Geography
Document Type
Article
Abstract
This article introduces the Flow matrix, which expresses the sizes of transitions among categories between two time points. We use the Flow matrix to create a metric R that measures the instability of annual change among time intervals that partition the time extent. Specifically, R is the proportion of change that would need to be reallocated to different time interval(s) to achieve uniform change during the time extent. This article computes R for 10 Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites and for seven case studies from published land change data. Of the 10 LTER sites analyzed, the Andrews site in Oregon had the highest R value (37.1% of change), while the Luquillo site in Puerto Rico had the lowest (1.7% of change). We analyze the mathematical behavior of R, especially with respect to how the partitioning of the time extent into intervals can influence R. © 2013 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.
The available download on this page is the author manuscript accepted for publication. This version has undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process.
Publication Title
International Journal of Geographical Information Science
Publication Date
9-1-2013
Volume
27
Issue
9
First Page
1696
Last Page
1716
ISSN
1365-8816
DOI
10.1080/13658816.2013.792344
Keywords
land-change science, LTER, Markov, model assumptions, temporal stability
Repository Citation
Runfola, D. S.M. and Pontius, Robert Gilmore, "Measuring the temporal instability of land change using the Flow matrix" (2013). Geography. 748.
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_geography/748
Copyright Conditions
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Geographical Informational Science on 6/14/2013, available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/13658816.2013.792344.
