作为物种扩散的重要影响因子，景观连接度反映了景观促进或阻碍生物体在资源斑块间运动的程度，它也是区域土地可持续利用和生物保护领域的主要指标.最小费用模型起源于图论，其结合了景观中的详细地理信息和生物体的行为特征，通过费用距离分析可直观形象地描绘出物种在异质景观中的连接度，且可在GIS程序包中实现简便运算和适度的数据需求量，使其在大尺度景观连接度评价中受到广泛关注.本文结合当前的景观连接度研究，详细阐述了最小费用模型评价景观连接度的意义、原理及运算过程，并探讨了该模型应用中存在的问题，以期为进一步开展相关研究及生物多样性保护提供依据.
Landscape connectivity, as a dominant factor affecting species dispersal, reflects the degree to which the landscape facilitates or impedes organisms’ movement among resources patches. It is also an important indicator in sustainable land use and biological conservation. Least-cost model originates from graph theory, and integrates the detailed geographical information with organisms’ behavioral characteristics in the landscape. Through cost distance analysis, this model can describe the species connectivity in heterogeneous landscape intuitively and visually. Due to the simple algorithm performed in GIS packages and the demand of moderate data information, least-cost model has gained extensive attention in the evaluation of large-scale landscape connectivity. Based on the current studies of landscape connectivity, this paper elaborated the significance, principles, and operation processes of least-cost model in evaluating landscape connectivity, and discussed the existing problems of the model in its practical applications, which would benefit the further related studies and biodiversity conservation.