Manual for Species Modeling and Intactness

Description: The ABMI monitors hundreds of species of vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, lichens, and habitat structures at 1656 sites systematically located across the province of Alberta, and at additional targeted sites. Two of the main goals of the institute are to support natural resources management by providing: i) empirical models of the relationship of species and habitat elements to natural vegetation types, human footprint, and climate and geographical gradients, and ii) credible and understandable indices of the status of biodiversity. This document details the statistical methods used to produce models for species, and to derive reference conditions. It also includes the indices ABMI has developed to assess the intactness (or deviation from reference condition) for species, groups of species, and habitat features.