Title: Gap Analysis in the Southeast (with a look to the Northeast)
1Gap Analysis in the Southeast (with a look to
the Northeast)
23 June 2006 Patuxent Wildlife Research
Center Laurel, MD
Steve Williams Biodiversity and Spatial
Information Center NC Cooperative Fish Wildlife
Research Unit North Carolina State University
2Project Goals
- Create consistent and current land cover products
for the Southeast - Create consistent presence/absence models for
600 native terrestrial vertebrates - Incorporate GAP data with ongoing conservation
planning efforts - North American Bird Conservation Initiative
- USFWS Refuges, Ecological Services, and CCP
Planning Process - State Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Plans
- More
3SE-GAPs contribution to the National Land Cover
Datasets
Seven mapping zones 21 Land Cover classes
Impervious Surface (0 -100) Canopy
Closure (0 -100)
4SE-GAP Detailed Land Cover Dataset
Based on Ecological Systems - NatureServe
Eleven mapping zones 135 Land Cover classes
5Ancillary Data Development
- Ecological System Range Maps
- Landform Modeling
- Riparian Models
- Aerial Photo Reference Data Collection
- National Wetland Inventory Data Digitization
6Vertebrate Data
- 608 Species (terrestrial)
- Known Range
- Predicted Habitat Models
- Presence/Absence Distribution Maps
- Knowledge Based Information
7SE-GAP Known Range Maps
Seepage Salamander Desmognathus aeneus
Northern Parula Parula americana
8(No Transcript)
9SE-GAP Pres./Abs. Distribution Model
Prothonotary Warbler Protonotaria citrea
10SE-GAP Deliverables
- 2001 NLCD level land cover (20 classes)
- 2001 GAP level land cover based on NatureServe
Systems (135 classes) - Digital photo library (30,000)
- Ancillary data sets (NHD, NED, NWI, landform)
used in spatial modeling - Vertebrate database
- Taxonomic information
- Protection status
- Habitat relationships
- Textual descriptions of habitat
- Spatial modeling criteria
- Citations
- 600 vertebrate species known range maps and
distribution models (presence/absence)
11SE-GAP and USFWS Modeling
SE-GAP
USFWS
12Pilot Project Objectives
- Knowledge-based Habitat Suitability Maps
- Ranking of model parameters for habitat
suitability by expert opinion
13Pilot Project Objectives
- Knowledge-based Habitat Suitability Maps
- Ranking of model parameters for habitat
suitability by expert opinion - Sensitivity Analysis
- Determine the influence of model inputs on
prediction areas
- Little impact but is it critical to the
species? - Big impact - assess reliability and focus on
refinement
- Management implications
- Distance to water protect riparian habitat.
- Open grassland land cover type implement fire
management
14Pilot Project Objectives
- Knowledge-based Habitat Suitability Maps
- Ranking of model parameters for habitat
suitability by expert opinion - Sensitivity Analysis
- Determine the influence of model inputs on
prediction areas - Data-driven Habitat Suitability Maps
- Develop habitat suitability classification with
existing observation datasets and a variety of
statistical approaches (CART, DOMAIN, MaxEnt,
etc.)
15Pilot Project Objectives
- Knowledge-based Habitat Suitability Maps
- Ranking of model parameters for habitat
suitability by expert opinion - Sensitivity Analysis
- Determine the influence of model inputs on
prediction areas - Data-driven Habitat Suitability Maps
- Develop habitat suitability classification with
existing observation datasets and a variety of
statistical approaches (CART, DOMAIN, MaxEnt,
etc.) - Develop Population Linkages to Habitat
Suitability - Provides the numbers needed for conservation
assessments
16Literature Review Database
17Consolidating / Updating GAP Data in the
Northeastern US
- Vertebrate Data similar approach to SE-GAP
effort - Land Cover Data modified approach due to
available data (i.e. FIA) and integration with
other ongoing efforts - Stewardship Data compile and update boundary
and GAP status for region
18Intersection of Bird Conservation Regions
19Timeline for Eastern GAPLand CoverData
20ANALYSES AND APPLICATIONS
- How can we better serve GAP data for ongoing
conservation planning efforts (i.e. Wildlife
Action Plans, HCPs, others)?
- Develop a web-based interactive decision support
tool based on the functionality of the GAP
Ecosystem Data Explorer Tool GAP regional
datasets.
21LAND COVER MAPPING
- Map Ecological Systems of the Chesapeake Bay,
Central Appalachian Region (Zones 60 and 61),
Southern Alleghany Plateau and to complete the
maps for West Virginia and Ohio (Zone 62 and 52). - Study the application of pattern recognition in
image classification for mapping herbaceous
Ecological Systems and anthropogenic cover types. - Study the application of Light Detection and
Radar (LiDAR) data for enhancing land cover data
with sub-canopy structural information. - Land cover mapping for zones 63, 64, 65, and 66
(New England) to support the creation of a
seamless mosaic of detailed land cover for the
entire Eastern United States.
22VERTREBRATE MODELING
- Deductive modeling of vertebrate species habitat
for Northeast (ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT, NY, PA,
NJ, MD, DE, and OH). - This effort in combination with the models for
the Southeastern Region will provide a seamless
dataset for the Eastern United States. - Inductive habitat suitability modeling for
priority bird species in selected Bird
Conservation Regions of the Eastern United States.
23LAND STEWARDSHIP
- Analyze the distribution and pattern of
conservation lands throughout the Southeastern
U.S. - Develop prototype analyses and applications for
land trusts whose primary interests include
natural resource conservation.
24Personnel Resources
- Research Staff
- 2 Remote Sensing Analysts / Plant Community
Ecologists - 3 Database-GIS Analysts / Vertebrate Ecologists
- 2 GIS Analysts
- 3 Postdocs (Applications, Avian Modeling,
SSP-Ecosystem Goals) - Programmer (online dss tool)
- Students
- PhD (vertebrate modeling)
- MS (pattern recognition)
- MS (lidar)
- 2 MLS (stewardship)
25gapanalysis.nbii.gov