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Species distribution modelling and the impact of environmental change in the New Forest National Park
The New Forest is a unique semi-natural landscape with many habitats which are now rare in lowland western Europe, and contains over 850 species of conservation concern. However, there are large gaps in our knowledge about species distributions in the New Forest, and how these might respond to environmental change.
Species distribution modelling will be used to suggest unsurveyed sites of high potential occurrence for a subset of these species, to direct survey efforts and reduce the amount of time and resources required to identify ‘new’ populations. The method will then be used to forecast the future impacts of environmental change on biodiversity, and to help identify appropriate management actions.
* GIS image showing recorded distribution of the Silver-studded Blue butterfly, Plebeius argus (green dots) and the occurrence of dry (purple areas) and wet (pink areas) heathland within the New Forest National Park.
For further information please contact: Sarah North (PhD researcher)
