A predictive model for occurrence of invasive glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus) on Mount Desert Island, Maine, USA
Sprtova L. 2011. A predictive model for occurrence of invasive glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus) on Mount Desert Island, Maine, USA. University of Olomouc
From the abstract: "Invasive species are a worldwide problem. Many research projects have been undertaken to prepare an effective management model for these species. In Acadia National Park, Maine, USA, botanists have recorded a large invasion of glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus). The park manages this invasive plant in the Great Meadow Watershed (GMW), but it does not have appropriate information about other areas in the park where glossy buckthorn may occur. For my bachelor.s thesis, I developed a GIS predictive model for occurrence of glossy buckthorn on Mount Desert Island (MDI) which originates from the predictive model I prepared for GMW. The predictive model for GMW is based on field GPS data collected by park biologists in 2009. The predictive model includes layers of important features of soils (drainage, permeability, depth, plant competition, and pH), land cover, and slope. Since the most important soil features for growth of glossy buckthorn are drainage and permeability, these are weighted twice in the model. Layers of land cover, slope, and the cumulative layer of all soils are weighted equally. The predictive model is based on a ranking system of these features. I assigned numbers from 1 to 5 to every single feature of each layer depending on the density of its occurrence within the GMW. The final predictive model for glossy buckthorn on MDI should help park biologists manage glossy buckthorn throughout the island. To check the accuracy of the model, I generated 20 random points within the polygons with the highest probability of occurrence. "
- Type
- Academic
- Authors
- Sprtova, Lenka
- Date of Issue
- 2011
- Publisher
- University of Olomouc
- Units
- ACAD
- Keywords
- Conservation, Dissertation, ecosystem-based management, Exotic, Exotic Species, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), GIS, Invasive Species, Inventory & Monitoring, Land Cover, Land Use, Mapping, Modeling, Mount Desert Island, Natural Resource Management, Plants, Population Control, Remote Sensing, Terrestrial, Vascular Plants, Wetland