Streamlining counterfactual ecosystem restoration and conservation impact evaluation in R with the spatialBACI package.

Abstract

Before-after-control-impact (BACI) assessments are crucial in determining effectiveness of ecosystem conservation and restoration actions. This type of analysis can strongly benefit from earth observation and other geospatial datasets. The R package spatialBACI provides functionalities to streamline use of spatial datasets in some of the main steps of BACI assessment for ecosystem conservation: defining impact and control units, matching impact and control units and impact assessment. We demonstrate the utility of the package for a restoration site.