Landscape-scale Drivers Research Articles

Factors controlling the spatial heterogeneity of soil organic carbon concentrations and stocks in a boreal forest

Boreal soils play a crucial role in the global terrestrial carbon cycle, serving as significant carbon reservoirs. However, this region is experiencing rapid climate change which poses a threat to the stability of the soil carbon pool. To understand the carbon balance in the boreal region, it is essential to obtain accurate estimates of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. The objective of this study was to investigate factors controlling the spatial heterogeneity of SOC concentrations and stocks in a boreal forested catchment and to quantify spatial variability of SOC concentrations and stocks using a random forest-based regression kriging approach. Soil carbon content, gravel content and bulk density were obtained from the surface soil layer (0–30 cm) of 106 samples across a 390 ha catchment in northwestern Ontario, Canada. Spatial attributes including elevation, wetness index, distance to nearest ridge, relative position index, plan curvature, profile curvature and normalized difference vegetation index were used in the random forest-based regression kriging to estimate spatial heterogeneity of SOC stocks and concentrations across the catchment. Our results showed that shallow soils in well-drained upland areas contained low to moderate SOC concentrations (1.2–16.2%) while depressional wetlands had high concentrations (19.2–54.0%). Topographic variables, including wetness index were the strongest predictors of SOC concentrations, but SOC stocks were very heterogeneous across the study site (12.9–139.0 Mg ha−1) and were not well explained by topographic or vegetation variables. The gravel content was highly variable (0–29.0%), and without accounting for this fraction, SOC stocks were overestimated by 52.5% in this landscape. These results emphasize the substantial catchment scale variability in SOC stocks in boreal landscapes and underscore the significance of considering both landscape-scale drivers and intrinsic soil properties when estimating soil carbon in this region. By understanding these factors, we can better manage and protect the important carbon stores in boreal soils.

Cross-continental evaluation of landscape-scale drivers and their impacts to fluvial fishes: Understanding frequency and severity to improve fish conservation in Europe and the United States

Fluvial fishes are threatened globally from intensive human landscape stressors degrading aquatic ecosystems. However, impacts vary regionally, as stressors and natural environmental factors differ between ecoregions and continents. To date, a comparison of fish responses to landscape stressors over continents is lacking, limiting understanding of consistency of impacts and hampering efficiencies in conserving fishes over large regions. This study addresses these shortcomings through a novel, integrative assessment of fluvial fishes throughout Europe and the conterminous United States. Using large-scale datasets, including information on fish assemblages from more than 30,000 locations on both continents, we identified threshold responses of fishes summarized by functional traits to landscape stressors including agriculture, pasture, urban area, road crossings, and human population density. After summarizing stressors by catchment unit (local and network) and constraining analyses by stream size (creeks vs. rivers), we analyzed stressor frequency (number of significant thresholds) and stressor severity (value of identified thresholds) within ecoregions across Europe and the United States. We document hundreds of responses of fish metrics to multi-scale stressors in ecoregions across two continents, providing rich findings to aid in understanding and comparing threats to fishes across the study regions. Collectively, we found that lithophilic species and, as expected, intolerant species are most sensitive to stressors in both continents, while migratory and rheophilic species are similarly strongly affected in the United States. Also, urban land use and human population density were most frequently associated with declines in fish assemblages, underscoring the pervasiveness of these stressors in both continents. This study offers an unprecedented comparison of landscape stressor effects on fluvial fishes in a consistent and comparable manner, supporting conservation of freshwater habitats in both continents and worldwide.

Landscape-scale drivers of tayra abundance in the Ecuadorian Andes

Landscape-scale drivers of tayra abundance in the Ecuadorian Andes

Industrial forestry negatively affects small-farms honey production in south-central Chile: evidence from a landscape scale

Land use and cover change have a high influence on bee species, where honey bees (Apis mellifera) could be affected in terms of resources, dispersal, and habitat. However, the influence of landscape context on honey productivity has been scarcely explored in comparison with population parameters, which is an essential topic for the economic development of rural communities based on apiculture. Here, we tested the hypothesis if honey production decreases with the increase of exotic forest plantations in the landscape as the cover of native forest decreases, vegetation and soils become increasingly degraded. We compiled data on honey productivity for two years (2018 and 2019) of small-scale honey production in 17 landscapes of 1 km radii (Curanilahue state in south-central Chile). Then, the landscapes were characterized by using remote sensing techniques, including biophysical and compositional landscape variables. Finally, Generalized Linear Mixed Models were implemented to explore the relationship between landscape variables and honey productivity. We identified a positive relationship between honey productivity with built cover and grassland cover. On the other hand, a negative relationship was found between honey production and net primary production, exotic forest plantations, and tree senescence index. Our results provide new insights into the landscape-scale drivers of hive productivity in rural landscapes of south-central Chile.

