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Characterizing Patterns

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Patterns of Land Degradation in Drylands

Abstract

The characterization of pattern requires a solid foundation in spatial sampling, and the different direct and indirect means of obtaining relevant spatial data. The scale triplet of extent, spacing and support are used as a means for structuring the understanding of spatial data (and by extension, for looking at temporal patterns), and relevant sampling strategies are discussed in relation to each. Direct and indirect ways of collecting data on appropriate ecogeomorphic parameters – vegetation, water, soil and animals – are then discussed. The potential for collecting large extents of data using remote sensing is then considered. Emphasis is given throughout on the need to consider process as central to developing robust sampling methodologies.

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Acknowledgments

This chapter is a contribution to the book Patterns of Land Degradation in Drylands: Understanding Self-Organised Ecogeomorphic Systems, which is the outcome of an ESF-funded Exploratory Workshop – “Self-organized ecogeomorphic systems: confronting models with data for land degradation in drylands” – which was held in Potsdam, Germany, 7–10 June 2010.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IRD/UMR AMAP, Botany and Computational Plant Architecture, 34398, Montpellier, France

    Pierre Couteron

  2. Institute of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Potsdam, 14476, Potsdam, Germany

    Philip Hunke & Eva Nora Mueller

  3. Depto. Ecologia, Universidad de Alicante, 03080, Alicante, Spain

    Juan Bellot

  4. Department of Earth Sciences, University of the Balearic Islands, 07122, Palma de Mallorca, Spain

    Joan Estrany

  5. Département Environnement et Agro-biotechnologies, Centre de Recherche Public – Gabriel Lippmann, 4422, Belvaux, Luxembourg

    Núria Martínez-Carreras

  6. Laboratory of Range Ecology, Aristotle University, 54006, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Vasilios P. Papanastasis

  7. Valles Caldera National Preserve, Jemez Springs, NM, 87025, USA

    Robert R. Parmenter

  8. Department of Geography, University of Durham, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK

    John Wainwright

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  1. Pierre Couteron
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Correspondence to John Wainwright .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany

    Eva Nora Mueller

  2. Department of Geography, University of Durham, Durham, United Kingdom

    John Wainwright

  3. Sheffield Centre for International Drylands Research, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom

    Anthony J. Parsons

  4. Department of Geography Science Laboratories, Durham University Inst. of Hazards, Risk and Resilienc, Durham, United Kingdom

    Laura Turnbull

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Couteron, P. et al. (2014). Characterizing Patterns. In: Mueller, E., Wainwright, J., Parsons, A., Turnbull, L. (eds) Patterns of Land Degradation in Drylands. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5727-1_8

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