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Open Pine Management Decision Support Tool. GCPO LCC / LMVJV Spring Steering Committee June 8, 2011 Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture WGCP/O Landbird Working Group. Decision Support Tools (DST).
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Open Pine Management Decision Support Tool GCPO LCC / LMVJV Spring Steering Committee June 8, 2011 Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture WGCP/O Landbird Working Group
Decision Support Tools (DST) • A combination of geospatial data, biological information, and ecological models into a format that helps managers decide which conservation actions to apply to a given landscape
Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture Partnership • WGCP/O Landbird Working Group • Open Pine Species Planning • Umbrella Species
Open Pine DST Three main considerations in the model Location of existing pine Ecologically appropriate sites for pine Potential to support umbrella species
Open Pine DST Three main considerations in the model Location of existing pine Ecologically appropriate sites for pine Potential to support umbrella species
Location of Existing Pine • 2001 NationalLandcover Data • Future - 2006 NLCD
Location of Existing Pine • ManagementDST • Identify sites with pine • Evergreen Forest • Mixed Forest
Open Pine DST Three main considerations in the model Location of existing pine Ecologically appropriate sites for pine Potential to support umbrella species
Open Pine DST Three main considerations in the model Location of existing pine Ecologically appropriate sites for pine Potential to support umbrella species
Ecologically Appropriate Sites for pine • Exclude pine from the 2001 NLCD that occurs in a floodplain
Ecologically Appropriate Sites for pine • Exclude pine from the 2001 NLCD that occurs in a floodplain
Ecologically Appropriate Sites for pine • Exclude pine from the 2001 NLCD that occurs in a floodplain • Additional discussion • Soils • Evapotransporation models
Open Pine DST Three main considerations in the model Location of existing pine Ecologically appropriate sites for pine Potential to support umbrella species
Open Pine DST Three main considerations in the model Location of existing pine Ecologically appropriate sites for pine Potential to support umbrella species
Potential to Support Umbrella Species If managed for open pine, is there the potential to support umbrella species? • Patch Size • Remove all patches that are not big enough to support at least 1 pair of birds
Potential to Support Umbrella Species • Patch Size
Potential to Support Umbrella Species Bachman’s Sparrow Brown-headed nuthatch • Patch Size • Remove all patches that are not big enough to support at least 1 pair of birds * Unresolved issues regarding model parameters Northern Bobwhite Red-cockaded woodpecker Separate analysis performed for each species
Potential to Support Umbrella Species • Patch Size • Remove all patches that are not big enough to support at least 1 pair of birds • Clusters of Patches • Determine which patches are close enough in proximity to allow dispersal between patches
Potential to Support Umbrella Species • Clusters of Patches
Potential to Support Umbrella Species • Patch Size • Remove all patches that are not big enough to support at least 1 pair of birds • Clusters of Patches • Determine which patches are close enough in proximity to allow dispersal between patches Zoom in of RCWO Patches
Potential to Support Umbrella Species • Patch Size • Remove all patches that are not big enough to support at least 1 pair of birds • Clusters of Patches • Determine which patches are close enough in proximity to allow dispersal between patches Patches buffered by ½ dispersal distance for RCWO (4 km)
Potential to Support Umbrella Species These patches are not close enough to another patch for dispersal • Patch Size • Remove all patches that are not big enough to support at least 1 pair of birds • Clusters of Patches • Determine which patches are close enough in proximity to allow dispersal between patches The patches in this cluster ARE close enough to another patch for dispersal Clusters containing patches that are close enough for dispersal
Potential to Support Umbrella Species • Patch Size • Remove all patches that are not big enough to support at least 1 pair of birds • Clusters of Patches • Determine which patches are close enough in proximity to allow dispersal between patches Does this cluster contain enough pine forest support a Minimal viable population of RCWO? Clusters containing patches that are close enough for dispersal
Potential to Support Umbrella Species • Clusters of Patches
Potential to Support Umbrella Species • Patch Size • Remove all patches that are not big enough to support at least 1 pair of birds • Clusters of Patches • Determine which patches are close enough in proximity to allow dispersal between patches Does this cluster contain enough pine forest support a minimal viable population (MVP) of RCWO? Yes. In this model we assume that 1000 ha of habitat could support a MVP (if it were maintained appropriately). This cluster contained 1,472 ha of Evergreen/Mixed Forest. Clusters containing patches that are close enough for dispersal
Potential to Support Umbrella Species • Patch Size • Remove all patches that are not big enough to support at least 1 pair of birds • Clusters of Patches • Determine which patches are close enough in proximity to allow dispersal between patches Only patches inside a cluster large enough to support an MVP are identified as potential targets for management in the DST
Potential to Support Umbrella Species • Individual patches are then ranked by size • Patches were given values based on their capability to support an MVP (% MVP) • A value of 100% indicates a patch could support 1 (or more) MVPs • A value of 50% indicates a patch could support 50% of an MVP • Patch Size • Remove all patches that are not big enough to support at least 1 pair of birds • Clusters of Patches • Determine which patches are close enough in proximity to allow dispersal between patches Does this cluster contain enough pine forest support a minimal viable population (MVP) of RCWO? Yes. In this model we assume that 1000 ha of habitat could support a MVP (if it were maintained appropriately). This cluster contained 1,472 ha of Evergreen/Mixed Forest.
