February 14, 2013
Green Infrastructure:
Linking Landscapes and Communities
By Ole M. Amundsen III
Strategic Conservation Program Manager
The Conservation Fund
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
The Conservation Fund
Mission Statement
The Conservation Fund forges partnerships to
conserve America’s legacy of land and water
resources.
Through land acquisition, community and economic
development, and training and education, the Fund
and its partners demonstrate balanced
conservation solutions that emphasize the
integration of economic and environmental goals
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Strategic Conservation Services
•
•
•
Green
Infrastructure
Approach
Identify best lands
to conserve and to
accommodate
development
Implement
strategies for
smarter,
sustainable land
uses
IslandPress.org
Greeninfrastructure.Net
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Why “Infrastructure”?
Infrastructure – “the substructure or underlying
foundation on which the continuance and growth of a
community depends” Webster’s New World Dictionary
 Network connections are required for functioning
infrastructure
Infrastructure features and processes need to be
managed to maintain essential services
 Funding for infrastructure needs to be provided upfront
 Infrastructure is a necessity not an amenity
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Green Infrastructure – What is it?
• A strategically
planned and
managed network of
natural lands,
working landscapes,
and other open
spaces that
conserves ecosystem
values and functions
and provides
associated benefits
to human
populations
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Land Use (2001)
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Green Infrastructure Network Design
Core Areas:
• Contain fully functional
natural ecosystems
• Provide high-quality
habitat for native plants
and animals
Hubs:
• Slightly fragmented
aggregations of core
areas, plus contiguous
natural cover
Corridors:
• Link core areas together
• Allow animal movement
and seed and pollen
transfer between core
areas
7
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Green Infrastructure Steps
Green Infrastructure Network Design
ID LANDSCAPE
TYPES/GATHER AND
PROCESS DATA
DEVELOP DESIGN
GOALS & OBJECTIVES/
SELECT DESIRED
GI ATTRIBUTES
SEEK
“OUTSIDE”
REVIEW &
INPUT
ASSESS NETWORK
COMPONENTS /
SET PRIORITIES FOR
ACTION
IDENTIFY & CONNECT
NETWORK
COMPONENTS
(HUBS, LINKS & SITES)
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Step 1.
Green Infrastructure Network Design
DEVELOP DESIGN
GOALS & OBJECTIVES/
SELECT DESIRED
GI ATTRIBUTES
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Central Indiana Land Trust GI Project
 Conserve significant contiguous
natural habitat
 Identify and protect a network of
stream and land corridors for
wildlife movement and human
enjoyment
 Help local planning become
more environmentally sensitive
 Increase public awareness of
the multiple benefits of green
infrastructure
 Increase public support for
green infrastructure
 Increase the coordination of
green and gray infrastructure
projects to maximize the
benefits for nature and people
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Resource Inventory, Analysis, and Synthesis
Gathering
information on
current natural
resource
conservation and
green space
programs and
policies at the
federal, state,
regional and local
level
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Step 2.
Green Infrastructure Network Design
DEVELOP DESIGN
GOALS & OBJECTIVES/
SELECT DESIRED
GI ATTRIBUTES
ID LANDSCAPE
TYPES/GATHER AND
PROCESS DATA
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Landscape Attributes
Identifying the landscape attributes or features present in the
study area provides direction as to the diversity of data you
will need to collect for network design.
Ecological Network
Landscape Type
Landscape Attribute
Forest
Large blocks of undisturbed forest
Wetland
High-quality wetland complexes
Freshwater aquatics
Minimally impaired stream reaches
plus associated riparian
vegetation, within minimally
impacted watersheds
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Identify Landscapes – Central Indiana
In the Central Indiana there were several landscapes
of interest including:
• Forests
• Freshwater aquatic
• Wetlands
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Identify Landscape Attributes – Central Indiana
Features Include
Trails
Historic Resources
Landcover Types
Stream-River Corridors
Lakes
Floodplains
Wetlands
Rare, Threatened and
Endangered Species
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Step 3.
