Vulnerability of Riparian Habitat to Land Uses in the Green River Basin

For the Green River Basin Landscape Conservation Design (GRB LCD) assessment, we mapped the vulnerability of riparian habitat for terrestrial species and process. Using a vulnerability framework, we defined Sensitivity (S) as the percent riparian vegetation within the valley bottom and Exposure (E) as the amount of human modification within the valley bottom. For each 12-digit hydrologic unit code within the GRB LCD we summarized the riparian sensitivity and exposure to human modification. We also computed Potential Impact (PI), and Adaptive Capacity (AC) metrics at the HUC12 level. PI is the square root transformed product of human modification exposure and riparian sensitivity. AC for riparian exposure to human modification was quantified using the mean human modification score across hierarchical hydrologic units (HUC12 to HUC4). Finally, we combined Potential Impact and Adaptive Capacity into an overall vulnerability rank.