Soil-Related Predictors for Distribution Modelling of Four European Crayfish Species

One of the most critical challenges in species distribution modelling is testing and validating various digitally derived environmental predictors (e.g., remote-sensing variables, topographic variables) by field data. Therefore, here we aimed to explore the value of soil properties in the spatial di...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water (Basel) 2021-08, Vol.13 (16), p.2280
Main Authors: Dornik, Andrei, Ion, Mihaela Constanța, Chețan, Marinela Adriana, Pârvulescu, Lucian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accuracy
Astacus astacus
Clay
Cohesive soils
Crayfish
Floods
Fragments
Geographical distribution
Indigenous species
Pontastacus leptodactylus
River banks
Soil density
Soil erosion
Soil properties
Spatial distribution
Topography
Variables
Water shortages
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Summary:One of the most critical challenges in species distribution modelling is testing and validating various digitally derived environmental predictors (e.g., remote-sensing variables, topographic variables) by field data. Therefore, here we aimed to explore the value of soil properties in the spatial distribution of four European indigenous crayfish species. A database with 473 presence and absence locations in Romania for Austropotamobius bihariensis, A. torrentium, Astacus astacus and Pontastacus leptodactylus was used in relation to eight digitalised soil properties. Using random forest modelling, we found a preference for dense soils with lower coarse fragments content together with deeper sediment cover and higher clay values for A. astacus and P. leptodactylus. These descriptors trigger the need for cohesive soil river banks as the microenvironment for building their burrows. Conversely, species that can use banks with higher coarse fragments content, the highland species A. bihariensis and A. torrentium, prefer soils with slightly thinner sediment cover and lower density while not influenced by clay/sand content. Of all species, A. astacus was found related with higher erosive soils. The value of these soil-related digital descriptors may reside in the improvement of approaches in crayfish species distribution modelling to gain adequate conservation measures.
ISSN:2073-4441
2073-4441
DOI:10.3390/w13162280