Mapping beta diversity from space: Sparse Generalized Dissimilarity Modelling (SGDM) for analysing high-dimensional data

1. Spatial patterns of community composition turnover (beta diversity) may be mapped through Generalised Dissimilarity Modelling (GDM). While remote sensing data are adequate to describe these patterns, the often high-dimensional nature of these data poses some analytical challenges, potentially resulting in loss of generality. This may hinder the use of such data for mapping and monitoring beta-diversity patterns. 2. This study presents Sparse Generalised Dissimilarity Modelling (SGDM), a methodological framework designed to improve the use of high-dimensional data to predict community turnover with GDM. SGDM consists of a two-stage approach, by first transforming the environmental data with a sparse canonical correlation analysis (SCCA), aimed at dealing with high-dimensional datasets, and secondly fitting the transformed data with GDM. The SCCA penalisation parameters are chosen according to a grid search procedure in order to optimise the predictive performance of a GDM fit on the resulting components. The proposed method was illustrated on a case study with a clear environmental gradient of shrub encroachment following cropland abandonment, and subsequent turnover in the bird communities. Bird community data, collected on 115 plots located along the described gradient, were used to fit composition dissimilarity as a function of several remote sensing datasets, including a time series of Landsat data as well as simulated EnMAP hyperspectral data. 3. The proposed approach always outperformed GDM models when fit on high-dimensional datasets. Its usage on low-dimensional data was not consistently advantageous. Models using high-dimensional data, on the other hand, always outperformed those using low-dimensional data, such as single date multispectral imagery. 4. This approach improved the direct use of high-dimensional remote sensing data, such as time series or hyperspectral imagery, for community dissimilarity modelling, resulting in better performing models. The good performance of models using high-dimensional datasets further highlights the relevance of dense time series and data coming from new and forthcoming satellite sensors for ecological applications such as mapping species beta diversity.