ECOBRIDGE An expert system for spatial downscaling of land use/land cover change scenario outputs

Present day mapping captures fine land cover/land use (LC/LU) details, but future/alterative LC/LU scenarios are typically constructed at coarser spatial resolution, hindering comparisons. ECOBRIDGE (Ecology and Biodiversity Integrated Downscale Generation) is an open, knowledge-based ArcGIS Pro workflow, to produce high-resolution LC/LU maps from coarser sources. ECOBRIDGE draws on specialist knowledge to parse a low-resolution baseline and scenario, a higher-resolution baseline and information defining LC/LU change, to generate high-resolution spatial data for the scenario. These outputs are produced in the form of two datasets: as a raw pixel map and as an intelligent mapping layout which considers the structure of the landscape. The datasets created by ECOBRIDGE can contribute to more detailed analysis, bridging the gap between low-resolution datasets and more precise high-resolution information.