What is Zonation software?

Zonation is a freely available decision support software tool for ecologically based land use planning including applications in spatial conservation planning and ecological impact avoidance. Zonation operates on spatial data about biodiversity features (species, habitats, ecosystem services), costs and threats.

What is the importance of species distribution zonation?

Zonation is used to identify areas important for retaining habitat quality and connectivity for multiple species, habitats or ecosystems, indirectly aiming at long-term persistence of biodiversity.

What is the difference between stratification and zonation?

Zonation is the division of an ecosystem into distinct zones / bands / regions / in horizontal layering due to an environmental gradient (abiotic conditions). Stratification is the division of an ecosystem into distinct zones that experience similar abiotic conditions in a vertical orientation.

Why does zonation happen?

Example of Zonation Environmental factors, such as temperature, wind exposure, light intensity, wave action, and salinity, vary as we move up and down this area. Therefore, the intertidal communities create bands that differ in the species that occupy them.

What causes zonation?

What is stratified forest?

Vertical distribution of various species in different layers is called stratification. E.g. in the forest ecosystem, trees are present at the top level followed by shrubs in the second layer and then grasses at the bottom.

What is Strata ecology?

References: ESCAVI, 2003. National Vegetation Information System, Version 6.0 Executive Steering Committee for Australian Vegetation Information (ESCAVI). Department of the Environment and Heritage, 2003. NSW Native Vegetation Type Standard.

What are the different types of zonation?

Zonation

  • epipelagic zone – the zone where photosynthetic organisms (such as planktons) thrive as they require enough light for photosynthesis.
  • mesopelagic zone – the zone under epipelagic zone where nektons are abundant.
  • bathypelagic zone – the zone near to the deep sea floor where benthos abound.

What is Herb layer?

Definition of ‘herb layer’ 1. a thickness of some homogeneous substance, such as a stratum or a coating on a surface. 2. one of four or more levels of vegetation defined in ecological studies: the ground or moss layer, the field or herb layer, the shrub layer, and one or more tree layers.

What is canopy layer?

The canopy layer is made up of the overlapping leaves and branches of the trees of the rainforest. Scientists estimate that 60-90% of life in the rainforest can be found in the canopy layer, making it the richest habitat for plant and animal life.

What is herb layer?

What are the layers of stratification?

The following layers are generally distinguished: forest floor (root and moss layers), herb, shrub, understory and canopy layers. These vegetation layers are primarily determined by the height of their individual plants, the different elements may however have a range of heights.

Who developed the zonation system?

Zonation was developed by Atte Moilanen and his research group at the University of Helsinki. For more information perhaps start from the Zonation version 4 leaflet.

Where can I find more information about zonation?

Zonation has been developed by Atte Moilanen and his research group at the University of Helsinki. For more information perhaps start from the Zv4 leaflet. Also see the introductory manual (Di Minin et al. 2014), the Running Zonation projects manual (Lehtomäki et al. 2016), Moilanen et al. (2005) and (2011), Lehtomäki and Moilanen (2013).

What is zonezonation and how does it work?

Zonation is able to balance a large number of different factors in spatial conservation prioritization. It includes feature-specific connectivity responses, costs, uncertainty analysis, and several unique analysis options. It can analyse very large data sets in manageable time.