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Terrestrial Species Richness by County: Distribution of terrestrial species richness at the county scale throughout the Appalachian LCC region.

Terrestrial Species Richness: Distribution of terrestrial species richness in 20 kilometer grids throughout the Appalachian LCC region.

Aquatic Species Richness by County: Distribution of aquatic species at the county scale throughout the Appalachian LCC region.

Aquatic Species Richness: Distribution of aquatic species richness by 20 kilometers grids throughout the Appalachian LCC region. At this scale, the hotspots of aquatic species richness are in southern Indiana (the Mitchell Plain) and central Kentucky (Mammoth Cave).

NatureServe Regions and Karst: Three basic regions are identified by NatureServe; Interior Low Plateaus,Central Appalachians, and Cumberland Southern Blue Ridge. These ares are displayed along with karst resources within the Appalachian LCC region.

Single County Endemic Species: Number of endemic species at the county level throughout the Appalachian LCC region.

Single Grid Cell Endemics: Many aquatic and terrestrial species are geographically rare, often found in a single cave. This map dis[;ays the geographic distribution of endemics scattered throughout the Appalachian LCC region.

Stygobiont and Troglobiont Endemics by Cave: Total number of stygobiont and troglobiont endemic species within a cave.

Carbonate/Non-carbonate Contact Linear Sum: Cumulative lengths of contacts between karst and non-karst, measuring both patchiness of available habitat and perhaps dispersal corridors if cave passages are differentially developed along these contacts. This information can be used to predict presence/absence of particular ecological groups in caves.

Cave Species Richness Hotspots: Caves with the most aquatic and terrestrial species. The number of species is highly dependent on sampling intensity, including the number of sampling trips.

Percentage of Karst Area within Grid Cell: Each cell represents the percent of karst within a 20 x 20 kilometer grid cell, a measure of habitat quantity. This attribute can be used to predict presence/absence of particular ecological groups in caves.

Terrestrial Records: The karst map provides the basic template for analyzing the distribution of cave species. Almost without exception, all caves occur within the karst areas. There were a few records of cave-dwelling species from outside karst areas (mostly springs) but the data was trimmed to fit within the karst areas, with a 1 km buffer to allow for errors in georeferencing). This map displays the aquatic records within karst areas in the Appalachian region.

Aquatic Records: The karst map provides the basic template for analyzing the distribution of cave species. Almost without exception, all caves occur within the karst areas. There were a few records of cave-dwelling species from outside karst areas (mostly springs) but the data was trimmed to fit within the karst areas, with a 1 km buffer to allow for errors in georeferencing). This map displays the aquatic records within karst areas in the Appalachian region.

Study Area Carbonate Bedrock Exposure Map: This map depicts the carbonate bedrock exposure within the study area.

Cave Count per 20km Grid Cell: Total number of caves within a 20 kilometer grid cell. Each cell represents a range of caves found within that area.

Probability of Presence by Species Group: Prediction maps for each of the nine groups. These are potentially important both to predict areas where to find particular groups and to determine regions of overall high habitat quality where species richness is expected to be high.

Land Use and Potential Risk Maps: This folder contains maps of land use and potential risk.

Study Overview Maps and Foundational Datasets: Overview maps for the Classification and Mapping of Cave and Karst Resources within the Appalachian region.

Bat Summary for Appalachian LCC Cave/Karst Study: This document contains a list of the bat species that regularly use caves and mines in the Appalachian LCC region, federal status of these species, and sources of bat data.

Guidelines for Using the NatureServe Climate Change Vulnerability Index: Motivated by the need to rapidly assess the vulnerability of species to climate change, NatureServe developed a Climate Change Vulnerability Index. The Index uses a scoring system that integrates a species’ predicted exposure to climate change within an area and three sets of factors associated with climate change sensitivity, each supported by published studies: 1) indirect exposure to climate change, 2) species-specific sensitivity and adaptive capacity factors and 3) documented response to climate change. Our primary goal for the Index is to provide valuable input for key planning documents, such as revisions of state wildlife action plans, to allow consideration of climate change impacts together with other stressors. We also hope this tool will help land managers develop and prioritize strategies for climate change adaptation that lead to actions that increase the resilience of species to climate change.