Environmental Modelling In QGIS Assignment Sample

Environmental Modelling In QGIS

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Background of the species

It is to be noted that Australia is the home of many species that only exist on this continent only. Also, the number of species found in Australia is one of the highest among the different continents of the world. So, considering this it can be said that conservation of the species of Austalia will help in conserving a major number of species of the world (Meyer &Riechert, 2019). Among the different species found here one of the most important from the point of view of the ecology of this country is “Dusky Antechinus” which is mainly found in the peninsula region of Tasmania. It can be seen that Tasmania is one of the biggest islands in Australia. It is situated in the southern part of Australia. The scientific name of this species is “Antechinusswainsonii”. The main spread of this species is only limited to the southern part of this island. Although it is to be noted that in other parts of this island, this species is also found but in very little numbers (Titti et al. 2020). It is mainly found in the southern part of this island which is a coastal area. The count of this species is getting reduced day by day. This is why it has got the status of vulnerable species. It has also got the status of an “endemic species”. 

Species Interaction

It can be seen thatthere are many species living in this place. Among them, many of these are endangered species. Among these species, the species that was considered here is also another endangered species. So, in this project, the different aspects of this species were found.

Figure 1: Fuzzify raster (linear membership)

 (Source: Self-created in QGIS)

It can be seen that the count of these species is reducing in this area. So, the geographical area of this species is reducing day by day (Park et al. 2019). As a result of this, it can be observed that this species is now limited only to the southern part of Tasmania island.

Figure 2:

 (Source: Self-created in QGIS)

Although it can be noticed that other than the southern part this species is also present in the other parts of the island also but in a small amount. There are some of the locations of this species that were identified here. It can be noticed that in these places the number of this species is the most.

Firstly it can be seen that in the “Tarana forest,” the concentration of this species is the most. This forest is situated in the southern part of the island. In these areas, the foods for the living of this species is available in abundant amount.

Figure 3: Landcover

 (Source: Self-created in QGIS)

As a result of this, it can be seen that the count of this species is high in this area. There are some areas of the forest that this use for living. The main area of living of this species is in the logs of the trees. Moreover, the bark of the trees that are loose also falls into the living area of this species. It can be noticed that this species uses leaves for making its shelters.

The different aspects of the analysis that was performed here are as follows.

Figure 5: Kernel Density

 (Source: Self-created in QGIS)

The kernel density was determined here. It can be seen that there is a particular region where this species is mainly present. So, depending on this a heatmap showing the density of the population of Antechinus. This shows that now the species is only limited to the sloth & south-eastern part of Tasmania.

It is to be noted that it is one of the native species that are present in this area. Although there can be seen the presence of many species that are not the native species of this area. It can be observed that over the last decade, the spread of this species became very less (Lemenkova, 2020). Even the spread of the colonies of this species has reduced over the past few years.

After checking the population density of the species along with its location it can be seen that there is a need of constructing a “habitat corridor” for the species.

Figure 4: Temperature variation

 (Source: Self-created in QGIS)

Depending on the different conditions that can affect the construction of this one area for making the corridor can be selected. The area that was selected here started from “Tasman Island”, going through the “Tasman national park” and ended up in “Yellow bluff creek” national park (Albut, 2020). There are some reasons for choosing this. Firstly it can be seen that it is the area where the population of this species is the most. So, with the use of this corridor, most percentage of this population can be conserved. Moreover, this is the area that is separated by bays in between the islands. So, there will be other species also that are unique from the species of the mainland. So, with the help of this route, these species can also be conserved.

Wildlife Hazard

There are many reasons for the reduction of the number of this species. So, depending on these reasons it can be seen that all of these reasons had contributed to the reduction of the population of this species a lot. As a result of this, the population of this species got reduced to such an extent that this species was declared a vulnerable species (Henrico et al. 2021). There are some particular things that fall in the diet of this species.

It can be seen that these things are not available all over Australia. These are limited to some places. As a result of this, this species is limited to a particular region of Australia. The main food of this species is insects. Although this is seen to feed on other things also. Moreover, “beetles”, “larvae” and spiders also fall into the food of this species.

Figure 6: Grid

 (Source: Self-created in QGIS)

Some of the amphibians are also present in the list of food of this species. In many instances, it was observed that the remaining plants were also found in the stool of this species.

In addition to this, there are some dissimilarities that can also be seen in the system of reproduction of this species.

Figure 7: SRTM_DEM

 (Source: Self-created in QGIS)

One of the main features of this species is that it can be observed that a major population of the male in this species die after mating. This is one of the reasons for the slow growth of the population of this species (Giuliani et al. 2019). Also, it can be seen that the females of this species are seen to do mating not more than three times in their entire lifespan.

