Methodology and Interpretation

Land cover diversity (Shannon-Weiner index)
The diversity index is calculated by:
, Pi = the proportion of land cover type i.

The Shannon-Weiner index is one of several ways to measure the diversity of land cover types within a specific area of the landscape. The Shannon-Wiener index is a measure of the diversity of land cover types within a reporting unit, and the index value increases as the number of land cover types within the reporting unit increases. A single land cover type results in a Shannon-Weiner index value of zero.

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