Habitat suitability modeling of boreal biodiversity

The work described in this thesis aimed to determine the main environmental variables which predict the variation in plant diversity patterns in boreal landscapes (NE Finland) using existing and readily available environmental data sources and different habitat suitability modeling methods. Species distribution models were built using occurrence records of 28 threatened vascular plant species and 17 ecologically relevant environmental variables based primarily on generalized additive modeling (GAM). The results showed that the meso-scale distribution patterns of rare boreal vascular plants are strongly associated with favorable thermal and moisture conditions as well as with stressful, low temperatures.