Fragstats

Fragstats is a software publisher focused on spatial pattern analysis, offering a single, specialized product of the same name. Fragstats is a spatial pattern analysis program designed for categorical maps, widely used in the field of landscape ecology and related disciplines. The software computes a large suite of landscape metrics that quantify the composition and configuration of spatial patterns, enabling researchers and analysts to describe how land cover types or other categorical patches are distributed and arranged across a mapped area. Typical use cases include quantifying habitat fragmentation, measuring patch density, edge characteristics, shape complexity, aggregation, connectivity, and diversity across landscapes, as well as comparing spatial patterns across different regions, time periods, or alternative planning scenarios. Metrics can generally be calculated at multiple levels of analysis, including the individual patch level, the class level, and the whole landscape level, giving users flexibility to address questions that range from the structure of individual habitat patches to the overall heterogeneity of an entire study area. The program accepts categorical raster data, such as land cover or vegetation maps derived from remote sensing or geographic information system workflows, and produces statistical output that can be incorporated into further ecological, environmental, and planning analyses. Fragstats is commonly employed by academic researchers, graduate students, resource managers, conservation planners, and government agencies working in fields such as ecology, forestry, wildlife management, urban planning, and environmental assessment. Its results support applications like biodiversity studies, land use change analysis, conservation prioritization, and the evaluation of landscape structure in relation to ecological processes. Further information, documentation, and distribution details are available through the publisher's website at fragstats.org.