Mapping edaphic soils' conditions to identify conservation targets for pine barren and sandplain ecosystems in New York State.

Abstract

Small habitat patches can be important reservoirs for biodiversity, capable of hosting unique species that are largely absent from the surrounding landscape. In cases where such patches owe their existence to the presence of particular soil types or hydrologic conditions, local‐scale edaphic variables may be more effective components for models that identify patch location than regional‐scale macroclimatic variables often used in habitat and species distribution models. We modeled the edaphic soil conditions that support pine barren, sandplain, and related ecosystems in New York State with the purpose of identifying potential locations for biodiversity conservation. We quantified soil percent sand and soil depth of 156 known high‐quality remnant pine barren and sandplain ecosystems to calculate threshold soil characteristics. We then mapped all soils in the state that were at least as sandy and deep as the threshold values we calculated. The total area of our map of suitable soil conditions was over 9500 km2, made up of forested (57%), urban (26%), agricultural (13%), and open (4%) land covers. Our analysis nearly doubled the recognized area of barren, shrubland, and grassland habitat on deep, sandy soils in New York State. Extensive forested and even agricultural cover on these soils could also be the subject of restoration to further support the biodiversity of these unique ecosystems. The presence of extensive soils in coastal and interior New York that, with the appropriate disturbance regime, have the potential to host pine barren and sandplain ecosystems offers a new perspective on these ecosystems' distribution in the past—and about how to better align conservation and restoration to preserve the future.