(L8) Edge Density

E =      total length (m) of edge in landscape.

A =     total landscape area (m²).

Description

ED equals the sum of the lengths (m) of all edge segments in the landscape, divided by the total landscape area (m²), multiplied by 10,000 (to convert to hectares). If a landscape border is present, ED includes landscape boundary segments representing ‘true’ edge only (i.e., abutting patches of different classes). If a landscape border is absent, ED includes a user-specified proportion of the landscape boundary. Regardless of whether a landscape border is present or not, ED includes a user-specified proportion of internal background edge. Note, total landscape area (A) includes any internal background present.[E = intTrue+(intBack*w)+extTrue+(extBack*w)]

Units 

Meters per hectare

Range

ED ≥ 0, without limit.

ED = 0 when there is no edge in the landscape; that is, when the entire landscape and landscape border, if present, consists of a single patch and the user specifies that none of the landscape boundary and background edge be treated as edge.

Comments

Edge density has the same utility and limitations as Total Edge (see Total Edge description), except that edge density reports edge length on a per unit area basis that facilitates comparison among landscapes of varying size.