Preserving high quality or threatened ecosystems is a key component of conservation, thus conservation efforts are often focused on regions that contain rare ecosystems, host endemic, threatened or rare species, or areas that are in danger of being lost to anthropogenic factors (Community Greenways, 1995, National Park Service, 1995).   Effective conservation planning can maximize the impact of limited conservation funds by identifying high quality, threatened, or ecologically valuable properties and focusing on their protection (Mahon and Miller, 2003). 

       Representing a mere 1% of global land cover, the Great Lakes Alvars are one such rare ecosystem that “[command] interest because of their rarity, their distinctive character, and their large number of rare species” (Conserving Great Lakes Alvars, 1999).  Alvars are naturally open areas of limestone or dolostone bedrock (Brownell and Riley, 2000).  Alvars have a distinctive flora and fauna assemblage, containing imperiled plant communities, as well as rare, endangered and disjunct species of plants and animals.  It is their restricted occurrence and distinctive biological composition which makes them important habitats to protect (Brownell and Riley, 2000).  In the past it has been difficult to assess the health and the status of the Great Lakes Alvars given that an accurate classification system had not been established (Caitling and Brownell, 1999).  Recent work by the International Alvar Conservation Initiative (IACI) provided a classification system, as well as a greater understanding of the distribution, character, diversity, conditions, threats and ecological requirements of the Great Lakes Basin Alvars (Conserving Great Lakes Alvars, 1999).  The IACI has also documented high quality Alvar sites that represent the best opportunities for ensuring long-term protection of the full range of Alvar diversity and function.  However, the full records of Alvar locations, quality characteristics, and attributes concerning their conservation value are generally disjunct, coming from a variety of sources, and do not provide a synthesized framework from which to plan conservation efforts.  While the percentage of currently protected area is known, what has yet to be determined is which currently unprotected areas are most suitable for conservation, and which sites are thus of greatest conservation priority. 

       For the purposes of this study, the terms 'Alvar conservation' or 'Alvar conservation initiatives,' will refer to programs enacted to actively protect the land at or around sites classified as Alvar biospheres through the institution of protective legal policies or by direct land purchase.  Programs of this type seek to maximize the amount of Alvar classified land designated for ecological protection (Conserving Great Lakes Alvars, 1999), the amount of surrounding natural land cover included in that protection (Simberloff, 1982), and the degree of connectedness between Alvar biosphere protection sites (Doolittle, 2005). Similarly, Alvar conservation initiatives seek to minimize fragmentation and disturbances to protected land (Environment Canada, 2005).

       A GIS based approach to conservation can elucidate a region’s unique context by exposing salient pieces of data and highlighting areas of particular importance to develop effective conservation measures.  Variables which assess appropriate conservation land and identify threats include species diversity, community types, rare species, exposure to disturbances, and size of sites (Conserving Great Lakes Alvars, 1999, Simberloff, 1982).  By ranking and evaluating these variables, a GIS based model could combine and synthesize information from a variety of sources to provide a detailed output of landscape context.  A GIS approach focusing on spatial analysis will allow the most appropriate conservation lands to be targeted and prioritized.  This approach maximizes conservation budgets by directing funds only towards the early appropriation of the most optimum parcels of land so conservation opportunities are not missed in these locations.

Purpose:

The purpose of this study is to develop a GIS based model to identify, target and prioritize land that is suitable and valuable for conservation initiatives on Manitoulin Island.

Objectives:

Objective One: Identify factors related to anthropogenic threats that define where land suitable for conservation initiatives exists.

Objective Two: Identify spatial criteria related to the targeting and prioritization of potential Alvar conservation locations.

Objective Three: Develop a GIS-based model that incorporates a Weighted Overlay process to assess land suitability and a MCE process to target and prioritize locations suitable for Alvar conservation initiatives.

Objective Four: Apply the GIS research model to the Manitoulin Island study area.

Objective Five: Evaluate the research model in terms of its practical effectiveness and relative value for the assessment of Alvar Conservation activities on Manitoulin Island.