Ecosystem Performance, Productivity and Sustainability Active
Remotely-sensed data forms the backbone of the large-scale maps, models and assessments created at EROS to advance the understanding of Ecosystem Performance, Productivity and Sustainability.
Detailed data from cooperators with site-specific flux towers are integrated to create models of a land cover type - grassland, for example – which can be simulated across a region. Tasks describe exchanges of Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) and Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) in the Northern Great Plains and other regions.
Cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), universities, and others provides the ground data to develop and validate pixel-specific models of ecosystem performance based on the remote sensing archive, climate, and site potential.
This modeling, EROS’ rich archival resources and the research team’s special ability to combine near real-time, remotely-sensed data with other large spatial data sets, also allows for the evaluation, mapping, and dynamic monitoring of ecosystem performance.
The work is funded through the USGS Land Change Science (LCS) Program, which strives to understand the nation's most pressing environmental, natural resource, and economic challenges by providing the information and tools necessary and identifying possible solutions.
Additional funding comes from USGS National Land Imaging program, BLM, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).
EROS’ remote sensing ecology projects include permafrost and biomass mapping in Alaska, the study of invasive grass in the Great Basin, and the identification of lands with the potential for biofuels feedstock. Follow these links for more detailed information on those projects:
- Monitoring Arctic and boreal ecosystems through the assimilation of field-based studies, remote sensing, and modelling
- Cheatgrass Dieoff Time-series Dynamics, 2000-2010
- Identifying Lands Suitable for Biofuel Feedstock Crops by Dynamic Modeling of Ecosystem Performance
- Carbon Flux Quantification in the Great Plains
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Distribution of near-surface permafrost in Alaska: estimates of present and future conditions
Productivity and carbon dioxide exchange of leguminous crops: estimates from flux tower measurements
Projecting future grassland productivity to assess thesustainability of potential biofuel feedstock areas in theGreater Platte River Basin
Detecting the influence of best management practices on vegetation near ephemeral streams with Landsat data
Influence of management and precipitation on carbon fluxes in greatplains grasslands
Detecting channel riparian vegetation response to best-management-practices implementation in ephemeral streams with the use of spot high-resolution visible imagery
Net ecosystem productivity of temperate grasslands in northern China: An upscaling study
Optimal placement of off-stream water sources for ephemeral stream recovery
Linking phenology and biomass productivity in South Dakota mixed-grass prairie
Extending airborne electromagnetic surveys for regional active layer and permafrost mapping with remote sensing and ancillary data, Yukon Flats ecoregion, central Alaska
Monitoring the status of forests and rangelands in the Western United States using ecosystem performance anomalies
Towards integration of GLAS data into a national fuels mapping program
Mapping grassland productivity with 250-m eMODIS NDVI and SSURGO database over the Greater Platte River Basin, USA
- Overview
Remotely-sensed data forms the backbone of the large-scale maps, models and assessments created at EROS to advance the understanding of Ecosystem Performance, Productivity and Sustainability.
Detailed data from cooperators with site-specific flux towers are integrated to create models of a land cover type - grassland, for example – which can be simulated across a region. Tasks describe exchanges of Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) and Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) in the Northern Great Plains and other regions.
Cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), universities, and others provides the ground data to develop and validate pixel-specific models of ecosystem performance based on the remote sensing archive, climate, and site potential.
This modeling, EROS’ rich archival resources and the research team’s special ability to combine near real-time, remotely-sensed data with other large spatial data sets, also allows for the evaluation, mapping, and dynamic monitoring of ecosystem performance.
The work is funded through the USGS Land Change Science (LCS) Program, which strives to understand the nation's most pressing environmental, natural resource, and economic challenges by providing the information and tools necessary and identifying possible solutions.
Additional funding comes from USGS National Land Imaging program, BLM, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).
