Analysis of Biodiversity Elements for Decision-Support System

TL;DRAbstract

NatureServe has recently developed a decision-support system (DSS) that will allow land use planners to: access and analyze scientific information; conduct mapping and visualization; and report their findings. Using GIS mapping technology, scenario modeling, and the capacity to flexibly incorporate individual and community concerns, the DSS can integrate complex information about biological, physical, and socioeconomic issues. The DSS uses a scenario evaluation function that evaluates whether a land use or conservation scenario provides more or less protection for elements than currently exists. Currently, maps incorporating biodiversity protection assume homogeneous and equal protection for all species or elements (“Null” methodology), even though different species respond in a wide-ranging number of ways to alternate land uses. Bridging the gap between assumption and reality is a prototype GIS process for analyzing biodiversity element-specific response to land use. This new “Element

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