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.