Assessing the Potential for ECOSTRESS Image Data to Improve Biodiversity Modeling of Threatened Species in the Mojave Desert Ecoregion

Abstract:

The Mojave Desert study area of California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona is a unique ecoregion that is home to the threatened desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), and the endangered Mojave fringe-toed lizard (Uma scoparia), among many other endemic species of heightened conservation concern. The majority of threats to the tortoise and other Mojave fauna come from widespread habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation due to human land uses. One byproduct of these habitat alterations are changes to vegetative composition, structure, and condition. In an effort to model current habitat suitability, and potential changes to suitability under changing climate and land uses, we are modeling habitat for a suite of Mojave species of conservation concern. To achieve potential improvements to habitat modeling efforts we are evaluating the new Evaporative Stress Index (ESI) data set from the NASA ECOSTRESS instrument. We are creating new time-series analyses using TrendRaster algorithms that will track changes in Mojave ESI throughout the coming seasons and years to map out areas in the ecoregion with the highest variability in vegetation drought stress and the most extreme period(s) of the year with continuous moisture storage. Using a combination of GEDI and ECOSTRESS gridded products, we will apply biodiversity models to test the hypothesis that satellite measurements of vegetation heights and 3-D spatial structure will significantly improve the prediction of habitat quality in the Mojave study region. We will ultimately assess whether these new and ECOSTRESS products result in an enhanced modeling capability, and ultimately a better understanding of how to manage these imperiled species.