Table 3.

Meaning and interpretation of the landscape metrics (abbreviations in brackets) included in the final model solutions (McGarigal 2015)

Metric	Unit	Description
Contiguity index distribution (CONTIG_MN)	None 0 ≤ CONTIG_MN ≤ 1	Assesses the spatial connectedness, or contiguity, of cells within a patch to provide an index on patch boundary configuration and thus patch shape (LaGro 1991); CONTIG equals 0 for a one-pixel patch and increases to a limit of 1.
Edge density (ED)	m/ha	ED = 0 when there is no edge in the landscape, that is, when the entire landscape and landscape border, if present, consists of a single patch.
Largest patch index (LPI)	%	The largest patch index quantifies the percentage of total landscape area comprised by the largest patch. As such, it is a simple measure of dominance.
Patch density (PD)	N/100 ha	Patch density has the same basic utility as number of patches as an index, except that it expresses number of patches on a per unit area basis that facilitates comparisons among landscapes of varying size.
Shape index distribution (SHAPE_MN)	None SHAPE_MN ≥ 1	SHAPE = 1 when the patch is square and increases without limit as the patch shape becomes more irregular. On the landscape level, the mean of all patches in the landscape is calculated.
Simpson’s diversity index (SIDI)	None 0 ≤ SIDI ≤ 1	SIDI = 0 when the landscape consists of only 1 patch (i.e. no diversity). SIDI approaches 1 as the number of different patch types increases and the proportion of the area among patch types becomes more equitable.