Spatial Data Layers Selection & Development
Nutrition and habitat models for elk
in the Blue Mountains of NE Oregon and SE Washington
April 25, 2012
Cayuse Hall
Wildhorse Resort & Casino
Pendleton, Oregon
Bridgett J. Naylor
Pacific Northwest Research Station
Forestry and Range Sciences Lab
La Grande, Oregon
Photo by: Les Naylor
Presentation Outline
All covariates that were considered
Which ones we brought forward
How they were created
No Google Eyes!
Spatial Covariate Layers
Image modified from
(http://cegis.usgs.gov/)
2006 NAIP Image
Covariate Groups
NUTRITION
HUMAN DISTURBANCE
VEGETATION
PHYSICAL/OTHER
Photos by: Les Naylor, Rachel Cook, & Me
Full List of Covariates Considered
Nutrition
Human
Disturbance
Dietary digestible energy (DDE)
Distance to:
any road
Accepted biomass (AB)
open road
Total forage biomass (FB)
closed road
class 1 road
EVI (Enhanced Vegetation Index)
class 2 road
class 3 road
class 4 road
class 4 or greater road
class 1 or 2 road
class 3 or 4 road
Density of:
all roads
open roads and trails
Vegetation
Physical/
Other
Proportion of vegetation classes
Percent slope
Overstory canopy cover (CC)
Dominant slope class
Dominant CC class
Percent area in:
flat to gentle slopes
moderate to steep slopes
very steep slopes
Cover/forage ratio
Percent area in cover
Distance to:
cover-forage edge
cover patch (3 patch sizes)
agricultural land
Cosine and sine of aspect
Convexity
Solar radiation
Soil depth
Distance to:
water
pond
stream
Dominant landowner
Warning!
Cattle RSF
Reduced Set of Covariates in Competing Models
Covariates used in the
Model Selection Process
NUTRITION
• Accepted biomass (AB)
• Forage biomass (FB)
• Dietary digestible energy (DDE)
HUMAN DISTURBANCE
• Distance to roads by classes (1, 2, 3, 4 or greater)
VEGETATION
• Distance to cover-forage edge (d to edge)
• Percent area in cover (per cover)
• Proportion of vegetation classes (prop veg cls)
PHYSICAL/OTHER
•
•
•
•
•
Aspect in degrees (asp)
Percent slope (slp)
Convexity (convex)
Distance to nearest water, stream or pond (d to water, stream, or pond)
Soil Depth (sdep)
Software
Covariate Reporting Methods
200 m radius
Sampling unit
Top Nutrition Covariates
NUTRITION
• Accepted biomass (AB)
• Forage biomass (FB)
• Dietary digestible energy (DDE)
HUMAN DISTURBANCE
• Distance to roads by classes (1, 2, 3, 4 or greater)
VEGETATION
• Distance to cover-forage edge (d to edge)
• Percent area in cover (per cover)
• Proportion of vegetation classes (prop veg cls)
PHYSICAL/OTHER
•
•
•
•
•
Aspect in degrees (asp)
Percent slope (slp)
Convexity (convex)
Distance to nearest water, stream or pond (d to water, stream, or pond)
Soil Depth (sdep)
Nutrition Data Sources
EVT
ESP
Modifying the Potential Veg
Ag (EVT)
EVI
+
Irrigated
and
Nonirrigated
Ag
=
Wetlands
Warning!
=
Wet
Meadows
ESP
Modified Potential Veg
Biomass & DDE
Potential
Veg
Hang in
there!
Canopy
Cover
Accepted
Biomass
(AB)
Precip
(Apr–Aug)
Total
Forage
Biomass
(FB)
Dietary
Digestible
Energy
Date
Top Human
Disturbance Covariates
NUTRITION
• Accepted biomass (AB)
• Forage biomass (FB)
• Dietary digestible energy (DDE)
HUMAN DISTURBANCE
• Distance to roads by classes (1, 2, 3, 4 or greater)
VEGETATION
• Distance to cover-forage edge (d to edge)
• Percent area in cover (per cover)
• Proportion of vegetation classes (prop veg cls)
PHYSICAL/OTHER
•
•
•
•
•
Aspect in degrees (asp)
Percent slope (slp)
Convexity (convex)
Distance to nearest water, stream or pond (d to water, stream, or pond)
Soil Depth (sdep)
Human Disturbance
(Roads)
Open Roads
Assign Class
Calculate Distance
Class 1
Class 2
Class 3
Class 4
Top Vegetation Covariates
NUTRITION
• Accepted biomass (AB)
• Forage biomass (FB)
• Dietary digestible energy (DDE)
HUMAN DISTURBANCE
• Distance to roads by classes (1, 2, 3, 4 or greater)
VEGETATION
• Distance to cover-forage edge (d to edge)
• Percent area in cover (per cover)
• Proportion of vegetation classes (prop veg cls)
PHYSICAL/OTHER
•
•
•
•
•
Aspect in degrees (asp)
Percent slope (slp)
Convexity (convex)
Distance to nearest water, stream or pond (d to water, stream, or pond)
Soil Depth (sdep)
Defining Cover
Cover
Canopy
Cover
Stand
Height
> 40 %
>5m
Cover-Forage Map
Raw Cover
& Forage
Cover Patch &
Raw Forage
Cover &
Forage Patches
Cover-Forage Edge
Cover-Forage Edges
Dist. to Cover-Forage Edges
Percent Area in Cover
Raw Cover
% Cover
# Cover Cells
# Cells in Circle
Proportion of
Vegetation Classes
Vegetation
Classes (EVT)
Count of
Unique Classes
Divided by
Total Count
Top Physical/Other
Covariates
NUTRITION
• Accepted biomass (AB)
• Forage biomass (FB)
• Dietary digestible energy (DDE)
HUMAN DISTURBANCE
• Distance to roads by classes (1, 2, 3, 4 or greater)
VEGETATION
• Distance to cover-forage edge (d to edge)
• Percent area in cover (per cover)
• Proportion of vegetation classes (prop veg cls)
PHYSICAL/OTHER
•
•
•
•
•
Aspect in degrees (asp)
Percent slope (slp)
Convexity (convex)
Distance to nearest water, stream or pond (d to water, stream, or pond)
Soil Depth (sdep)
Slope and Aspect
National Elevation Dataset
~30m
Slope (%)
Aspect (deg)
Convexity
NED
Convex = (9*X) – Sum(1-9)
1
2
3
4
X
6
7
8
9
Positive =
Convex
Negative =
Concave
Convexity
NED
Convexity
Distance to Water
National Hydrography
Dataset (NHD)
Distance to:
All Water
Streams
Ponds/
Springs
Soil Depth
National Forest & County
Soil Surveys
Soil Depth
(max = 201cm)
Top Covariates
NUTRITION
• Accepted biomass (AB)
• Forage biomass (FB)
• Dietary digestible energy (DDE)
HUMAN DISTURBANCE
• Distance to roads by classes (1, 2, 3, 4 or greater)
VEGETATION
• Distance to cover-forage edge (d to edge)
• Percent area in cover (per cover)
• Proportion of vegetation classes (prop veg cls)
PHYSICAL/OTHER
•
•
•
•
•
Aspect in degrees (asp)
Percent slope (slp)
Convexity (convex)
Distance to nearest water, stream or pond (d to water, stream, or pond)
Soil Depth (sdep)
We’re
Done!