EROS’ remote sensing ecology projects include permafrost and biomass mapping in Alaska, the study of invasive grass in the Great Basin, and the identification of lands with the potential for biofuels feedstock. Follow these links for more detailed information on those projects:
- Monitoring Arctic and boreal ecosystems through the assimilation of field-based studies, remote sensing, and modelling
- Cheatgrass Dieoff Time-series Dynamics, 2000-2010
- Identifying Lands Suitable for Biofuel Feedstock Crops by Dynamic Modeling of Ecosystem Performance
- Carbon Flux Quantification in the Great Plains
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
- Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Distribution of near-surface permafrost in Alaska: estimates of present and future conditions
High-latitude regions are experiencing rapid and extensive changes in ecosystem composition and function as the result of increases in average air temperature. Increasing air temperatures have led to widespread thawing and degradation of permafrost, which in turn has affected ecosystems, socioeconomics, and the carbon cycle of high latitudes. Here we overcome complex interactions among surface andAuthorsNeal J. Pastick, M. Torre Jorgenson, Bruce K. Wylie, Shawn J. Nield, Kristofer D. Johnson, Andrew O. FinleyFilter Total Items: 87Productivity and carbon dioxide exchange of leguminous crops: estimates from flux tower measurements
Net CO2 exchange data of legume crops at 17 flux tower sites in North America and three sites in Europe representing 29 site-years of measurements were partitioned into gross photosynthesis and ecosystem respiration by using the nonrectangular hyperbolic light-response function method. The analyses produced net CO2 exchange data and new ecosystem-scale ecophysiological parameter estimates for leguAuthorsTagir G. Gilmanov, John M. Baker, Carl J. Bernacchi, David P. Billesbach, George G. Burba, Saulo Castro, Jiquan Chen, Werner Eugster, Marc L. Fischer, John A. Gamon, Maheteme T. Gebremedhin, Aaron J. Glenn, Timothy J. Griffis, Jerry L. Hatfield, Mark W. Heuer, Daniel M. Howard, Monique Y. Leclerc, Henry W. Loescher, Oliver Marloie, Tilden P. Meyers, Albert Olioso, Rebecca L. Phillips, John H. Prueger, R. Howard Skinner, Andrew E. Suyker, Mario Tenuta, Bruce K. WylieProjecting future grassland productivity to assess thesustainability of potential biofuel feedstock areas in theGreater Platte River Basin
This study projects future (e.g., 2050 and 2099) grassland productivities in the Greater Platte River Basin (GPRB) using ecosystem performance (EP, a surrogate for measuring ecosystem productivity) models and future climate projections. The EP models developed from a previous study were based on the satellite vegetation index, site geophysical and biophysical features, and weather and climate drivAuthorsYingxin Gu, Bruce K. Wylie, Stephen P. Boyte, Khem P. PhuyalDetecting the influence of best management practices on vegetation near ephemeral streams with Landsat data
Various best management practices (BMPs) have been implemented on rangelands with the goals of controlling nonpoint source pollution, reducing the impact of livestock in ecologically important riparian areas, and improving grazing distribution. Providing off-stream water sources to livestock in pastures, cross-fencing, and rotational grazing are common rangeland BMPs that have demonstrated successAuthorsMatthew B. Rigge, Alexander Smart, Bruce K. Wylie, Kendall de Van KampInfluence of management and precipitation on carbon fluxes in greatplains grasslands
Suitable management and sufficient precipitation on grasslands can provide carbon sinks. The net carbon accumulation of a site from the atmosphere, modeled as the Net Ecosystem Productivity (NEP), is a useful means to gauge carbon balance. Previous research has developed methods to integrate flux tower data with satellite biophysical datasets to estimate NEP across large regions. A related methodAuthorsMatthew B. Rigge, Bruce K. Wylie, Li Zhang, Stephen P. BoyteDetecting channel riparian vegetation response to best-management-practices implementation in ephemeral streams with the use of spot high-resolution visible imagery
