Landscape Partnership Resources Library
Pennsylvania Energy Impacts Assessment
In 2010, TNC scientists focused on projections of how new energy development could impact natural habitats in Pennsylvania to shape strategies that avoid or minimize those impacts.
Presentation: Core Team Meeting, November 2014
Presentation by Kevin McGarigal (UMass) with updates on the Designing Sustainable Landscapes project for the Core Team Meeting
Document: Summary/Notes from Core Team Meeting
Annotations of slides and notes from discussion during the October 2014 Core Team Meeting
Development of a Spatially Explicit Surface Coal Mining Predictive Model
The goal of this project was to create a spatially explicit 1km2 grid cell model for the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative (Figure 1) predicting where surface coal mining is likely to occur in in a projected future time period, under two different scenarios. To accomplish this goal we combined GIS spatial analysis, a Random Forests predictive model, and future mining buildout scenarios. This report provides a detailed methodology of our approach and discussion of our results.
Development of a Spatially Explicit Surface Coal Mining Predictive Model
The goal of this project was to create a spatially explicit 1km2 grid cell model for the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative (Figure 1) predicting where surface coal mining is likely to occur in in a projected future time period, under two different scenarios. To accomplish this goal we combined GIS spatial analysis, a Random Forests predictive model, and future mining buildout scenarios. This report provides a detailed methodology of our approach and discussion of our results.
Alternatives for Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Report to the Appalachian LCC
How should the Appalachian LCC acquire information about the vulnerability of Appalachian species and habitats to climate change to share with its partners? This report summarizes the findings and recommendations of a seven-member Expert Panel that sought to answer this question identified as a major research priority. The Panel addressed three aspects of the question: the selection of species and habitats to assess, approaches to vulnerability assessment, and the availability of downscaled climate data.
Report: Riparian Prioritization and Status Assessment for Climate Change Resilience of Coldwater Stream Habitats within the Appalachian and Northeastern Regions
Among a host of other critical ecosystem functions, intact riparian forests can help to reduce vulnerability of coldwater stream habitats to warming regional temperatures. Restoring and conserving these forests can therefore be an important part of regional and landscape-scale conservation plans, but managers need science and decision-support tools to help determine when these actions will be most effective. To help fill this need, we developed the Riparian Prioritization for Climate Change Resilience (RPCCR) web-based decision support tool to quickly and easily identify, based on current riparian cover and predicted vulnerability to air temperature warming, sites that are priority candidates for riparian restoration and conservation.
Riparian Prioritization and Status Assessment for Climate Change Resilience of Coldwater Stream Habitats within the Appalachian and Northeastern Regions
Among a host of other critical ecosystem functions, intact riparian forests can help to reduce vulnerability of coldwater stream habitats to warming regional temperatures. Restoring and conserving these forests can therefore be an important part of regional and landscape-scale conservation plans, but managers need science and decision-support tools to help determine when these actions will be most effective. To help fill this need, we developed the Riparian Prioritization for Climate Change Resilience (RPCCR) web-based decision support tool to quickly and easily identify, based on current riparian cover and predicted vulnerability to air temperature warming, sites that are priority candidates for riparian restoration and conservation.
An Analysis of State Wildlife Action Plans in the Appalachian LCC
In this synthesis, we describe how the information contained in the individual State Wildlife Action Plans and conservation plans by other agencies can be linked together towards identifying opportunities to integrate state and local scale efforts into regional conservation framework for the AppLCC. Specifically, our aim was to quantify the objectivity and efforts across the 15 partner states. We are particularly interested in the commonalities of methodology and results across plans. Throughout the document, we integrate our previous efforts in this data needs assessment to figure out ways that state efforts can be upscaled to meet regional planning goals.
Literature Review of Freshwater Classification Frameworks
Identifying aquatic ecosystems requires a classification of stream and lake features into recognizable entities or categories. Although a number of nationally recognized terrestrial community classifications exist, the most accepted being the National Vegetation Classification System (Grossman et al. 1998), currently there is no national or international standard for classifying aquatic communities or ecosystems. Despite the lack of a national aquatic community classification, aquatic ecosystem classifications and frameworks have been developed at a variety of spatial scales. Their goal is often to reflect the distribution of aqutic biological communities. These assemblages recur across the landscape under similar habitat conditions and ecological processes (Higgins et al. 2005). The methods used to develop aquatic ecosystem classifications vary widely, as do the biotic and abiotic variables considered in the classifications. The classifications generally fall into two broad categories: 1) taxonomic or bio-ecosystem classifications and 2) environmental or geo-physical ecosystem classifications (Rowe and Barnes 1994); however some classifications combine aspects of both.
Literature Review of Freshwater Classification Frameworks
Identifying aquatic ecosystems requires a classification of stream and lake features into recognizable categories. Although a number of nationally recognized terrestrial community classifications exist, currently there is no national or international standard for classifying aquatic communities or ecosystems. Despite the lack of a national aquatic community classification, aquatic ecosystem classifications and frameworks have been developed at a variety of spatial scales to reflect the distribution of aquatic biological communities. This report reviews these freshwater classification frameworks, providing detailed analysis and application examples of taxonomic, environmental, and hydrologic classifications in use within the Appalachian region.
Presentation: Ecosystem and Species-Based Cores and Connectivity
Presentation by Kevin McGarigal (UMass) on the species-based and ecosystem-based approaches to core area generation, and their connectivity, to the Connecticut River Watershed Landscape Conservation Design Core Team
Document: Ecosystem Scenarios Summary for Terrestrial Subteam
This document summarizes the recent decisions made to date related to ecosystem core areas and provides additional information to aid in making final decisions on the remaining questions.
Document: Notes from 09-26-2014 Core Team Meeting
Annotated notes from Kevin McGarigal's presentation and transcript of discussions by Core Team.
Poster: Connecticut River Pilot
Poster on the Connecticut River Pilot Landscape Conservation Design by the North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative and UMass-Amherst
Goal 4: Steering Committee Function and Leadership of Work Plan Report Card
FY2014 Annual Steering Committee Meeting 5-Year Work Plan (“Report Card” updated August 2014).
