ForestFragmentationinthePugetSoundWatershed

AlixHartmann
WesternWashingtonUniversity
ENVS422:AdvancedSpatialAnalysis
June2015
Introduction
Forestfragmentationisaprocessthatbreaksupthecontinuityofforestlandscapes,often
causedbyhumandisturbancessuchasroadsandresourceextraction.Fragmentedforest
landscapesarevulnerabletoreductionofforesthealth,degradationofhabitat,andlossof
biodiversity.Understandingpatternsofforestlossandfragmentationareofparticularimportant
inthePacificNorthwest,wherelogginganddevelopmenthavemadesignificantchangestothe
landscape.Inthisstudy,Ianalyzedlandcoverdatatoestimateforestlossandfragmentationin
thePugetSoundwatershedinWashingtonStatefortheyears1992and2011.Inmyanalysis,a
patternofdecreasingoverallforestcover,decreasingcoreforest,andincreasingfragmentation
emerged.Forestfragmentationindexesshowingtheareaoffragmentedforestlandscaperelative
tototalforestedlandscapehighlightareaswherefragmentationismostsevere.Thevisualization
oftheindexchangeoverthe19yearperiodalsoshowsadramaticincreaseinfragmented
landscape,particularlyinthesouthernregionofthebasinandalongthenorthernregionof
OlympicNationalForest.Theseresultshighlightthespatialpatternsofecosystemdegradation

thatsignificantlyfactorintofurtherresearchdonebylandscapeecologists,wildlifebiologists,
andlandmanagersinthePacificNorthwest.
Methods
Inmyanalysis,Iused30x30meterUSGSNLCDlandcoverdatafrom1992and2011.
Areasclassifiedasforest[figure2]mustbedominatedbytreesgenerallytallerthan5metersand
mustbegreaterthan20%oftotalvegetationcoverforeachcell.Ihaveclippedthelandcover
datadowntothewatershedsthatdrainintothePugetSound.
Thefirststepinmyanalysiswastoreclassifythelandcoverdataforeachyear.Forests
(deciduous,evergreen,andmixed)arereclassifiedwithanumericalvalueof2.Allothervalues
arereclassifiedwithavalueof1.Figures3and4showtheresultingforest/nonforestlandcover
maps.ThetwooutputrastersareusedintheLandscapeFragmentationToolv2.0[10],atool
developedbytheUniversityofConnecticutCenterforLandUseandResearch.Thistool
reclassifiesforestedlandcoverinto6types:patch,edge,perforated,smallcore,mediumcore,
andlargecore[figure5].Corepixelsaregreaterthanaspecifiededgedistancefromnonforest
landcover.Edgedistanceisbasedonanestimateofthedistanceforestmustbeawayfromother
landcovertypestobeundisturbed.Ihavechosenanedgedistanceof100metersformy
analysis.Smallcorecellsarecoreforestareaslessthan100hectaresintotal.Mediumcorecells
arebetween100and200hectares.Largecorecellsarewithincoreareasgreaterthan200
hectares.Edgecellsformthe100mbufferalongtheouteredgesofcoreareas.Cellsclassifiedas
patcharewithinasmallforestfragmentthatdoesnotcontainanycorepixels.Perforatedcells

