Identification of dominant features in spatial data

Abstract Dominant features of spatial data are connected structures or patterns that emerge from location-based variation and manifest at specific scales or resolutions. To identify dominant features, we propose a sequential application of multiresolution decomposition and variogram function estimation. Multiresolution decomposition separates data into additive components, and in this way enables the recognition of their dominant features. A dedicated multiresolution decomposition method is developed for arbitrary gridded spatial data, where the underlying model includes a precision and spatial-weight matrix to capture spatial correlation. The data are separated into their components by smoothing on different scales, such that larger scales have longer spatial correlation ranges. Moreover, our model can handle missing values, which is often useful in applications. Variogram function estimation can be used to describe properties in spatial data. Such functions are therefore estimated for each component to determine its effective range, which assesses the width-extent of the dominant feature. Finally, Bayesian analysis enables the inference of identified dominant features and to judge whether these are credibly different. The efficient implementation of the method relies mainly on a sparse-matrix data structure and algorithms. By applying the method to simulated data we demonstrate its applicability and theoretical soundness. In disciplines that use spatial data, this method can lead to new insights, as we exemplify by identifying the dominant features in a forest dataset. In that application, the width-extents of the dominant features have an ecological interpretation, namely the species interaction range, and their estimates support the derivation of ecosystem properties such as biodiversity indices.