Landscape patch shape complexity as an effective measure for plant species richness in rural landscapes

The application of landscape patch shape complexity as a predictor of vascular plant and bryophyte species richness is analysed. Several common complexity indices (shape index, fractal dimension, comparison to the area of the minimum bounding rectangle) are tested for their predictive power for plant species richness. One new robust measure for shape complexity is presented which overcomes some disadvantages of common complexity measures applied to high resolution analysis of agricultural landscapes based on aerial photographs. The new index is based on the number of shape characterising points along a polygon's boundary. This new measure shows promising predictive capabilities for species richness of vascular plants and bryophytes (correlation coefficient: 0.85 for vascular plants, 0.74 for bryophytes).