Machine Learning Applications in Habitat Suitability Modeling

Environmental sciences comprise the scientific disciplines, or parts of them, that consider the physical, chemical and biological aspects of the environment (Allaby 1996). Environmental sciences are possibly the largest grouping of sciences, drawing heavily on life sciences and earth sciences, both of which are relatively large groupings themselves. Life sciences deal with living organisms and include (among others) agriculture, biology, biophysics, biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, medicine, taxonomy and zoology. Earth sciences deal with the physical and chemical aspects of the solid Earth, its waters and the air that envelops it. Included are the geologic, hydrologic, and atmospheric sciences. The latter are concerned with the structure and dynamics of Earth's atmosphere and include meteorology and climatology.

The field of environmental science is very interdisciplinary. It exists most obviously as a body of knowledge on its own right when a team of specialists assembles to address a particular issue (Allaby 1996). For instance, a comprehensive study of a particular stretch of a river would involve determining the geological composition of the riverbed (geology), determining the chemical and physical properties of the water (chemistry, physics), as well as sampling and recording the species living in and near the water (biology). Environmental sciences are highly relevant to environmental management, which is concerned with directing human activities that affect the environment.