On models for landscape connectivity: a case study of the new-born wetland of the Yellow River Delta

The models for landscape connectivity are distinguished into models for line connectivity, vertex connectivity, network connectivity and patch connectivity separately. Because the models for line connectivity, for vertex connectivity, and for network connectivity have long been studied and have become ripe, the model for patch connectivity is paid special attention in this paper. The patch connectivity is defined as the average movement efficiency (minimizing movement distance) of animal migrants or plant propagules in patches of a region under consideration. According to this definition, a model for landscape connectivity is mathematically deduced to apply to GIS data. The application of model for patch connectivity in the new-born wetland of the Yellow River Delta shows patch connectivity has a negative interrelation with human impact intensity and landscape diversity.