r.li.shape(1)

📦
version 8.4.2 · 8 versions
, in fedora 44

💖 r.li.shape — the shape index bestie 💖

GRASS GIS User's Manual · section 1

okay so. you wanna know how shaped your patches are. no cap, this is the one. ✨

🌸 NAME 🌸

r.li.shape — calculates shape index on a raster map

🎀 KEYWORDS 🎀

raster, landscape structure analysis, patch index

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

r.li.shape
r.li.shape --help
r.li.shape input=name config=name output=name  [--overwrite]  [--help]
[--verbose] [--quiet] [--ui]

🫶 Flags

  • --overwrite — bestie, this lets your output files just bulldoze whatever was already there. allow output files to overwrite existing files 💅
  • --help — prints the usage summary so you're not out here guessing
  • --verbose — verbose module output, i.e. it tells you everything it's doing
  • --quiet — quiet module output, i.e. it shuts up and just works
  • --ui — force launching the GUI dialog, for when you want the pretty buttons

🌈 Parameters

  • input=name [required] — name of input raster map
  • config=name [required] — configuration file
  • output=name [required] — name for output raster map

💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

r.li.shape calculates the landscape shape index, and the formula is literally this:

LSI = 0.25 * E / sqrt(A)

with:

  • E: sum of all edges
  • A: sum of all patch areas

that's it. that's the whole vibe. math ate. 🔥

🦋 NOTES 🦋

do NOT use absolute path names for the config and output file/map parameters. i'm so serious. relative paths only, bestie.

if the "moving window" method was selected in g.gui.rlisetup, then the output will be a raster map. otherwise an ASCII file will be generated in the folder:

  • C:\Users\userxy\AppData\Roaming\GRASS8\r.li\output\ (MS-Windows)
  • $HOME/.grass8/r.li/output/ (GNU/Linux)

and if the input raster map contains only NULL values, then r.li.shape returns NULL. it's giving "nothing to see here". 🫥

🍓 EXAMPLES 🍓

to calculate the shape index on map my_map, using the my_conf configuration file (previously defined with g.gui.rlisetup) and saving results in my_out, run:

r.li.shape input=my_map conf=my_conf output=my_out

forest map (Spearfish sample dataset) example — iconic dataset, no notes:

g.region raster=landcover.30m -p
r.mapcalc "forests = if(landcover.30m >= 41 && landcover.30m <= 43,1,null())"
r.li.shape input=forests conf=movwindow7 out=forests_shape_mov7
r.univar forests_shape_mov7

forest map (North Carolina sample dataset) example — the full glow-up, verification and all:

g.region raster=landclass96 -p
r.mapcalc "forests = if(landclass96 == 5, 1, null() )"
r.li.shape input=forests conf=movwindow7 out=forests_shape_mov7
# verify
r.univar forests_shape_mov7
r.to.vect input=forests output=forests type=area
d.mon wx0
d.rast forests_shape_mov7
d.vect forests type=boundary

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

  • r.li — package overview
  • g.gui.rlisetup

📚 REFERENCES 📚

McGarigal, K., and B. J. Marks. 1995. FRAGSTATS: spatial pattern analysis program for quantifying landscape structure. USDA For. Serv. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-351. (PDF)

💖 AUTHORS 💖

Claudio Porta and Lucio Davide Spano, students of Computer Science, University of Pisa (Italy).

Commission from Faunalia Pontedera (PI) (www.faunalia.it)

⭐ SOURCE CODE ⭐

Available at: r.li.shape source code (history)

Accessed: Saturday Jan 17 05:40:56 2026

Main index | Raster index | Topics index | Keywords index | Graphical index | Full index

© 2003-2025 GRASS Development Team, GRASS GIS 8.4.2 Reference Manual

and that's the whole page, bestie 💅 this manual came to you courtesy of GRASS 8.4.2, and yeah — r.li.shape(1) is the section, periodt. go calculate some shapes. 🦋✨

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