Effects of sensor spatial resolution on interpretation of landscale pattern

Abstract

Issues related to global change have led many researchers to study processes at larger spatial scales. Some researchers have assumed that the best way to investigate research questions at larger spatial scales has been to use satellite sensors with larger spatial resolution. Part of our efforts at the North Temperate Lakes Long-Term Ecological Research site has been directed toward investigating the effect of global change on temperate lake districts. To this end, we have investigated methods for using remote sensing and GIS technologies to better our understanding of lake processes. In this paper, we investigate the effect of satellite sensor (i.e., SPOT, TM, AVHRR) spatial resolution on a suite of: 1) lake measures including mean size and perimeter, and fractal dimension and 2) landscape measures including percent water; number of lakes; and homogeneity, contrast, and entropy of patches of water (lakes) in a matrix of land. Our results suggest that using satellite sensors with larger spatial resolutions is not a simple solution to investigating questions related to larger spatial scale phenomena.