Trends in the use of landscape spatial metrics as landscape indicators: A review

The paper gives an overview on the trends in the usage of landscape metrics as indicators for: land use changes, habitat functions (biodiversity, habitats), landscape regulating functions (fire control, microclimate control, etc.), and information functions (landscape aesthetics). We reviewed papers published in international peer-reviewed journals that are indexed by the Institute of Science Information (ISI) Web of Knowledge from 2000 to 2010. The terms “landscape metrics”, “landscape indexes” and “landscape indices” were searched. Our analysis showed that application of the landscape metrics to characterize various ecosystem services and landscape functions has broadened during the last 10 years. Number of studies related to regulating and information functions of landscapes is increasing. However, the main exploitation field of the metrics is evaluation the change in land use/land cover.