Landscape Analysis

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Use of science and modeling by practitioners in landscape-scale management decisions

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This study surveyed Forest Service resource managers in the western United States to address this knowledge gap. Respondents engaged most frequently with science via reading research publications; direct engagement with scientists was less common. There was widespread agreement that science was a useful input to decisionmaking. Managers believed more weight should be placed on science in decisionmaking in cases of low public consensus than in cases of high public consensus. Managers with the most frequent engagement with science generally held more positive views towards science and its role in decisionmaking.

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What’s new in LANDFIRE: Remap

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This webinar seeks to inform participants about what to expect from LANDFIRE Remap products, and what has and has not changed from previous product offerings. We will discuss what we have learned since February 2019 when the products were made available to users in the Northwest, and how LANDFIRE resources can address specific fire and land management issues.

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Comparison of Landsat and phenocams in the Great Basin

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The agreement between Landsat and phenocam Normalized Difference Vegetation Index for short-statured plant communities of the Great Basin, shows promise for monitoring landscape and regional-level plant phenology across large areas and time periods, with phenocams providing a more comprehensive understanding of plant phenology at finer spatial scales, and Landsat extending the historical record of observations.

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Conservation Efforts Database: Single-Record Entry and the Interactive Map

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Join the webinar that walks through processes to register for a Conservation Efforts Database User Profile and how we enter information using the ‘single-record’ entry option. Lastly, we’ll touch on the role of ‘approving officials’, how to select them within your agency or organization, and the associated responsibilities.

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Conservation Efforts Database: Batch uploading and approving

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In this webinar, the Conservation Efforts Database Team guides you through the process to populate the Batch Upload Template with information from existing databases/datasets. We’ll also discuss ‘Approving Officials’, their role, and how to select one for your agency or organization.

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Planning and implementing cross-boundary, landscape-scale restoration and wildfire risk reduction

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This guide describes the process the Klamath-Lake Forest Partnership (KLFHP) has used to plan and implement cross-boundary restoration projects to achieve improved forest health conditions on large landscapes scales. It is intended as a model other individuals and communities can modify to meet the needs of their local circumstances.

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Conservation Efforts Database

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The spatially explicit, web-based Conservation Efforts Database is capable of (1) allowing multiple-users to enter data from different locations, (2) uploading and storing documents, (3) linking conservation actions to one or more threats (one-to-many relationships), (4) reporting functions that would allow summaries of the conservation actions at multiple scales (e.g., management zones, populations, or priority areas for conservation), and (5) accounting for actions at multiple scales from small easements to statewide planning efforts.

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An introduction and practical guide to use of the Soil-Vegetation Inventory Method (SVIM) Data

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Long-term vegetation dynamics across public rangelands in the western United States are not well understood because of the lack of large-scale, readily available historic datasets. The Bureau of Land Management’s Soil-Vegetation Inventory Method (SVIM) program was implemented between 1977 and 1983 across 14 western states, but the data have not been easily accessible. This guide introduces the SVIM vegetation cover dataset in a georeferenced, digital format; summarizes how the data were collected; and discuss potential limitations and biases. It demonstrates how SVIM data can be compared with contemporary monitoring datasets to quantify changes in vegetation associated with wildfire and the abundance of exotic invasive species. Specifically, it compares SVIM vegetation cover data with cover data collected by BLM’s Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) program (2011–2016) in a focal area in the northern Great Basin. Comparisons between historic SVIM data and recent AIM data documented significant declines in the occupancy and cover of native shrubs and native perennial forbs, and a significant increase in exotic annual forbs. Our study demonstrates that SVIM data will be an important resource for researchers interested in quantifying vegetation change through time across public rangelands in the western United States.

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A strategy for defining the reference for land health and degradation assessments

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This paper (1) provides a review of conditions under which historic reference information is and is not required to meet management and policy objectives, (2) summarizes current approaches to defining the reference for land health and degradation assessments, and (3) presents a protocol, “Describing Indicators of Rangeland Health” (DIRH) for collecting and organizing data that can be used to define a historic reference. This protocol builds on the framework and indicators presented in the “Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health” (IIRH). IIRH uses a combination of scientific and local knowledge to generate soil- and climate-specific assessments of three attributes of land health. It is used in a number of countries. In the United States, data are aggregated over 30,000 locations to provide national assessments.

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Rangeland Analysis Platform

Access RAP App.

The Rangeland Analysis Platform (RAP) is an innovative online mapping tool that can be used by anyone—no fees or registration required. The tool provides quick snapshots of rangeland vegetation. It allows users to easily compare trends in rangeland resources through time at a ranch, county, or watershed scale.

The RAP includes a data layer of annual herbaceous cover across rangelands of the sagebrush biome.

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