2.2.3. Determination of landscape variables
Explanatory landscape variables were described by a percentage of
land use in 2000-m scale around sampling sites. Combined with the
ground survey, environmental satellite images of the year 2010 were
used to interpret landscape maps of the study area. Before identifying remote
sensing images and marking land utilization types, based on the
Chinese “Current Land Utilization Classification” (GB/T 21010-2007), as
well as the actual situation of coastal wetlands, eight kinds of land use
were set: forest land, dry cropland, paddy field, impervious area, water
area, aquaculture pond, mangrove swamp and mudflat.