Belding's Ground Squirrel Predicted Habitat - CWHR M070 [ds2528]

CWHR Predicted Habitat Models represent areas of predicted suitable habitat for each species within its range. These models are built from the following principal inputs: 1) a statewide, best-available vegetation map (FVEG); 2) GIS data representing a species’ range; 3) the CWHR database of habitat suitability values for over 700 terrestrial vertebrate species. Habitat suitability ranks of Low (non-zero values less than 0.34), Medium (0.34-0.66), and High (greater than 0.66) are based on the maximum suitability value across the 3 species life requisites: reproduction, feeding, and cover. Note that previous versions of these Predicted Habitat Models used an average across the 3 life requisites in order to obtain an overall suitability score for each habitat type and stage class. Habitat suitability scores were developed based on habitat patch sizes greater than 40 acres in size and are best interpreted for habitat patches greater than 200 acres in size. The FVEG landcover dataset is an aggregation of multiple statewide landcover and regional vegetation mapping efforts, conducted at different points in time (approximately 1990 up to time of publishing) and at various resolutions, compiled by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CALFIRE). FVEG uses the most current and consistent data available for each region of the state. Decision rules were developed that controlled which layers were given priority in areas of overlap. Crosswalks were used to attribute the various data sources according to the CWHR habitat-type classification system. Attributing FVEG with CWHR habitat types allows for the extraction of areas with non-zero suitability values for each species within the bounds of its range, creating a series of maps of predicted suitable habitat which are species-specific. Because FVEG is an amalgam of disparate landcover assessment efforts across the state, the predictive power for determining suitable habitat will vary between species, and possibly even regionally for species which are widely distributed. While these maps represent CDFW’s best estimate of the presence of suitable habitat for any given species in the CWHR system, these maps are also limited by several factors: 1) the accuracy and resolution of vegetation maps in a given region; 2) the dynamic nature of the landscape in which fire and other disturbance events alter conditions at a greater frequency than mapping efforts can track; 3) the currency of expert knowledge, particularly as species adapt to changing land and climate conditions and the shifting of other species’ ranges; 4) the frequency of species-specific surveys across a representative sample of a species’ entire range; 5) metapopulation dynamics, which describes the shifting of populations within their environment as result of numerous types of interactions and responses. CWHR GIS data representing predicted suitable habitat should not be used to indicate the presence or absence of a particular species at any specific site. CWHR predicted habitat models are named according to the 4-character alpha-numeric CWHR ID assigned to each species (5 characters in the case of subspecies or other sub-taxa). There is also a “CWHR Revision Tracking Table” containing a record for each species, its CWHR ID, scientific name, common name, and range and habitat model data revision history. CWHR species range models, predicted habitat models, and GIS data of the statewide distribution of all CWHR habitat types, along with the CWHR revision tracking table, are available for download at https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Data/CWHR.加州野生动物-栖息地关系（California Wildlife-Habitat Relationships，CWHR）预测栖息地模型指的是在各物种分布范围内，预测其适宜生境分布区域的模型。此类模型基于以下核心输入构建：1）全州最佳可用植被地图（FVEG）；2）表征物种分布范围的地理信息系统（Geographic Information System, GIS）数据；3）涵盖700余种陆生脊椎动物物种生境适宜性数值的CWHR数据库。生境适宜性等级分为低（非零数值小于0.34）、中（0.34~0.66）与高（大于0.66），其划分依据为物种3类生存必需条件——繁殖、觅食与隐蔽——对应的最大适宜性数值。需注意，过往版本的预测栖息地模型采用3类生存必需条件的平均值，以生成各生境类型与阶段类别的整体适宜性评分。生境适宜性评分基于面积大于40英亩的生境斑块开发，其解读最佳适配面积大于200英亩的生境斑块。 FVEG土地覆盖数据集整合了多项全州土地覆盖与区域植被测绘成果，这些测绘工作于不同时段（大致为1990年至发布时）以不同分辨率开展，由加州林业与消防局（California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, CALFIRE）编制。该数据集采用加州各区域当前可得的最一致数据，并制定了决策规则以处理重叠区域的图层优先级问题，同时通过跨映射表依据CWHR生境类型分类系统为各类数据源赋予属性。将CWHR生境类型属性赋予FVEG，可提取各物种分布范围内具有非零适宜性数值的区域，进而生成一系列针对特定物种的预测适宜生境地图。 由于FVEG整合了全州各类不同的土地覆盖评估成果，其在判定适宜生境时的预测能力会因物种而异，对于分布广泛的物种甚至可能因区域不同而存在差异。尽管此类地图代表了加州鱼类与野生动物部（California Department of Fish and Wildlife, CDFW）的最佳估算结果，但其仍受多项因素限制：1）特定区域内植被地图的精度与分辨率；2）景观的动态特性——火灾与其他干扰事件改变生境条件的频率高于测绘工作的更新频率；3）专家知识的时效性，尤其是在物种适应不断变化的土地与气候条件、以及其他物种分布范围发生偏移的背景下；4）针对物种完整分布范围的代表性样本开展物种特异性调查的频次；5）集合种群动态——即种群在环境中因各类相互作用与响应而发生的迁移变化。 CWHR表征预测适宜生境的GIS数据不可用于判定某一特定地点是否存在某一物种。CWHR预测栖息地模型依据为各物种分配的4位字母数字式CWHR标识符命名（亚种或其他亚分类单元的标识符为5位）。此外还设有“CWHR修订追踪表”，其中包含各物种的相关记录，包括其CWHR标识符、学名、通用名，以及分布范围与栖息地模型数据的修订历史。 CWHR物种分布模型、预测栖息地模型、所有CWHR生境类型全州分布的GIS数据，以及CWHR修订追踪表，均可从https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Data/CWHR下载获取。