Evaluating Indices that Measure Departure of Current Landscape Composition from Historical Conditions

Evaluating Indices that Measure Departure of Current Landscape Composition from Historical Conditions PDF Author: Robert E. Keane
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Ecosystem management
Languages : en
Pages : 28

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A measure of the degree of departure of a landscape from its range of historical conditions can provide a means for prioritizing and planning areas for restoration treatments. There are few statistics or indices that provide a quantitative context for measuring departure across landscapes. This study evaluated a set of five similarity indices commonly used in vegetation community ecology (Sorenson's Index, Chord Distance, Morisita's Index, Euclidean Distance, and Similarity Ratio) for application in estimating landscape departure (where departure = 1 - similarity). This involved comparing composition (vegetation type by area) of a set of reference landscapes to the compositions of 1,000 simulated historical landscapes. Stochastic simulation modeling was used to create a diverse set of synthetic reference and historical landscapes for departure index evaluation. Five reference landscapes were created to represent various degrees of expected departure from historical conditions. Both reference and historical landscapes were created to contain four important factors that could potentially influence departure calculation: (1) number of classes defining landscape composition, (2) dominance of the classes, (3) variability of area with the classes, and (4) temporal autocorrelation. We found that most evaluated indices are useful but not optimal for calculating departure. The Sorenson's Index appeared to perform the best with consistent and precise behavior across the ranges of the four treatments. The number of classes used to describe vegetation had the strongest influence on index performance; landscape composition defined by few classes had the least accurate, most imprecise, and most highly variable departure estimates. While results from this study show the utility of similarity indices in evaluating departure, it is also evident that a new set of statistics are needed to provide a more comprehensive analysis of departure for future applications.

Research Paper RMRS

Research Paper RMRS PDF Author:
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ISBN:
Category : Forests and forestry
Languages : en
Pages : 28

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General Technical Report RMRS

General Technical Report RMRS PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Forests and forestry
Languages : en
Pages : 424

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Taos Resource Management Plan

Taos Resource Management Plan PDF Author:
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ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 528

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Disturbance departure and fragmentation of natural systems in the interior Columbia basin

Disturbance departure and fragmentation of natural systems in the interior Columbia basin PDF Author: Wendel Hann
Publisher:
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Category : Ecological disturbances
Languages : en
Pages : 28

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Forest Plan Amendments Proposed to Facilitate Implementation of the 2009 Plan-Scale Wildlife Conservation Strategy, Phase 1: Forested Biological Community

Forest Plan Amendments Proposed to Facilitate Implementation of the 2009 Plan-Scale Wildlife Conservation Strategy, Phase 1: Forested Biological Community PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 502

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Historical Environmental Variation in Conservation and Natural Resource Management

Historical Environmental Variation in Conservation and Natural Resource Management PDF Author: John A. Wiens
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118329759
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
In North America, concepts of Historical Range of Variability are being employed in land-management planning for properties of private organizations and multiple government agencies. The National Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, and The Nature Conservancy all include elements of historical ecology in their planning processes. Similar approaches are part of land management and conservation in Europe and Australia. Each of these user groups must struggle with the added complication of rapid climate change, rapid land-use change, and technical issues in order to employ historical ecology effectively. Historical Environmental Variation in Conservation and Natural Resource Management explores the utility of historical ecology in a management and conservation context and the development of concepts related to understanding future ranges of variability. It provides guidance and insights to all those entrusted with managing and conserving natural resources: land-use planners, ecologists, fire scientists, natural resource policy makers, conservation biologists, refuge and preserve managers, and field practitioners. The book will be particularly timely as science-based management is once again emphasized in United States federal land management and as an understanding of the potential effects of climate change becomes more widespread among resource managers. Additional resources for this book can be found at: www.wiley.com/go/wiens/historicalenvironmentalvariation.

An Assessment of Ecosystem Components in the Interior Columbia Basin and Portions of the Klamath and Great Basins

An Assessment of Ecosystem Components in the Interior Columbia Basin and Portions of the Klamath and Great Basins PDF Author:
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ISBN:
Category : Biotic communities
Languages : en
Pages : 732

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Research Paper PNW.

Research Paper PNW. PDF Author:
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ISBN:
Category : Forests and forestry
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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Rangeland Ecology & Management

Rangeland Ecology & Management PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Ranching
Languages : en
Pages : 738

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