ABSTRACT
Biological elements may be described in a variety of ways from simplistic overall vegetation or species inventories7 to complex analyses, which include the population dynamics of individual species.8 While more advanced approaches are preferable, the current level of scientific knowledge and/or limitations of available data may preclude some avenues of investigation. Restrictions of time, cost, and other resources may also limit the means of study. Regardless, it is not acceptable to simply ignore the biological consequences of policy decisions on the phenomena of interest for reasons of operational constraints. When such limitations occur, analogies, generalizations, and even educated guesses must be made. The models described in this chapter are not immune to these limitations and thus, may be missing specific information that some researchers and policy makers might consider valuable for an adequate assessment. With this caveat noted, the goal of the following assessments is to better understand the biological consequences of future changes to the landscape. To do this analysis, readily available data specific to the study were utilized. The models reflect biological concerns ranging from the connectivity of the natural landscape to an overall biodiversity assessment. All of the biological assessments stem from one of three major conservation assessment methodologies: landscape ecological pattern assessment, single species analysis, and species richness assessment. These are presented to determine relative impacts of each of the alternative futures.
