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    Part 5D. Global Ecosystems

    Getting Started with VNS 3: Fields & Forest
    Getting Started with VNS 3: Fields & Forest

    Part 5D. Global Ecosystems

    1. We’re going to create a simplified global Environment with 2 Ecosystems; Grassland for the canyon floor and Pine Burn for everywhere else. The Pine Burn Ecosystem will include young lodgepole pine and bleached snags, regrowth after fires that swept through the area.

    2. If you haven’t done so already, go to the Window menu and Close All windows to clear our workspace. Go to the Land Cover Task mode. Select the Ecosystem category and Add Component from Gallery.

    A screenshot of a software interface showing a right-click context menu, with the "Add Component from Gallery" option highlighted in the "Environment" category under "Main.

    3. Load the Grassland Ecosystem.

    A computer screen displaying various landscape thumbnail images, including options like "Concrete Sand," "Conifer Landscape," "Corn Field," and "Grassland," among others.

    4. It doesn’t matter how you answer the scaling question; we’ll be changing the Elevation Line anyway.

    Dialog box titled "Load Ecosystem" with query, "Do you wish the loaded Ecosystem's elevation line to be scaled to current DEM elevations?" and options "Yes" and "No." A cursor hovers over "No.

    5. Expand the Ecosystems and Environments categories and add the Grassland Ecosystem to the YNP Environment. Confirm the operation and save the project.

    A computer screen displaying a hierarchical menu of options including Color Maps, Ecosystems, Environments, Foliage Effects, Ground Effects, and Image Objects. The cursor is hovering over "YNP Environment.

    6. Go to the Ecosystem Editor Rules page to see where Grassland will render. Just about everywhere, it seems. The upper Elevation Line is 10 kilometers and the slope range is 0-90°.

    A software interface titled "Ecosystem Editor - Grassland" with tabs and various settings for elevation and slope. The "Rules" tab is open, showing vertical and lateral limits adjustments.

    7. Turn to the Material page. There’s only one Material, Grassland, with a Diffuse Color texture and Understory.

    Screenshot of the Ecosystem Editor - Grassland interface showing settings for material gradient, selected material including diffuse color, strata, overstory, and understory with adjustable intensity levels.

    8. The Foliage page shows the Grassland Ecotype properties.

    Screenshot of the Ecosystem Editor window showing settings for grassland. The left pane lists plant categories, while the right pane displays various options and parameters for editing the ecosystem.

    9. The Ecotype has Foliage Objects that will slow rendering, so select the Understory category and disable it for now.

    A screenshot of an Ecosystem Editor software window displaying various settings for "Grassland" and "Understory (Grassland)" with options like "Render Occluded Objects" and "Dissolve Enabled.

    10. Go back to the Rules page. With the Diagnostic Data tab visible, click and drag around the valley floor margin in the YNP Main view. The elevation is about 2060 meters. To include higher valley elevations up the canyon, enter 2200 meters into the Elevation Line field. This will restrict the Grassland Ecosystem to elevations below 2200 meters.

    A software interface window titled "Ecosystem Editor - Grassland" displaying various input fields and settings for adjusting vertical and lateral elevation limits.

    11. Save the project and render a preview. You can see the upper limit of the Grassland Ecosystem on the far cliffs.

    A computer model depicting a vast, green landscape with rolling hills, and a rocky, elevated horizon under a clear blue sky. The model interface includes various control icons at the top of the screen.

    12. With the Ground Effect, we used a Material Gradient slope range of 18-27° to transition from Flat to Steep Materials. Enter a Maximum Slope of 27° to achieve a similar effect with the Grassland Ecosystem. This will soften the elevation transition and restrict the Grassland to gentler slopes beneath the Elevation Line.

    Screenshot of the Ecosystem Editor interface in a software application, specifically the Grassland tab. Various settings like Elevation Line, Elevation Skew, and Slope are displayed with numerical values and input fields.

    13. Save the project and render a preview. If you haven’t done so already, visit the Interactive Reference Manual and read more about how the Rules-of-Nature can be used to control Ecosystem rendering and mimic nature.

    A computer-generated landscape featuring grass-covered terrain with distant rocky ridges under a clear blue sky.
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