Effects of climate change on the habitat suitability of 4 relatively new invasive plant species in the Pacific Northwest ...

• Main Author: Nikkel, Emma
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2022
• Subjects: Butomus umbellatus
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0416259; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0416259

Invasive species are a substantial threat to biodiversity and ecosystem structure. This threat is exacerbated by the increasingly concerning and urgent outlook of predicted climate change, land cover change, and other human influences. Specifically, an increasing number of invasive plant species are spreading in the Pacific Northwest (PNW), an area of unique natural areas, economic value, and increasing human population. Predicting the potential habitat suitability for invasive plant species that are not yet established in the region is crucial for developing preventative management strategies. To this end, I developed habitat suitability models for four invasive plant species, two terrestrial species: Geranium lucidum and Pilosella officinarum; and two aquatic species: Butomus umbellatus and Pontederia crassipes. I initially considered 33 bioclimatic variables, 10 land cover types, and a human influence index as current model predictor variables with location records for each species drawn from the ...