Predicting survival in new environments through analytical GIS application

Predicted climate change is expected to impact many biological populations independently of their current equilibrium-level community affiliations. A model is presented that uses environmental response surface, dispersal potential, plant longevity, and climate change vectors to predict the survival of various plant species populations with differing terrain types. These types include actual Geographical Information System (GIS) cases from southern Africa with multiple levels of landscape permeability and discontinuity. Examples include terrain slope configurations that satisfy survival requirements of different plant populations with expected climate change.