Probable and potential suitable habitat for 43 rare plant species in the California desert

Multiple-use public lands are intended to meet the needs of current and future generations and require balancing a host of diverse resource uses and values within and across landscapes. In the California desert, there are significant interests in further developing renewable energy (solar, wind, geothermal) and important conservation concerns on multiple-use public lands. The Bureau of Land Management recently completed a multiyear land use planning initiative to identify how best to accommodate diverse resource uses in the area. Provisions in the plan provide for protection of modeled suitable habitat for a suite of rare plants. In association with the planning effort, three sets of habitat models were commissioned for plants of conservation concern in the area. The resulting challenge was to identify how to best use the existing models to implement requirements in the plan and guide future conservation, development, and planning actions. We evaluated 88 existing habitat models for a suite of 43 rare plants in the California desert (Reese and others, 2019) and used the models to produce three types of products: 1) maps of probable suitable habitat for individual plant species, 2) a multispecies map of probable suitable habitat, and 3) maps of potential suitable habitat for individual plant species. We were able to map probable suitable habitat for 26 of the 43 rare plant species. Each final map of probable suitable habitat indicates both how many models predicted each location to be suitable for the species and the average standardized habitat suitability score for each location. The multispecies map of probable suitable habitat combines data from all 26 species for which probable suitable habitat was mapped and indicates the number of species for which probable suitable habitat is predicted at each location. We were able to map potential suitable habitat for 41 species. Maps of potential suitable habitat are intended only for helping to target future plant surveys. Each final map of potential suitable habitat indicates both how many models predicted each location to be potentially suitable for that species and the average standardized habitat suitability score for each location. Data are presented at a spatial resolution of 10 m pixels, which was required to harmonize the original model inputs. However, the maps of probable suitable habitat should be used at a resolution no smaller than 360 m (i.e., 36 pixels x 36 pixels), which corresponds with the resolution of the coarsest model input. Our products can be used to inform future conservation, planning, and management actions in the California desert. Complete methods and other additional information are provided in the journal article associated with this data release (Reese and others, 2019). The "Probable and potential suitable habitat for 43 rare plant species in the California desert" data release consists of 68 raster datasets divided among three categories: "Probable Suitable Habitat Maps," "Multispecies Map of Probable Suitable Habitat", and "Potential Suitable Habitat Maps." The data files for individual plant species are labeled by four-digit plant codes. The common name, scientific name, four-digit code, and map availability for each species are listed in the Supplemental file for this data release: RarePlants_NamesCodesMapAvailability.pdf.多功能公共土地旨在满足当代与后代的发展需求，需在景观内部及跨景观尺度下平衡多样的资源利用方式与生态价值。在加利福尼亚沙漠地区，多功能公共土地上既存在进一步开发可再生能源（太阳能、风能、地热能）的强烈诉求，也面临诸多重要的生态保护关切。美国土地管理局近期完成了一项为期多年的土地利用规划项目，旨在明确该区域如何最优适配各类资源利用需求。该规划的条款要求对一批珍稀植物的模拟适宜栖息地实施保护。配合本次规划工作，项目方委托开展了三套针对该区域受保护关注植物的栖息地模型研究。由此产生的核心挑战在于，如何最优利用现有模型以落实规划中的相关要求，并为后续的保护、开发与规划行动提供指引。 本研究针对加利福尼亚沙漠地区的43种珍稀植物，评估了88套现有栖息地模型（Reese等，2019），并利用这些模型生成了三类成果：1）单种珍稀植物的可能适宜栖息地分布图；2）多物种可能适宜栖息地综合分布图；3）单种珍稀植物的潜在适宜栖息地分布图。本次研究成功为43种珍稀植物中的26种绘制了可能适宜栖息地分布图。每张最终的可能适宜栖息地分布图均标注了两项信息：预测该区域适宜对应物种的模型数量，以及该区域的标准化栖息地适宜性平均得分。多物种可能适宜栖息地综合分布图整合了全部26种已绘制可能适宜栖息地的物种数据，并标注了每个区域内被预测为拥有可能适宜栖息地的物种数量。 本次研究还成功为41种珍稀植物绘制了潜在适宜栖息地分布图。潜在适宜栖息地分布图仅用于辅助确定未来植物调查的目标区域。每张最终的潜在适宜栖息地分布图均标注了两项信息：预测该区域对对应物种具有潜在适宜性的模型数量，以及该区域的标准化栖息地适宜性平均得分。 本数据集的空间分辨率为10米栅格，该设置是为了统一原始模型的输入数据。但可能适宜栖息地分布图的使用分辨率不应低于360米（即36×36个栅格），这一分辨率与最粗糙的模型输入数据分辨率一致。本研究成果可用于为加利福尼亚沙漠地区的后续保护、规划与管理行动提供决策参考。本数据集发布配套的期刊论文（Reese等，2019）中提供了完整的研究方法与其他补充信息。 《加利福尼亚沙漠地区43种珍稀植物的可能与潜在适宜栖息地》数据集发布包包含68个栅格数据集，分为三类：“可能适宜栖息地分布图”、“多物种可能适宜栖息地综合分布图”以及“潜在适宜栖息地分布图”。单物种对应的数据集文件以四位植物代码进行命名。各物种的通用名、学名、四位代码以及分布图制作情况均列于本数据集发布的补充文件《RarePlants_NamesCodesMapAvailability.pdf》中。