Ecosystem Survey
Field data employed in our case study (Figure 1A) were obtained from ecosystem surveys of 1004 plots across Cape Breton (10,311 square kilometers), Nova Scotia, Canada (see general overview of ecosystem survey methods in section S2). Ecosystem survey protocols incorporate different methods for biotic and abiotic variables. These methods may also be applied across multiple spatial extents and grains. Survey methods have a strong influence on the properties and structure of resulting data, with implications for how these data are used in modelling spatial ecosystem patterns. These implications are discussed below in our overview of ESPM training and predictor data.