Day: April 28, 2010

Spatial-temporal Analysis of Moving Polygons

/ Matt Artz

Colin John Robertson, Masters thesis

“There are few methods available for the spatial-temporal analysis of polygon data. This research develops a new method for spatial-temporal analysis of moving polygons (STAMP). Using an event-based framework, polygons from neighboring time periods are related by spatial overlap and proximity. The proximity spatial relation is defined by an application specific distance threshold. STAMP is demonstrated in the spatial-temporal analysis of a wildfire burning over small spatial and temporal scales, and in the spatial-temporal analysis of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Coleoptera: Hopkins) movement patterns over large spatial and temporal scales. The mountain pine beetle analysis found that short range movement patterns of mountain pine beetles occurred at different beetle population levels. Spot proliferation occurred most when beetle presence was increasing slowly, perhaps moving into new areas for the first time. When beetle presence increased rapidly, local expansion, or spot growth, was a more common movement pattern. In the Pine Pass study area. long range dispersal markedly extended the northeast border of the mountain pine beetle range.”

GIS Priority Map Set to Focus WetlandCare Australia’s Resource Management Projects

/ Matt Artz

Environmental Observer, Spring 2010

Ian Foreman, GHD

“WetlandCare Australia is improving New South Wales (NSW), Australia’s wetland environments and biodiversity through natural resource management projects. It commissioned the Central West Catchment Management Authority (CWCMA) to develop an access database that would enable staff members to prioritize and rank 113 wetland complexes. This information would help them in their rehabilitation and protection efforts. CWCMA created a tabular database that contained more than 32,000 individual polygons and 32 attributes. This data was used in calculating a weighted assessment. Rankings were then included in a wetland site priority index.”

Pond-based Survey of Amphibians in a Saxon Cultural Landscape from Transylvania (Romania)

/ Matt Artz / 1 Comment

Italian Journal of Zoology, Volume 77, Issue 1 March 2010 , pages 61 – 70

T. Hartel; K. Oumlllerer; D. Cogabrevelniceanu; Sz. Nemes; C. I. Moga; and L. Demeter

“Habitat-based inventories provide critical reference data that are essential to track changes in amphibian communities and their habitats. We present the results of a pond inventory in a cultural landscape from central Romania. The presence/absence of amphibians was assessed through multiple-year surveys during the breeding season and larval development. Ten amphibian species and a species complex were identified: Triturus cristatus, T. vulgaris, Bombina variegata, Bufo bufo, B. viridis, Rana dalmatina, R. temporaria, R. arvalis, Hyla arborea, Pelobates fuscus and the R. esculenta complex. The species richness is larger in the permanent ponds than in the temporary ones. Rana dalmatina, B. bufo and the R. esculenta complex are the most frequent in the permanent ponds, while Bombina variegata and R. temporaria were the most common in temporary ponds. The scarcity of B. viridis and R. arvalis is explained by the lack of available habitats. Our data allow a more complex analysis of the spatial and temporal determinants of amphibian habitat use in this cultural landscape, and provide a consistent baseline for future surveys and monitoring programmes.”

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Using GIS to Create a Gray Wolf Habitat Suitability Model and to Assess Wolf Pack Ranges in the Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan

/ Matt Artz

Papers in Resource Analysis, Volume 10, 2008

Cole C. Belongie

“Gray wolves are often difficult for biologists, forest planners, and wildlife managers to study and predict movements and habits. The controversy over wolves in the Midwest is growing with the delisting of the gray wolf from the Threatened and Endangered Species List. Growing populations of wolves have increased sightings and contact between humans and wolves. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a tool that can be utilized by planners and managers to identify wolf habitats and possible areas of human – wolf conflict. This study uses GIS to take information from written literature on wolf habitat and preferences of wolf locations and ranges in the Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan and compare these to a model of wolf range suitability developed in this study. The model developed by this study utilizes four raster layers (landuse/land cover, road density, population density, and deer population density) classified to create suitability ranges. The model created indicates the presence of abundant suitable habitat in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.”

Spatial and Temporal Ecology of Scots Pine ectomycorrhizas

/ Matt Artz / 1 Comment

New Phytologist, Volume 186 Issue 3, Pages 755 – 768, Published Online 25 Feb 2010

Brian J. Pickles, David R. Genney, Jacqueline M. Potts, Jack J. Lennon, Ian C. Anderson, and Ian J. Alexander

“Spatial analysis was used to explore the distribution of individual species in an ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal community to address: whether mycorrhizas of individual ECM fungal species were patchily distributed, and at what scale; and what the causes of this patchiness might be. Ectomycorrhizas were extracted from spatially explicit samples of the surface organic horizons of a pine plantation. The number of mycorrhizas of each ECM fungal species was recorded using morphotyping combined with internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequencing. Semivariograms, kriging and cluster analyses were used to determine both the extent and scale of spatial autocorrelation in species abundances, potential interactions between species, and change over time. The mycorrhizas of some, but not all, ECM fungal species were patchily distributed and the size of patches differed between species. The relative abundance of individual ECM fungal species and the position of patches of ectomycorrhizas changed between years. Spatial and temporal analysis revealed a dynamic ECM fungal community with many interspecific interactions taking place, despite the homogeneity of the host community. The spatial pattern of mycorrhizas was influenced by the underlying distribution of fine roots, but local root density was in turn influenced by the presence of specific fungal species.”