Potential to Support Umbrella Species Bachman’s Sparrow Brown-headed nuthatch • Patch Size • Remove all patches that are not big enough to support at least 1 pair of birds • Clusters of Patches • Determine which patches are close enough in proximity to allow dispersal between patches * Unresolved issues regarding model parameters Northern Bobwhite Red-cockaded woodpecker Separate analysis performed for each species
Potential to Support Umbrella Species Bachman’s Sparrow Brown-headed nuthatch • Patch Size • Remove all patches that are not big enough to support at least 1 pair of birds • Clusters of Patches • Determine which patches are close enough in proximity to allow dispersal between patches High: 100 Low: 0 High: 100 Low: 0 * Unresolved issues regarding model parameters High: 100 Low: 0 • Individual patches are then ranked by size • Patches were given values based on their capability to support an MVP (% MVP) • A value of 100% indicates a patch could support 1 (or more) MVPs Northern Bobwhite Red-cockaded woodpecker Separate analysis performed for each species
Open Pine DST: Combining Models Three main considerations in the model Location of existing pine Ecologically appropriate sites for pine Potential to support umbrella species
Open Pine DST: Combining Models Bachman’s Sparrow Brown-headed nuthatch • Combine individual species models into one model using a sum High: 100 Low: 0 High: 100 Low: 0 * Unresolved issues regarding model parameters High: 100 Low: 0 Northern Bobwhite Red-cockaded woodpecker Separate analysis performed for each species
Open Pine DST: Combining Models • Combine individual species models into one model using a sum
Open Pine DST: Combining Models • Combine individual species models into one model using a sum
Open Pine DST: Combining Models • Combine individual species models into one model using a sum
Open Pine DST: Combining Models • Combine individual species models into one model using a sum
Draft User Guidelines for the Open Pine Management DST • A decision support tool (DST) is used to help inform, guide and support habitat planning decisions. It is not designed to make the decision for the user of the DST • The Open Pine management DST is designed for landscape scale planning decisions (parish/county or greater planning unit). It cannot be used to prioritize small tracts of land for acquisition, management and/or cost-share programs. • The Open Pine DST can be used to develop focal areas for management, acquisitions and planning for conservation. • Habitat types are based on 2001 National Land Cover Data (NLCD). The NLCD may not have been ground truthed for all areas and local managers may find erroneous classifications for their particular tract(s) of land. Currently, no other comprehensive data set with greater accuracy exists to replace NLCD. • Four umbrella species’ habitat requirements were used to develop the minimum patch size for the Open Pine DST: red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis), bobwhite quail, Bachman’s sparrow and brownheaded nuthatch. High: 400 Low: 0
Draft User Guidelines for the Open Pine Management DST • The model used the following minimum viable population (MVP) values for each of the umbrella species • 20 - red-cockaded woodpecker • 50 - Bachman’s sparrow • 28 - brownheaded nuthatch. • The final model spatial layer is a combination of the individual models for the four umbrella species. The values in the final spatial layer range from 0 – 400. A value of 0 in the final model indicates that, according to the model, this area does not have the potential to contribute to a MVP for any of the four umbrella species. A value of 400 in the final model indicates that, according to the model, this area is situated in the landscape in such a way that if it and the surrounding areas are managed as open pine this area will contribute to a MVP for all of the four umbrella species. • The individual species layers that were used to create the final model are also available for downloading and viewing. These layers are informative if you want to understand how each of the umbrella species influenced the final model. The values displayed in these layers are hectares. These values in these layers range between zero and the hectares required to support a MVP for that species. For example we can look at bobwhite quail. In the model we used a density value of 20 ha per pair and an MVP value of 60, so we say that a patch of 1200 ha (20 x 60) would support a MVP. Therefore, the values for the bobwhite quail output have a range between 0 and 1200. High: 400 Low: 0
Open Pine Management Decision Support Tool WGCPO Landbird Working Group Web Meeting March 30, 2011