february 14, 2013
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February 14, 2013. Green Infrastructure: Linking Landscapes and Communities By Ole M. Amundsen III Strategic Conservation Program Manager The Conservation Fund. The Conservation Fund Mission Statement. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Green Infrastructure:Linking Landscapes and Communities
By Ole M. Amundsen IIIStrategic Conservation Program Manager
The Conservation Fund
February 14, 2013
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
The Conservation Fund forges partnerships to conserve America’s legacy of land and water resources.
Through land acquisition, community and economic development, and training and education, the Fund and its partners demonstrate balanced conservation solutions that emphasize the integration of economic and environmental goals
The Conservation FundMission Statement
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Strategic Conservation Services
• Green Infrastructure Approach
• Identify best lands to conserve and to accommodate development
• Implement strategies for smarter, sustainable land uses Greeninfrastructure.Net
IslandPress.org
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Network connections are required for functioning infrastructure
Infrastructure features and processes need to be managed to maintain essential services
Funding for infrastructure needs to be provided up-front
Infrastructure is a necessity not an amenity
Why “Infrastructure”? Infrastructure – “the substructure or underlying foundation on which the continuance and growth of a community depends” Webster’s New World Dictionary
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Green Infrastructure – What is it?• A strategically
planned and managed network of natural lands, working landscapes, and other open spaces that conserves ecosystem values and functions and provides associated benefits to human populations
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Land Use (2001)
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities7
Green Infrastructure Network DesignCore Areas: • Contain fully functional
natural ecosystems• Provide high-quality
habitat for native plants and animals
Hubs:• Slightly fragmented
aggregations of core areas, plus contiguous natural cover
Corridors:• Link core areas together • Allow animal movement
and seed and pollen transfer between core areas
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Green Infrastructure Steps
Green Infrastructure Network DesignDEVELOP DESIGN
GOALS & OBJECTIVES/ SELECT DESIRED
GI ATTRIBUTES
ID LANDSCAPE TYPES/GATHER AND PROCESS DATA
IDENTIFY & CONNECT NETWORK
COMPONENTS (HUBS, LINKS & SITES)
ASSESS NETWORK COMPONENTS /
SET PRIORITIES FOR ACTION
SEEK “OUTSIDE” REVIEW &
INPUT
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Step 1.
Green Infrastructure Network DesignDEVELOP DESIGN
GOALS & OBJECTIVES/ SELECT DESIRED
GI ATTRIBUTES
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Central Indiana Land Trust GI Project Conserve significant contiguous
natural habitat Identify and protect a network of
stream and land corridors for wildlife movement and human enjoyment
Help local planning become more environmentally sensitive
Increase public awareness of the multiple benefits of green infrastructure
Increase public support for green infrastructure
Increase the coordination of green and gray infrastructure projects to maximize the benefits for nature and people
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Resource Inventory, Analysis, and Synthesis
Gathering information on current natural resource conservation and green space programs and policies at the federal, state, regional and local level
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Step 2.
Green Infrastructure Network DesignDEVELOP DESIGN
GOALS & OBJECTIVES/ SELECT DESIRED
GI ATTRIBUTES
ID LANDSCAPE TYPES/GATHER AND PROCESS DATA
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Landscape Attributes
Identifying the landscape attributes or features present in the study area provides direction as to the diversity of data you will need to collect for network design.
Landscape Attribute
Large blocks of undisturbed forest
High-quality wetland complexes
Minimally impaired stream reaches plus associated riparian vegetation, within minimally impacted watersheds
Landscape Type
Forest
Wetland
Freshwater aquatics
Ecological Network
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Identify Landscapes – Central Indiana
In the Central Indiana there were several landscapes of interest including:
• Forests• Freshwater aquatic• Wetlands
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Identify Landscape Attributes – Central IndianaFeatures IncludeTrailsHistoric ResourcesLandcover TypesStream-River CorridorsLakesFloodplainsWetlandsRare, Threatened and Endangered Species
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Step 3.
