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Research Projects
The Landscape Ecology Program includes an active research component. Several independent and inter-related research projects fall under the auspices of the Program, although the following larger and longer-term projects underpin the Program.

FRAGSTATS: Spatial Pattern Analysis Software for Quantifying Landscape Pattern

This project is focused on the development of methods for quantifying landscape patterns and has centered around the development of the computer software program FRAGSTATS.

Link to the FRAGSTATS home page
FRAGSTATS is a computer software program designed to compute a wide variety of landscape metrics for categorical map patterns. The original software (version 2.0) was released in the public domain during 1995 in association with the publication of a USDA Forest Service General Technical Report (McGarigal and Marks 1995). Since then, hundreds of professionals have enjoyed the use of FRAGSTATS. Due to its growing popularity, we have completely revamped the program. The purpose of this web site is to facilitate dissemination of the new software (version 3) and to facilitate communication among FRAGSTATS users.

Rocky Mountain Landscape Simulator (RMLANDS): Quantifying Dynamics in Landscape Structure and Wildlife Habitat Under Alternative Disturbance Scenarios

This project is focused on the development and application of the Rocky Mountain Landscape Simulator (RMLANDS) as an to aid the U.S. Forest Service, BLM, and other land management agencies.

Link to the Rocky Mountain Landscape Simulator Project Home Page
RMLANDS is a computer software program designed to simulate natural (e.g., fire) and anthropogenic (e.g., logging) disturbances and succession processes in the Rocky Mountains. The software is being developed to aid Forest Service planners evaluate the historic range of variation in landscape structure and wildlife habitat, and to evaluate the potential consequences of alternative future land management scenarios. The purpose of this web site is to facilitate dissemination of the software and the results of simulation experiments, and to generally facilitate the exchange of information among project collaborators.

Conservation Assessment and Prioritization System (CAPS): Decision-Support for Biodiversity Conservation Planning

This project is focused on the development of a decision-support system (CAPS) for assessing ecological integrity and biodiversity value and prioritizing lands for conservation action.

Link to the Biodiversity Assessment and Planning Decision-Support System Project Home Page
CAPS is a computer software program designed to assess the ecological integrity and biodiversity value of every location based on natural community-specific models, and prioritize lands for conservation action based on their assessed biodiversity value in combination with other data relevant to their prioritization. The purpose of this web site is to facilitate the use of CAPS in conservation planning. Specifically, as the necessary geographic data is compiled and expert analyses are completed, the results will be made available via this web site.

Vernal pool ecology and conservation in southern New England, including an intensive field study on the metapopulation structure and dynamics of marbled salamanders in central Massachusetts

This project is broadly focused on the ecology and conservation of vernal pools in southern New England, and more specifically on quantifying the spatial structure, demographics, and dynamics of marbled salamander populations in a cluster of vernal pools in central Massachusetts.

Link to the Marbled Salamander Metapopulation Project Home Page
Marbled salamanders (Ambystoma opacum) are listed as 'threatened' in the state of Massachusetts at the northern edge of their range. Like several other species, they are obligate vernal pool breeders; that is, they only breed in these temporary forest ponds. Moreover, they spend most of thier lifecyle in the uplands. Because of the small and patchy distribution of the descrete breeding habitats, marbled salamander populations are likely subdivided into many small, local subpopulations. The periodic exchange of individuals among subpopulations and the balance of local extinctions and recolonizations may be important for the species' persistence. The purpose of this study is to quantify the population structure and dynamics of a cluster of local populations in central Massachusetts. This study is unprecendented in many respects and promises to greatly expand our understanding of whether metapopulation theory applies to real populations in complex landscapes.

High Severity Fire in Forests of the Southwest: Conservation Implications

This project is focused on understanding the relationship of spatial patterns in high severity fires to long-term changes in plant communities in southwest ponderosa pine forests.

Link to the Southwest Fire Project Home Page
Fire has long been a dramatic force in shaping landscapes of the southwestern United States. Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), a broad, open-crowned tree that is valued for its beauty as well as its economic and ecological importance, has unique characteristics which operate in concert with fires that historically burned frequently through the forest understory. Our research project is motivated by the need to understand how ponderosa pine forests respond to high severity fires, that is, fires that cause extensive tree mortality. We hope to not only contribute to understanding the resiliency of ponderosa pine forests, but also to elucidate the conservation values intrinsic to the diverse communities that represent alternative successional trajectories after severe fire. Specifically, we are examining the outcomes of high severity fire in ponderosa pine forests and their neighboring communities across an elevational gradient that encompasses pinon-juniper (Pinus edulis-Juniperus spp.) woodlands, ponderosa pine and mixed conifer forests.


For more information, please contact:
Dr. Kevin McGarigal
Department of Natural Resources Conservation
University of Massachusetts
304 Holdsworth Natural Resources Center
Box 34210
Amherst, MA 01003
Fax: (413) 545-4358
Phone: (413) 577-0655
Email: mcgarigalk@forwild.umass.edu