WORKSHOPS

The following post-conference workshops will be offered. Details including cost will be provided in the registration information when available.

Post-Conference: (San Diego State University, Saturday, April 1, 2006)

Overview

This workshop is designed to provide an introduction to landscape structure analysis using FRAGSTATS, a computer software program designed to compute a wide variety of landscape metrics for categorical map patterns, and to explore some issues regarding the use of landscape metrics to describe landscape structure. FRAGSTATS is distributed for free over the Internet and is the most widely used landscape structure analysis software available.

The specific objectives of this workshop are to:
1. Introduce participants to landscape structure analysis.
2. Provide participants with hands-on experience with FRAGSTATS.
3. Provide participants with insights into the behavior of landscape metrics.
4. Provide participants with experience applying landscape structure analysis to conservation situations.
5. Provide participants with insights into future directions in landscape structure analysis.

In addition, participants will have the option of working with a sample of their own data, and thereby gain an in depth familiarity with how to use FRAGSTATS in the context of their own real-world application.

Overview

This workshop provides hands-on training in GIS-based land change modeling. Participants learn the concepts and perform the analyses necessary to calibrate and to validate a land change model. The workshop uses the model Geomod, which reads raster maps of land-use and other biological, geological, sociological, demographic, or economic attributes to determine empirically the attributes of land that humans tend to use. Geomod forecasts locations for land-use change according to any of three decision rules based on: (1) nearest neighbors, (2) stratification by sub-region, and/or (3) a suitability map. Participants then use tools for validation in order to quantify the model's ability to forecast land change based on a variety of statistical measurements, including error due to quantity and error due to location at multiple resolutions. The workshop focuses both on the concepts and on the operation of the relevant modules of the Kilimanjaro version of the GIS software Idrisi. Prior experience with GIS is helpful, while prior experience with Idrisi is not necessary. Participants who complete the course are entitled to a 50 percent discount on purchase of an Idrisi license. Participants are encouraged to enroll early because last year's workshop was sold out.

Robert Gilmore Pontius Jr, "Gil" for short, is Associate Professor at Clark University in both the School of Geography and the Department of International Development, Community & Environment, where he coordinates the graduate program in Geographic Information Sciences for Development and Environment. His research compares land change models and quantifies their predictive powers. He created the land-use change model Geomod and several new statistical techniques to compare maps at multiple resolutions. He is active in the National Science Foundation's Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) and Human Environment Regional Observatory (HERO) programs. Gil holds a Master of Applied Statistics from The Ohio State University and a doctorate from the State University of New York's College of Environmental Science and Forestry (http://www.clarku.edu/~rpontius).

Overview

RHESSys is a GIS-based, hydro-ecological modeling framework designed to simulate carbon, water and nutrient fluxes. RHESSys combines both a set of physically based process models and a methodology for partitioning and parameterizing the landscape. RHESSys' architecture models the spatial distribution and spatial-temporal interactions between the different processes at the watershed scale. http://geography.sdsu.edu/Research/Projects/RHESSYS/index.html

Overview

This workshop provides hands-on training in the use of LANDIS-II, a spatially explicit and stochastic forest succession and disturbance model developed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. LANDIS-II simulates forest succession, disturbance (including fire, wind, harvesting, insects, climate change), and seed dispersal across large (> 10,000 ha) landscapes. LANDIS-II tracks the spatial distribution of discrete tree species and has a flexible spatial and flexible temporal resolution. LANDIS-II advances forest landscape simulation modeling in many respects. Most significantly, LANDIS-II 1) preserves the functionality of all previous LANDIS versions, 2) has flexible time steps for every process, 3) uses an advanced architecture that will significantly increase collaborative potential, and 4) optionally allows for the incorporation of ecosystem processes (eg live biomass accumulation). LANDIS-II manages and executes discrete extensions (modules or plug-ins). The user specifies which extensions will be used to best simulate the forest dynamics of interest. During the workshop, we will review the logic behind the variable time steps; review the new architecture in detail; learn how to use the plug-and-play functionality; learn how to run multiple scenarios; and explore the built in input validation. Methods for generating input and testing extension behavior will also be reviewed.