NatureServe Vista’s scenario evaluation feature helps you to import various land use and management practice scenarios – essentially a series of alternative land use designations and management practices for the planning region – and evaluate the effects of these scenarios against your conservation goals. Using Scenario Evaluation, you can:
efficiently evaluate and compare alternative conservation strategies and land use scenarios.
measure progress against defined conservation goals.
update these scenarios as often as needed with new data.
track your progress over time.
Scenario Evaluation:In this example, the existing land use patterns and policies were evaluated to determine where the baseline conditions were allowing species at risk to meet their conservation goals and where conditions were preventing them from meeting their goals. Areas of darker color indicate increasing conflict between the land use and policies and species at risk. Click on the image below for a larger view.
Land Use and Policy Scenario Translator
NatureServe Vista employs a custom wizard that helps you to translate descriptions of land use (such as those included in a typical zoning map) or management practices into the standard list of land uses that NatureServe Vista uses to evaluate land use scenarios.
Translate Land Use and Policy Scenarios:In this example, the zoning attribute "commercial neighborhood" is being translated into the generic category of "general urbanization: homes, commercial, industrial, etc." The list of generic categories can be edited to reflect your planning needs.
