Native Habitat Inventory Final Report 2004 - St. Lucie County

• Percent of Edge to Core
• Ecological Score by Natural Community
• Key Features
• Importance to the County Ecological Integrity
• Connectivity to Other Natural Areas
• Proximity to Non-Natural Features
• Hydrology
• Natural Community Rankings
• Site History/Habitat Disturbance
• List of Rare Plants and/or Animals Observed
• List of Invasive Exotic Species Observed
• Ownership Information
• Notes
• Recommendations/Management Requirements
• Natural Community Map
• Rare Species Map
• Invasive Exotic Species Map
For sites where ground access was not possible (sites 4, 9, 43, and 44) a helicopter survey
of the site was conducted by St. Lucie County staff.
Field Data Management and Analysis
This data was downloaded from the field laptop to a desktop computer and reviewed for
accuracy, consistency, and errors. The data was then analyzed in ArcGIS 8.x to generate
the overall ecological values and the maps.
Each site was ranked as an A, B, or C site based on its overall ecological value. The
maximum possible value was 1.0. The higher the value the higher the ecological quality
of the site. Those sites scoring above 0.5 were considered potential A sites.
The Overall Ecological Value is the sum of the rarity, connectivity, and completeness
scores weighted by area, then indexed by area, and finally compared to the total possible
value. Table 12 below demonstrates how these calculations were done. In this example
the site has on overall ecological value of 0.54.
45