Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Data For "Density Constrains Environmental Impacts Of Fluid Abstraction In Continental Lithium Brines", Daniel B. Corkran, David F. Boutt, Lee Ann Munk, Brendan J. Moran, Sarah Mcknight, Jordan Jenckes, Alexander Kirshen

Data and Datasets

This dataset contains all data used in the study "Density constrains environmental impacts of fluid abstraction in continental lithium brines." Data include all SEAWAT groundwater-flow model input and output files, which contain all data associated with the parametric modeling study. It also contains NDVI and total annual precipitation datasets used in the study's remote sensing analysis.

Rainbow Beach Sediment Grain Size Analysis, Northampton, Massachusetts, Brian Yellen

Data and Datasets

This dataset was prepared by Brian Yellen, a research assistant professor in the Department of Earth, Geographic, and Climate Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Dr. Yellen worked in conjunction with Melissa Grader of the USFWS and colleagues to conduct the associated field sampling.

This report provides information related to the substrate grain size at surveyed locations on Rainbow Beach on the Connecticut River in Northampton, MA (42.322125, -72.584928). This location is a known breeding site of the endangered puritan tiger beetle (PTB), Ellipsoptera puritana.

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Aquatic Barriers Settings Variable, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Aquatic barriers is one of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). Aquatic barriers measures the relative degree to which road-stream crossings (i.e., bridges and culverts) and dams may physically impede upstream and downstream movement of aquatic organisms, particularly fish. It is derived from a custom algorithm (see below for details) applied to dams and derived road-stream crossings. Briefly, each dam has an aquatic barrier score based either on dam height or attributes indicating whether the dam has a partial/complete breach. Similarly, …

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Terrestrial Barriers Settings Variable, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan B. Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Terrestrial barriers is one of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). Terrestrial barriers measures the relative degree to which roads and railroads may physically impede movement of terrestrial organisms. It is derived by assigning an expertderived score to each road/railroad class to reflect the increasing physical impediment of larger roads, and adjusting these scores at road-stream crossings (i.e., bridge or culvert) based either on a custom algorithm applied to field measurements of the crossing structure or predictions from a statistical model …

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Biomass Settings Variable, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Vegetation biomass is an effective descriptor of the net primary productivity of an ecosystem. As such, it is a fundamental component of the ecosystem's trophic dynamics. In addition, vegetation biomass is an effective proxy for the successional development (or seral stage) of vegetation following a disturbance. Biomass is one of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). Specifically, biomass measures the estimated above-ground live biomass (Mg/ha) of undeveloped forested (including forested wetlands) cells in 2010 based primarily on a spectral analysis of …

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Topographic Wetness And Flow Volume Settings Variables, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Topographic wetness and flow volume are two of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). These variables are two ways of assessing the flow of water; they share an underlying algorithm. Topographic wetness gives an estimate of the amount of moisture at any point in the landscape based on topography, which has a major effect on species habitat, soils, and the nutrient cycle. It ranges, in arbitrary units, from low values at hilltops and steep upper slopes to high values in low, …

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Tides Settings Variable, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan B. Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Tides is one of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). Tides estimates the probability that a point is intertidal or subtidal. It is derived from a logistic regression model using tide range and elevation to distinguish mapped salt marshes from uplands.

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Development Settings Variable, Hard Development Settings Variable, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Development and hard development are two of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). Development represents all development, scaled from 0 to 10 by development intensity. Hard development is a subset of development, with a value of 1 for very high intensity development only. Both layers come from DSLland, the primary landcover map. These are dynamic settings variables, increasing with future urban growth.

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Substrate Mobility Settings Variable, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan B. Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Substrate mobility is one of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). Substrate mobility measures the realized mobility of the physical substrate, due to both substrate composition (e.g., sand) and exposure to forces (wind and water) that transport material. This is an important attribute of certain dynamic systems (e.g., coastal dune systems); given as a simple index of mobility (1 = stable, 10 = highly mobile). Substrate mobility is assigned by landcover class, derived from expert opinion. This settings variable is dynamic, …

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Wind Exposure Settings Variable, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Wind exposure is one of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). Wind exposure gives the mean sustained wind speed (m/s) at 50 m height. High wind speeds can shape natural communities, especially on exposed high peaks.

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Water Salinity Settings Variable, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Water salinity is one of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). Salinity, which varies from 0‰ in freshwater to 30‰ in seawater, is a major driver of aquatic systems, as very few organisms can survive across this full range.

