Using iNaturalist Observations to evaluate the extrapolation of herbaceous critical load models

Critical loads are a useful policy instrument to assess risks to natural ecosystems from air pollution.  This presentation is an overview of a project led by the National Park Service to evaluate whether the existing datasets for deriving critical loads in the U.S. for herbaceous species (i.e., National Critical Loads Database [NCLD]; Simkin et al. 2016, Clark et al. 2019) may be augmented with the iNaturalist dataset.  They compare the environmental conditions in the NCLD datasets with the iNaturalist for 12 species, and found that the environmental conditions in the iNaturalist dataset is generally broader.  This indicates that they could be a useful dataset for augmenting the NCLD, suggesting areas for advancing the critical loads for herbaceous species in the U.S.

Impact/Purpose

Atmospheric deposition of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) remain stressors to natural ecosystems.  This presentation is an evaluation of whether the iNaturalist dataset (https://www.inaturalist.org/), a citizen science resource, could be used to augment the datasets used for critical loads of N and S for herbaceous species in the National Critical Load Database (NCLD).  The initial assessment is promising, suggesting that the iNaturalist dataset spans a broader set of environmental conditions than is represented in the NCLD, indicating that it could be a promising candidate for expanding information on critical loads of herbaceous species in the U.S.  This information is relevant to natural resource managers at the state and federal levels across the U.S.

Citation

Censky, E., M. Bell, E. Felker-Quinn, AND C. Clark. Using iNaturalist Observations to evaluate the extrapolation of herbaceous critical load models. To be presented at Fall 2024 Science Symposium for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP), Duluth, MN, November 04 - 08, 2024.