ИСТИНА

Contradiction between local scale of data collection and regional scale of nature management encourages landscape science to focus on multiscale organization of a landscape structure. Elaboration of methods how to translate information from one scale to another is a matter of crucial importance. Since landscape is an interrelated system of components and sub-systems, density of intercomponents relations and resulting emergent properties are key issues of research. We performed field research in several forest regions of Russia and propose a set of interrelated statistical tools to evaluate contributions of higher-order geosystems to spatial variation in local landscape units. Higher-order geosystems were characterized by relief pattern evaluated from DEM. Vertical and horizontal curvature and dissection were calculated for various sizes of moving window followed by comparison of resulting models quality. We argue that discrete and continual properties co-exist in the same landscape space. To make distinction between them means to make correct choice of research scale. Landscape unit is involved by various groups of properties simultaneously in processes acting in several characteristic spatial scales. Principal components analysis techniques were applied to separate properties of soils and phytocoenoses that i) obey to higher-order geosystems, ii) depend on self-development in situ. We demonstrate how a set of multiple regression non-linear models enables us to determine characteristic spatial scale of geosystem that impose control on this or that group of properties. Type of linkages is described by set of statistically significant regression coefficients. Proposed procedure is used to identify areas with different types of intercomponent relations and, hence, with different binding factors of spatial organization. By means of probabilistic mapping we show degree of concordance between properties of landforms, bedrocks, soil and phytocoenoses. This allows forecasting state of equilibrium or disequilibrium under exterior impacts.