Consistent and accurate landscape datasets are important foundational products for ecological analyses and for understanding and anticipating the effects of climate change on forested, agricultural, and freshwater systems across the U.S. and Canada. The objective of this project was to extend an existing terrestrial habitat map of the north Atlantic U.S. to Atlantic Canada and southern Quebec, using and modeling field-collected data combined with national and provincial datasets. This GIS map 1) provides a foundation upon which further research, such as species vulnerability analyses, can advance, 2) allows each relevant state and province to identify terrestrial habitats consistently across borders, 3) allows for analysis of regional connectivity, and 4) facilitates an understanding of terrestrial animal and plant populations in relation to climate change.
This project was co-funded by the North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative and Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Centers. An alternate reference to this project can be found here: https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/50070941e4b0abf7ce733ff5.