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Index Of Ecological Integrity, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

The index of ecological integrity (IEI) is a measure of relative intactness (i.e., freedom from adverse human modifications and disturbance) and resiliency to environmental change (i.e., capacity to recover from or adapt to changing environmental conditions driven by human land use and climate change). It is a composite index derived from up to 21 different landscape metrics, each measuring a different aspect of intactness (e.g., road traffic intensity, percent impervious) and/or resiliency (e.g., ecological similarity, connectedness) and applied to each 30 m cell (see technical document on integrity, McGarigal et al 2017). The index is scaled 0-1 by ecological system …

Ecological Integrity Metrics: All Integrity Data Products, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan B. Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

The ecological integrity products represent a set of metrics corresponding to our ecosystem-based ecological assessment in 2010 (see Integrity document for details). The ecological integrity metrics include a variety of measures of intactness and resiliency. The individual metrics are also combined into a composite local index of ecological integrity (IEI).

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Dslland And Subsysland, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

DSLland is the land cover map used as an organizational framework in the Designing Sustainable Landscapes (DSL) project (McGarigal et al 2017). It is derived primarily from The Nature Conservancy's Northeast Habitat Classification

map (Ferree and Anderson 2013; Anderson et al. 2013; Olivero and Anderson 2013; Olivero-Sheldon et al 2014). To meet the needs of the DSL project, we substantially modified the TNC map. The TNC map is a hierarchical classification. For our purposes, we adopted the 'habitat' level of the hierarchy, which we refer to as "ecosystems", as our finest scale, as it is the most appropriate classification for …

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Potential Dominant Life Form Settings Variable, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Potential dominant life form is one of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). Potential dominant life form (unvegetated, herbaceous, shrubland, woodland, forest) represents the structure of vegetative community at a site and is used, for example, to distinguish early successional forest from permanent grassland or shrubland. Potential dominant life form is assigned by landcover class, derived from expert opinion. This settings variable is dynamic, changing with urban growth.

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Sea Level Rise Metric, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

The sea level rise metric estimates the probability of the focal cell being unable to adapt to predicted inundation by sea level rise (SLR). Whether a site gets inundated by salt water permanently due to sea level rise or intermittently via storm surges associated with sea level rise determines whether an ecosystem can persist at a site and thus its ability to support a characteristic plant and animal community. Based on a sea level rise inundation model developed by USGS Woods Hole (Lentz et al. 2015). The sea level rise metric is an element of the ecological integrity analysis of …

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: All Ecological Settings, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

The ecological settings products include a broad suite of static as well as dynamic abiotic and biotic variables representing the natural and anthropogenic environment at each location (cell). Static variables are those that do not change over time (e.g., elevation, incident solar radiation). Dynamic settings are available for 2010 and 2080; static settings are available for 2010. Dynamic variables are those that change over time in response to succession and the drivers (e.g., growing season degree days, traffic rate). Most of the settings variables are continuous and thus represent landscape heterogeneity as continuous (e.g., slope, biomass), although some are categorical …

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Imperviousness Settings Variable, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Imperviousness is one of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). Imperviousness measures the percentage of the ground surface area that is impervious to water infiltration, which is an indicator of intensive development and thus an important determinant of ecological communities. This is a dynamic settings variable, increasing with future urban growth.

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Traffic Settings Variable, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Traffic is one of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). Traffic measures the estimated probability of an animal crossing the road being hit by a vehicle given the mean traffic rate, an important determinant of landscape connectivity for mobile terrestrial organisms. It is based on an empirical model of mean vehicles per day, using point counts of traffic, and a transformation to estimate the mortality rate for road crossings. Traffic is a dynamic settings variable, increasing in future timesteps with urban …

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Mean Annual Temperature, Growing Season Degree Days, Heat Index, Minimum Winter Temperature, And Maximum Summer Temperature Settings Variables, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

These five temperture variables are among several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). The temperature regime strongly affects species composition, as well as rates of ecological processes such as nutrient cycling. We’ve chosen five variables to represent different aspects of temperature. All five variables have future versions that incorporate climate change via General Circulation Models (GCMs) (as described in the technical document on climate, McGarigal et al 2017).

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Caco3 Content Settings Variable, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) content is one of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). CaCO3 buffers acidity in soil and water, increasing nutrient uptake by plants, and providing a ready source of calcium for organisms such as aquatic insects. CaCO3 content (Fig. 1), affects the composition of natural communities both directly and indirectly, such that areas with high calcium have increased species richness and support a number of unique species.