Forest disturbance decreased in China from 1986 to 2020 despite regional variations

Human activities have altered disturbance patterns in many parts of world, but there is no quantitative information on patterns and trends of forest disturbance regimes in China. We applied a spectral-temporal segmentation approach over all available Landsat data to map individual disturbance patches and characterize the patterns and trends in disturbance rate, size, frequency, and severity across China’s forests. From 1986 to 2020, about 39.7% of China’s forests were disturbed with an annual rate of 1.16 ± 0.41% yr−1. The disturbance decreased at a rate of −390 ± 142 km2 yr−1, primarily driven by the effective implementation of forest protection policy since 2000s. The rate, frequency, and size of disturbance generally intensified in Southeast, but weakened in Northeast China. Our high-quality, spatially explicit disturbance map provides an essential data layer to understand the landscape-scale drivers of forest dynamics and functions for important but less understood pan-temperate forest regions.

Documenting the impacts of increasing salinity in freshwater and coastal ecosystems: Introduction to the special issue

Documenting the impacts of increasing salinity in freshwater and coastal ecosystems: Introduction to the special issue

Predictors of plant endemism in two west African forest hotspots

Centres of endemism have been much studied by biogeographers, ecologists, and evolutionary theorists, and are considered conservation priorities. It is therefore important to understand the ecological traits of restricted range taxa, and the landscape-scale drivers of high endemism. Here, we investigate correlates of floristic endemism within two of west Africa’s forest biodiversity hotspots at local scale. We assembled distribution data for 1,042 vascular plant taxa from 114 sample locations within forest reserves of south west Ghana, and for 1,735 vascular plant taxa from 454 sample locations within the Nimba Mountains (Liberia and Guinea). A quantitative index of global endemism called the Genetic Heat Index was modelled linearly. We tested the significance of modern climate, altitude and disturbance as factors predicting endemism rates in these two forest reserves. Annual rainfall was significantly and positively related to endemism rates in both south west Ghana and the Nimba Mountains. Altitude was a significant predictor of endemism rates in the Nimba Mountains, with a quadratic relationship highlighting particularly high endemism over 1,000 m. Local topography rather than altitude was a significant predictor or endemism in SW Ghana, where altitude varies less. Areas of high rainfall and high altitude are geographically restricted across the western African forests, acting as edaphic islands driving spatial isolation. Disturbed vegetation samples had lower endemism rates than undisturbed samples in both Nimba and SW Ghana, and overall pioneer species had wider areas of occupancy than shade-bearing species. Endemism rates increased slightly with each year following clearance. Disturbance thus creates and maintains vegetation types which support a lower proportion of globally rare species in the two biodiversity hotspots surveyed. From the point of view of the conservation of globally rare plants, it is important to keep additional disturbance in the south west Ghana hotspot, particularly Ankasa, to a minimum, as is the current practice, and in the Nimba mountains to establish community forests which may be left relatively undisturbed amid farming and mining activities.

Landscape-scale drivers of pollinator communities may depend on land-use configuration.

Research into pollinators in managed landscapes has recently combined approaches of pollination ecology and landscape ecology, because key stressors are likely to interact across wide areas. While laboratory and field experiments are valuable for furthering understanding, studies are required to investigate the interacting drivers of pollinator health and diversity across a broader range of landscapes and a wider array of taxa. Here, we use a network of 96 study landscapes in six topographically diverse regions of Britain, to test the combined importance of honeybee density, insecticide loadings, floral resource availability and habitat diversity to pollinator communities. We also explore the interactions between these drivers and the cover and proximity of semi-natural habitat. We found that among our four drivers, only honeybee density was positively related to wild pollinator abundance and diversity, and the positive association between abundance and floral resources depended on insecticide loadings and habitat diversity. By contrast, our exploratory models including habitat composition metrics revealed a complex suite of interactive effects. These results demonstrate that improving pollinator community composition and health is unlikely to be achieved with general resource enhancements only. Rather, local land-use context should be considered in fine-tuning pollinator management and conservation. This article is part of the theme issue 'Natural processes influencing pollinator health: from chemistry to landscapes'.