Green Infrastructure Network DesignSELECT Desired
GI ATTRIBUTES / DEVELOP DESIGN
GOALS & OBJECTIVES
IDENTIFY & CONNECT NETWORK
COMPONENTS (HUBS, LINKS & SITES)
ID LANDSCAPE TYPES/GATHER AND PROCESS DATA
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
• Species well distributed across their native range are less susceptible to extinction than species confined to small portions of their range.
• Large blocks of habitat, containing large populations of a target species, are superior to small blocks of habitat containing small populations.
• Blocks of habitat close together are better than blocks far apart.
Cont’d…
GI Network Design Guidelines
Better Worse
Better Worse
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
• Habitat in contiguous blocks is better than fragmented habitat.
• Interconnected blocks of habitat are better than isolated blocks; corridors or linkages function better when habitat within them resembles that preferred by target species.
• Blocks of habitat that are roadless or otherwise inaccessible to humans are better than roaded and accessible habitat blocks.
GI Network Design Guidelines
Better Worse
Better Worse
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Central Indiana: Core Wetlands
Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalist) MaxEnt modeling
• Climate data
• Land use
• Other layers
King Rail (Rallus elegans)• Emergent wetlands/marshes• > 20 acres
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) Models
MaxEnt is a machine learning technique that can be used to predict plant or animal distribution.
Compare species occurrences over a study area to a set of relevant environmental factors, such as vegetation or soil. Estimates spatial distribution of the species by assuming nothing about which is unknown (maximizing entropy) but by matching the occurrence data with underlying environmental variables. Useful for rare and endangered species since absence data is not required and the model needs relatively small number (50) occurrence points.
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Indiana Bat MaxEnt Model
Indiana Bat Summer habitat preferences:• Forested habitat, near water, wetlands• Roosting sites under sloughing bark of large live or dead trees with direct sun exposure
Winter hibernacula (caves) could not be satisfactorily modeled, but most cave locations are known. Protecting known hibernacula and combating white-nose syndrome are the highest priority for this species.
For Indiana both the GAP data and National Land Cover Data were used and compared
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Indiana Bat Model for the State of IN
Model Inputs• Point locations of focal species: A total of 208
element occurrences (both individuals and colonies) were used for Indiana.
• Grid (raster layers) representing relevant environmental factors: A total of 30 Environmental Variables were used for Indiana.
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Hubs• Slightly fragmented
aggregations of core areas, plus contiguous natural cover
• Large enough to support populations of native species and serve as sources for emigration into surrounding landscape
DisturbanceDisturbanceExample Forest - In 300 Example Forest - In 300 Years:Years:-15 Fires15 Fires-4 Hurricanes4 Hurricanes-7 Windstorms7 Windstorms-InfestationsInfestations-BlightBlight-Disturbances the Disturbances the Rule, Not the Rule, Not the ExceptionExceptionSource Mark Anderson, TNC, LTA Rally 2004
How Big Are Hubs? It depends…
Source Mark Anderson, TNC, LTA Rally 2004
How Large Are Forest Hubs?
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Corridors• Linear features linking core areas• Wind through human-dominated land like agriculture or development• Allow animal, seed, and pollen movement between core areas
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
How wide to make corridors? It depends…
Narrow corridor with no interior conditions
Studies on corridor width vary; best functioning corridors are wide enough for interior conditions and species(as shown at right)
Narrow corridor with eroded stream banks and invasive plants
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Forested Buffers for StreamsNo rules of thumb, however, recent studies recommend a minimum buffer width of 115 feet of forested land cover to provide basic physical and chemical buffering.
For many eastern states, wildlife movement facilitated by buffers at 650 feet in fragmented areas to 1,100 feet (500 ft interior forests with 300 ft buffer on either side) in less fragmented areas.
Can consider reforestation in fragmented areas to achieve adequate widths for corridors.
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Least Cost Path GIS ModelCalculates the least accumulative cost distance for each cell to the nearest source (e.g., between one core area and others) over a cost surface.A series of “cost” or “impedance” layers are created. The higher the cost, the more difficult it is for a species to move across the landscapeModel outputs are one cell width (30 meter) pathsPaths are expanded to a minimum size as required by focal species
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Least Cost Path for Forest Corridors
Cost layer for forest is a composite of the following layers: Land cover (degree of forested land) Impervious surfaces Roads (remoteness, fragmentation)
Focal species: Bobcat, grey fox, turkey, andeastern box turtle: Corridor width set at 100 meters (328 feet)
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Greening the Crossroads
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Step 4.
