Land use intensity versus landscape complexity : analysis of landscape characteristics in an agricultural region of Southern Sweden

Sammanfattning: The main aim of this project was to study the relationship between land use intensity and landscape complexity. We analysed landscape data in 150 1km2 plots and within a buffer zone of 2km around each plot. The plots were distributed over a large part of the region of Skåne (Scania), southernmost Sweden. We used spatially explicit digital data on land use, digitised aerial photographs, field surveys of landscape elements and agricultural statistics. A factor analysis suggests that there are three relevant axes, where the first can be interpreted as describing the intensity of land use while the other two are connected to landscape structure and amount of small patches of semi-natural habitat. Variables such as the level soil nitrogen, yield of spring barley and proportion arable land score highly on Factor 1 (land use intensity), while e.g. land use diversity and a structural index like the Contagion (Fragstats) score highly on Factor 2 (landscape structure) and the amount of semi-natural habitats has a medium score on both the second and third factor. We believe that it is important to consider intensity and complexity as somewhat separate landscape level factors when trying to explain patterns of biodiversity change in agricultural landscapes.