On the restoration of hedgerow ground vegetation: Local and landscape drivers of plant diversity and weed colonization

Hedgerows are among the most stable refugia for biodiversity in agricultural landscapes, providing food and shelter to many living organisms. However, the destruction and alteration of hedgerow ground vegetation compromise their potential for biodiversity conservation. The purpose of this study was to find local and landscape-scale drivers that promote plant diversity in hedgerows and prevent their colonization by troublesome weeds. Using a functional approach, we assessed the effects of hedgerow features, adjacent farming systems (conventional vs organic) and landscape context (bocage, semi-natural habitat cover, organic farming cover) on the diversity and composition of plant communities in 40 hedgerows, in Brittany (France). Hedgerow features had no effect on species diversity, but influenced functional diversity measured as a standardized effect size (SES), i.e. independent of species diversity. Organic farming at local scale was the main driver increasing both species and functional diversity (SES), doubling the cover of insect-pollinated forbs. High organic farming cover in the landscape increased species diversity, but not functional diversity (SES), of hedgerows adjoining conventional farming systems. Besides, high cover of semi-natural habitats and organic farming in the landscape prevented colonization of hedgerows by troublesome weeds. Promoting extensive management at both local and landscape scale is thus necessary for successful restoration of hedgerow ground vegetation, which should favour biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service provision.

Landscape-Scale Drivers of Resistance and Resilience to Bark Beetles: A Conceptual Susceptibility Model

Bark beetle (Dendroctonus spp.) outbreaks in the middle latitudes of western North America cause large amounts of tree mortality, outstripping wildfire by an order of magnitude. While temperatures play an important, and direct role in the population dynamics of ectothermic bark beetles, an equally important influence is the nature of the host substrate—the structure and composition of forested communities. For many of the dominant tree species in the western United States, “hazard” indices have been developed for specific bark beetles, which generally include three key variables—host tree size, absolute or relative density of the stand, and percentage of host composition. We provide a conceptual model to apply these three variables across forest ecosystems and bark beetles that shifts the thinking from a species–specific model to a model which focuses on the underlying ecological factors related to bark beetle outbreak susceptibility. We explored the use of our model across multiple scales using the Forest Inventory and Analysis database: Interior West, USA; the states of Colorado and Arizona; and specific national forests within Arizona that are implementing a large-scale restoration effort. We demonstrated that across the Interior West and Colorado, the vast majority of forests have moderate to high susceptibility to bark beetles. Our conceptual model maintains the simplicity of previous “hazard” models but acknowledges the need to consider scale when managing bark beetles. It also shifts the management approach from resistance thinking to the development of “associational resilience”, where the focus is not on any one individual stand or area but the longer-term perspective of forest persistence across the landscape.

Landscape-scale drivers of mammalian species richness and functional diversity in forest patches within a mixed land-use mosaic

Abstract We estimated the influence of habitat fragmentation characteristics (patch size, isolation and number of neighbouring patches), habitat and land management types at the community level, specifically, on species richness, functional- α (alpha), guild- and β (beta) diversity of forest and dense bush habitat patches in southern KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. We used mammal camera-trap data from 245 survey points across 157 habitat patches. We partitioned β diversity-change (βtotal) into its nestedness (βnestedness) and turnover (βturnover) components. Species turnover was the dominant component of species β diversity, while nestedness was the dominant component of functional β diversity. Carnivore and insectivore diversity significantly decreased with increasing isolation from large patches. Patch size did not influence species-, functional- or guild diversity. We found that the number of neighbouring patches nested within the mixed land-use matrix were important drivers of functional- and species α diversity, carnivore- and herbivore diversity. Fragmentation characteristics alone did not explain the patterns of diversity tested, but habitat and land management type were important factors for all diversity indices. We recommend incentivised protection for privately owned forest patches, as they act as stepping stones for movement of forest-associated mammals throughout the landscape. Furthermore, we emphasise the importance of habitat quality and of effective management of forest in mixed land-use mosaic landscapes to prevent further degradation.

