Demography Plots and GIS Analysis of the Island Torrey Pine Outline
Demography Plots and GIS Analysis of the Island Torrey Pine (Pinus torreyana ssp. Insularis)
I will be conducting my capstone on the Torrey Pine, Pinus torreyana. This tree is a rare remnant of the Pleistocene Era. Santa Rosa Island (SRI) is the last remaining location in which this subspecies, Insularis, is located. Through monitoring SRI Torrey Pine demography plots already in place, I will collect data and add any additional data found while analyzing four groves on SRI ( created by : Travis Hall). The groves: Cogan Grove, Main Grove, North Grove, and Box Canyon. The Torrey Pines in the groves are ID tagged. I will collect information in order to determine in what temporal space these trees are growing and how have they changed. I will collect diameter at breast height (DBH) for trees with a height greater than 160cm, height of the pine with a classification stages (Adult: height greater than 160cm with cones; Sub-adult: height greater than 160cm without cones, saplings; Saplings: height between 30-160cm; Seedlings: height less than 30cm) Additionally, if there are any missing tags or new trees I will add a tag and update the data sheet. Using the data that I collect and the previously collected data (Travis Hall) will allow me to determine if the population in each of the four groves is increasing, decreasing, or stable. It should be noted that the habitat on SRI has been dramatically impacted in the past by human induced grazing animals. Since the removal of these animals, 2013, Torrey Pine populations have been expected to increase.
After the Demography plots are analyzed I will take aerial photographs that have been purchased by CSUCI and analyze them. I am still unsure the exact dates that the images will be traced back to, however it will most likely contain images from 1929, 1959, and a recent photograph. These photographs have also geo-referenced to the same extent. I will use GIS to overlay the images. I will mark individual trees within GIS, and use programs such as Moran I Test- a cluster and outlier test, as well as the multi distance spatial analysis tool to summarize spatial dependence over a range of clusters. I will use this to further explore and show visually the changes within the four groves over time and the overall health of the individual groves.
