This data release includes raster and text input files to initialize and run the forest disturbance and succession landscape simulation model, LANDIS-II with the Biomass Succession extension for the study area in the Adirondacks (ADK) National Park, New York, USA. The goal of this project was to develop inputs to forecast future spruce-fir forest extent using the landscape model LANDIS-II and the ecosystem models PnET-II and Linkages under a combination of four global circulation model (GCM) projections and two representative concentration pathways (RCP 4.5 and 8.5 from CMIP5) for the Adirondacks study area. The success of landscape simulations that forecast forest conditions depends strongly on the use of detailed forest composition maps (30m resolution), as montane forests may be rare and dependent on local heterogeneity in environmental gradients. The fine-scale raster inputs provided in this release were derived from combinations of forest inventory data, remote sensing, and geospatial data layers drawn from the years 1985-2018. LANDIS-II inputs in this repository include raster maps (30 x 30 m resolution) of the forest initial communities raster map of imputed plot identity values, the soil ecoregion raster map for summarizing soil characteristics and gridded climate data, the forest management zone raster and the forest stand map raster for use with the LANDIS-II Biomass Harvest extension to simulate forest management. The initial forest conditions were developed for model runs to start in the year 2015. Researchers on this project worked with partners from the New York Department of Environment Conservation, researchers with the Wildlife Conservation Society, the USGS National and Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Centers and Cornell and SUNY-ESF Universities to determine species lists and details about habitat requirements for moose and birds of concern in the Adirondacks landscape. The species list and habitat information from partners informed how we modeled tree species distributions and how we used forest inventory plot information and satellite data to map and impute forest community classes for the LANDIS-II model.
