Marxan Analyses and Prioritization of the Central Interior Ecoregional Assessment

Abstract

Terrestrial and freshwater priority areas for conservation were identified using Marxan software as part of the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Central Interior Ecoregional Assessment. Several different scenarios were examined for both the freshwater and terrestrial analyses. Various cost scenarios were tested, along with other Marxan settings such as boundary length modifier and species penalty factor. Climate change scenarios were also developed and compared with a base “NCC” scenario that was used to create the final conservation portfolios. The final output was a set of freshwater and terrestrial priority conservation areas. These areas will be used to guide future conservation activities.