NSW Spatial Resilience Index (SRI)

<strong>What is the NSW Spatial Resilience Index (SRI)?</strong>

The NSW Spatial Resilience Index (SRI) <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-022-01534-5">(Harwood et al. 2022)</a> estimates the capacity of landscapes to retain biodiversity under a range of plausible climate futures as a function of the current condition and spatial configuration of native habitat. As the climate changes, habitats can become less suitable for the species they currently support. To persist, species will need to either adapt to new climatic conditions in-situ or shift to new areas that provide suitable habitat into the future, provided they exist and can be accessed, otherwise their distributions are likely to contract and they could potentially disappear. 
The Spatial Resilience Index can range from 0.0 in areas that become completely isolated from suitable habitat for all their current species under future climates, through to 1.0 in areas that remain fully connected to suitable habitats. Areas may become less connected to suitable habitats for their current species due to past habitat loss and fragmentation or the rate at which habitat suitability changes under future climate.

<strong>How are the data created?</strong>

The NSW SRI adapts the Bioclimatic Ecosystem Resilience Index <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106554">(Ferrier et al. 2020)</a> by incorporating multiple dispersal scales, input data and parameters suited to analysis in NSW. Inputs include habitat condition mapping for 2013 <a href="https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/publications/integrated-model-data-fusion-approach-measuring-habitat-condition-ecological-integrity-reporting">(Love et al. 2020)</a> and Generalised Dissimilarity Modelling of vascular plants <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2017.06.022">(Drielsma et al. 2017)</a> under the NSW/ACT Regional Climate Modelling (NARCliM 1.0) project’s baseline (1990–2009) and future (2070-centred) climate scenarios. The method extends that used for the <a href="https://datasets.seed.nsw.gov.au/dataset/nsw-nhi-index">NSW Neighbourhood Habitat Intactness (NHI) Index</a> by additionally considering the compositional similarity of habitat connected to each location under future climate. Multiple plant dispersal distances (3.125–25 km) are assessed to simulate how connectivity varies across taxa and timeframes. Results are combined across climate scenarios by accounting for both average and worst-case scenarios.  

<strong>What data are available?</strong>

The index is initially available at 250m resolution using habitat condition mapping for 2013 <a href="https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/publications/integrated-model-data-fusion-approach-measuring-habitat-condition-ecological-integrity-reporting">(Love et al. 2020)</a> and NARCliM 1.0 climate projections summarised for the 2070-centred epoch. The model is limited by the input data available at the time of each assessment, and its accuracy, currency and completeness. Updates will be available in future.

Data details: 
<ul>
<li>Data type: raster, GeoTIFF, 32bit floating point</li>
<li>CRS: EPSG:4283 – GCS_GDA_1994</li>
<li>Unit: Decimal Degrees</li>
<li>Pixel values: 0.0 (lowest SRI) to 1.0 (highest SRI)</li>
<li>Null value: -3.40282e+38</li>
</ul>

<strong>What can the data be used for?</strong>

The NSW Spatial Resilience Index currently underpins the Biodiversity Indicator Program’s ecosystem resilience under climate change indicator that is reported in the <a href="https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/animals-and-plants/biodiversity/biodiversity-indicator-program/results-from-the-biodiversity-indicator-program">NSW Biodiversity Outlook Report</a>. 
The NSW Spatial Resilience Index provides a means for assessing and monitoring landscape capacity to retain biodiversity under climate change. It supports conservation planning by identifying regions where biodiversity resilience to climate change is most at risk, and where habitat restoration or protection could most effectively enhance resilience. The index can be used by policymakers, land managers, and researchers to inform adaptive management and evaluate long-term changes in biodiversity resilience. The underlying method is being applied across Australia and globally, including as a <a href="https://gbf-indicators.org/metadata/other/8-4-C">Global Biodiversity Framework indicator</a>.

Tags: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Habitat connectivity
Organization: NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water