Near-real-time cheatgrass percent cover in the northern Great Basin, USA–2016

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This dataset provides an estimate of 2016 cheatgrass percent cover in the northern Great Basin at 250 meter spatial resolution. The information is designed to provide a near-real-time estimate of cheatgrass in the northern Great Basin for 2016 to optimize land management efforts to control cheatgrass, preserve critical greater sage-grouse habitat, and inform fire control and prevention. Timely maps of dynamic cheatgrass percent cover are needed in early summer for these purposes. Research shows that cheatgrass percent cover is spatially and temporally highly variable in arid and semiarid environments because cheatgrass germination and growth is highly sensitive to annual weather, especially precipitation totals and timing. Precipitation totals and timing are also spatially and temporally highly variable in these environments; therefore, this dataset is only representative of cheatgrass percent cover during 2016 and does not represent any other time period.