An information system for local ecosystem planning and management

The thesis proposes a conceptual framework and prototype of an information system for local ecosystem planning and management that adopts a broad perspective on biodiversity and ecosystem planning and management and that adopts a communicative approach to data and information management in this domain. In contrast, existing attempts at applying information technology to issues surrounding biodiversity and ecosystem management (1) focus mainly on issues at international, national or state levels, (2) adopt relatively narrow perspective on biodiversity and ecosystem planning and management, and/or (3) generally adopt analytical or procedural approaches. Requirements for the proposed information system were derived using a previously untried approach for information system design--domain-analysis. The domain of application was defined broadly through reviews of the literature in five areas: the application of information technology for planning in general and for biodiversity conservation and assessment in particular; issues relating to biodiversity data and information; issues relating to ecosystem planning and management principles; and issues associated with local ecosystem planning and management practice in southern Ontario. Defining the domain broadly ensures that the information system design is considerate of (1) the multi-dimensional and multi-scalar nature of biodiversity and ecosystem planning and management and (2) the various processes of local ecosystem planning and management that utilize and create data and information.; The information system prototype developed from this research adopts a communicative approach based on a hypermap model in which data and information in various formats (categoric, text, images, video, or sound) are accessible for browsing by users through links with conceptually relevant spatial objects on electronic map images. The data and information associated with the spatial objects can be stored in local or remote databases. The information system is highly flexible in allowing multiple forms of biodiversity to be recorded, stored and retrieved in an electronic environment. Data and information associated with the various processes of local ecosystem planning and management can likewise be accommodated in the information system prototype. The information system also includes a species database that allows the retrieval of species records based on (1) area; (2) any level of the organisms' taxonomic hierarchies; or (3) ecological characteristics of the organisms. Finally, the information system includes a demonstration module for generating a list of bird species likely to inhabit an area based on a species occurrence model developed from this research that utilizes existing coarse-scaled records and a suite of ecological characteristics of the site. The proposed conceptual framework and prototype are intended to guide the development of a full information system implementation that complements and becomes integrated with other information systems being developed for the broad domain of biodiversity conservation and ecosystem planning and management.