Relationship between landscape structure metrics and wetland nutrient retention function: A case study of Liaohe Delta, China

The relationship between landscape pattern and the function of nutrient reduction in the natural reed marsh of Liaohe Delta is studied with the help of some landscape metrics. The results discovered that not all the metrics selected are explanative in representing the function of nutrient reduction. Network connectivity, area size, and source to centre metrics are closely related to the simulation results from different pattern scenarios, while other metrics like area-weighted mean shape, fractal, contagion and aggregation are not related with the reduction process at all. Different metrics should be chosen according to the purpose of the study, based on the criteria of simplicity, generality and ecological meaning.