Multi-Layer Cost Surface Generator

Multi-Layer Cost Surface Generator

By Marco Birkedahl Jørgensen

A QGIS plugin for generating cost surfaces combining DEM slope analysis and land cover resistance for circuit theory and connectivity analysis.

Goals

• Provide robust, configurable cost surface generation for ecological and archaeological connectivity studies.
• Allow users to combine DEM-derived slope resistance and categorical land-cover resistance in weighted layers.
• Produce outputs compatible with Circuitscape, Omniscape and other connectivity tools.
• Offer reproducible settings and calibration options for slope→resistance conversions.

Key Features

• DEM Slope Analysis with multiple slope→resistance methods (exponential, linear, biometric, anisotropic, threshold).
• Land cover resistance mapping with automatic category detection and CSV import/export.
• Temporary file control for processing large rasters.
• Export to ASCII raster (.asc) for downstream circuit-theory tools.
• Progress reporting and user-friendly UI in QGIS.

Usage Notes

The plugin expects a DEM and a categorical land-cover raster loaded in QGIS. Use the "Analyze Land Cover Values" button to populate categories, set resistance values (0-1), choose slope weight and method, and generate the combined cost surface.

Technical & Development

Author: Marco Birkedahl Jørgensen

Repository and issue tracker: GitHub

Download / Install

Manual installation instructions and a ZIP install option are available in the plugin README on the GitHub repository. Outputs are ASCII rasters compatible with most circuit analysis tools.