R-Package ecochange: Integrating Freely Available geospatial data and deriving EBV candidates and indicators in predefined Regions of Interest

Abstract:

The effectiveness of Essential Biodiversity Variables for informing biodiversity decision-making requires efficient integration of geospatial biodiversity data sources and the development of workflows. We introduce the new R package named ecochange. This package integrates global products on Global Forest Change, Global Continuous Tree Cover data, Surface Water, with data produced for national or regional domains including species Areas of Occupancy (AOO) to produce spatial metrics, and EBV indicators for user-defined Regions Of Interest (ROI). The package derives EBV metrics and indicators related to horizontal ecosystem extent, forest fragmentation, species distribution ranges, among others. We illustrate the functionality of ecochange by studying the effects of forest degradation and loss between 2000-2015 in the northern Amazon region of Colombia, on the AOO of the Black-mantled tamarin (Leontocebus nigricollis). Recent studies indicate that this primate species is vulnerable to changes in forest extent and canopy structure. Forest loss increased during the 15 years of the study, especially in the north and along the rivers. Forested areas decreased between 2000 and 2015 from 8065 km2 to 6791 km2, respectively. Patterns in marginal entropy (H, an indicator of degradation in terms of landscape fragmentation) across the AOO suggest that areas with higher ecosystem disturbances (H > 1) had also high levels of degradation with percentages of canopy covers lower than 60%. Degradation was higher in the north (H > 1) and along the rivers (H = 0.5 - 1). The results revealed an increase in the level of disturbance during the 15 years. We conclude that if the deforestation observed in the last 15 years continues, it can result in local extinctions of the species and a corresponding migration toward forests in the southern Amazon. Therefore efforts to preserve the species should focus on conserving forests in the south. These results can assist in the understanding of drivers of forest change and the effectiveness of the environmental policy on tamarin conservation in the region. This example demonstrates how the functionality of ecochange can assist users in the derivation of workflows for processing EBV candidates and indicators related to the support of biodiversity monitoring and decision-making.