Simulation models for buffelgrass and alternative management strategies for Saguaro National Park, AZ

This is a spatially-explicit state-and-transition simulation model of buffelgrass dynamics and alternative management actions in Saguaro National Park, AZ. Buffelgrass is an invasive grass spreading in the park. This work built on previous efforts that first developed a state and transition simulation model linked to FARSITE fire behavior model to describe buffelgrass dynamics in the park and a secondary effort to evaluate these dynamics in light of uncertainties in the model. This model represents uninvaded and invaded parts of the desert ecosystem and adds alternative management actions to the previously built models (cross reference). The model was built using the ST-Sim software platform linked to the FARSITE fire behavior model. This package includes six folders representing different sets of management actions. These include two related to simulation set 1 in the associated manuscript, evaluating unconstrained management simulations both with (CurrentManagementPart1 Fire) and without (CurrentManagementPart1 NoFire) fire. There are also four related to simulation set 2 in the associated manuscript, evaluating budget constrained simulations focused on management priorities (Current SNP Management Part2 MngmntP), fire prioriries (Current SNP Management Part2 FireP), and no priority (Current SNP Management Part2 NoP) considered with fire and without fire (Current SNP Management Part2 no fire).

The St-SIM file structure within each of the six folders includes three components: 1) Buffelgrass.ssim.input folder that houses the input files used by St-SIM, 2) the Buffelgrass.ssim.output folder which houses the scenario outputs used by St-SIM for visualization and export of data, and 3) Buffelgrass.ssim file which is opened by St-SIM to provide an interface to the model and outputs. Each folder contains several scenarios and their associated outputs. ST-Sim is the latest in a 20-year lineage of STSM development tools that includes the Vegetation Dynamics Development Tool (VDDT), the Tool for Exploratory Landscape Scenario Analysis (TELSA), and the Path Landscape Model (Path).