arethe100mbufferaroundnonforestthatiscompletelyenclosedbyacoreforesttract.Figures
6through8showtheresultsofthelandscapefragmentationtool.
UsingaCreatehexagontessellationtool[figure10],Idividedthestudyareaintoequal
areahexagons,eachgivenauniqueidentifier,approximately4squaremilesinsize.Thefour
rasterdatasets,fragmentationandforest/nonforestfortheyears1992and2011,areconvertedto
polygonswithoutsmoothededgesusingtherastertopolygontool.Eachoftheselayerswas
thenprocessedusingthetabulateintersectiontoolwiththestudyareadivisionsastheextent
input.Thisgeneratesatablethatdescribesthemakeupofeachhexagon.Thelandcovertype
tablesgivethetotalareaandpercentagethatforestandnonforesttakeupineachhexagon.The
fragmentationtablesgivethetotalareaandpercentagethatpatch,edge,perforated,andcores
takeupineachhexagon.UsingtheuniqueIDgiventoeachhexagonasthecommonfield,I
joinedthetabularinformationtothedividedstudyareas.Idividedthepercentageoffragmented
landscape(patch,edge,andperforated)bythepercentageofforesttypelandcoverwithineach
hexagonfortheyears1992and2011.Thesegivemeanindexforforestfragmentationrelativeto
overallforestedarea[figure11].Finally,Isubtractedtheseforestfragmentationindexvaluesto
produceamapshowingchangeintheindexfrom1992to2011[figure12].Toestimatetotal
areasofforestedandfragmentedlandscapeovertheentirestudyarea,Iusedthesummedcell
countvalues(eachcellrepresents30x30meters)andmultipliedthemby900.Thisgivesme
totalareasinsquaremeters.Toestimatepercentages,Idividedthesevaluesbythetotalareaof
thestudyarea,approximately35billionsquaremeters(14,000squaremiles).

Results
LandcoverdatashowsthattheareawithinthePugetSoundbasincoveredbyforestwas
72%in1992and58%in2011.CalculationsfromtheLandscapeFragmentationtoolproducethe
followingdatafortotallandtypemakeupovertheentirestudyarea:

Apatternofdecreasingoverallforestcover,decreasingcoreforest,andincreasing
fragmentationisapparent.Forestfragmentationindexesshowingtheareaoffragmentedforest
landscaperelativetototalforestedlandscapehighlightareaswherefragmentationismostsevere.
Thevisualizationoftheindexchangeoverthe19yearperiodalsoshowsadramaticincreasein
fragmentedlandscape,particularlyinthesouthernregionofthebasinandalongthenorthern
regionofOlympicNationalForest.TheindexincreasedforalargeareaeastoftheCascades.

LiteratureReview
SethReices
TheSilverLining:TheBenefitsofNaturalDisasters
[1]outlinessomeof
theeffectsofdisturbancesonlandscapes.Inhisbook,Reicedescribesthepotentialfornatural
disturbancesonforestlandtoaidinecosystemfunctionandpreservebiodiversity.Natural
disturbancestothelandscape,includingwildfire,floodsandwindstorms,arerelativelyrareand
weak.Manmadedisturbancestoforestsarecomparativelyfrequent,powerful,andrequiremore
timeforecosystemrecovery.Forthisreason,heargues,manmadeforestdisturbancesare
largelythreateningtoecosystemhealth.Disturbancesaredetrimentalwhentheremaininghabitat
isinsufficientforrecolonizingorganismstoaidinecosystemrecoveryandmaintainviable
populations.Destructionanddegradationofhabitathasshowntoimperil85%ofthreatenedor
endangeredspecies,andistheleadingthreattobiodiversity(aheadofnonnativespecies,
pollution,overexploitation,anddisease.).Forestfragmentationbyclearcuttingorloggingroads
isamanmadedisturbancethatreducesavailablehabitatandchangesthespatialcompositionof
species.Additionally,forestroadconstructiontendstoleadtomoredevelopmentdueto
increasedmobility.Theauthorsuggestsdesigningprescribedburnsinmanagedforeststomore
closelyresemblenaturalfireregimesinordertomaximizethebiologicalbenefitsofforest
disturbancewithoutcausinglastingharmtoecosystems.Lightandselectivecutscanbe
indistinguishablefromnaturaldisturbances(suchastreefall)andhavenegligibleeffectson
ecosystemfunction.Thestudyareainmyanalysiscontainslargeareasofstateandfederally
managedforestwherethesecarefulmitigationstrategiesforfragmentationdisturbanceswould
bebeneficial.

