LEGIST
- Landscape Ecology GIS Toolbox
Developed by Pandion Systems, GIS
Associates, and Dr. Tom
Hoctor
LEGIST is a GIS
based, multi-scalar, ecological modeling and evaluation tool designed
to aid decision makers in making complex ecological decisions.
LEGIST Approach
Habitats and ecosystems have functional and structural attributes
that interact with each other, occupy space, change with time,
and
are influenced by external factors such as surrounding land uses
and development conditions that are best depicted spatially.
Pandion has developed a decision-support tool, LEGIST, to model
these conditions.
 LEGIST organizes environmental information so it can be used to
assign values to landscape elements based upon their functional
contribution to the durability of ecosystems. This tool allows
the users to evaluate current landscape conditions and to assess
changes in land use on the landscape, based on a set of ecological
conditions and pre-determined standards and guidelines.
LEGIST uses landscape
ecology principles as the basis for examining Florida’s landscape ecology patterns; the interactions
among patches within its landscape mosaic; how these patterns and
interactions change; and the influence the changes have on the
area’s ecological processes.
Landscape ecology recognizes
that spatial patterns matter, and the arrangement of land uses
and habitat is critical to conservation. Furthermore, it acknowledges
that context is as important as content. The characteristics
of the surrounding land cover and land uses are largely responsible
for determining a particular area’s ecological value.
Landscape ecology focuses on
three (3) characteristics of the landscape: structure, function,
and change. All three of these
characteristics are embodied in this planning and design decision-support
tool.
 LEGIST uses a set of ecological
indices presented as GIS data layers to characterize important
ecological and natural resource
relationships and their functioning. These index layers are developed
with a geographic information system (GIS) (ESRI ArcInfo and
ArcView with Spatial Analyst).
These indices characterize not only the content of the ecosystems
within a given Florida landscape, but also the context of these
systems, i.e. how these ecological systems are influenced by surrounding
ecological and anthropogenic systems.
The layers are scale-sensitive and
may be relevant at the landscape, community, or species scale or
at multiple scales. The scale is dependent on both the data set
scale and the resource question being addressed. LEGIST utilizes
landscape scale information and specific local data sets and often
species-specific models to evaluate effects of habitat loss, habitat
fragmentation, buffering, etc, on a particular species or suite
of species and/or habitat.
LEGIST
Supports Decisions Related To:
- Project Review and Evaluation
- Ecologically Based Land Development Regulations and Ordinance
Development
- Land Acquisition Studies
- Comprehensive Plan Development
- Future Land Use Analysis
- Wetland Mitigation Area Planning
- Siting Studies for Linear and Non-linear Projects
- Threatened & Endangered
Species Evaluations
- Ecological Risk Assessments
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