PhenoMap: Providing weekly vegetation development monitoring for effective management

Webinar recording.

Satellite data can provide weekly updates of phenology (NDVI, a measure of “greenness”) at a resolution of 15 acres. The PhenoMap web map was created to place these greenness images in an interactive format for managers to view local and regional changes in phenology. PhenoMap also helps to place current values of greenness in a historical context so managers can understand how this week’s value compares to previous year greenness values for the same week. In order to see how well the satellite data was capturing “green-up” and “brown-down”, satellite data was compared to cameras capturing changes in phenology in the various vegetation types of the western United States. Additional effort has also been made to compare the satellite data to grass development using rangelands in western South Dakota as a model grassland system. We will introduce the PhenoMap tool and share results from these validation efforts.