Figure 8: Wind speed

 (Source: Self-created in QGIS)

It takes almost 25-35 days for giving birth to a child of this species. So, considering all of these it can be said that this species is quite slow in maintaining its population.

It is to be noted that there are different factors that are responsible for causing the fire hazard. Firstly it can be noticed that the area where the species is present is close to the sea area. So, the slope of the ground is towards the south direction (Huang et al. 2019). So, in the case of any fire hazard, the chances of spreading fire to the inside of the forest because of the ground slope are less. In addition to this, the land cover is also another important factor regarding this.

Figure 9: Relief in train analysis

 (Source: Self-created in QGIS)

It can be noticed that most of the pace of this area is covered by vegetation. So, in the case of any fire hazard, there is a great chance of spreading fire (Pavlovi? et al. 2021). Furthermore, the temperature & the speed of wind are other important factors regarding this. The temperature of this area is less than the mainland. Also, the direction of the wind is from south to north. So, this can be harmful in the case of fire hazards.

Environmental Hazard

There are some reasons that are causing the reduction of the number of this species. These reasons are as follows.

Figure 10: Roughness

 (Source: Self-created in QGIS)

Habitat modification

This is one of the most important reasons for which it can be seen that the number of animals of this species is decreasing day by day. It can be noticed that the main population of this species is limited to one forest that is mainly used for the production of timber. It can be seen that this area is actively used for the production of timber. So, as a result of this more pressure is given to this area for producing timber (Radosevic et al. 2020). As a result of this, the habitat of this species got modified. So, the species are losing their ground where they can live.

Figure 11: Sieve

 (Source: Self-created in QGIS)

As a result of this, it can also be observed that small fragments of the colonies of this species are being created. Hence, one complex relationship is being created among the animals of this species.

Figure 12: Contour

 (Source: Self-created in QGIS)

Small population

In addition to the above reason, it can also be observed that the colonies of this species got divided into small-sized colonies that are living in different places. As a result of this, there is a lack of interaction between the member of the species. So, it has become very much difficult to sustain in this environment.

Figure 13: Slope

 (Source: Self-created in QGIS)

It is to be noted that the majority of the species live in this area. Also, because of different reasons the species is vulnerable to be sustained in this area.

Discussion

It can be noticed that there are some reasons that are making the habitable of this species to decrease. These are the ones that are responsible for decreasing the number of animals of this species. These reasons are as follows.

Figure 14: Terrain Ruggedness Index

 (Source: Self-created in QGIS)

Bushfires

This is one of the main reasons that are responsible for the reduction of the number of animals of this species. It can be seen many instances of bushfires in the forest of Australia. This is the reason why most of the habitat of the animals gets destroyed. In the case of Antechinus also, this is not different. Bushfires also cause the destruction of the habitat of this species also.

Figure 15: Topographic position Index

 (Source: Self-created in QGIS)

It is known that they live on the bark of the trees. Also, with the use of leaves, they make their houses (Sherrouse et al. 2022). So, after the burning of the trees, there is nothing left with which they can make their homes. Moreover, the theory mostly feeds on different insects. These fires caused damage to the lives of the insects. As a result of this, it was seen a shortage of food for this species. Hence, there were many of the animals of this specie died in the absence of food.

Figure 16: Aspect

 (Source: Self-created in QGIS)

Domestic cat predation

Nowadays it can be seen that the population of domestic cats has increased in the Tasmania area. As a result of this, it was seen that there was a decrease in the population of this species.

Direct & indirect poisoning

Nowadays in the area of Tasmania the population of humans has increased a lot. As a result of this, it can be noticed that poisons are used by humans for killing this species. This is another major reason for the reduction in the number of animals of this species.

Figure 17: Fill no data

 (Source: Self-created in QGIS)

Disease

In recent times it was observed that this species got affected by numerous diseases that caused the death of this species. The large colonies of this species got broken into different small colonies. As a result of this, the outbreak of these diseases was more severe to the species.

Figure 18: Hillshade

(Source: Self-created in QGIS)

Recommendation

There are some recommendations that can be given in this regard for the betterment of the current condition.

• The first thing that can be done is the management of land. It is known that lands are intensively used by humans nowadays. This is one of the major reasons for the decrease in the population of this species (Yalç?n et al. 2022). So, it is needed that human activities on the lands of the habitat of this species are got reduced.
• Another thing that can be done is forest management. It is known that forest fires caused big trouble for this species. So, it is needed that checks on the management of the fires in the forest are done so that this species can be preserved.

