Wu Chang-Guang, Zhou Zhi-Xiang, Wang Peng-Cheng, Xiao Wen-Fa, Teng Ming-Jun, Peng Li
Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
Ying Yong Sheng Tai Xue Bao. 2009 Aug;20(8):2042-8.
Landscape connectivity, as a dominant factor affecting species dispersal, reflects the degree to which the landscape facilitates or impedes organisms' movement among resources patches. It is also an important indicator in sustainable land use and biological conservation. Least-cost model originates from graph theory, and integrates the detailed geographical information with organisms' behavioral characteristics in the landscape. Through cost distance analysis, this model can describe the species connectivity in heterogeneous landscape intuitively and visually. Due to the simple algorithm performed in GIS packages and the demand of moderate data information, least-cost model has gained extensive attention in the evaluation of large-scale landscape connectivity. Based on the current studies of landscape connectivity, this paper elaborated the significance, principles, and operation processes of least-cost model in evaluating landscape connectivity, and discussed the existing problems of the model in its practical applications, which would benefit the further related studies and biodiversity conservation.
景观连通性作为影响物种扩散的主导因素，反映了景观在多大程度上促进或阻碍生物体在资源斑块之间的移动。它也是可持续土地利用和生物保护的重要指标。最小成本模型源于图论，并将详细的地理信息与景观中生物体的行为特征相结合。通过成本距离分析，该模型可以直观、形象地描述异质景观中的物种连通性。由于地理信息系统软件包中执行的算法简单，且对数据信息要求适中，最小成本模型在大规模景观连通性评估中受到了广泛关注。基于当前对景观连通性的研究，本文阐述了最小成本模型在评估景观连通性方面的意义、原理和操作过程，并讨论了该模型在实际应用中存在的问题，这将有利于进一步的相关研究和生物多样性保护。
