SBC LTER: Spatial definitions of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) patches in southern and central California

These data describe the spatial definitions of patches of giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera, in central and southern California, USA, using a 27-year time series of giant kelp canopy biomass from Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper satellite imagery (1984-2011). Giant kelp patches were delineated using a spatial synchrony-based method that avoids the consolidation of adjacent, independently fluctuating local populations into "megapatches". The method uses a network theory modularity approach to optimally cluster Landsat pixels into patches based on suitable habitat area (i.e., all areas containing giant kelp, 1984-2011) and the spatial synchrony of canopy biomass. These data were described in Cavanaugh, K. C., D. A. Siegel, P. T. Raimondi, and F. A. Alberto. 2014. Patch definition in metapopulation analysis: a graph theory approach to solve the mega-patch problem. Ecology 95:316-328. doi:10.1890/13-0221.1