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Watershed Habitat Loss, Watershed Imperviousness, Road Salt, Sediment, Nutrients, And Dam Intensity Metrics, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

This document describes a suite of stressor metrics that assess the various effects of development in the watershed of the focal cell, as opposed to a (usually) circular window around the focal cell, as with the other metrics. These metrics are used for lotic, lentic, and wetland systems. All effects are weighted by a the time of flow from each stressor source to the focal cell, thus, stressor sources that fall within a stream have a greater effect than those in distant uplands within the watershed. These share a common algorithm, but each has unique parameters. These metrics are elements …

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Tidal Restrictions Metric, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Tidal restrictions include undersized culverts and bridges, tide gates, dikes, and other structures that interfere with normal tidal flushing in estuarine systems. Effects can range from mild changes in species composition and cycling of sediment and nutrients to wholesale conversion of ecological systems, such as conversion of Spartina-dominated salt marshes to Phragmites australis, or, in extreme cases, to freshwater wetlands (Roman et al. 1984, Ritter et al. 2008). The tidal restrictions metric is an element of the ecological integrity analysis of the Designing Sustainable Landscapes (DSL) project (see technical document on integrity, McGarigal et al 2017). Consisting of a composite …

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Stream Gradient Settings Variable, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Stream gradient is one of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). Stream gradient is a measure of the percent slope of a stream, which is a primary determinate of water velocity and thus sediment and nutrient transport, and habitat for aquatic plants, invertebrate, fish, and other organisms. Stream gradient is often approximated by categories such as pool, riffle, run, and cascade. Stream gradient is 0% for lentic waterbodies, palustrine, and uplands. It ranges from 0% to infinity (theoretically) for streams.

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Incident Solar Radiation Settings Variable, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Incident solar radiation is one of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). The amount of sun affects temperature, moisture, and plant growth, affecting the communities found in each place.

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Slope Settings Variable, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Slope is one of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). Slope gives the percent slope at each cell. High slopes indicate a propensity for gravityinduced physical disturbance (e.g., talus slopes), which can limit plant development. Slope ranges from 0% for flat areas to theoretically infinity for absolutely vertical cliffs, though the actual maximum occurring in our landscape is 440%.

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Soil Available Water Supply, Soil Depth To Restrictive Layer, And Soil Ph Settings Variables, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

These three soils variables are among several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). Soils are important drivers of natural communities. We picked three soil attributes that represent the most important factors: depth, chemistry, and water-holding capacity. Depth to resistant layer measures the depth of soils to a restrictive layer (e.g., bedrock) that limits root depth. Areas with shallow soils (usually on steep slopes or ridgetops) can’t support deep-rooted plants. Soil pH strongly affects nutrient uptake by plants. In the east, soils with …

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Stream Temperature Settings Variable, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Stream temperature is one of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). Several fish species (e.g., brook trout) can only survive in coldwater streams, which have higher levels of dissolved O2, while other fish species are adapted to warmer streams. At the same time, ectotherms such as aquatic insects and fish can develop more quickly in warmer streams. Stream temperature is a coarse classification of streams by mean annual temperature.

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Traffic Metric, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

The traffic metric assesses the effect of road (and railroad) traffic on animal populations due to road mortality. It integrates the distance to and traffic intensity of roads in the neighborhood of the focal cell. The traffic metric (Fig. 1) is an element of the ecological integrity analysis of the Designing Sustainable Landscapes (DSL) project (see technical document on integrity, McGarigal et al 2017). Consisting of a composite of 21 stressor and resiliency metrics, the index of ecological integrity (IEI) assesses the relative intactness and resiliency to environmental change of ecological systems throughout the northeast. As a stressor metric, Traffic …

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Salt Marsh Ditching Metric, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

The majority of salt marsh ditches in the Northeast have been ditched, both to facilitate harvest of salt marsh hay and to control mosquitoes (Smith and Niles 2016). Ditching changes the hydrology and flows of sediment and nutrients of marshes in ways that are not well understand, though ditched marshes may have altered invertebrate and shorebird communities, and may be less resilient to sea level rise (LeMay 2007). Marshes with intensive ditching (ca. 10 m spacing) appear to be most strongly affected (Vincent et al. 2013). The salt marsh ditching metric is an element of the ecological integrity analysis of …