Decadal Grid Analysis of Landscape Metrics for Provincial Parks of British Columbia

Provincial parks of British Columbia are protected for their high ecological, cultural, and recreational values. With climate change exacerbating, more frequent and severe disturbances are anticipated to cause land cover alteration in provincial parks, leading to loss of habitat and ecosystem services. It’s crucial to develop an overarching understanding of how parks’ spatial configuration changed in the past to make informed and proactive management decisions. Using the \"landscapemetrics\" package in R, the project computed class-level landscape metrics on 1 km by 1 km grids to quantitatively analyze decadal changes in spatial configuration of forests and shrubs in E.C. Manning Park, Mount Robson Park, Tweedsmuir Park, and West Arm Park from 1989 to 2019. The metrics were tested to characterize landscape metrics of the park edge along the boundary versus the park interior. The metrics highlighted the spatial distribution and shape complexity of forests and shrubs and time frames during which noticeable land cover alterations occurred. The results provided spatial, temporal, and statistical insights into the landscape dynamic over the decades and showed that future park management could benefit from accounting for the spatial variation of the landscape configuration within parks by developing area-specific ecosystem restoration strategies.