Connectivity on the UBC Vancouver Campus

Streets and other types of linear infrastructure are important components of designing and planning for human connectivity in urban environments (Ozbil et al., 2011). Linear infrastructure is “characterized by its straight form, such as roads, railways, powerlines, and canals” while nonlinear infrastructure does not have a straight form, like airports or hospitals (U.N., 2020). Human infrastructure, primarily linear transportation networks, disrupt ecological connectivity endangering species prosperity (Mimet et al., 2016). In “Connectivity and ecological networks,” Jongman observes that while landscapes are becoming more connected for human use, they are becoming more fragmented and disintegrated in an ecological sense (2019). The goal of this project is to identify areas of poor ecological connectivity on the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Vancouver campus and recommend site specific strategies to improve ecological connectivity and natural asset allocation on campus. UBC’s Vancouver campus is located on the Point Grey Peninsula, Vancouver, B.C. Canada which is traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Musqueam people (First Nations House of Learning, 2020).

Habitat fragmentation, degradation, and loss negatively impacts biodiversity by reducing species and genetic diversity (Appalachian Corridor, n.d.). Increasing landscape/ecological connectivity has become a dominant strategy for addressing widespread anthropogenic landscape changes and their associated negative impacts on biodiversity (LaPoint et al., 2015). Just as people “rely on transportation corridors [to get around], wildlife also needs to travel across the landscape” (Biodiversity Adaptation Working Group, 2018). Ecological connectivity is “the degree of connection between the various natural environments present within a landscape, in terms of their components, spatial distribution and ecological functions” (Appalachian Corridor, n.d.). Different types of connectivity should be kept in mind when planning and designing landscapes.

Ecological connectivity is of particular interest when thinking about climate change. Preserving and restoring connectivity is a great strategy for dealing with and preparing for climate change (Appalachian Corridor, n.d.). The main argument for improving and increasing ecological connectivity “is that if the effects of land-cover fragmentation can be mitigated, this should enhance the ability of species to move into new regions as [the] climate changes … thereby decreasing the probability of [species] extirpation or extinction” (Krosby et al., 2010).

With more than 50 percent of the total human population now living in urban environments, cities are increasingly being recognized for their ability to “support biodiversity and to connect their citizens to nature,” meaning that improving ecological connectivity in cities is imperative (LaPoint et al., 2015). The University of British Columbia Vancouver Campus is currently planning and adapting for the changing climate by improving landscape resilience (UBC Green Building Action Plan, 2018). Ecological resiliency is how much disturbance an ecosystem/landscape can handle before it’s processes and structures change (Moritz et al., 2010).

UBC is also interested in furthering research and understanding on how biodiversity impacts climate resilience on the Vancouver Campus (Climate Action Plan, 2021). To this end, UBC’s Vancouver Campus is interested in improving its ecological connectivity on campus, which corresponds to the 2050 Campus Vision, which shapes how the Vancouver Campus will change and grow, up to 2050 (UBC Campus & Community Planning, 2022). This project builds on the 2021 SEEDS Ecological Connectivity Analysis, which identified two corridors on the Vancouver Campus. While all of the Vancouver Campus will be analyzed in this study, the primary focus will be the two identified corridors.

Improving connectivity on campus can improve the landscapes resiliency in the face of a changing climate. In order to achieve this, it is important of further analyze connectivity the Vancouver campus. To this end, it is important to address how areas with low, medium, and high ecological connectivity can best be identified on the UBC Vancouver campus using geospatial data to improve the allocation of natural assets. Using geographic information systems can help identify a range for connectivity on campus from poor too excellent. This will help narrow down where natural asset allocation and connectivity need improvement.

My study area is focusing on the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver Campus. The UBC Vancouver Campus is located on the Point Grey Peninsula, Vancouver British Colombia Canada. This is a university campus, so a lot of people frequent this landscape. There are approximately 80,000 people on UBC’s Vancouver campus every day, which is more than some municipality populations in B.C. (UBC Rapid Transit, n.d.). Since the landscape is a university campus, human connectivity is very important as students need to be able to get around campus easily. However, ecological connectivity is also important. This study looks at connectivity on the Vancouver campus, and focusses on soil, shade, and vegetation connectivity. A species of interest list will be used to complete more species-specific connectivity analyses.

