Optimization of forest island spatial patterns: methodology for analysis of landscape pattern ( Wisconsin).

Focuses attention on the preservation of species in native forested landscapes, with particular reference to the forest land of SE Wisconsin. Optimal preservation requires definition of forest island conditions and their potential for influencing species composition through time. These definitions are imposed as constraints on the objective of forest species preservation. The methodology is developed in 3 parts: 1) conceptualisation and definition of constraints via a series of structural equations, collectively termed a systems model; 2) demonstration of the utility of the systems model; and 3) description of the forest island arrangement inherent in a given region by means of spatial pattern analyses.-P.J.Jarvis