2) Largest Patch Index (LPI)
Largest Patch Index was overwhelmingly high in desert shrubs and was not highly influenced by any urban stages. The remaining types of ecosystems illustrated very similar patterns with extremely low values for the short-term and long-term scenarios, and with slight peaks for mid-term scenario. It signifies that desert shrublands, unlike other types of ecosystems, exist as relatively large patch sizes in the landscape in the first place, and the largest patch will have the least impact from future urbanisation. However, it does not mean that the majority of desert shrub patches with various sizes are never influenced by the future urbanisation, because this landscape index only computes the size of the single largest patch. It is the most likely that the largest patch in desert shrub ecosystem is located in open outlying desert far from the already built-up areas, but other small- or mid-size remnant desert patches are expected to be developed for urban purposes. Unsurprisingly, there is a huge contrast between desert shrub lands and managed open spaces in Largest Patch Index. On average, the largest desert shrub patch is nearly 40 times larger than that of managed open space. This is expected because the managed open spaces mostly present in and around the cities. The relatively sharp fluctuation in grassland, agriculture, and managed open space describes the high likelihood that urban development will be positioned in larger relatively undisturbed patches. Such circumstances will be evident when approved, conceptualised, and potential urban plans are all implemented in the real landscapes.