Green Infrastructure Network Design
SELECT Desired
GI ATTRIBUTES /
DEVELOP DESIGN
GOALS & OBJECTIVES
ID LANDSCAPE
TYPES/GATHER AND
PROCESS DATA
IDENTIFY & CONNECT
NETWORK
COMPONENTS
(HUBS, LINKS & SITES)
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
GI Network Design Guidelines
• Species well distributed across their
native range are less susceptible to
extinction than species confined to
small portions of their range.
• Large blocks of habitat, containing large
populations of a target species, are
superior to small blocks of habitat
containing small populations.
Better
Worse
• Blocks of habitat close together are
better than blocks far apart.
Better
Worse
Cont’d…
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
GI Network Design Guidelines
• Habitat in contiguous blocks is better than
fragmented habitat.
Better
Worse
• Interconnected blocks of habitat are better
than isolated blocks; corridors or linkages
function better when habitat within them
resembles that preferred by target
species.
Better
Worse
• Blocks of habitat that are roadless or
otherwise inaccessible to humans are
better than roaded and accessible habitat
blocks.
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Central Indiana: Core Wetlands
King Rail (Rallus elegans)
• Emergent
wetlands/marshes
• > 20 acres
Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalist)
MaxEnt modeling
• Climate data
• Land use
• Other layers
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) Models
MaxEnt is a machine learning technique that can be
used to predict plant or animal distribution.
Compare species occurrences over a study area to a set
of relevant environmental factors, such as vegetation or soil.
 Estimates spatial distribution of the species by assuming
nothing about which is unknown (maximizing entropy) but
by matching the occurrence data with underlying
environmental variables.
 Useful for rare and endangered species since absence
data is not required and the model needs relatively small
number (50) occurrence points.
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Indiana Bat MaxEnt Model
Indiana Bat Summer habitat preferences:
• Forested habitat, near water, wetlands
• Roosting sites under sloughing bark of large live or dead
trees with direct sun exposure
Winter hibernacula (caves) could not be satisfactorily
modeled, but most cave locations are known. Protecting
known hibernacula and combating white-nose syndrome
are the highest priority for this species.
For Indiana both the GAP data and National Land Cover
Data were used and compared
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Indiana Bat Model for the State of IN
Model Inputs
• Point locations of focal species: A total of 208
element occurrences (both individuals and colonies)
were used for Indiana.
• Grid (raster layers) representing relevant
environmental factors: A total of 30 Environmental
Variables were used for Indiana.
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Hubs
• Slightly fragmented
aggregations of core
areas, plus contiguous
natural cover
• Large enough to support
populations of native
species and serve as
sources for emigration
into surrounding
landscape
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
How Big Are Hubs?
It depends…
Disturbance
Example Forest - In 300
Years:
-15 Fires
-4 Hurricanes
-7 Windstorms
-Infestations
-Blight
-Disturbances the Rule,
Not the Exception
Source Mark Anderson, TNC,
LTA Rally 2004
How Large Are Forest Hubs?
Source Mark Anderson, TNC,
LTA Rally 2004
Corridors
• Linear features linking core areas
• Wind through human-dominated land like agriculture or development
• Allow animal, seed, and pollen movement between core areas
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
How wide to make corridors? It depends…
Studies on corridor width vary;
best functioning corridors are
wide enough for interior
conditions and species
(as shown at right)
Narrow corridor with no interior
conditions
Narrow corridor with eroded
stream banks and invasive plants
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Forested Buffers for Streams
No rules of thumb, however, recent studies recommend
a minimum buffer width of 115 feet of forested land cover
to provide basic physical and chemical buffering.
 For many eastern states, wildlife movement facilitated
by buffers at 650 feet in fragmented areas to 1,100 feet
(500 ft interior forests with 300 ft buffer on either side) in
less fragmented areas.
 Can consider reforestation in fragmented areas to
achieve adequate widths for corridors.
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Least Cost Path GIS Model
Calculates the least accumulative cost distance
for each cell to the nearest source (e.g., between
one core area and others) over a cost surface.
A series of “cost” or “impedance” layers are
created.
 The higher the cost, the more difficult it is for
a species to move across the landscape
Model outputs are one cell width
(30 meter) paths
Paths are expanded to a minimum
size as required by focal species
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Least Cost Path for Forest Corridors
Cost layer for forest is a composite of the following layers:
 Land cover (degree of forested land)
 Impervious surfaces
 Roads (remoteness, fragmentation)
Focal species:
Bobcat, grey fox, turkey, and
eastern box turtle:
 Corridor width set at 100 meters
(328 feet)
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Greening the Crossroads
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Step 4.
