Six key steps for functional landscape analyses of habitat change

Context: An important part of landscape ecology is to identify relationships between landscape characteristics and ecological processes. One common approach to this is relating raster surfaces to ecological responses, assuming that the characteristics emphasized by rasters are representative of the processes determining changes in the ecological responses being assessed. Consequently, choices made in the design and assessment of rasters affect our understanding of the relationship between landscape characteristics and ecological responses. Objectives: We propose a six-step framework for informing the choices made in creating and measuring rasters for landscape analyses: (i) acknowledge ecological theory and conceptual paradigms, (ii) evaluate the fit of available data, (iii) assess the three facets of scale, (iv) recognize different sampling designs, (v) use proper conceptual models, and (vi) measure meaningful raster characteristics. Conclusions: We discuss how each step can benefit from a “functional” perspective, i.e., an explicit focus on the ecological processes under investigation. This is especially important for landscape analyses of habitat change, which are highly complex due to the many processes potentially involved. A functional perspective draws attention to common pitfalls in landscape ecology, while promoting more process-oriented research in the study of habitat change.