Assessment and validation of biological richness at Landscape Level in part of the Himalayas and Indo-Burma Hotspots using geospatial modeling approach

Abstract

Validation is a necessary step for model acceptance and is defined as a comparison of the model’s predictions with real world to determine whether the model is suitable for its intended purpose. We have validated the biological richness index for three states generated in ‘Biodiversity Characterization at Landscape Level’ project under the aegis of Department of Biotechnology and Department of Space of the Government of India. Biological Richness (BR) index, described elsewhere as a cumulative property of ecological habitats and surroundings; was analyzed as an integrated ‘threetier modeling approach’ of (i) utilization of geospatial tools, (ii) limited field survey and (iii) landscape analysis. For validation, we categorized the field plots into 10-groups corresponding to 10-levels of BR using data splitting technique using their GPS-recorded positional information. In general, the number of tree, shrub and liana species and mean BA demonstrated a decreasing trend with lowering of BR for all three states falling under both the hotspots. However, the number of endemic species increased with decrease in BR levels for Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh; and decreased for the state of Assam. The study validates the BR index derived using geospatial modeling approach, thereby provides confidence in its acceptance for ecological conservation purposes.