Green Infrastructure Network Design
SELECT Desired
GI ATTRIBUTES /
DEVELOP DESIGN
GOALS & OBJECTIVES
ID LANDSCAPE
TYPES/GATHER AND
PROCESS DATA
ASSESS NETWORK
COMPONENTS /
SET PRIORITIES FOR
ACTION
IDENTIFY & CONNECT
NETWORK
COMPONENTS
(HUBS, LINKS & SITES)
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Characterizing a green infrastructure network
• Resources may be too limited to protect an entire network in the
short term, so usually need to prioritize efforts.
• Different ways to characterize and prioritize network elements:
– Overall ecological value
– Development risk
– Functional (hydrologic control, nutrient cycling, wildlife habitat,
etc.)
– Ecosystem services (water quality, groundwater recharge, flood
protection, pollination, carbon sequestration, genetic bank,
ecotourism, etc.)
– Combination (e.g., value and risk)
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Step 5.
Green Infrastructure Network Design
ID LANDSCAPE TYPES/
GATHER AND
PROCESS DATA
SELECT Desired
GI ATTRIBUTES /
DEVELOP DESIGN
GOALS & OBJECTIVES
SEEK
“OUTSIDE”
REVIEW &
INPUT
ASSESS NETWORK
COMPONENTS /
SET PRIORITIES FOR
ACTION
IDENTIFY & CONNECT
NETWORK
COMPONENTS
(HUBS, LINKS & SITES)
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Public Involvement
• Over 80 stakeholders attended
Leadership forums
• 129 stakeholders attended one of
four focus group meetings on the
following topics:
– Working Lands
– People, Greenways and Wildlife
Corridors
– Forest Interiors
– Water Quality and Quantity
• Technical review team of 26 experts
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
GTC Network Plan
• Land Purchase
• Nature Preserve Quality
• Public Access
• Larger Conservation Area
BLOSSOM HOLLOW
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
• Working directly with planning staff to provide
language for Comprehensive Plans and Zoning
•Providing GIS Shape Files to Planning Depts.
•Using the GTC Network shape file for critical lands
From Fishers Stormwater Management Plan
in storm-water management plans
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Functional Connectivity
Functional connectivity describes the
degree to which landscapes facilitate or
impede the movement of organisms and
processes.
Product of both landscape structure and
the response of organisms and processes
to this structure.
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Terrestrial Movement Analysis tool
Identifies and prioritizes areas most important for
wildlife movement.
Tool developed by Tool Developed by: John Norman NRSC, CO. TCF Reviewers: Michael Schwartz ,Jazmin Varela
Ted Weber
Randomly places simulated organisms
throughout suitable habitat in landscape.
Optimal pathways identified
between organism locations and
other suitable habitat
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Terrestrial Movement Analysis tool
 Runs multiple
iterations
 Random placement
varies for each
iteration, thus
pathway locations
vary as well
 Outputs from
iterations averaged
to create final
pathways
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Terrestrial Movement Analysis tool
The movement potential integrates 1) patch connectivity (pathways)
2) corridor cost, and
3) inter-corridor movement
Resulting in single value that ranges
between 0 and 1 with one indicating
the highest potential for
movement.
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Additional Information
Ole M. Amundsen III
Strategic Conservation Program Manager
oamundsen@conservationfund.org phone 607-277-0999
 Allen, W. 2012. Advancing Green Infrastructure at All Scales: From Landscape to
Site. Environmental Practice 14 (1): 17‐25
 Weber, Ted, “Development and application of a statewide conservation network in
Delaware.” Journal of Conservation, Vol 3 (2007) pp. 17-46
http://www.journalconsplanning.org/
 Mark Anderson, How much is enough? Conservation Planning at Multiple Scales, TNC,
http://sweetwatertrust.org/forestreserves
 Lerner, J. and W. Allen. 2012. Landscape‐Scale Green Infrastructure Investments
as a Climate Adaptation Strategy: A Case Example for the Midwest United States.
Environmental Practice 14 (1): 45‐56.
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities