Multi-Scale Landscape Analysis (MSLA) - A method to identify correlation of relief with ecological point data

A common problem in ecology is identifying the relationship between relief and site properties obtainable only by point measurements. The method of Multi-Scale Landscape Analysis (MSLA) identifies such correlations. MSLA combines frequency filtering of the digital elevation model (DEM) with an estimation of the optimum filter coefficients using an optimization procedure. Tested using point data of soil decarbonation from a German young moraine landscape, MSLA provided significant results. Implemented within open source software SAMT, MSLA is comfortable and flexible to use, offering applications for numerous other spatial analysis problems.