Green Infrastructure Network DesignSELECT Desired
GI ATTRIBUTES / DEVELOP DESIGN
GOALS & OBJECTIVES
IDENTIFY & CONNECT NETWORK
COMPONENTS (HUBS, LINKS & SITES)
ASSESS NETWORK COMPONENTS /
SET PRIORITIES FOR ACTION
ID LANDSCAPE TYPES/GATHER AND PROCESS DATA
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Characterizing a green infrastructure network• Resources may be too limited to protect an entire network in the
short term, so usually need to prioritize efforts.
• Different ways to characterize and prioritize network elements:– Overall ecological value– Development risk– Functional (hydrologic control, nutrient cycling, wildlife habitat,
etc.)– Ecosystem services (water quality, groundwater recharge, flood
protection, pollination, carbon sequestration, genetic bank, ecotourism, etc.)
– Combination (e.g., value and risk)
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Step 5.
Green Infrastructure Network DesignSELECT Desired
GI ATTRIBUTES / DEVELOP DESIGN
GOALS & OBJECTIVES
IDENTIFY & CONNECT NETWORK
COMPONENTS (HUBS, LINKS & SITES)
ASSESS NETWORK COMPONENTS /
SET PRIORITIES FOR ACTION
SEEK “OUTSIDE” REVIEW &
INPUT
ID LANDSCAPE TYPES/ GATHER AND
PROCESS DATA
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Public Involvement
• Over 80 stakeholders attended Leadership forums
• 129 stakeholders attended one of four focus group meetings on the following topics:– Working Lands– People, Greenways and Wildlife
Corridors– Forest Interiors– Water Quality and Quantity
• Technical review team of 26 experts
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
• Land Purchase• Nature Preserve Quality• Public Access• Larger Conservation Area
GTC Network Plan
BLOSSOM HOLLOW
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
• Working directly with planning staff to provide language for Comprehensive Plans and Zoning
•Providing GIS Shape Files to Planning Depts.
•Using the GTC Network shape file for critical lands in storm-water management plans
From Fishers Stormwater Management Plan
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Functional connectivity describes the degree to which landscapes facilitate or impede the movement of organisms and processes.
Product of both landscape structure and the response of organisms and processes to this structure.
Functional Connectivity
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Identifies and prioritizes areas most important for wildlife movement.Tool developed by Tool Developed by: John Norman -NRSC, CO. TCF Reviewers: Michael Schwartz ,Jazmin Varela Ted WeberRandomly places simulated organisms throughout suitable habitat in landscape. Optimal pathways identified between organism locations and other suitable habitat
Terrestrial Movement Analysis tool
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Terrestrial Movement Analysis tool Runs multiple
iterationsRandom placement
varies for each iteration, thus pathway locations vary as well
Outputs from iterations averaged to create final pathways
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Terrestrial Movement Analysis tool
The movement potential integrates - 1)patch connectivity (pathways)2)corridor cost, and 3)inter-corridor movement
Resulting in single value that ranges between 0 and 1 with one indicating the highest potential for movement.
Green Infrastructure – Linking Landscapes and Communities
Additional Information
Allen, W. 2012. Advancing Green Infrastructure at All Scales: From Landscape to Site. Environmental Practice 14 (1): 17‐25
Weber, Ted, “Development and application of a statewide conservation network in Delaware.” Journal of Conservation, Vol 3 (2007) pp. 17-46 http://www.journalconsplanning.org/
Mark Anderson, How much is enough? Conservation Planning at Multiple Scales, TNC, http://sweetwatertrust.org/forestreserves
Lerner, J. and W. Allen. 2012. Landscape‐Scale Green Infrastructure Investments as a Climate Adaptation Strategy: A Case Example for the Midwest United States. Environmental Practice 14 (1): 45‐56.
Ole M. Amundsen IIIStrategic Conservation Program [email protected] phone 607-277-0999