Habitat modeling within a Regional Simulation Model (RSim) environment

L. Baskaran 1, V. Dale 1, M. Aldridge 2, M. Berry 2, W. Birkhead 3, M. Chang 4, R. Efroymson 1, C. Garten 1 and C. Steward 5

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (1)
University of Tennessee (2)
Columbus State University (3)
Georgia Tech (4)
Aberdeen Proving Ground (5)

Growth and development in a region affects the environmental quality of its immediate area and surrounding localities. Such effects are of great concern on military lands because of their ecological importance and the proactive management approach of the military. Military installations support a number of endangered and threatened plant and animal species, and habitat preservation is of prime importance. The Regional Simulation Model (RSim) simulates the effects of growth and development in a five-county study region surrounding Fort Benning, GA. Changes in air and water quality, noise conditions, and habitats of keystone species are analyzed under different scenarios. Currently implemented scenarios are population growth, a proposed road improvement program, and a new military training facility within Fort Benning. Growth rules are applied to the land cover as part of each scenario. Different components of RSim model the effect of such land cover change on environmental and ecological qualities. A gopher tortoise habitat model is created to link changes in land cover over the study region to effects on habitat of the tortoise. This habitat model is created from the analysis of well-documented locations of gopher tortoise burrows in Fort Benning, and is applied to the five-county study region. The habitat model results serve to assess the changes in habitat quality under different scenarios, and provide a base for an ecological risk assessment. Such results facilitate the ability of military planners and resource managers to operate and plan with a better understanding of risks and implications of growth and development.

Keywords: Fort Benning, simulation model, habitat

(presentation)