Landscape-scale drivers of fish faunal homogenization and differentiation in the eastern United States

Establishment of nonnative fishes and extirpations of native fishes have homogenized freshwater fish faunas, yet our understanding of the drivers of this process remain limited. We addressed this knowledge gap by testing three hypotheses about introductions and homogenization of fish communities is the eastern United States: First, whether nonnative fish introductions have caused fish faunas to become homogenized or differentiated; second, whether patterns of faunal change are related to native species richness, propagule pressure, and anthropogenic disturbance; third, whether invasion patterns are attributable to either biotic resistance or preadaptation. We compared taxonomic similarity among watersheds in historical and contemporary time steps, and modeled contributions of different drivers to faunal change within watersheds. Average similarity among watersheds nearly doubled in contemporary times, pointing to substantial fish faunal homogenization. No watersheds lost species; patterns of homogenization are attributable entirely to nonnative species invasion. Community change and nonnative richness were positively associated with agriculture-urban land use, recreational fishing demand, and elevation. Native richness negatively affected community change and nonnative richness. Nonnative species originated from watersheds with higher richness than the ones they invaded, suggesting a role for biotic resistance. Understanding how mechanisms operate across spatial scales will help guide future conservation efforts.

The landscape-scale drivers of herbivore assemblage distribution on the central basalt plains of Kruger National Park

AbstractThe distribution and abundance of herbivores in African savannas are constrained by interactions between abiotic and biotic factors. At the species-level, herbivores face trade-offs among foraging requirements, vegetation structure and the availability of surface water that change over spatial and temporal scales. Characterizing herbivore requirements is necessary for the management of the environment in which they occur, as conservation management interventions such as fencing and artificial water provision consequently have effects on how herbivores address these trade-offs. We tested the effects of environmental attributes on the probability of presence of herbivore functional types at different distances to water in the Satara section of Kruger National Park over the period of a year. Hypotheses about species’ relative distribution and abundance were developed through a literature review of forage and water availability constraints on feeding preference and body size of herbivore. We expected strong seasonal relationships between vegetation biomass and quality, and biomass of water-dependent herbivores with increasing distance to water. Our analyses of herbivore distribution across the region confirmed broad-scale descriptions of interactions between forage requirements and water availability across a set of species which differ in functional traits.

Identification of fine scale and landscape scale drivers of urban aboveground carbon stocks using high-resolution modeling and mapping

Urban areas are sources of land use change and CO2 emissions that contribute to global climate change. Despite this, assessments of urban vegetation carbon stocks often fail to identify important landscape-scale drivers of variation in urban carbon, especially the potential effects of landscape structure variables at different spatial scales. We combined field measurements with Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) data to build high-resolution models of woody plant aboveground carbon across the urban portion of Brisbane, Australia, and then identified landscape scale drivers of these carbon stocks. First, we used LiDAR data to quantify the extent and vertical structure of vegetation across the city at high resolution (5×5m). Next, we paired this data with aboveground carbon measurements at 219 sites to create boosted regression tree models and map aboveground carbon across the city. We then used these maps to determine how spatial variation in land cover/land use and landscape structure affects these carbon stocks. Foliage densities above 5m height, tree canopy height, and the presence of ground openings had the strongest relationships with aboveground carbon. Using these fine-scale relationships, we estimate that 2.2±0.4 TgC are stored aboveground in the urban portion of Brisbane, with mean densities of 32.6±5.8MgCha−1 calculated across the entire urban land area, and 110.9±19.7MgCha−1 calculated within treed areas. Predicted carbon densities within treed areas showed strong positive relationships with the proportion of surrounding tree cover and how clumped that tree cover was at both 1km2 and 1ha resolutions. Our models predict that even dense urban areas with low tree cover can have high carbon densities at fine scales. We conclude that actions and policies aimed at increasing urban carbon should focus on those areas where urban tree cover is most fragmented.

