Title: Using the fractal dimension to differentiate between natural and artificial wetlands

Authors: Julie Earls, Barnali Dixon, Al Karlin

Addresses: University of South Florida St. Petersburg, Geo-Spatial Analytics Lab, PNM 103, 140 7th Ave. S. St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA. ' University of South Florida St. Petersburg, Geo-Spatial Analytics Lab, PNM 105, 140 7th Ave. S. St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA. ' 19204 Autumn Woods Ave. Tampa, FL 33647, USA

Abstract: Artificial wetlands are characterized by straight lines and simple perimeters such as circles or squares, whereas natural wetlands show far more complex shapes. Fractal dimension analysis provides a quantitative measure of the curves for the edge of an object. This study uses fractal theory to analyze the characteristic of an object|s shape to differentiate natural wetlands from artificial wetlands. The objectives of this study were to: 1) determine how the shape complexity metrics varies between raster and vector formats and 2) if there is a quantifiable difference between patch metrics of the fractal dimension of natural vs. man-made wetlands.

Keywords: natural wetlands; artificial wetlands; fractal theory; dimensional analysis; man-made wetlands.

DOI: 10.1504/IER.2008.053960

Interdisciplinary Environmental Review, 2008 Vol.10 No.1/2, pp.33 - 44

Published online: 13 May 2013 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article