# Presentation: 299734

## Managing Western Rangelands with GIS and Remote Sensing

- Keith T. Weber
- GIS Director
- Idaho State University

## Research Team

- Sudhanshu Panda, Nancy Glenn, Matthew Germino, Scott Hughes, and Richard Inouye (ISU)
- Steven Seefeldt and Bret Taylor (USSES)
- Numerous grad students

## Acknowledgements

- NASA
- USDA ARS- USSES
- USDI BLM

## What are Rangelands?

- Typically semi-arid (brittle)
- Grass and shrub dominated
- Not cultivated, irrigated, or fertilized
- Occupies 44% of Idaho

## Our Study Area

## A Brief History...

- Land cover change study
- Explore the primary agents of change
- Weeds
- Fire
- Urbanization

## Issues

- Invasive weeds
- Wildfires
- Desertification

**Notes:**
Public outreach activities
Concern	Number of People submitting concern		
Noxious Weeds / Weed Control	5		
Species Composition	1		
Livestock Management / Grazing	6		
Administrative concerns	2		
Sustainability	4		
Soil erosion			
Lacking measurment techniques			
Diminishing of water table	3		
Continued use of fire as a control  means	1		
Govt/Institutions lack of understanding/support of	7		
Savory's work	4		
Changing climatic regime			
General lack of understanding/education	6		
Working with others	3		
Rancher profitability	2		
Urban Development	2		
Generation gap	1		

## Our Role to Managers

- Decision support tools
- Predictive models
- Public outreach to decision makers
- Increase understanding

**Notes:**
Increase our understanding of the problems and issues...plus increase end-user understanding of the technology and how to implement it...what to expect.
Get it out of the black box.

## Issue #1- Target Weed Species

- Cheatgrass
- Interesting species
- Brief life history
- Leafy Spurge

## Current results

- Cheatgrass is difficult to detect reliably
- Detection threshold
- Patchy target
- Similar to non-target features
- We have used Landsat, SPOT, and Quickbird imagery.

**Notes:**
Why cheatgrass difficult?
In rangeland within our study area (SE Idaho) cheatgrass is very common.  However, within a given area it rarely exceeds 36% cover.  Frequently it is found at about 10-15%.   This means the majority of the area (pixel) is occupied by non-target features.
Cheatgrass’ spectral signature is not-differentiable from other grasses (natives) with multispectral systems
For more distinct targets (like leafy spurge) we consider 10% cover the detection threshold.

## Patchy Target

## Spectral Similarity

## Issue #2, Wildfire

- Reliable fuel load modeling
- Current rangeland fire severity modeling

## Issue #3, Desertification

- For land managers and land stewards...
- Bio-diversity issue
- Why is this weed here?
- What are we to do about high fuel loads?
- What can we do about the exposed soils?

**Notes:**
The answer is that a niche has been created...it is being exploited by early seral species adapted to disturbed environments.  Typically annuals that we call weeds.
In essence the rangelands are not healthy and weeds are a symptom of this.

## Holistic Integration

- Symptoms of degraded rangeland health
- Loss of bio-diversity
- Weeds
- Bare ground
- Ineffective water cycles with exacerbated drought effects
- We have studied the symptoms...now let’s move to the cause.

## Why are the Rangelands Degraded?

- It appears to be...
- Years of over-rest
- Following years of over-grazing of plants
- Why?
- Grasses evolved with grazing
- Grazed once in a season....not numerous times
- Animal impact is important
- Hoof action
- Look at corral areas in the study area

## Quantifying Rangeland Health: Modeling

## Importance of Rangeland Health Modeling and Forecasting

- Big picture
- Addresses end-user core concerns
- Reliable models possible

**Notes:**
RH is the Big Picture
It address the core concerns
From a scientists perspective, reliable models are possible and they can have real impacts for range managers and more importantly, rangeland condition by identifying areas of concern and focus rehab on these areas.

## Thank You

- For more information visit our Internet Map Server at:
- http://giscenter-ims.isu.edu/ website/rangelands/viewer.htm
- Or visit our home page http://giscenter.isu.edu