ThePugetSoundregionhasalonghistoryofloggingandcontinuestobeamajorsource
offorestresources.Inordertobettermanageforestlandsforecosystemhealthandsustainability,
weneedtoknowhowplants,animals,andthephysicalenvironmentrespondtologging.The
EffectsofLoggingonForestBiodiversity[2]describesthebioticandabioticsresponsesto
timberextractionandtheresultinghabitatlossandfragmentation.Structurally,loggingopensup
canopyandleadstoincreasedsolarradiationovermorespace.Thedevelopmentoflogging
roadsdisturbssoils,alterslocalhydrologicalnetworks,andcreatesforestedges.Removalof
biomassthatwouldhavebeenrecycledbackintotheecosystemleadstopoorernutrient
availability.Heavilyharvestedforeststandshavepoorersoilsandmoresurfacerunoff.How
individualspeciesrespondtologgingdependsontheiruniqueniche.Latesuccessionalspecies
needinteriorforesthabitatthatiscomplexandundisturbed.Inmyanalysis,thetotalarea
coveredbyinteriorforestdecreasedandspecialconsiderationinfutureanalysesshouldbemade
forthesesensitivespecies.Gapspeciesandgeneralistsaremosttolerantofdisturbanceandmay
becomemoreabundantasinteriorforesthabitatislostinthePugetSoundregion.Birdsare
knowntoreturnmostquicklyonceforeststructurereturns,whileamphibiansandplantsreturn
mostslowly.Slowreturningplantsmaybeusedasanindicatorofreturningecological
continuity.Thereremainsaneedformoreresearchonforestspeciesresiliencyfollowinglogging
events.
TheoryMeetsReality:HowHabitatFragmentationResearchHasTranscendedIsland
BiogeographicTheory[3]takesacriticallookatIslandBiogeographicTheory(IBT)andits
limitationsinassessingtheeffectsofhabitatfragmentation.Inconservationbiology,IBTisa
conceptualmodelfortheeffectsofunderstandinghabitatisolationonorganisms.Theauthor

arguesthatamorecompleteconceptualmodelisneededtomakefinepredictionsabout
ecosystemfunctioninfragmentedlandscapes.IBTdoesnotaddresstheeffectsofedges,where
starklycontrastinghabitatsmeetanddisturbnaturalecosystemfunction.Smallerforestpatches
tendtoexacerbateharmfuledgeeffects.Thearticlesuggeststhatpreviousstudiesonspeciesloss
attributedtoshrinkinghabitatareamayinsteadbetheresultoffragmentationorthecombination
ofthetwoforces.IBTalsoignorestheroleofthesurroundinglandcovermatrixinalandscape.
Forexample,cattlepasturesmighthaveadifferenteffectonadjacentforestpatchesthan
regrowthforestwould.IBTalsomightfailtorecognizetheeffectsofspeciesinteractions,
insteadfocusingtoonarrowlyonpopulationsizeasadominantfactorinconservationproblems.
Theauthorssuggestusingpatternsofcompetition,predation,parasitism,andmutualismand
theirknownresponsestoedgeeffectsandfragmentation.Forexample,largepredatorsare
commonlyreplacedbygeneralistomnivoresinforestfragments.Additionally,factorsnotrelated
towildlifeshouldbeaddressedinamorecompleteframeworkforunderstandingforest
fragmentation.Treemortalitynearedges,changingwindandfireregimes,andincreasedsunlight
penetrationallmayhappeninfragmentedlandscapes.UsingpatternsIhaveshowninmy
analysis,conservationbiologistsandwildlifemanagersmaymoreeasilyidentifyareaswhere
closerinspectionofhabitatisolationandfragmentationmaybeneeded.
EdgeEffectsinFragmentedForests:ImplicationsforConservation[4]goesintowhat
anedgeis,howtomeasureedgeeffects,andadiscussiononassessingthenegativeimpactsof
edges.Theauthorsarguethatamoreconsistentconceptualframeworkisneededforfuture
analysesisimportantforfindinguniversalpatternsthatcouldaidinmakingpredictions.
Consensusinfragmentationresearchisdifficulttoachieveduetothecomplicatednatureof

