CARTOLIS. Vers un outil géomatique pour identifier et caractériser les segments de lisières forestières

Forest edges are key components of rural landscapes because they influence ecological processes at the interface between habitats. There is a variability of forest edges, according to their physiognomy, orientation, history and topography, but few methods are available to identify these different types of edges and to map them at a large scale. We propose to identify edge segments based on morphological subdivision of forest boundaries. These segments are mapped and characterized by request on other spatial data. A procedure based on ArcGis tools, applied on the output from GUIDOS tools, is used to identify edge segments. We provide examples of edge segments descriptors obtained from a digital elevation model and from a landcover map. Results showed the feasibility of the automatic mapping of edge variability over a large scale. It opens new perspectives to build up a new tool for analyzing landscape dynamics and their effects on biodiversity.