Modeling wetland functions: Is space-to-time substitution of perimeter-area relation appropriate?

Wetlands’ morphometric or shape properties such as their area and perimeter impact a multitude of ecosystem functions and services. However, current models used to quantify these functions often only use area as an independent variable, as the static area and perimeter of different wetlands have been found to be closely related. The study uses monthly satellite-based inundation maps to assess the temporal covariation of geographically isolated wetlands' perimeter and surface area. The results show that using static representations of wetlands to evaluate temporal dynamic perimeter-area relations can introduce significant discrepancies and that these discrepancies can be reduced if evaluations using static data are performed separately for each wetlandscape. The study concludes that current models that use implicit area-perimeter relations based on static wetland representations should be used with caution and that incorporating perimeter-area relations from temporally dynamic data can improve wetland function estimates.

Methods
Please see the README document ("README.md") and the accompanying published article: Park, J., Kumar, M., Jones, C.N. 2023. Modeling wetland functions: Is space-to-time substitution of perimeter-area relation appropriate? Limnology and Oceanography Letters. Under review.