Vegetation dynamics: Land Use and Landscape Ecology

ThisisanadaptedversionofwebsiteaboutacourseonEnvironmentalModelingofProf.MiguelAcevedo.Thecompletecourse
canbefoundathttp://www.geog.unt.edu/~acevedo/courses/5400/week9/lect09.htm
1.- Vegetation dynamics: individual-based models
References:
SwartzmannandKaluznytextbookpages129-133;155-167
Lecturenotesaddendum(handout).Forremoteuse:availableasWordPerfect6.0 gapnotes.wpdindownload\zelig
Urban,D.L.1993.A User's Guide to ZELIG Version 2.ColoradoStateUniversity,DepartmentofForestSciences,Fort
Collins,Colorado.
UrbanD.L.andH.H.Shugart.1992.Individual-basedmodelsofforestsuccession.In:D.C.Glenn-Lewin,R.K.Peetand
T.T.Veblen(Editors).Plant Succession: Theory and Prediction.ChapmanandHall,NewYork.pp:249-292.
Changesofspeciescompositionandbiomass(ecosystem+communitydynamics)isanemergentpropertyofthedynamicsof
theindividuals.
Examples:
Forest:JABOWA,ZELIG
Example,descriptionofforestgapmodel:
Theindividualtreesofeachspeciescangrow(i.e.,changetreevolumewithtime)ordie.
Theindividualsarecompetingforlight
V=D
2
H
V=TreeVolume
D=diameter,H=height
Dynamics:
dV/dt=volumegrowthrate(m3/yr)
dV/dt=GLA[1-DH/DmaxHmax]
G=maximumgrowthrate[m3woodperm2leafarea/yr]
LA=leafarea[m2]
Allometricfactors:
Allometricrelationshipofdiameterandheight(twooptions)
H=h+aD-bD
2

H=h(1-exp(cD)d)
his"breastheight"=1.37m=(orheightatwhichdiameterisusuallymeasured)
AllometricrelationshipbetweenLAanddiameterLA=fD
Environmentallimitingfactors:
G=GmaxF(L)F(SM)F(T)F(N)
F(X)=limitingfactor(between0and1),duetoenvironmentalvariableX
XcanbeL=light,SM=soilmoisture,T=temperature,N=nutrients
ThefunctionsF(X)haveparameterswhichdependonspeciestype:shade-tolerance,drought-tolerance,cold-
tolerance,etc.
Communitydynamicsfeedbacksonenvironmentalfactors:Asthetreesgrow:totalbasalareaincreasesandcrowding
effectsreducegrowth:lesslight,morelightattenuationbycanopy(Beer'slaw),lessnutrients,lesswater
Mostindividual-basedforestmodels(JABOWA,FORET,ZELIG)userandomestablishmentandmortality.Simulation
usesMonte-Carlomethod.
Inthelabwewillexercise:
adeterministic(doesnotexplicitlyincluderandomestablishmentandmortality)andlumped(notbasedon
individuals,butonaverages)gapmodelusingtimezeroadnappliestotheHubbardBrookwatershed
zeligusingpreliminaryRayRobertsLakeareauplandforestdata




