Habitat Connectivity Priorities, with Methods, Santa Barbara County

This is a Structural Connectivity analysis, based on connecting natural habitat that has less human impact. It is a surrogate for prioritizing wildlife habitat connectivity needs, including linkages and expansion of core areas.

The results are shown in the "Structural Connectivity" dataset, which has four data layer components:

• Core Areas
• Priority Paths
• combination of the Corridors and Linkage Priority layers using equal weights
• Corridors
• least cost corridors (linkages) across the landscape
• Linkage Priority
• priority of linkages based upon the resistance between cores, proximity of the cores, centrality of each linkage, the core area value, and climate envelope difference

This analysis was performed using Linkage Mapper Toolset, including the new Linkage Priority Tool. Here is the manual, and more information is also in the description of the dataset.

Also shown here is the resistance surface (v9), as well as the intermediate resistance surface layers described in indicated in the attached logic model.

Some of the data inputs are included as well.