Arizona terrestrial vertebrate species richness: An application of Arizona GAP GIS thematic processing

Abstract

The National Gap Analysis Program (GAP) is currently developing geographic themes in a Geographic Information System format for statewide analyses of biodiversity issues. This study uses several of the Arizona GAP themes to demonstrate how they might be utilized in resources planning. By overlaying the Arizona GAP vertebrate themes, species richness maps were created. The species richness maps were intersected with the Arizona GAP landcover and land management layers to analyze how the richness areas are distributed across the landscape. Areas of high species richness were then analyzed for how well they are represented within existing conservation areas. The development of vertebrate distribution models is also discussed, since their accuracy greatly influences the species richness maps development.