The landscape that UBC is situated on has changed dramatically over time. In 1865, companies were granted 21-year timber leases on the Point Grey Peninsula (UBC Library, 2022). Endemic species populations and distributions were drastically altered after this point in time, as the landscape experienced continued land use change, as old growth forests were logged and much of the landscape was deforested (Norman, 2022). In 1910, Point Grey Peninsula was chosen as the site for UBC’s Vancouver campus, and 175 acres of Crown land was reserved for UBC (UBC Library, 2022). UBC currently has several nice gardens on its Vancouver campus, such as the Nitobe Japanese Garden and the Rose Garden. The campus is also situated next to Pacific Spirit Regional Park, which has several nice paths. The main section of campus is centered around Main Mall which is a long grassy corridor broken up by walking paths with trees one each side.

Historically the Point Grey Peninsula and the Greater Vancouver area receives a lot of rain. However, climate change is affecting environments across the globe and Vancouver is no different.

To determine plant species connectivity, Landsat, PlanetScope, and UBC Campus and Community Planning data will be utilized in multiple connectivity analyses to evaluate overall vegetation connectivity, and more specific plant species connectivity. Species of interest will be grouped into individual classes from the tree data collected from UBC Campus and Community Planning. A buffer analysis will be conducted on each species in ArcGIS Pro to determine how close species are to one another. For each species, the buffers around each individual that overlap will be dissolved. In addition to species specific connectivity, an overall connectivity analysis will also be conducted using Landsat and PlanetScope data to calculate NDVI, which will be interpreted as overall vegetation connectivity.

The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is often used as a metric to evaluate overall greenness of a landscape (Muratet et al., 2013). Interpreting NDVI as overall greenness allows researchers to use satellite derived NDVI to evaluate landscape connectivity (Muratet et al., 2013). I will calculate NDVI from two true color composite images, one created from Landsat 8 data with a 30-meter spatial resolution, and one from PlanetScope data with a 3-meters spatial resolution. The 30-meters resolution image will act as a validation image for the finer spatial resolution (3-meter) image to make sure observations are similar between datasets. Multiple observations from different data sources will help support the validity of the findings of this study.

To evaluate shade connectivity, a buffer analysis will be applied to trees and buildings. A buffer is a specified distance from the edge of a feature, which makes it a good metric for shade, as shade originates from the edge of features on a landscape. Tree and buildings heights collected from UBC Campus and Community Planning will be used to approximate shade distribution around buildings and trees, represented by the buffer analysis. Overlapping buffers will be dissolved to highlight shade connectivity on campus.

Soil locations, such as fields and gardens, will be mapped out using data collected from UBC Campus and Community Planning. Soil features that touch will be dissolved together in ArcGIS Pro to highlight soil connectivity.

Overall tree connectivity on the UBC Vancouver Campus was worse (fewer and more spaced-out trees) where there was more built infrastructure and sports fields. Individual tree species connectivity varied, with some species having much worse connectivity than others. Overall vegetation connectivity was the highest (NDVI values above 0.5) to the southern and western portions of the UBC Vancouver campus. The northeast portion of campus had the lowest ecological connectivity, with NDVI values of 0 or less.

Planting tree species that will survive and be resilient in future climates is essential, however maintaining important endemic species that may be restricted in future climates is also important. Important ecological landscape features are threatened by anthropogenic land use, resulting in the reduction of connectivity and scattered trees (Henry et al., 2017). Connectivity is a key characteristic that maintains “linkages between fragmented habitat patches within landscapes” (Henry et al., 2017). Tree connectivity is important as it helps reduce fragmentation and habitat loss (Henry et al., 2017). The UBC Vancouver Campus is affected by anthropogenic use so mitigating environmental damage by this use is an important consideration of the University if it wants to combat fragmentation and habitat loss.

