Topographic Heterogeneity (90m)

Topographic heterogeneity is an aspect of adaptive capacity due to potential microclimate buffering of climate change exposure impacts. A species that exists in an area of high topographic heterogeneity has less distance to travel to find suitable climate than a species that exists in a homogenous landscape. The topographic index calculates the range in elevation values from a center cell and the three cell radius immediately surrounding it using a 90m digital elevation model (DEM). These values were then converted to a 0-1 scale using the standard deviation of the range of values across the study area.