Assessing Ecosystem Condition: Use and Customization of the Vegetation Departure Metric
Assessment of ecosystem change often focuses on the degree of conversion and representation in networks of protected areas. While essential, these factors alone do not provide a holistic index of ecosystem conditions. Metrics that compare the current state of ecosystems to a meaningful reference con...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-12-01
|
| Series: | Land |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/1/28 |
| _version_ | 1797492744964276224 |
|---|---|
| author | Randy Swaty Kori Blankenship Kimberly R. Hall Jim Smith Megan Dettenmaier Sarah Hagen |
| author_facet | Randy Swaty Kori Blankenship Kimberly R. Hall Jim Smith Megan Dettenmaier Sarah Hagen |
| author_sort | Randy Swaty |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Assessment of ecosystem change often focuses on the degree of conversion and representation in networks of protected areas. While essential, these factors alone do not provide a holistic index of ecosystem conditions. Metrics that compare the current state of ecosystems to a meaningful reference condition can help identify “hidden” risks, lost functions, and provide conservation and management-relevant insights. Here we review a departure metric that can be used to measure ecosystem conditions and its implementation for all lands in the United States by the LANDFIRE Program. We then use two case studies to demonstrate how manually calculating the departure metric is used to explore under- and over-representation of structural stages. Finally, we document the assumptions, interpretation, and limitations of the departure metric, and discuss its current and possible future applications. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:09:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3691fd2cbfa44c429c1078994b6d7717 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:09:06Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-3691fd2cbfa44c429c1078994b6d77172023-11-23T14:21:27ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2021-12-011112810.3390/land11010028Assessing Ecosystem Condition: Use and Customization of the Vegetation Departure MetricRandy Swaty0Kori Blankenship1Kimberly R. Hall2Jim Smith3Megan Dettenmaier4Sarah Hagen5North America Science-LANDFIRE, The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA 22203, USANorth America Science-LANDFIRE, The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA 22203, USANorth America Science-LANDFIRE, The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA 22203, USANorth America Science-LANDFIRE, The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA 22203, USANorth America Science-LANDFIRE, The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA 22203, USANorth America Science-LANDFIRE, The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA 22203, USAAssessment of ecosystem change often focuses on the degree of conversion and representation in networks of protected areas. While essential, these factors alone do not provide a holistic index of ecosystem conditions. Metrics that compare the current state of ecosystems to a meaningful reference condition can help identify “hidden” risks, lost functions, and provide conservation and management-relevant insights. Here we review a departure metric that can be used to measure ecosystem conditions and its implementation for all lands in the United States by the LANDFIRE Program. We then use two case studies to demonstrate how manually calculating the departure metric is used to explore under- and over-representation of structural stages. Finally, we document the assumptions, interpretation, and limitations of the departure metric, and discuss its current and possible future applications.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/1/28ecosystem assessmentecosystem conditionLANDFIREvegetation departurevegetation structure |
| spellingShingle | Randy Swaty Kori Blankenship Kimberly R. Hall Jim Smith Megan Dettenmaier Sarah Hagen Assessing Ecosystem Condition: Use and Customization of the Vegetation Departure Metric Land ecosystem assessment ecosystem condition LANDFIRE vegetation departure vegetation structure |
| title | Assessing Ecosystem Condition: Use and Customization of the Vegetation Departure Metric |
| title_full | Assessing Ecosystem Condition: Use and Customization of the Vegetation Departure Metric |
| title_fullStr | Assessing Ecosystem Condition: Use and Customization of the Vegetation Departure Metric |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing Ecosystem Condition: Use and Customization of the Vegetation Departure Metric |
| title_short | Assessing Ecosystem Condition: Use and Customization of the Vegetation Departure Metric |
| title_sort | assessing ecosystem condition use and customization of the vegetation departure metric |
| topic | ecosystem assessment ecosystem condition LANDFIRE vegetation departure vegetation structure |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/1/28 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT randyswaty assessingecosystemconditionuseandcustomizationofthevegetationdeparturemetric AT koriblankenship assessingecosystemconditionuseandcustomizationofthevegetationdeparturemetric AT kimberlyrhall assessingecosystemconditionuseandcustomizationofthevegetationdeparturemetric AT jimsmith assessingecosystemconditionuseandcustomizationofthevegetationdeparturemetric AT megandettenmaier assessingecosystemconditionuseandcustomizationofthevegetationdeparturemetric AT sarahhagen assessingecosystemconditionuseandcustomizationofthevegetationdeparturemetric |