(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015-06) Heiner, Michael, author; Batsaikhan, Nyamsuren, author; Galbadrakh, Davaa, author; Bayarjargal, Yunden, author; Zumberelmaa, Dash, author; Ariungerel, Dorjgotov, author; Evans, Jeffrey, author; von Werden, Henrik, author; Kiesecker, Joseph, author; Nutag Action and Research Institute, publisher
In Mongolia, partners from national and aimag governments, academia and NGOs have developed regional conservation plans that balance the government commitment to protection of natural habitats with planned development of mineral resources and related infrastructure. A key input is a mapped classification of major habitat types, or ecosystems, to represent the range of natural habitats and function as a surrogate for biodiversity. We developed a GIS model to map ecosystems across the Mongolian Gobi Desert region by comparing the distribution of plant communities and major vegetation types, taken from field surveys and national maps, with patterns of above-ground biomass, elevation, climate and topography derived from remote sensing. The resulting mapped classification is organized as a hierarchy of 1) biogeographic regions, 2) terrestrial ecosystem types based on vegetation, elevation and geomorphology, and 3) landforms. This provides a first-iteration map to support landscape-level conservation planning and a model framework that can support field surveys and future model revisions, with other applications to land use planning, research, surveys and monitoring. To facilitate that, the GIS results are publicly available either for download or to view and query in a web-based GIS available at: http://s3.amazonaws.com/DevByDesign-Web/MappingAppsVer2/Gobi/index.html.
