Incorporating diversity measures into Ecological Site Descriptions to manage biodiversity on heterogeneous landscapes

Abstract

We examined whether diversity metrics could be incorporated into the Ecological Site Descriptions and State and Transition Models (ESD-STM) framework to manage multiple goals including biodiversity on heterogeneous landscapes. We evaluated plant diversity in two vegetation states (i.e., grassland and shrubland) across three ecological sites in Southern California and found that alpha diversity differed by ecological site and vegetation state. Functional diversity remained similar across our three ecological sites. Beta diversity between vegetation states was higher than that within each state—in other words, two states support more dissimilar vegetation communities than one state alone. Describing both biodiversity metrics and forage values in ESD-STM may help guide conservation planning on working ranches, such as the Tejon Ranch in Southern California. © 2020 The Authors