Satellite imagery as a tool to evaluate ecological scale

Methods for detecting scale and dispersion of plant cover developed by Carilieet al. (1989,Landscape Ecology 2: 203–213) were adapted to information obtained from satellite imagery. Scales were found to be on the order of 100 m in the shrub-steppe area of southeastern Washington. General agreement between the remotely sensed data and plant cover using the variance and correlation methods of Carlileet al. indicate that remote sensing information can be used in the design of field studies for measuring the processes controlling plant cover in semi-arid areas; the agreement also suggests that the methods have broad applicability in the determination of scale and dispersion.