Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Substrate mobility settings variable

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, changing with urban growth.