Table 1 Predictors used in model calibration by predictor class, their description and ecological rationale for the selection
From: A multi-scale modelling framework to guide management of plant invasions in a transboundary context
Class | Predictor | Description | Ecological rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
Climate | MinTemp | Minimum temperature of the coldest month | Climate is expected to be the main factor in shaping species’ distribution at large scales (Pearson et al. 2002), and previous studies have indicated climate predictors as the most important drivers of invasive species richness in the local-scale study area (Vicente et al. 2010). |
TempRan | Temperature annual range | ||
AnnPrec | Annual precipitation | ||
PrecSea | Precipitation seasonality (Coefficient of variation) | ||
Landscape composition | pUrbanA | Urban areas cover (%) | Land cover/use determine suitable habitat availability, thereby controlling alien invasion, and more invasive species find suitable conditions in man-made habitat (Song et al. 2005). Also, the greater the compositional diversity of a landscape, the more alien invasive species can find suitable conditions there (Pino et al. 2005). |
pAgrico | Agriculture cover (%) | ||
pArtFor | Artificial forests cover (%) | ||
pShrubs | Shrubland cover (%) | ||
Landscape structure | NumPatc | Number of patches | Spatial configuration and variability of the landscape affect species richness (Dufour et al. 2006), with landscape fragmentation increasing vulnerability to invasion (Le Maitre et al. 2004). |
mShaInd | Mean Shape Index | ||
mPerAreR | Mean Perimeter-to-Area Ratio | ||
shDiInd | Shannon Diversity Index of Land Cover classes | ||
Lithology | IgnRock | Felsic and intermediate Igneous Rocks (%) | The test species has adaptations related to nutrient absorption (Sousa et al. 2007). We expect that this might be reflected in differential suitability and invasive potential among different bedrocks, an expectation supported by empirical observations in some locations within our study area. |
MetRock | Foliated metamorphic rocks (%) | ||
DetSedD | Detritic sedimentary rocks and superficial sedimentary deposits (%) | ||
lithSDI | Shannon Diversity Index of lithological categories | ||
Fire | pMaxBurn | Maximum burnt area per cell (%) | Hakea sericea possesses fire adaptations (Groom and Lamont 1997; Brown and Whelan 1999), and invasion by this species potentially causes impacts on fire regimes (van Wilgen and Richardson 1985). |