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Edit on GitHubEnvironmental variables
Environmental variables, also known as environmental data, explanatory variables, bioclimatic data or covariates are anything that can be summarized by a raster (gridded dataset). These variables are used to characterize the niche of a species. The data can be either continuous or categorical (i.e. data expressed as vectors), direct measurements or derived products, static or dynamic or terrestrial, aquatic or atmospheric.
The tables below give examples of how these data can be classified.
| Continuous | Categorical |
|---|---|
Elevation, bathymetry |
Geology, Ecosystem |
| Direct Measurement | Derived Product |
|---|---|
Remotely sensed data (raw), weather station data |
climatology data, GCMs, derived remotely sensed data |
| Static | Dynamic |
|---|---|
Altitude, bathymetry, slope, aspect, soil charecteristics |
temperature, precipitation, sea surface height |
| Terrestrial | Aquatic | Freshwater | Atmospheric |
|---|---|---|---|
Climate, terrain, vegetation/land cover, soil |
Sea surface temperature, bathymetry, pH, salinity |
Flow rates, accumulation, temperature |
Wind (UV), radiation |