Natural Resources, School of
First Advisor
Brian D. Wardlow
Committee Members
Daniel Uden, Patrick Bitterman
Date of this Version
8-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Citation
A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science
Major: Natural Resource Sciences
Under the supervision of Professor Brian D. Wardlow
Lincoln, Nebraska, August 2024
Abstract
Understanding and conserving ecological connectivity is critical to the preservation of vulnerable landscapes. Circuit theory, in which landscapes are imagined as circuit boards with varying resistances to the flow of current, is being increasingly used to model spatially explicit connectivity of landscapes and to inform land management and conservation decision-making. Utilizing continuous, quantitative estimates of percent cover by five land cover functional groups to create a conductance surface, this study expanded upon an established application of circuit theory that used the open-source software Circuitscape to model species-agnostic, omnidirectional connectivity. This model was automated using Python to create time-series connectivity maps from which comparisons could be made across time to assess pre- and post-fire land cover patterns across the landscape.
By applying this methodology to a United States Great Plains landscape affected by a large wildfire in 2012, this study found that for most functional land cover types, spatial configurations of areas of high and low connectivity changed in response to the wildfire disturbance, but quickly returned to pre-fire conditions. Exceptions were the tree and shrub functional groups, which saw persistent patterns of decreased connectivity in areas that were burned. This approach to modeling landscape connectivity over time could further enhance circuit theory-based assessments of landscapes affected by wildfire and tools for land managers promoting functional connectivity and resiliency in those landscapes.
Advisor: Brian D. Wardlow
Included in
Fire Science and Firefighting Commons, Hydrology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons, Other Environmental Sciences Commons, VLSI and Circuits, Embedded and Hardware Systems Commons, Water Resource Management Commons
Comments
Copyright 2024, Christian Ross Nielsen. Used by permission