Lama - a fast Landscape Metric Analyzer

Introduction to Lama

Lama is a software tool that has been developed to quickly calculate landscape metrics on grid-based maps. Download here a detailed description of the landscape metrics that are implemented in Lama. Lama calculates the implemented indices within circular buffers surrounding a set of focal points.

Therefore, the user needs to provide three items only once: (1) a raster map containing the land-use data, (2) a set of observation points for each of which the landscape metrics are obtained and (3) a range of buffer radii in order to control for scale effects in further analysis.

Lama is easy to use since all elements on the GUI are explained by the llama itself as shown in the image below. Fields that are related to previously made user choices e.g. drop-down box containing file properties are subsequently filled, therefore providing a most user-friendly and consolidate user interface. The output of the analysis is a spreadsheet, formatted as comma separated values (csv) rather than a GIS layer. CSV-formats can than easily be processed with any spreadsheet managing software and statistical analysis tools.

Lama was primary designed for an analysis of distance effects in species-habitat regressions. This study was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research within the research programm of BIOLOG Europe.


Technical issues

Lama has been programmed as an extension for ESRI GIS ArcMap 9.2 on Windows XP using VB6.0. Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 is required, there is no Linux compatible version available at the moment. Lama makes use of the ESRI ArcObjects libraries. Therefore, an installation of ESRI ArcMap software version 9.2. or higher has to be provided on the desktop system on which you want to run Lama. A license for ArcMap 9.2 or higher is necessary as well

Click here to download the installation files for Lama.

Installation

The application is provided as a dynamic link library packed in a zip file. There 3 steps to take to install Lama

  1. unpack lama.zip in an abitrary directory
  2. register lama-v1-5.dll using regsvr32 in the command line editor (cmd.exe)
  3. make the lama-v1-5.dll available to ArcMap via the established routines of ArcMap (customize -> commands)

 

 

 

Citation

If you use Lama v1.5 in your analysis, please cite this application as:
Aue, Birgit & Ekschmitt, Klemens (2010). Lama (v1.5): a fast landscape metric analyzer.
URL: http://www.biolog-europe.org/lama