Many important endemic species on the UBC Vancouver campus are not very suitable for future climates. Important endemic species like western hemlock are “anticipated to be restricted to moist sites under [the] future climate” (metrovancouver, n.d.). Endemic species are important to preserve as they are part of the natural environment of the landscape and contribute to biodiversity. However, maintaining species that might not do so well in future climates can be tough, as it involves active intervention to maintain conditions favorable to that species. Species like rocky mountain white pine which are very suitable for future climates (metrovancouver, n.d.) might be a better species to plant and improve their connectivity as they will require less maintenance to survive in the future. Garry oak is an important endemic species that could do well in future climates (metrovancouver, n.d.), so it is a species that could be focused on, and its connectivity could be improved by planting more garry oak trees. Pacific yew is an important endemic species that may be somewhat suitable in future climates (metrovancouver, n.d.), however it already has very poor connectivity on campus. Improving this species connectivity could be done since it is suitable for future climates, but there are other species that are more suitable, so considering it already has low connectivity, it may be more economic to focus on another tree species. It depends on how serious UBC is about preserving endemic species, and how much money they are willing to spend to plant more trees and take care of those trees.

Maintaining and improving soil connectivity is of extreme importance, as healthy and productive soils facilitate a healthier landscape and environment. Healthy soils are vital for plant growth and animal life (Jansson et al., 2020). Disconnected soils create “resource islands” (Jansson et al., 2020). Improving soil connectivity on the UBC Vancouver campus could benefit plants and animals that reside on campus. There are many trees located in the northern part of campus where soil connectivity is very poor. Increasing soil connectivity in this section of campus could improve tree species health and biodiversity. Improving soil connectivity could results in more and healthier trees, which would then improve shade connectivity as healthier trees could grow larger. Soil connectivity is of vital importance then as it could influence the ecological and shade connectivity on campus. For this reason, it is important that UBC takes care of its soils and improves soil connectivity, especially in the northern part of campus. This is especially important as many species might struggle to survive in future climates, so improving soil connectivity and health could help many species survive and reduce the amount of maintenance some plant species may need to survive.

Shade connectivity is of importance to many species that thrive in shade, but also to human wellbeing in a changing environment. People living in urban environments “suffer from health problems and discomfort that are caused by overheating of urban areas, and there is compelling evidence that these problems will be exacerbated by global climate change” (Brown et al., 2015). Shade is an important contributor to thermal comfort (Brown et al., 2015). Vancouver is predicted to double “in the number of summer days above 25°C” by 2050 (metrovancouver et al., n.d.). As the climate changes, and environments get sunnier and warmer, shade becomes more important to provide not only comfort, but health benefits as well. For such reasons, it is important that UBC not only maintain in shade connectivity, but improve it. Improving shade connectivity on campus means students can more safely traverse campus on hot sunny days. The southern part of campus has the worst shade connectivity, but there are the most open sports fields in this part of campus so improving shade connectivity there may be difficult.

There were limitations when working with the data, as some of it was old and confirming the accuracy was difficult. Looking at satellite imagery it was evident that there were more trees on campus then what was identified in the tree point data. This impacted the tree and shade connectivity analysis as tree information was missing. Shade connectivity included tree shade, so there could have been higher shade connectivity in some areas of campus if more point data for trees on campus was available. Soil connectivity could only be assed at the surface level, as depth of soils was not known. Tree connectivity was only assessed based on point data available, so it is possible there are some errors with tree connectivity, especially considering not all of the trees on campus had point data.

Future research could look at soil health, not just soil connectivity. Soil health could be mapped out alongside soil connectivity to get a better understanding of how soil connectivity influences soil health on the UBC Vancouver campus. Tree health and age could also be analyzed to better inform UBC of how to better move forward regarding what trees to plant in the future and where, given the changing climate. The cost of maintaining trees that are less likely to survive in the future climate could also be compared to the cost of maintaining trees that will be more suitable given the future climate of campus. If maintaining certain endemic species is of major importance, then maybe just a certain section of campus be designated to have higher maintenance standards to help ensure endemic species that are less suitable for a new climate can still persist. This could also be a good educational tool, as visitors to campus in the future could then see what endemic species used to be located on campus, in comparison with other trees that are more suited for the new climate but are not necessarily endemic to the area. These suggestions could all be future research projects with the goal of creating a healthier and more sustainable landscape, while still preserving some of its history.

For a detailed list of suitable trees for the future climate of Vancouver please visit this  site . More information about UBC Vancouver's 2050 campus vision can be found  here .

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