Seeking parsimony in landscape metrics

Cunningham, Mary Ann; Johnson, Douglas H.

doi:10.1002/jwmg.85

Cited by 13 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…Models incorporating LiDAR-derived metrics had higher model weights and were much better supported for predicting occurrence for both species on relatively small units of area than those models which did not include LiDARderived metrics. Further, those models which relied on standard methods for estimating canopy cover (e.g., Cunningham and Johnson 2011) but incorporated some LiDAR-derived information for vegetation height were not competitive for warblers (DAIC c . 24) or vireos (DAIC c .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using LiDAR‐derived vegetation metrics for high‐resolution, species distribution models for conservation planning

et al. 2013

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. Using LiDAR-derived vegetation metrics for high-resolution, species distribution models for conservation planning. Ecosphere 4(3):42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES12-000352.1Abstract. Advances in remotely sensed data for characterizing habitat have enabled development of spatially explicit predictive species distribution models (SDM) that can be essential tools for management. SDMs commonly use coarse-grain metrics, such as forest patch size or patch connectivity, over broad spatial extents. However, species distributions are likely driven in part by local, fine-grained habitat conditions. Conservation and management are often planned and applied locally, where coarse predictions may be uninformative or not sufficiently precise. We investigated the integration of high-resolution LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) with avian point sampling data to develop a detection-corrected occupancy model to quantify habitat-occurrence relationships for two species with different habitats: the endangered golden-cheeked warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia) and black-capped vireo (Vireo atricapilla) on a military installation in central Texas. We compared occupancy models that used only the more conventional, coarse remotely sensed metrics to models that also incorporated high-resolution LiDAR-derived metrics for vegetation height and canopy cover, to assess their use for predicting distributions. Models including LiDAR-derived vegetation height and canopy cover metrics were competitive for both species, and models without LiDAR-derived vegetation height had substantially lower model weights and explanatory strength. Area under curve estimates for the highest ranked models were high for warblers (0.864) and moderate for vireos (0.746). Using the best supported models for each species, we predicted the occurrence distribution for both species. The resulting predictions provide a decision support tool that enables assessment of the status, impacts, and mitigation of impacts to endangered species habitat on the installation due to land management and military training activities that is more standardized and accurate than current assessment approaches based on visual gestalt of habitat and expert opinion. Additionally, although previous species distribution models have been created for our focal species, most fail to match the grain and extent of most management actions or include local, fine-grained metrics that influence distributions. In contrast, we demonstrate that use of LiDAR with species occurrence data can provide precision and resolution at a scale that is relevant ecologically and to the operational scale of most conservation and management actions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using LiDAR‐derived vegetation metrics for high‐resolution, species distribution models for conservation planning

et al. 2013

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“…We calculated the amount of habitat within a given distance from each survey point (''percent habitat''), a metric of habitat contiguity that has proved more reliable and consistent than other metrics and is more easily interpreted (Trzcinski et al 1999, Cunningham and Johnson 2011, Fahrig 2013. We calculated the percent habitat within the estimated dispersal distance discussed above (3 km), and also within a distance of 1 km, which is intermediate between the 3-km scale and the local scale of the measured vegetation characteristics.…”

Section: Landscapementioning

confidence: 99%

The relative importance of multiscale factors in the distribution of Bachman's Sparrow and the implications for ecosystem conservation

2015

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“…2). This measure is increasingly recognized as influential for proximate-scale habitat occupation in fragmented landscapes (Dunford and Freemark 2005, Ribic et al 2009b, Desrochers et al 2010, Cunningham and Johnson 2011, Vetter et al 2013). …”

Section: Land Cover and Landscape Metricsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We used percentage tree cover because it was best overall, as discussed in Cunningham and Johnson (2011). Percentage tree cover and edge density were equivalent in their influence on species.…”

Section: Selecting An Explanatory Landscape Variablementioning

confidence: 99%

What you find depends on where you look: responses to proximate habitat vary with landscape context

Cunningham¹,

Johnson²

2016

ACE

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ABSTRACT. There is persistent interest in understanding responses of passerine birds to habitat fragmentation, but research findings have been inconsistent and sometimes contradictory in conclusions about how birds respond to characteristics of sites they occupy, such as habitat patch size or edge density. We examined whether these inconsistencies could result from differences in the amount of habitat in the surrounding landscape, e.g., for woodland birds, the amount of tree cover in the surrounding landscape. We compared responses of 22 woodland bird species to proximate-scale tree cover in open landscapes versus wooded landscapes. Our main expectation was that woodland birds would tolerate less suitable sites (less tree cover at the site scale) in open environments where they had little choice-where little tree cover was available in the surrounding area. We compared responses using logistic regression coefficients and loess plots in open and wooded landscapes in eastern North Dakota, USA. Responses to proximate-scale tree cover were stronger, not weaker, as expected, in open landscapes. In some cases the sign of the response changed from positive to negative in contrasting landscapes. We draw two conclusions: First, observed responses to proximate habitat measures such as habitat extent or edge density cannot be interpreted reliably unless landscape context is specified. Second, birds appear more selective, not less so, where habitat is sparse. Habitat loss and fragmentation at the landscape scale are likely to reduce the usefulness of local habitat conservation, and regional drivers in land-use change can have important effects for site-scale habitat use. Ce que vous trouvez dépend d'où vous regardez : les réactions aux milieux avoisinants varient selon le contexte paysagerRÉSUMÉ. La compréhension des réactions des passereaux face à la fragmentation d'habitat est un sujet d'intérêt continu au sein de la communauté scientifique, mais les résultats sont variables d'une recherche à l'autre, parfois même contradictoires en ce qui concerne la réaction des oiseaux en fonction des caractéristiques des sites qu'ils occupent, comme la taille du peuplement ou la densité de lisières forestières. Nous avons examiné si ces contradictions pouvaient être attribuables à l'étendue des différents milieux dans le paysage environnant, par exemple, pour les oiseaux forestiers, le couvert d'arbres dans le paysage avoisinant. Nous avons comparé la réaction de 22 espèces forestières relativement au couvert forestier à l'échelle locale dans des paysages ouverts et des paysages forestiers. Nous nous attendions à ce que les oiseaux forestiers tolèreraient des sites moins propices (superficie du couvert d'arbres faible à l'échelle du site) dans des environnements ouverts où ils avaient peu de choix, c'est-à-dire qu'il y avait peu de couverture forestière dans les environs. Nous avons comparé les réactions au moyen de coefficients de régression logistique et de nuages de points loess dans des paysages ouverts ou boisés dans l'est du Dak...

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Seeking parsimony in landscape metrics

Cited by 13 publications

References 50 publications

Using LiDAR‐derived vegetation metrics for high‐resolution, species distribution models for conservation planning

Using LiDAR‐derived vegetation metrics for high‐resolution, species distribution models for conservation planning

The relative importance of multiscale factors in the distribution of Bachman's Sparrow and the implications for ecosystem conservation

What you find depends on where you look: responses to proximate habitat vary with landscape context

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