Mean perimeter-area ratio (Shape metric)
Details
$$PARA_{MN} = mean(PARA[patch_{ij}]$$ where \(PARA[patch_{ij}]\) is the perimeter area ratio of each patch.
PARA_MN is a 'Shape metric'. It summarises the landscape as the mean of each patch in the landscape. The perimeter-area ratio describes the patch complexity in a straightforward way. However, because it is not standarised to a certain shape (e.g. a square), it is not scale independent, meaning that increasing the patch size while not changing the patch form will change the ratio.
Because the metric is based on distances or areas please make sure your data
is valid using check_landscape
.
References
McGarigal K., SA Cushman, and E Ene. 2023. FRAGSTATS v4: Spatial Pattern Analysis Program for Categorical Maps. Computer software program produced by the authors; available at the following web site: https://www.fragstats.org