Sites/Site Selection Module

Reserve network optimization tool.

Acronym

SSM

Overview

SITES is an analytical toolbox for ecoregional conservation planning. It was developed as a reserve-siting tool for regional conservation analysis where the objective is to achieve specified levels of protection for a list of biodiversity elements (e.g., species, habitat types, or plant communities) as efficiently as possible in terms of cost or area. SITES differs from most other reserve selection models in explicitly incorporating spatial design criteria into the site selection process. With this tool, the user creates a portfolio design of potential reserve sites given competing social and economic demands for land and water. The model calculates the portfolio cost for each potential solution and uses simulated annealing to search for the best (least costly) set of sites that collectively achieve the desired level of protection for all biodiversity elements. The user can run the model with 100s of different scenarios and look at different outcomes and patterns in outcomes to determine which properties are most critical to preserve.

Source Of Description

Stoms, D.M. 2001. Integrating Biodiversity into Land Use Planning. Paper Presented at APA 2001 National Planning Conference, New Orleans, LA. [http://www.asu.edu/caed/proceedings01/STOMS/stoms.htm]Hugh Possingham et al. 2000. Mathematical methods for identifying representative reserve networks. [http://www.ecology.uq.edu.au/links/CH17Reprint.pdf]

URL

http://www.biogeog.ucsb.edu/projects/tnc/toolbox.html (External Link)

For Application Domains

Biodiversity Conservation

Ecological Restoration

Ecosystem Management

Fish And Wildlife Management

Forest Management

Land Use Planning

Decision Problem Types Targeted

Alternative Evaluation

Reserve System

Site Search Or Selection

Used In Case Studies

Washington Ecoregional Planning Model

Domain Knowledge Modeling Area

Conservation Of Biodiversity

Decision Modeling

Land Use Allocation

Landscape Analysis And Modeling

Socioeconomic System Modeling

Planning And Decision Process Phases/Steps Served

Alternative Generation

Condition Analysis And Assessment

Evaluation Criteria Specification

Rank Alternatives

Scenario Simulation And Comparison

Specify Criterion Weight

Methods And Techniques Implemented

Optimization Methods

Simulated Annealing

Trade-Off Analysis

Systems Functional Components

Data Management

GIS Analysis Integration

GIS Display Integration

Scenario Management And Comparison

Accepts Data Of Process Types

Biophysical Process

Economic Process

User Defined Process

Analysis Extent

All (User Defined Analysis Extent)

Regional Extent

Subregional Extent

Analysis Unit

Subregion

Indicators Used

Forest Management Classes

Species Diversity

Species Viability

Supports Analysis Of Interdisciplinary Interactions

True ^^ Http://Www.W3.Org/2001/Xmlschema#Boolean

Platform

Windows 2000

Windows 95/98

Windows NT

Windows XP

Software Required

Arcview

Description Of System Components

SITES 1.0 is a customized ArcView 3.2 project that facilitates designing and analyzing alternative portfolios. The software uses the Site Selection Module (SSM, adapted from SPEXAN 3.0, Spatially Explicit Annealing) to select regionally representative systems of nature reserves for conservation of biodiversity.

Online Download Available

True ^^ Http://Www.W3.Org/2001/Xmlschema#Boolean

Developer Assistance Needed For Installation/Configuration

False ^^ Http://Www.W3.Org/2001/Xmlschema#Boolean

Cost

Free

Development Status

Regularly Distributed

Tool Maker

Donald Bren School Of Environmental Science And Management , University Of California, Santa Barbara

Information Source

National Commission On Science For Sustainable Forestry

Contact Person

Frank W. Davis

Parent Categories

Software Tools And Models - All

Spatial Decision Support Systems

Last Updated

2009-09-09T11:32:19.711-08:00 ^^ http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime

Model Type

Decision Model

Evaluative Models

Simulation Models

Decision Process Activity Types Served

Alternative Ranking, Decision Making

Condition Analysis And Assessment

Decision Alternatives Generation, Scenario Simulation

Software Type

Spatial Decision Support Systems

Graphical Ontology Browser

  • Click on a node to jump to the content of that node
  • Pan to see the rest of the graph
  • Scroll the mousewheel up and down to zoom in and out
  • Rearrange the nodes in the graph by dragging a node to a different position

References

IntroductionPlanning/Decision ContextPlanning And Spatial Decision ProcessSpatial Planning And Decision Problem TypesMethods And Techniques
methods and techniques; methodology
TechnologyData And Domain KnowledgePeople And ParticipationResources