Land Cover & Use
Parks where protocol will be implemented
All Upper Columbia Basin Network Parks
Importance / Issues
- Changes in spatial patterns of land cover both within and adjacent to National Parks can greatly affect biological and physical processes within those parks. Specifically, landscape patterns related to disturbance, fragmentation, buffers, and land cover change have been shown to affect the abundance of rare and endangered species, levels of biodiversity, potential for invasion by exotic plants, habitat for birds, amphibians and other animals, water quality, and in-stream habitat for fish and other aquatic organisms.
- To address such concerns, satellite imagery will be used in conjunction with aerial photography to monitor the spatial extent of changes in land cover and use in the Network. The results from remote sensing change detection analyses can also be used to identify areas of rapid change to target management efforts.
Preliminary Monitoring Objectives
- Determine long-term trends in land cover distribution within and adjacent to UCBN park boundaries.
- Determine patterns of relevant land cover types within and adjacent to UCBN park boundaries.
Potential Measures
Proportion of area in different cover types, patch metrics (patch number, density, mean patch size), perimeter and core area metrics, and measures of landscape connectivity (nearest neighbor metrics).
Management Applications
Information gathered from this monitoring will be used to:- Provide essential quantitative information for managers to understand the changing context in which their park resides.
- Inform all aspects of park management and increase understanding of park resource challenges and suggest possible sources of ecological change.
Protocol Development & Status
Protocol development will begin in 2008 and a draft protocol will be submitted for peer review February 2009.
Contact Information
Lisa Garrett
Upper Columbia Basin Network Coordinator
University of Idaho
Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources
Moscow, ID 83844-1136
Email