interactingenvironmentsanddifferingmethodsforanalysis.Forexample,edgedistances(the
maximumreachofedgedisturbance)mayfallanywhereinbetween10and200meters.Inmy
analysis,Ihaveusedanedgedistanceof100meters,butfurtherstudyonfragmentationinthe
PacificNorthwestmaydemonstratetheneedfordifferentedgedistancevalues.Plantsand
animalsresponddifferentlytoedges,sothedefinitionofedgeshouldbeadjusteddependingon
specificorganismsofinterest.Thereisdifficultyindeterminingprinciplesthatgoverntheeffects
ofedges,andfewstudieshavelookedatthelongtermconditionsinfragmentedlandscapes.The
authorsheresuggestusingabioticeffectsofedgesinfurtherstudies,sincetheytendtobe
simplerandmorepredictablethanabioticeffects.Abetterconceptualunderstandingof
ecosystemfunctionatedgesisimportantforpreservingtheincreasinglydiminishedhabitatsin
thePacificNorthwest.
CenturiesofChangeinPacificNorthwestForests:EcologicalEffectsofForest
SimplificationandFragmentation[5]looksintosomeoftheeffectsoffragmentationspecificto
thePacificNorthwest.Forestsimplificationandfragmentationbothfallundertheoverarching
studyofhabitatloss,butrequirespecialattentionduetotheiruniqueeffectsonecosystems.The
authorssuggestthatsomeforestmanagementpracticesinthisregionhaveharmedecosystem
functionbysimplifyingforeststructure.Forestscanbesimplifiedbytheplantingofmonoculture
followingloggingorfireandtheremovalofbiomassanddebris.Spatialvariabilityisessential
forforestecosystemfunction.OldgrowthforestsinthePacificNorthwesthavethemost
structuralcomplexityandserveasexamplesofhealthy,undisturbedlandscape.InPacific
Northwestforestspecies,forestfragmentationhasalsobeenshowntohavewidespreadeffects.
Fragmentationhindersthedispersalofjuvenilespottedowls.Somevarietiesofelkinthisregion

maybenefitfromfragmentationduetothecreationofmorefavorableconditionsforfood
browsingsites.Fragmentationhasexpandedtherangeofthewhitetaileddeer,whocompete
withnativecaribouintheinteriornorthwest.Changinglandscapeecologyandpatternsof
fragmentationshowninmyanalysishighlightareaswheretheseknowneffectsmightbe
expectedinthePacificNorthwest.
TheFinalRoadlessConservationRuleenactedin2001undertheClintonadministration
categorizedroughly237,000km^2asinventoriedroadlessareas(IRAs)tobeprotectedfrom
timberextractionanddevelopment.This2003study,USDAForestServiceRoadlessArea:
PotentialBiodiversityConservationReserves[6],discussestheimpactoftheroadlessruleand
changestoconservationstrategiesasaresult.Theyfoundthat20%ofIRAswerelocatedwithin
ecoregionsthathadhighpotentialforsensitivityandhighbiodiversity.Largepredators,suchas
thegrizzlybear,oftendependonlargeareasofcontinuouscoreforesttothrive.IRAsaidin
protectingthisresource.ForestServicelandsthatnowadheretotheroadlessrulearecrucialin
conservationeffortsduetotheirlargelandbaseandstableownership.Roadlessareasspecifically
setasidewithinourmultipleusefocusedsystemhelpaidinmanagementstrategiesandstudies
inwildlifeconservation.Forestfragmentationcausedbyroaddevelopmentshowninmyanalysis
mightbeslowedorreversedbythispolicyandothersthatstopthecreationofnewforestedges.
ForestFragmentation:ImplicationforSustainablePrivateForests[7]analyzes
challengesinmanagingandmaintainingprivateforestland.Privateforestryis,insomecases,a
moreeconomicallyviablealternativetopubliclandmanagement.Urbansprawliseatingup
forestlandbecausemanagedforestisoftenlessprofitablethanconversiontoagriculturalor
residentialland.Privateforestryisimportanttoconsiderbecause,although94%ofprivateforest