2.- Succession models: Semi-Markov and related models
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Reference:
SwartzmannandKaluznytextbook:
onMarkovpages32-33;p:64
ongrasslandsuccessionpp:16-17,p:56-57,p:64.
Acevedo,M.F.D.L.UrbanandH.H.Shugart.1996.Modelsofforestdynamicsbasedonrolesoftreespecies.Ecological
Modelling.87:267-284.
AnotherapproachtovegetationdynamicsandsuccessionistouseMarkov(wecoverthislastlecture),semi-Markovmodelsand
compartmentmodels(alsorelatedtosemi-Markovwithexponentialholdingtimes).
Inthisapproach,eachcovertypeisastatevariable
Markov:
Probabilitytransitionmatrix:entriesareprobabilitiesoftransitionamongseveralstatesateachtimestep.
Numericallydonebyiteratingmatrix
Statevariablesrepresentoccupancyprobabilitiesorfractionofspaceoccupiedbyeachcovertypeattimet
Time-Zerohascapabilitiesfordoingmarkovsimulations.
Meanandvarianceofstatevector
Steady-statedependsonprobabilities.
Semi-Markov:
Transitionsalsodependonholdingtimeinthesourcestate.
Steady-statedependsonprobabilitiesandparametersofholdingtimedensity.
Simpleholdingtimeisgammadensity
First-ordergammadensityisexponential
semi-MarkovwithexpoholdingtimeisthesameasacontinuoustimeMarkovprocess
Forsemi-markovwithgammadensitieswecanuseprogramdynlayer
havetoedittheinputfile,runthesimulationandlookattheoutputfile.
Relatedtocompartmentmodels;makethetransferratesrelatedtoprobabilitiesoftransition
Oneexamplearegrassesinprairiesuccession(textbook)
Eachcovertypeisseenasacompartmentandhavetransferratesamongcompartments
ThereisSEEMmodelforthisexample(wewilluseinlab)
themodelinseemincludesinterruptingsuccessioneverysomanyyearsbyfire
thatisadisturbanceparameterizedbyfrequencyandintensity
Canbeappliedtothelandscapelevel;seenextsection.




3.- Landscape dynamics: habitat changes
References:
Acevedo,M.F.D.L.UrbanandM.Ablan.1995.Transitionandgapmodelsofforestdynamics.Ecological Applications.5
(4):1040-1055.
Theindividual-basedapproachcanbeappliedtolandscapebymakingtopographicposition(elevation,slopeanditsaspect)and
soilsaffecttheenvironmentalconstraints(temp,precip,radiation).Eachzeligplotcorrespondstoahomogeneousparcelof
landscape.However,largearealextentrequiresverylargecomputerstorageandspeedduetothegreatquantityofdetailin
indiv-basedmodels.
Thesemi-Markovapproachcanbeappliedtothelandscapelevelbymakingtheparameters(probabilitiesandholdingtimes)
dependonelevation,slopeanditsaspect,soils,etc.
ItisconvenienttohaveaGISmanagealltheinfoontopographyandsoilstoparameterizethedynamicalmodel,andtosend
modeloutputtotheGISforspatialanalysis.
Forsemi-markovuseprogramMOSAICwhichwehavecoupledtoseveralGISpackages:ArcInfo,GRASSandIDRISI
TouseMOSAIChavetoedittheinputfile,runthesimulationandlookattheoutputfile
Neighborhoodeffects:
Inlandscapesspatialstructurecouldaffectthedynamics
e.g.proximityoflandscpeparcelswithabundanceofacovertypecouldaffectdispersalandestablishmentpatterns
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Copyright1995-2002by:ESSEnvironmentalSoftwareandServicesGmbHAUSTRIA
NeighborhoodeffectsarenotimplementedinMOSAIC
avariantnamedNHOODwhichdoesmoregeneralsemi-Markovmodels(notlimitedtogammaholdingtimes)
nhoodhasawndowsuserinterface.




4.- GIS and Remote Sensing: Linkages to modeling
References:ProccedingsofthreeNCGIAinternationalconferencesonintegratingGISandmodels
2nd:GoodchildM.F.,L.T.Steyaert,B.O.ParksM.P.Crane,C.A.Johnston,D.R.MaidmentandS.Glendinning.GIS and
Environmental Modeling: Progress and Research Issues.GISWorld,FortCollins,Colorado.
3rd:Latest1995SantaFe,NewMexico
Remotesensingimagesarelinkedtosimulationmodelsinvariousmanners;forexample,
parameterizemodelsbyidentifyinglandscapeconditions
evaluatemodelresults
InfoderivedfromremotesensingismadepartoftheGIS
Agooddealofefforthasgoneintodevelopingspatialhydrology
forexample,linkageswiththeGRASSGIS

End of lecture outline. In the lab session we will be practicing these ideas.

Miguel F. Acevedo
acevedo@unt.edu
Copyright1996MiguelF.Acevedo
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