Ivan Marić

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE HORIZONTAL LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE OF VRANSKO LAKE NATURE PARK

For the purpose of testing the group of landscape indicators an analysis was performed of the fundamental characteristics of the horizontal landscape structure of Vransko Lake Nature Park. The objectives of this study were (i) to select and analyse the group of landscape indicators at the level of elements and classes as fundamental landscape units that are relevant and useful in improving landscape planning ; (ii) to analyse the horizontal landscape structure of Vransko Lake Nature Park ; and (iii) to analyse changes to the features of the horizontal structure of determined classes due to anthropogenic effects and the identification of dominant/stable and threatened/labile types of classes. The fundamental hypothesis of the paper is that through an analysis of landscape indicators, it is possible to precisely determine the spatial relations between the elements and classes within the landscape, and that it is possible to determine fragmentation and the existence of specific dominant/stable and threatened/labile landscape types. Methods applied in this study were landscape analysis methods based on landscape indicators, GIS and statistical methods. Two extension (Patch Analyst and V- Late) within ArcGIS were used and software Fragstat. The landscape of Vransko Lake Nature Park includes 30 habitat classes. A habitat map was drafted in the scale 1:5000, according to the rules of the National Habitat Classification of the Republic of Croatia. For the purpose of analysing the horizontal structures of elements within Vransko Lake Nature Park, 12 landscape indicators were used. The analysis was conducted at the level of 30 classes representing habitats. Through the analysis of six selected indicators (CA, MPS, Proportion, TE, MNNdist i Proximity) of landscape structure, dominant and threatened classes within the landscapes of Vransko Lake Nature Park were identified. As threatened landscape classes traditional vineyard and thermophilic flood vegetation were recognized. Dominant landscape classes are mixed, less frequently, pure evergreen forests and thorny low vegetation (dracici).