| Proportion riparian vegetation | PLAND | ( ∑ i = 1 n a i / A ) × 100 | ·A value of 0 represents a landscape with no riparian vegetation. |
| ·A value of 100 means the entire buffer is covered by a large vegetation patch. |
| Largest riparian vegetation patch ratio | LPI | max i = 1 ( a i ) / A × 100 | ·LPI approaches 0 when the patch is very small. |
| ·A value of 100 means the entire buffer area consists of a single large vegetation patch. |
| Spatial proximity of riparian vegetation patches | LDI | { 1 − ∑ i = 1 n ( a i / A ) 2 } | ·A value of 0 means the riparian buffer consists of a single large vegetation patch. |
| ·A value of 1 indicates that the total vegetation patch type consists of a single small one-cell patch. |
| Shape of riparian vegetation patches | LSI | e i min e i | ·A standardized measure of total edge or edge density that adjusts for the size of the landscape. |
| ·A value of 1 indicates that the patch shape is “square”. |
| ·The more complex the landscape, the greater the value. |