Forest ecosystems functionality evaluation by multiscale and multitemporal analysis of ecological network

Abstract

The aim of this study was to model the relationships between forest spatial structure and potential forest vulnerability, resilience and resistance (FVRR) in Molise (Italy) on the basis of a multitemporal and multiresolution raster dataset. The FVRR index of forest ecosystems was quantified and mapped by two different approaches, such as a ‘species-specific’ and a ‘species-unspecific’ approach, modelling the proximity to a potential ecological optimum by fuzzy functions. The temporal trends between the summing up of index values of each model are similar. The ‘species-unspecific’ approach seems to be not scale dependent when applied for monitoring temporal trends, since trends of the index of low and high resolution datasets are nearly the same.