Steve Buttrick and Ken Popper The Nature Conservancy · • Assess conservation status of resilient...
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Steve Buttrick and Ken Popper The Nature Conservancy
Transcript of Steve Buttrick and Ken Popper The Nature Conservancy · • Assess conservation status of resilient...
Steve Buttrick and Ken PopperThe Nature Conservancy
Identifying Climate Resilient Terrestrial Landscapes in the
Pacific Northwest
Doris Duke Charitable FoundationClimate Change Resilience Project
Conserving Nature’s Stage
Steve ButtrickDir of Conservation Science
Ken PopperSenior Conservation Planner
October 14, 2015
Core Team
Ken Popper: Senior Conservation Planner - ORMichael Schindel: Dir. Information Mgmt. - ORAaron Jones: GIS Analyst - ORBrad McRae: Spatial Ecologist – NA ScienceJim Platt: GIS Analyst – NA ScienceBob Unnasch: Dir of Science – IDSteve Buttrick: Dir of Cons. Science - OR
ProjectArea
Agenda
• Concept and Methods• Use in Conservation Planning
Highly VulnerableLimited capacity to adaptDisrupted function, low diversity
Highly ResilientLarge capacity to adaptSustain function and diversity
Resilience: DefinitionThe capacity for renewal in a dynamic environment
- Gunderson 2000
Resilient site: Has characteristics that maintain ecological functions and will likely sustain a diversity of species even as the composition and ecological processes change.
Vulnerable site: A place where processes are disrupted and fragmented, and diversity is likely to decrease. The site may still perform many natural services
Central Concept
By mapping key geophysical features and evaluating all occurrences of these features for characteristics that buffer against climate effects, we can identify representative examples of geophysical features that are most resilient to climate change.
Premise # 1
Geophysical features underlie the spatial distribution of biodiversity and a region’s biological richness is due, in part, to this geophysical diversity.
Diversity and Land Facets
The higher the number of land facets the higher the number of species
Anderson and Ferree. 2010.Conserving the StageClimate change and the geophysical underpinnings of species diversity, PlosOne
Conserving Nature’s Stage
Soil Order (11)
Elevation (7 with 600m breaks)
Slope (3 breaks)
Alfisols 0-600 0-6 Andisols 600-1,200 6-18 Aridisols 1,200-1,800 Over 18 Entisols 1,800-2,400
Histosols 2,400-3,000 Inceptisols 3000-3,600 Mollisols 3,600-4,200
Spodosols Ultisols
Vertisols Rock
Three geophysical factors and breaks were used to create land facets.(The number of classes defined for each factor is indicated in parentheses,
along with a description of how they were defined)
Land Facet Development
Premise # 2
Topoclimate diversity and local permeability convey a level of resilience to a landscape or site.
Geophysical features underlie the spatial distribution of biodiversity and a region’s biological richness is due, in part, to this geophysical diversity.
Landforms control the distribution of moisture, nutrients and climatic effects.
More Heterogeneity = more options for species to move and rearrange at a given site.
Mt. Mansfield Mt. Mansfield LandformsLandforms
NN
Topoclimate Diversity
Topoclimate Diversity
Heat Load Index: HLI
Compound Topographic Index: CTI
Topoclimate Diversity
Topoclimatic Diversity Index
Local Terrestrial Permeability
Permeability
TerrestrialPermeability
TerrestrialResilience
TerrestrialResilience
Density
Use in Conservation Planning
• Assess existing conservation sites for terrestrial resilience.
Ecoregional Assessments
Portfolio sites intersected and ranked by proportion of Resilient Land Facets
Use in Conservation Planning
• Assess conservation status of resilient land facets in existing conservation portfolios.
• Use Resilience to update ecoregional assessments
Land Facet Targets:
Above Average Resilience
AndAll Land Facets
Land Facet– based Portfolio 32% of project area
Target # of targets % Goals MetBiodiversity 549 44%Land Facets 90 100%
Biodiversity Targets:
Systemsand Species
Biodiversity– based Portfolio 39% of project area
Target # of targets % Goals MetBiodiversity 549 100%Land Facets 90 79%
Combined Land Facet and Biodiversity–based Portfolio
41% of project areaTarget # of targets % Goals MetBiodiversity 549 100%Land Facets 90 100%
All Targets
Met all goals
Use in Conservation Planning
• Assess conservation status of resilient land facets in existing conservation portfolios.
• Use Resilience to update ecoregional assessments• Use Resilience to inform conservation/management
actions on public land.
Use in Conservation Planning
• Assess conservation status of resilient land facets in existing conservation portfolios.
• Use Resilience to update ecoregional assessments• Use Resilience to inform conservation/management
actions on public land.• Leverage results so that new projects are put through a
resilience filter
Use in Conservation Planning
• Assess conservation status of resilient land facets in existing conservation portfolios.
• Use Resilience to update ecoregional assessments• Use Resilience to inform conservation/management
actions on public land.• Leverage results so that new projects are identified
using a resilience filter DDCF Protection Grant: Prioritize underprotected and
overconverted land facets based on1. Resilience2. Ownership3. Conservation Risk
TerrestrialResilience
Steve Buttrick:
Ken Popper: [email protected]
The Nature Conservancy in Oregon
http://nature.ly/resilienceNW
Steve Buttrick:
Ken Popper: [email protected]
The Nature Conservancy in Oregon
http://nature.ly/resilienceNW