landownersownedlessthan100acres,150millionacresofforestintheUnitedStatesarein
privatehands.Thesesmallownershipsareoftentoosmalltomanageeffectivelyasasingleunit,
butrepresentalargeportionofforestedlandscapethatiscrucialinmaintainingecologicaland
physicalconnectedness.WhenanalyzingforestfragmentationinthePugetSoundregion,private
forestryshouldnotbeoverlookedasafactor.
Indexesforquantifyingforestfragmentationandanalyzingassociatedfactorsarean
importantnextstepinanalysinglandscapechangeandmitigationstrategies.ThepaperForest
FragmentationinthePacificNorthwest:QuantificationsandCorrelations.[8]createdanindex
forforestfragmentationinwesternWashingtonandOregonandlookedatthecorrelated
socioeconomicandphysicalfactors.Theirindexwascalculatedbyfindingtheaverageofthree
factors:percentagenonforest,percentageedge,andaverageinterspersion.Averageinterspersion
isameasureofheterogeneity.Forestpixelssurroundedbymanyotherforestpixelsaregivenlow
interspersionvalues,andviceversa.Intheiranalysis,theyfoundthat20%offragmentation
couldbeattributedtohumanlandusedecisions.Populationdensity,income,andpercentage
agriculturewereallpositivelycorrelatedwithahighforestfragmentationindex.Distancetothe
nearesthighway,percentagefederalland,andslopewereallnegativelycorrelatedtotheirforest
fragmentationindex.Federallandswereshowntocontainsignificantlylessforestfragmentation.
Anotherstudy,GlobalPatternsofForestFragmentation[9],developedanindexfor
quantifyingforestfragmentation.Thisindexiscalculatedusingtwofactors:forestproportion
andtheconditionalprobabilitythattheneighboringpixelisforested.TheindexIdevelopedin
myanalysisappearedtogiveagoodroughestimation,butfurtherresearchintothefactors

behindthespatialvariationoffragmentationmayhelprefinethisindexandenhancetheability
forlandmanagerstoidentifysensitiveoratriskregions.

Appendix


Figure1:Thespatialextentofthestudyareainthisanalysis


Figure2:LandcoverclassificationsfromNLCDdata.Valuesof41,42,and43were
classifiedasforestinthisanalysis,allothersclassifiedasnonforest.


Figure3:Forest/NonForestin1992


Figure4:Forest/NonForestin2011


Figure5:GraphicalrepresentationofforestfragmenttypesusedintheLFT


Figure6:ResultsoftheLFT,1992.

Figure7:BreakdownofforestlandcovertypesclassifiedbytheLFT,1992.

Figure8:ResultsoftheLFT,2011.


Figure9:BreakdownofforestlandcovertypesclassifiedbytheLFT,2011.

Figure10:Thestudyareabrokenupintoequalareahexbins


Figure11:Resultsofforestfragmentationindexcalculations


Figure12:Changeintheforestfragmentationindexfrom1992to2011

WorksCited
[1]Reice,SethRobert.Thesilverlining:thebenefitsofnaturaldisasters.PrincetonUniversity
Press,2003.
[2]Jenkins,Jerry.ConservationeasementsandbiodiversityintheNorthernForestRegion.Open
SpaceInstitute,2008.
[3]Laurance,WilliamF."Theorymeetsreality:howhabitatfragmentationresearchhas
transcendedislandbiogeographictheory."Biologicalconservation141.7(2008):17311744.
[4]Murcia,Carolina."Edgeeffectsinfragmentedforests:implicationsforconservation."Trends
inEcology&Evolution10.2(1995):5862.
[5]Swanson,Mark."CenturiesofChangeinPacificNorthwestForests:EcologicalEffectsof
ForestSimplificationandFragmentation."(2005).
[6]Loucks,Colby,etal."USDAForestServiceroadlessareas:potentialbiodiversity
conservationreserves."ConservationEcology7.2(2003):5.
[7]Sampson,Neil,andLesterDeCoster."Forestfragmentation:implicationsforsustainable
privateforests."JournalofForestry98.3(2000):48.
[8]Butler,BrettJ.,JenniferJ.Swenson,andRalphJ.Alig."ForestfragmentationinthePacific
Northwest:quantificationandcorrelations."ForestEcologyandManagement189.1(2004):
363373.

[9]Riitters,Kurt,etal."Globalscalepatternsofforestfragmentation."ConservationEcology
4.2(2000):3.
[10]Parent,J.,andJ.Hurd."LandscapeFragmentationTool(LFTv2.0)."CenterforLandUse
EducationandResearch,availableat:http://clear.uconn.edu/tools/lft/lft2/index.htm(2010).