scholarly journals Annual and 16-day rangeland production estimates for the western United States

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew O. Jones ◽  
Nathaniel P. Robinson ◽  
David E. Naugle ◽  
Jeremy D. Maestas ◽  
Matthew C. Reeves ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Western United States ◽  
Woody Encroachment ◽  
Annual Grass ◽  
The Face ◽  
Technological Barriers ◽  
Annual Time

AbstractRangeland production is a foundational ecosystem service and resource upon which livestock, wildlife, and people depend. Capitalizing on recent advancements in the use of remote sensing data across rangelands we provide estimates of herbaceous rangeland production from 1986-2019 at 16-day and annual time steps and 30m resolution across the western United States. Herbaceous aboveground biomass at this scale and resolution provide critical information applicable for management and decision-making, particularly in the face of annual grass invasion and woody encroachment of rangeland systems. These readily available data remove analytical and technological barriers allowing immediate utilization for monitoring and management.

Ban Ki-moon, 2007–2016

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Gowan
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Security Council ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Central African Republic ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cautious Approach ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Council Decision ◽  
The Face

During Ban Ki-moon’s tenure, the Security Council was shaken by P5 divisions over Kosovo, Georgia, Libya, Syria, and Ukraine. Yet it also continued to mandate and sustain large-scale peacekeeping operations in Africa, placing major burdens on the UN Secretariat. The chapter will argue that Ban initially took a cautious approach to controversies with the Council, and earned a reputation for excessive passivity in the face of crisis and deference to the United States. The second half of the chapter suggests that Ban shifted to a more activist pressure as his tenure went on, pressing the Council to act in cases including Côte d’Ivoire, Libya, and Syria. The chapter will argue that Ban had only a marginal impact on Council decision-making, even though he made a creditable effort to speak truth to power over cases such as the Central African Republic (CAR), challenging Council members to live up to their responsibilities.

scholarly journals Imaging Spectroscopy for Conservation Applications

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 292
Author(s):  
Megan Seeley ◽  
Gregory P. Asner
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Imaging Spectroscopy ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
High Spectral Resolution ◽  
Conservation Areas ◽  
Broad Array

As humans continue to alter Earth systems, conservationists look to remote sensing to monitor, inventory, and understand ecosystems and ecosystem processes at large spatial scales. Multispectral remote sensing data are commonly integrated into conservation decision-making frameworks, yet imaging spectroscopy, or hyperspectral remote sensing, is underutilized in conservation. The high spectral resolution of imaging spectrometers captures the chemistry of Earth surfaces, whereas multispectral satellites indirectly represent such surfaces through band ratios. Here, we present case studies wherein imaging spectroscopy was used to inform and improve conservation decision-making and discuss potential future applications. These case studies include a broad array of conservation areas, including forest, dryland, and marine ecosystems, as well as urban applications and methane monitoring. Imaging spectroscopy technology is rapidly developing, especially with regard to satellite-based spectrometers. Improving on and expanding existing applications of imaging spectroscopy to conservation, developing imaging spectroscopy data products for use by other researchers and decision-makers, and pioneering novel uses of imaging spectroscopy will greatly expand the toolset for conservation decision-makers.

scholarly journals Characterizing Land Surface Phenology and Exotic Annual Grasses in Dryland Ecosystems Using Landsat and Sentinel-2 Data in Harmony

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 725 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neal J. Pastick ◽  
Devendra Dahal ◽  
Bruce K. Wylie ◽  
Sujan Parajuli ◽  
Stephen P. Boyte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Data Mining ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Western United States ◽  
Grass Cover ◽  
Annual Grass ◽  
Annual Grasses ◽  
Dryland Ecosystems ◽  
Exotic Annual Grass ◽  
Sentinel 2

Invasive annual grasses, such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.), have proliferated in dryland ecosystems of the western United States, promoting increased fire activity and reduced biodiversity that can be detrimental to socio-environmental systems. Monitoring exotic annual grass cover and dynamics over large areas requires the use of remote sensing that can support early detection and rapid response initiatives. However, few studies have leveraged remote sensing technologies and computing frameworks capable of providing rangeland managers with maps of exotic annual grass cover at relatively high spatiotemporal resolutions and near real-time latencies. Here, we developed a system for automated mapping of invasive annual grass (%) cover using in situ observations, harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 (HLS) data, maps of biophysical variables, and machine learning techniques. A robust and automated cloud, cloud shadow, water, and snow/ice masking procedure (mean overall accuracy >81%) was implemented using time-series outlier detection and data mining techniques prior to spatiotemporal interpolation of HLS data via regression tree models (r = 0.94; mean absolute error (MAE) = 0.02). Weekly, cloud-free normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) image composites (2016–2018) were used to construct a suite of spectral and phenological metrics (e.g., start and end of season dates), consistent with information derived from Moderate Resolution Image Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. These metrics were incorporated into a data mining framework that accurately (r = 0.83; MAE = 11) modeled and mapped exotic annual grass (%) cover throughout dryland ecosystems in the western United States at a native, 30-m spatial resolution. Our results show that inclusion of weekly HLS time-series data and derived indicators improves our ability to map exotic annual grass cover, as compared to distribution models that use MODIS products or monthly, seasonal, or annual HLS composites as primary inputs. This research fills a critical gap in our ability to effectively assess, manage, and monitor drylands by providing a framework that allows for an accurate and timely depiction of land surface phenology and exotic annual grass cover at spatial and temporal resolutions that are meaningful to local resource managers.

scholarly journals Approaches for evaluation of relief morphometric characteristics influence on spatial distribution of moisture in the soils of steppe part of Crimea

2020 ◽  
Vol 175 ◽  
pp. 09017
Author(s):  
Ielizaveta Dunaieva ◽  
Vladimir Pashtetsk ◽  
Valentyn Vecherkov ◽  
Valentina Popovych ◽  
Aleksandr Melnichuk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Agricultural Crops ◽  
Morphometric Characteristics ◽  
Crimean Peninsula ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Soil Moisture Reserves

Data on soil moisture reserves are the basis for decision-making in the agricultural boghara system, because it determines the development of agricultural crops potential, terms of top-dressing and additional fertilizing, and makes it possible to predict yield of agricultural crops. In this article the influence of relief morphometric characteristics on the distribution of precipitation over the territory was studied. The research area is the land of the eastern part of Klepininsky rural settlement of Krasnogvardeysky district, the central part of Crimean Peninsula. The article considers approaches, divided into 2 main categories (according to the type of data used), based on the use of GIS capabilities and remote sensing data, to analyze the soil water content (SWC) using the example of research area and relationship of this parameter to the terrain relief. It was established that the morphometric characteristics of relief affect the amount of soil moisture.

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