Estimating optimal spatial resolution for biodiversity studies: case study of the Ebro region
Studies on the spatial distribution of biodiversity require high-quality data and an appropriate spatial resolution. Reducing the spatial scale increases complexity and demands reliable data to capture environmental variability. Here, we define and optimize a pipeline based on the species-area relationship to determine the optimal resolution for biodiversity analysis. Using plant occurrence data for the Ebro Region (55,561 km²), we generated 167 alternative grids, ranging from polygons of 1 km² to a polygon that contains the total area of the region. Using piecewise regression identifies the threshold at which the area-to-richness slope starts to level off. From this threshold, we selected 5 optimal resolutions (~1,111 km²) that balance spatial detail and data reliability. This approach provides a robust framework for determining spatial resolutions that enhance biodiversity studies, ensuring an optimal trade-off between detail and record availability in the study region.
Keywords: spatial resolution biodiversity Ebro region geospatial analysis Spain