Look for complete geospatial metadata in this layer's associated xml document available from the download link


For specified species listed below within the Focal Species element section of
the Biodiversity Conservation pillar, the species should be considered as
_Species of Interest_. It is important for the readers to understand, the
listed __ species are not exhaustive, may be an Endangered Species Act (ESA)
species, or considered Sensitive Species as they pertain to forest planning.
These species are identified based on their sensitivity to impacts from
restoration thinning, prescribed fire, and wildfire. The focal species are
California Spotted Owl, Coastal California Gnatcatcher, Mountain Lion,
Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog, Unarmored Threespine Stickleback, Peninsular
Bighorn Sheep, California Red-Legged Frog, Joshua Tree, Hermes Copper
Butterfly, Laguna Mountains Skipper, Quino Checkerspot Butterfly, and Least
Bell’s Vireo Nesting Habitat. The element representation is a sum of all of
the focal species for which a given cell provides highly suitable habitat
(translated value of +1) relative to the potential for species to occur in a
given location given their geographic distribution.

* Metric Name: Element representation: Focal Species   

* Type and distribution of data: Left-skewed, beta-like distribution representing counts. Raw data values range from 0 to 12 species.  

* Translation: Where is habitat suitable for the most focal species?  

* Translation method and outcome: The potential maximum number of focal species was determined based on the overlap of species ranges. The sum of focal species with suitable habitat in a given pixel was used as the observed number of focal species. Values are translated to range from +1 to -1 representing more favorable to less favorable conditions, respectively, based on the ratio of number of species with suitable habitat (numerator) and the potential number of focal species based on geographic distributions (denominator). The proposition of more favorable is based on the objective of supporting habitat for the most beneficial and fewest negatively impacting species. All of the focal species are the focus of conservation, so the larger the number of species supported, the more favorable the habitat. More favorable (translated to +1) set at 1 (all habitat suitable for all potentially occurring focal species) and less favorable (translated to -1) set at 0 (no suitable habitat for potentially occurring focal species). 

Figure . Histogram and scoring of all suitable habitat for focal species in
Southern California

Figure . Histogram of translated all suitable habitat for focal species in
Southern California

Figure . Maps displaying raw metric and translated metric all suitable habitat
for focal species in Southern California