Period Covered by this Report: October 15, 1999 through October 14, 2000
Project Amount: $629,540
RFA: Regional Scale Analysis and Assessment (1999) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Aquatic Ecosystems , Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration
Objective:
The major research goals of this research project are two fold: (1) to develop and test a hierarchical patch dynamics modeling and scaling approach to regional analysis and assessment by linking ecosystem processes to land use/land cover pattern at the landscape and regional scales, and (2) to develop an understanding of how land use change (especially urbanization) affects ecosystem production and carbon and nitrogen dynamics at the regional scale in relation to regional sustainability and global climate change. This is the first year of the 3-year project, and we have made a great deal of progress in achieving the proposed objectives. The main accomplishments include the following. First, we have further developed and refined the theoretical framework and scaling strategies for the proposed research. Second, we have conducted a series of landscape pattern analyses to quantify the spatial heterogeneity and scale multiplicity of the urban landscape under study. It is necessary to understand what spatial heterogeneity is and how it changes with scale in the region before any realistic regional modeling and scaling methods can be designed and implemented. Third, we have been developing the hierarchical patch dynamics modeling platform (HPDMP), which is designed to facilitate the development and interface of land use change and ecosystem process models. This is a major component of the research project, and we now have a prototype of HPDMP, based on which a hierarchical cellular automata model of land use change for the Phoenix metropolitan area has been developed. The above efforts have led to several publications and presentations at national and international conferences (see the list of publications/presentations).Progress Summary:
The preliminary results from our field work indicate that citrus wood is 46 percent carbon (C), translating into 213 kg C for a mature producing citrus tree. Soils of the citrus grove had a total carbon content of 0.44 percent and a nitrogen content of 0.05 percent. Cotton fields had a standing biomass of 5689 (?545.3) kg ha-1 and a total carbon of 36 percent, whereas cotton fields had contained 2048 kg C ha-1. Soils in these same fields had 0.49 percent and 0.05 percent of total C and N, respectively, and a pH of 8.22. The biomass of alfalfa fields averaged 1090 (?74.1) kg ha-1 with a total C of 38 percent, and alfalfa fields had 414.2 kg C ha-1. Our work in suburban areas found a standing biomass of lawns to be 180 (?32.3) g m-2. The total carbon content of the lawn biomass was 42 percent, and for the residences sampled, the biomass had 75.6 g C per m-2. Results from landscape analysis and modeling indicate the following:
- The urbanized area in the Phoenix region has increased exponentially since 1912, and so has the structural complexity of the landscape. The extent of urban area is linearly correlated with the population size, suggesting that human population may be, at least at the regional scale, used as a surrogate variable representing a suite of factors that have driven land use changes in the Phoenix metropolitan region in the past several decades.
- Areas of higher human impact are usually characterized by a higher degree of fragmentation (smaller patches and greater in number), and more regular patch shape (square or rectangular).
- Topography does not seem to have limited the urban expansion in the Phoenix region, meaning that while the city grows out, it also climbs up.
- One or more urbanization centers can be quantitatively defined using landscape metrics at different spatial scales. However, the centers of urbanization may differ geographically when different variables are used.
- Our research on pattern and scale analysis has generated insight into the following questions regarding the issue of pattern and scale: How does changing extent affect the results of different landscape metrics? How does changing grain size affect the results of different landscape metrics? How does changing the direction (or orientation) of analysis affect the results of different landscape metrics? How do the responses of landscape metrics to scale changes resemble or differ from each other across scales and across landscapes, and are these changes predictable? Detailed results are found in the relevant publications listed below.
Future Activities:
Research efforts will continue toward achievement of the two major research objectives as outlined in the grant.Journal Articles on this Report : 7 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
Other project views: | All 73 publications | 44 publications in selected types | All 33 journal articles |
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Jenerette GD, Wu J. Analysis and simulation of land-use change in the central Arizona-Phoenix region, USA. Landscape Ecology 2001;16(7):611-626. |
R827676 (2000) R827676 (2001) R827676 (Final) |
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Musacchio LR, Wu J. Collaborative landscape-scale ecological research: emerging trends in urban and regional ecology. Urban Ecosystems 2004;7(3):175-178. |
R827676 (2000) R827676 (2001) R827676 (2002) R827676 (2003) R827676 (Final) |
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Wu J. Hierarchy and scaling: extrapolating information along a scaling ladder. Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing 1999;25(4):367-380. |
R827676 (2000) R827676 (Final) |
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Wu J, Liu Y, Jelinski DE. Effects of leaf area profiles and canopy stratification on simulated energy fluxes: the problem of vertical spatial scale. Ecological Modelling 2000;134(2-3):283-297. |
R827676 (2000) R827676 (Final) |
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Wu J, Qi Y. Dealing with scale in landscape analysis: an overview. Geographic Information Sciences 2000;6(1):1-5. |
R827676 (2000) R827676 (Final) |
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Wu J, Jelinski DE, Luck M, Tueller PT. Multiscale analysis of landscape heterogeneity: scale variance and pattern metrics. Geographic Information Sciences 2000;6(1):6-19. |
R827676 (2000) R827676 (Final) |
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Zipperer WC, Wu J, Pouyat RV, Pickett STA. The application of ecological principles to urban and urbanizing landscapes. Ecological Applications 2000;10(3):685-688. |
R827676 (2000) R827676 (Final) |
Exit Exit |
Supplemental Keywords:
land, soil, urban, stressors, ecosystem, regionalization, scaling, terrestrial, habitat, integrated assessment, sustainable development, ecology, modeling, landsat, remote sensing, field measurements, Southwest, agriculture, urbanization., RFA, Scientific Discipline, Air, Geographic Area, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Ecology, Ecosystem Protection, Environmental Chemistry, climate change, State, Ecological Effects - Environmental Exposure & Risk, Environmental Monitoring, Regional/Scaling, ecological exposure, scaling, urbanization, hierarchical patch dynamics, spatial scale, functional complexity, modeling, anthropogenic, Arizona (AZ), ecosystem, agriculture, regional survey data, remote sensing imagery, field measurements, land useProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.