Methodology and Interpretation

Mean wetland connectivity (Probability of neighboring wetland)
Probability of a wetland cell having a neighboring wetland cell is calculated using a moving 270 meter square window (9 pixels x 9 pixels) across the land cover. The boundaries between all pixel pairs where at least one pixel is wetland are examined in the window. The metric is the number of boundaries where both pixels are wetland, divided by the total number of wetland boundaries (regardless of neighbor land cover type). This metric gives a measure of how well the wetland is connected within the window sample area, with high values being better connected than low values.

Quantile: Each class contains an approximately equal number (count) of features. A quantile classification is well-suited to linearly distributed data. Because features are grouped by the number within each class, the resulting map can be misleading, in that similar features can be separated into adjacent classes, or features with widely different values can be lumped into the same class. This distortion can be minimized by increasing the number of classes.

Metric input GIS data:

• United States Hydrologic Units (8-digit HUCs) - Metadata

• United States Coastal Change Analysis Program (CCAP) - Metadata

• Canada Hydrologic Units (Subsubdivisions) - Metadata

• Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Data Set - Metadata