Extraction and Analysis of Baseline Data for Protected Area Management Using Geographic Information Systems, Remote Sensing and Ecological Niche Modeling Case Study: Armando Bermúdez National Park in the Cordillera Central of the Dominican Republic Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultäten der Georg-August-Universität zu Göttingen vorgelegt von Beatrice Yvonne Bachmann aus Cochem Göttingen 2011 ii D 7 Referent: Herr Prof. Dr. Martin Kappas Korreferent: Herr Prof. Dr. Oliver Tackenberg Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 10.11.2011 iii To My Parents iv Acknowledgements This PhD thesis would not have been possible without the help and encouragement of several people who accompanied, advised and supported me and to whom I owe my deepest thanks. First of all I want to thank the supervisor of the study, Professor Dr. Martin Kappas, Director of the Department of Cartography, GIS and Remote Sensing of the Georg-August-University of Göttingen. Prof. Dr. Martin Kappas encouraged me to carry out this PhD thesis in the Dominican Republic. His professional expertise and constructive comments helped considerably to improve the applied methodologies and the scientific content. Special thanks I also owe to Professor Dr. Oliver Tackenberg of the Institute of Ecology, Evolu- tion and Diversity of the Goethe-University of Frankfurt. He is the co-supervisor of the study. Thanks for being always open for discussions and for the valuable suggestions about field sam- pling and analysis methods of the botanical data. Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Wittig, Head of the Department of Ecology and Geobotany, and Dr. Karen Hahn, both of the Institute of Ecology, Evolution and Diversity of the Goethe-University of Frankfurt supported me best so that I could finish this study. Thank you very, very much! I am also very grateful to Dr. Markus Bernhardt-Römermann and Dipl. Geogr. Peter Spehs for sug- gestions and occasional technical support. In the Dominican Republic, Lic. Mario Fernández and Mr. Simón Cornielle accompanied me on several field trips. Reliable supporters were also the administrators and the supervisor of Arman- do Bermúdez National Park, Lic. Leonardo Liriano, Lic. Alex Corona and Mr. Victor Serrata who solved logistic problems before going to the field. During the field trips I was accompanied by the park rangers and guides Mr. Germán de Jesús Radhames, Mr. Dolores Baez, Mr. Jesús Peralta and Mr. Cirilo Rosario. Thank you very much for leading us safely on the most hidden trails in the national park and for preparing the nicest meals in one cooking pot in the middle of nowhere! Lic. Teodoro Clase and Lic. Rosa Rodríguez of the Botanical Garden of Santo Domingo assisted me with the botanical field work. Lic. Brigido Peguero, Dr. Thomas May and Dr. Omar Perdomo were infinite sources of information about the Dominican flora. Katharina and Tanja helped with proof-reading of the thesis script. Thank you very much to all of you! I am grateful to my sister Tanja and her family and to Rafael for all their support. Lucas and Sa- rah deserve special thanks for their patience and for reminding me that playing is also important in life. The greatest thanks I owe to my parents who I can always rely on and who supported me the best way possible during the time of the study. Faid, September 2011 Yvonne Bachmann v Table of contents Page Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................ v List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. viii List of Tables ...................................................................................................................................... ix List of Photos ...................................................................................................................................... x Appendix ............................................................................................................................................. x List of Abbreviations .......................................................................................................................... xi I. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 I.1 General introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 I.2 This thesis .......................................................................................................................... 4 I.3 Outline ............................................................................................................................... 5 II. The study area: Armando Bermúdez National Park ............................................................. 6 II.1 Geographic location .......................................................................................................... 6 II.2 History of protection ......................................................................................................... 7 II.3 Relevant physical geographic aspects ............................................................................... 9 II.3.1 Geology, soils and hydrology ............................................................................... 9 II.3.2 Climate ............................................................................................................... 12 II.3.3 Vegetation........................................................................................................... 14 II.3.4 Fauna .................................................................................................................. 18 II.4 Human impacts on the natural resources ........................................................................... 19 II.5 Actual management and information needs ....................................................................... 23 III. Land cover and land use mapping on the basis of color aerial photograph interpretation ........................................................................................................................... 24 III.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 24 III.2 Material and methods ...................................................................................................... 26 III.2.1 Digital photogrammetry – Terminology and workflow ..................................... 26 III.2.2 Aerial photographs used in this study and pre-processing ................................. 27 III.2.3 Photogrammetrical steps of orthophoto and mosaic generation ......................... 28 III.2.4 Interpretation of land cover/land use and accuracy assessment ......................... 34 III.3 Results ............................................................................................................................. 38 III.3.1 Generation of orthophotos and mosaic ............................................................... 38 III.3.2 Land cover/land use and accuracy assessment ................................................... 47 vi III.4 Discussion of results ........................................................................................................ 57 III.4.1 Digital photogrammetry – orthophotos and mosaic ........................................... 57 III.4.2 Photointerpretation ............................................................................................. 58 III.4.3 Implications for management and further use of the results ............................... 62 III.5 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 63 IV. Explaining and predicting the distribution of the mountain forest types........................... 67 IV.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 67 IV.2 Material and methods ...................................................................................................... 68 IV.2.1 Vegetation sampling ........................................................................................... 68 IV.2.2 Environmental factors ........................................................................................ 69 IV.2.3 Analysis of the data ............................................................................................ 72 IV.2.3.1 Statistical analysis of floristic and ecological data ............................. 73 IV.2.3.2 Ecological niche modeling for predictive forest type mapping .......... 74 IV.3 Results ............................................................................................................................. 77 IV.3.1 Mountain forest types and environmental gradients ........................................... 77 IV.3.2 Characteristic species and vegetation cover ....................................................... 79 IV.3.3 Forest type prediction ......................................................................................... 83 IV.4 Discussion of results .......................................................................................................