United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development National Exposure Research Laboratory Research Abstract Government Performance Results Act (GPRA) Goal 4 Annual Performance Measure 259 Significant Research Findings: An ArcView Extension Tool is Available to Analyze Landscape Metrics at Multiple Watershed Scales. Scientific Environmental management practices are trending away from simple, local-scale Problem and assessments toward complex, multiple-stressor regional assessments. Landscape Policy Issues ecology provides the theory behind these assessments while geographic information systems (GIS) supply the tools to implement them. A common application of GIS is the generation of landscape metrics, which are quantitative measurements of the environmental condition or vulnerability of an area (e.g., ecological region or watershed). Generation of these metrics can be a difficult, lengthy process, requiring substantial GIS experience. The Analytical Tools Interface for Landscape Assessments (ATtlLA) extension was developed to provide an intuitive, point-and-click environment that allows users to easily calculate many common landscape metrics regardless of their level of GIS knowledge. In addition, ATtlLA was designed for rapid project completion. Map and chart displays and tabular output are provided to perform fast assessments of area condition and to provide a means for quick dissemination of results. This tool is written in ArcView's proprietary scripting language, Avenue, and requires ArcView 3.x with the Spatial Analyst extension. The metrics and models available in ATtlLA are taken from landscape ecology literature and/or are of interest to researchers in EPA's Landscape Ecology Branch. While many of the default values used in the metric calculations are based on peer reviewed articles, ATtlLA is meant to be a research tool and allows for a great deal of modification to input parameters for exploratory purposes. ATtlLA was designed to provide benefits to a wide community of users involved in the study of environmental condition and/or vulnerability. This community includes EPA staff, state and tribal researchers, educational institutions, private consultants, and non-profit agencies. By providing the ability to quickly perform a large suite of environmental measures at multiple sites and/or for multiple time periods, while requiring a minimal amount of GIS expertise, ATtlLA offers the potential for increased research and a better understanding of the complex interactions of multiple stressors on environmental condition. Research Development was completed within the Landscape Ecology Branch. The tool is Collaboration and available from the branch website through www.epa.gov/nerlesdl/ Research Products Research Approach Results and Impact ------- Future Research Additional metrics and/or models will be added in the future. Contacts for Questions and inquiries can be directed to: Additional Donald W. Ebert Information u.S. EPA, Office of Research and Development National Exposure Research Laboratory 944 E. Harmon Ave. Las Vegas, NV 89119 Phone: 702/798-2158 E-mail: ebert.donald@epa.gov Funding for this project was through the U.S. EPA's Office of Research and Development, National Exposure Research Laboratory, and the work was conducted by the Environmental Sciences Division. ------- |