Record Details
Effects of scale properties on biodiversity mapping in Oregon
ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Effects of scale properties on biodiversity mapping in Oregon |
| Names |
Kennelly, Patrick J., (Patrick Joseph)
(creator) Kimerling, A. Jon (advisor) |
| Date Issued | 1997-10-25 (iso8601) |
| Note | Graduation date: 1998 |
| Abstract | The effect of scale is an important concern in mapping of biodiversity. Scale issues include the grid cell size used for analysis and the effect of the extent and internal boundaries. Because biodiversity analysis involves combinatorial processes, determining the proper scale is data dependent and cannot be predicted from the initial data values and their distribution. Biodiversity analysis often samples combinations of species within geopolitical boundaries. The effects of ecoregion boundaries on prioritization analysis was analyzed in two ways. This study determined that prioritization hexagons for Oregon do not fall preferentially on ecoregion boundaries. This research also concluded that results of prioritization analysis are geographically stable with the elimination of hexagons on ecoregion boundaries from analysis. Species maps based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) grid were analyzed. Grid cells 7 times as large result in species richness maps statistically similar to maps made with the EMAP grid. Patterns of localized variation between grid cells indicate no one area is contributing to the overall variation. Prioritization maps, however, show different patterns of selected hexagons. Grid cells 49 times as large show a loss of species richness variation and a different pattern of prioritization hexagons. Richness maps based on wildlife habitat relations were used to map species richness at seven different three-fold compositions and decompositions of the EMAP grid. Analysis of statistics indicates that no scale shows a small relative decrease in coefficient of variation(CV), indicating no scale is relatively superior for richness mapping. Prioritization analysis was performed on the new combinations of species lists for five grid cell sizes ranging from 1/9 to 9X's the size of the EMAP grid. Efficiency of prioritization and map patterns of prioritization areas indicate that grid cells 1/3 the size of the EMAP hexagons are optimal. Comparisons can be made between the two biodiversity analyses at the EMAP scale for wildlife habitat vs. EMAP grid based species range maps. CV values have increased and the efficiency of prioritization is enhanced. This can be attributed to finer resolution sampling capturing additional information. |
| Genre | Thesis |
| Topic | Biological diversity -- Oregon -- Maps |
| Identifier | http://hdl.handle.net/1957/9073 |