References

• Journals
• Albut, S. (2020). Estimation of Slope Length (L) And Slope Steepness Factor (S) of RUSLE Equation by QGIS. Int. J. Res. Eng. Sci, 8, 43-48. Retrieved from:https://www.ijres.org/papers/Volume-8/Issue-12/2/H0812024348.pdf [Retrieved on: 15.05.2023]
• Giuliani, C., Veisz, A. C., Piccinno, M., &Recanatesi, F. (2019). Estimating vulnerability of water body using Sentinel-2 images and environmental modelling: the study case of Bracciano Lake (Italy). European Journal of Remote Sensing, 52(sup4), 64-73. Retrieved from:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/22797254.2019.1689796 [Retrieved on: 15.05.2023]
• Henrico, S., Coetzee, S., Cooper, A., &Rautenbach, V. (2021). Acceptance of open source geospatial software: Assessing QGIS in South Africa with the UTAUT2 model. Transactions in GIS, 25(1), 468-490. Retrieved from:https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/tgis.12697 [Retrieved on: 15.05.2023]
• Huang, J., Scherer, L., Lan, K., Chen, F., & Thorp, K. R. (2019). Advancing the application of a model-independent open-source geospatial tool for national-scale spatiotemporal simulations. Environmental Modelling & Software, 119, 374-378. Retrieved from:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364815218311319 [Retrieved on: 15.05.2023]
• Lemenkova, P. (2020). Python libraries matplotlib, seaborn and pandas for visualization geo-spatial datasets generated by QGIS. Analelestiintifice ale Universitatii" AlexandruIoanCuza" din Iasi-seriaGeografie, 64(1), 13-32. Retrieved from:https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3699706 [Retrieved on: 15.05.2023]
• Meyer, D., &Riechert, M. (2019). Open source QGIS toolkit for the Advanced Research WRF modelling system. Environmental Modelling & Software, 112, 166-178. Retrieved from:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364815218304523 [Retrieved on: 15.05.2023]
• Meyer, D., &Riechert, M. (2019). Open source QGIS toolkit for the Advanced Research WRF modelling system. Environmental Modelling & Software, 112, 166-178. Retrieved from:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364815218304523 [Retrieved on: 15.05.2023]
• Park, S., Nielsen, A., Bailey, R. T., Trolle, D., &Bieger, K. (2019). A QGIS-based graphical user interface for application and evaluation of SWAT-MODFLOW models. Environmental modelling & software, 111, 493-497. Retrieved from:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364815218307710 [Retrieved on: 15.05.2023]
• Park, S., Nielsen, A., Bailey, R. T., Trolle, D., &Bieger, K. (2019). A QGIS-based graphical user interface for application and evaluation of SWAT-MODFLOW models. Environmental modelling & software, 111, 493-497. Retrieved from:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364815218307710 [Retrieved on: 15.05.2023]
• Pavlovi?, A., Boškovi?, G., &Jovi?i?, N. (2021). Simulation of road traffic noise pollution in kragujevac using qgis software. Veh. Vozila I, 47, 27-48. Retrieved from:http://www.mvm.fink.rs/Journal/Archive/2022/2022V48N1/volume_48_number_1_2022.pdf#page=31 [Retrieved on: 15.05.2023]
• Radosevic, N., Duckham, M., Liu, G. J., & Sun, Q. (2020). Solar radiation modeling with KNIME and Solar Analyst: Increasing environmental model reproducibility using scientific workflows. Environmental Modelling & Software, 132, 104780. Retrieved from:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364815219311983 [Retrieved on: 15.05.2023]
• Sherrouse, B. C., Semmens, D. J., & Ancona, Z. H. (2022). Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES): Open-source spatial modeling of cultural services. Environmental Modelling & Software, 148, 105259. Retrieved from:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364815221003017 [Retrieved on: 15.05.2023]
• Titti, G., Sarretta, A., Lombardo, L., Crema, S., Pasuto, A., &Borgatti, L. (2022). Mappin g susceptibility with open-source tools: a new plugin for QGIS. Front. Earth Sci, 229. Retrieved from:https://ris.utwente.nl/ws/files/285672533/feart_10_842425.pdf [Retrieved on: 15.05.2023]
• Titti, G., Sarretta, A., Lombardo, L., Crema, S., Pasuto, A., &Borgatti, L. (2022). Mappin g susceptibility with open-source tools: a new plugin for QGIS. Front. Earth Sci, 229. Retrieved from:https://ris.utwente.nl/ws/files/285672533/feart_10_842425.pdf [Retrieved on: 15.05.2023]
• Yalç?n, C., Öztürk, S., &Kumral, M. (2022). Evaluation of U-Th enrichments in QGIS platform; Example of Ar?kl? (Çanakkale, Turkey) district. Intercontinental Geoinformation Days, 4, 225-228. Retrieved from:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364815221003017 [Retrieved on: 15.05.2023]