An assessment of a GIS-based habitat suitability index model for Canada lynx in west-central Alberta

Forest management issues are ecologically, socially, and economically diverse and complex. The uncertainty surrounding the effects of management decisions on future forest conditions is equally diverse and complex due to the lack of understanding and unpredictability of forest ecosystem structure and events. Often, conceptual models are used for the dynamic simulation of ecosystems to build on existing knowledge of biological complexities. To minimize the effects of forest practices on wildlife, Millar Western Forest Products, a forest company in Whitecourt, Alberta, selected a set of vertebrate species residing in their management area for study to determine how alternative forest management strategies affect specific wildlife habitat characteristics. For each of these species, background information was compiled to create 17 Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) models. A GIS-based HSI model was written for the Canada lynx specific to Millar Western's management area.; The purpose of the thesis research presented herein was to assess the validity of the lynx model through a specially designed sensitivity analysis and two winter lynx tracking field studies. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...