Landscape-scale drivers of glacial ecosystem change in the montane forests of the eastern Andean flank, Ecuador

Understanding the impact of landscape-scale disturbance events during the last glacial period is vital in accurately reconstructing the ecosystem dynamics of montane environments. Here, a sedimentary succession from the tropical montane cloud forest of the eastern Andean flank of Ecuador provides evidence of the role of non-climate drivers of vegetation change (volcanic events, fire regime and herbivory) during the late-Pleistocene. Multiproxy analysis (pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, charcoal, geochemistry and carbon content) of the sediments, radiocarbon dated to ca. 45–42ka, provide a snap shot of the depositional environment, vegetation community and non-climate drivers of ecosystem dynamics. The geomorphology of the Vinillos study area, along with the organic‑carbon content, and aquatic remains suggest deposition took place near a valley floor in a swamp or shallow water environment. The pollen assemblage initially composed primarily of herbaceous types (Poaceae-Asteraceae-Solanaceae) is replaced by assemblages characterised by Andean forest taxa, (first Melastomataceae-Weinmannia-Ilex, and later, Alnus-Hedyosmum-Myrica). The pollen assemblages have no modern analogues in the tropical montane cloud forest of Ecuador. High micro-charcoal and rare macro-charcoal abundances co-occur with volcanic tephra deposits suggesting transportation from extra-local regions and that volcanic eruptions were an important source of ignition in the wider glacial landscape. The presence of the coprophilous fungi Sporormiella reveals the occurrence of herbivores in the glacial montane forest landscape. Pollen analysis indicates a stable regional vegetation community, with changes in vegetation population co-varying with large volcanic tephra deposits suggesting that the structure of glacial vegetation at Vinillos was driven by volcanic activity.

Drivers of tree fecundity in pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) refugial populations at the species' southwestern range margin.

The current low latitudinal range margins of many extra-tropical plant species consist of small and scattered populations that persist locally in microrefugia. It remains poorly understood how their refugial distribution affects mating patterns and reproductive success. Here we examine flower and acorn production and their determinants in refugial populations of the widespread European forest tree pedunculate oak (Quercus robur). We monitored male flower, female flower and acorn production in 159 adult trees from 12 oak stands over 2years. We related these and derived parameters to a series of ecological and genetic predictor variables extrinsic (stand size, density and isolation as well as elevation, topography and forest cover) or intrinsic (size, phenology and several genotypic measures) to the target tree. Tree fertility was unrelated to extrinsic factors but determined by tree size, although we detected size-independent variation in reproductive investment. Female flower number accurately predicted acorn crop size. Fruit set differed between years, evidencing the existence of pollen limitation at the landscape but not at the local scale. Fruit setalso tended to increase with the number of mates of the target tree. We detected no other evidence for genetic constraints on mating. Reproduction was triggered by a combination of small-scale and landscape-scale drivers. Although short-distance mating prevailed, limited pollen flow did not appear to significantly constrain reproductive success. The high intrinsic ability of populations to maintain their reproductive capacity may help explain their successful long-term persistence in an adverse broader environment.

Local and landscape metrics identify opportunities for conserving cavity-nesting birds in a rapidly urbanizing ecoregion

Urban centers are rapidly expanding globally, resulting in regional forest-cover transformations that shift from temperate forest biomes to a heterogeneous mix of urban development, forest patches, and agriculture. Data on habitat use within remaining forest patches embedded across land use types, particularly in urban land use, are needed to optimize conservation strategies as urban growth continues. In the rapidly urbanizing southern Piedmont, USA, small pine patches have become more frequent across the landscape and are found embedded within second-growth forest, agricultural, and urban land use matrices. We used point-count surveys and N-mixture models to determine the effect of patch- and landscape-scale drivers on cavity-nesting bird abundance, including the threatened Brown-headed Nuthatch ( Sitta pusilla ), in pine forest patches. Model-averaged estimates suggest Brown-headed Nuthatches are more abundant in large patches in a heterogeneous matrix that includes urban residential development. Three other cavity-nesting species declined in abundance as a function of reduced canopy cover. White-breasted Nuthatches increased and Tufted Titmice decreased in abundance in response to patch area. By identifying factors that predict abundance at local and landscape scales for ecologically sensitive and generalist species, we can more effectively contribute to regional conservation efforts in urban ecosystems, extending conservation in practice beyond protected areas.

Hotspots of Community Change: Temporal Dynamics Are Spatially Variable in Understory Plant Composition of a California Oak Woodland.

