Description: - This analysis integrates multiple “conservation asset” factors that contribute to overall conservation value in an area. Data for potential biodiversity (using species richness and endemism metrics developed from species distribution models), presence of a landscape linkage or linkage important for climate adaptation (from TNC Omniscape analysis), connected land with high microclimatic diversity (resilient settings), and the relative level of human modification of the landscape (either intact or “modified”) were combined to characterize the values for which protection may be warranted. We combined the assets by thresholding the input data and then assigning an asset class to each cell in the following order of precedence (high – low) (linkages, biodiversity, intactness, and “resilience” (resilient settings or vegetation with low climate vulnerability).
Copyright Text: Carrie Schloss, The Nature Conservancy in California