Climate Distance Mapper Tutorial

Climate Distance Mapper is a spatial decision-support tool designed to help land managers match seed sources with restoration sites based on climatic variation across the landscape. Plant populations are commonly adapted to local climatic gradients and frequently exhibit a home-site advantage (Leimu and Fischer 2008, Hereford 2009). For this reason, climate information may serve as an effective proxy for local adaptation in restoration designs (Shryock et al. 2017). Climate Distance Mapper allows users to rank the suitability of seed sources for restoration sites by displaying the multivariate climate distance (incorporating aspects of precipitation and temperature) from input points to the surrounding landscape. Results can be viewed in a zoomable map interface or downloaded. Currently, the application supports four regions in the desert southwest: the Mojave Desert, Sonoran Desert, Colorado Plateau, and Southern Great Basin. Users can perform calculations for either the current or future climates, facilitating climate-resilient restoration designs. Additionally, functions are available for users to map the degree to which multiple seed collections represent the diversity of climates across the landscape and to choose which seed sources are appropriate for different parts of the landscape.