Community response to external drivers such climate and disturbance can lead to fluctuations in community composition, or to directional change. Temporal dynamics can be influenced by a combination of drivers operating at multiple spatial scales, including external landscape scale drivers, local abiotic conditions, and local species pools. We hypothesized that spatial variation in these factors can create heterogeneity in temporal dynamics within landscapes. We used understory plant species composition from an 11 year dataset from a California oak woodland to compare plots where disturbance was experimentally manipulated with the removal of livestock grazing and a prescribed burn. We quantified three properties of temporal variation: compositional change (reflecting the appearance and disappearance of species), temporal fluctuation, and directional change. Directional change was related most strongly to disturbance type, and was highest at plots where grazing was removed during the study. Temporal fluctuations, compositional change, and directional change were all related to intrinsic abiotic factors, suggesting that some locations are more responsive to external drivers than others. Temporal fluctuations and compositional change were linked to local functional composition, indicating that environmental filters can create subsets of the local species pool that do not respond in the same way to external drivers. Temporal dynamics are often assumed to be relatively static at the landscape scale, provided disturbance and climate are continuous. This study shows that local and landscape scale factors jointly influence temporal dynamics creating hotspots that are particularly responsive to climate and disturbance. Thus, adequate predictions of response to disturbance or to changing climate will only be achieved by considering how factors at multiple spatial scales influence community resilience and recovery.

Daily nest survival rates of Gunnison Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus minimus): assessing local- and landscape-scale drivers

The Gunnison Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus minimus) is a species of conservation concern and is a candidate for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act because of substantial declines in populations from historic levels. It is thought that loss, fragmentation, and deterioration of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) habitat have contributed to the decline and isolation of this species into seven geographically distinct subpopulations. Nest survival is known to be a primary driver of demography of Greater Sage-Grouse (C. urophasianus), but no unbiased estimates of daily nest survival rates (hereafter nest survival) exist for Gunnison Sage-Grouse or published studies identifying factors that influence nest survival. We estimated nest survival of Gunnison Sage-Grouse for the western portion of Colorado's Gunnison Basin subpopulation, and assessed the effects and relative importance of local- and landscape-scale habitat characteristics on nest survival. Our top performing model was one that allowed variation in nest survival among areas, suggesting a larger landscape-area effect. Overall nest success during a 38-day nesting period (egg-laying plus incubation) was 50% (daily survival rate; SE = 0.982 [0.003]), which is higher than previous estimates for Gunnison Sage-Grouse and generally higher than published for the closely related Greater Sage-Grouse. We did not find strong evidence that local-scale habitat variables were better predictors of nest survival than landscape-scale predictors, nor did we find strong evidence that any of the habitat variables we measured were good predictors of nest survival. Nest success of Gunnison Sage-Grouse in the western portion of the Gunnison Basin was higher than previously believed.

High-frequency remote monitoring of large lakes with MODIS 500 m imagery

Satellite-based remote monitoring programs of regional lake water quality largely have relied on Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) owing to its long image archive, moderate spatial resolution (30m), and wide sensitivity in the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, despite some notable limitations such as temporal resolution (i.e., 16days), data pre-processing requirements to improve data quality, and aging satellites. Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors on Aqua/Terra platforms compensate for these shortcomings, although at the expense of spatial resolution. We developed and evaluated a remote monitoring protocol for water clarity of large lakes using MODIS 500m data and compared MODIS utility to Landsat-based methods. MODIS images captured during May–September 2001, 2004 and 2010 were analyzed with linear regression to identify the relationship between lake water clarity and satellite-measured surface reflectance. Correlations were strong (R²=0.72–0.94) throughout the study period; however, they were the most consistent in August, reflecting seasonally unstable lake conditions and inter-annual differences in algal productivity during the other months. The utility of MODIS data in remote water quality estimation lies in intra-annual monitoring of lake water clarity in inaccessible, large lakes, whereas Landsat is more appropriate for inter-annual, regional trend analyses of lakes ≥8ha. Model accuracy is improved when ancillary variables are included to reflect seasonal lake dynamics and weather patterns that influence lake clarity. The identification of landscape-scale drivers of regional water quality is a useful way to supplement satellite-based remote monitoring programs relying on spectral data alone.