Heavily grazed riparian areas are commonly subject to channel incision, a lower water table, and reduced vegetation, resulting in sediment delivery above normal regimes. Riparian and in-channel vegetation functions as a roughness element and dissipates flow energy, maintaining stable channel geometry. Ash Creek, a tributary of the Bad River in western South Dakota contains a high proportion of incAuthorsKendall Vande Kamp, Matthew B. Rigge, Nels H. Troelstrup, Alexander J. Smart, Bruce WylieNet ecosystem productivity of temperate grasslands in northern China: An upscaling study
Grassland is one of the widespread biome types globally, and plays an important role in the terrestrial carbon cycle. We examined net ecosystem production (NEP) for the temperate grasslands in northern China from 2000 to 2010. We combined flux observations, satellite data, and climate data to develop a piecewise regression model for NEP, and then used the model to map NEP for grasslands in northerAuthorsLi Zhang, Huadong Guo, Gensuo Jia, Bruce Wylie, Tagir Gilmanov, Daniel M. Howard, Lei Ji, Jingfeng Xiao, Jing Li, Wenping Yuan, Tianbao Zhao, Shiping Chen, Guangsheng Zhou, Tomomichi KatoOptimal placement of off-stream water sources for ephemeral stream recovery
Uneven and/or inefficient livestock distribution is often a product of an inadequate number and distribution of watering points. Placement of off-stream water practices (OSWP) in pastures is a key consideration in rangeland management plans and is critical to achieving riparian recovery by improving grazing evenness, while improving livestock performance. Effective OSWP placement also minimizes thAuthorsMatthew B. Rigge, Alexander Smart, Bruce WylieLinking phenology and biomass productivity in South Dakota mixed-grass prairie
Assessing the health of rangeland ecosystems based solely on annual biomass production does not fully describe plant community condition; the phenology of production can provide inferences on species composition, successional stage, and grazing impacts. We evaluate the productivity and phenology of western South Dakota mixed-grass prairie using 2000 to 2008 Moderate Resolution Imaging SpectrometerAuthorsMatthew Rigge, Alexander Smart, Bruce Wylie, Tagir Gilmanov, Patricia JohnsonExtending airborne electromagnetic surveys for regional active layer and permafrost mapping with remote sensing and ancillary data, Yukon Flats ecoregion, central Alaska
Machine-learning regression tree models were used to extrapolate airborne electromagnetic resistivity data collected along flight lines in the Yukon Flats Ecoregion, central Alaska, for regional mapping of permafrost. This method of extrapolation (r = 0.86) used subsurface resistivity, Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) at-sensor reflectance, thermal, TM-derived spectral indices, digital elevation modelAuthorsNeal J. Pastick, M. Torre Jorgenson, Bruce K. Wylie, Burke J. Minsley, Lei Ji, Michelle Ann Walvoord, Bruce D. Smith, Jared D. Abraham, Joshua R. RoseMonitoring the status of forests and rangelands in the Western United States using ecosystem performance anomalies
The effects of land management and disturbance on ecosystem performance (i.e. biomass production) are often confounded by those of weather and site potential. The current study overcomes this issue by calculating the difference between actual and expected ecosystem performance (EEP) to generate ecosystem performance anomalies (EPA). This study aims to delineate and quantify average EPA from 2000–2AuthorsMatthew B. Rigge, Bruce Wylie, Yingxin Gu, Jayne Belnap, Khem P. Phuyal, Larry TieszenTowards integration of GLAS data into a national fuels mapping program
Comprehensive canopy structure and fuel data are critical for understanding and modeling wildland fire. The LANDFIRE project produces such data nationwide based on a collection of field observations, Landsat imagery, and other geospatial data. Where field data are not available, alternate strategies are being investigated. In this study, vegetation structure data available from GLAS were used to fAuthorsBirgit E. Peterson, Kurtis Nelson, Bruce WylieMapping grassland productivity with 250-m eMODIS NDVI and SSURGO database over the Greater Platte River Basin, USA
This study assessed and described a relationship between satellite-derived growing season averaged Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and annual productivity for grasslands within the Greater Platte River Basin (GPRB) of the United States. We compared growing season averaged NDVI (GSN) with Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database rangeland productivity and flux tower Gross Primary ProdAuthorsYingxin Gu, Bruce K. Wylie, Norman B. Bliss