Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Using Long-Term Remote Sensing and an Automated Reference Toolset To Estimate and Predict Post-Development Recovery Potential Completed

By Fort Collins Science Center March 25, 2018

USGS scientists are using a time-varying approach to monitor and predict recovery of sagebrush ecosystems following disturbance.

Predicting recovery rates of vegetation following disturbance could help inform future placement of energy development to minimize environmental impacts. In this study, USGS scientists are using a time-varying approach to monitor and predict recovery of sagebrush ecosystems following disturbance. Within areas where the DART is currently developed in the WLCI study area, scientists will identify suitable reference sites near well pads and then characterize vegetation and bare ground cover at reference and disturbed sites at 2- to 5-year intervals from 1985 to 2015. These data will enable modeling to determine how recovery potential changes over time according to differences in soils, weather, and well pad characteristics. This information and resulting spatial data can help inform future development and planning processes.

link
Interactive map that identifies Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) cases

Damage Assessment and Restoration Tracking System (DARTS)

USGS science support staff provide database management and system administration for the NRDAR Damage Assessment and Restoration Tracking System (DARTS).
By
Columbia Environmental Research Center
link

Damage Assessment and Restoration Tracking System (DARTS)

USGS science support staff provide database management and system administration for the NRDAR Damage Assessment and Restoration Tracking System (DARTS).
Learn More

Sagebrush recovery analyzed with a dynamic reference approach in southwestern Wyoming, USA 1985-2018

Identifying ecologically relevant reference sites is important for evaluating ecosystem recovery, but the relevance of references that are temporally static is unclear in the context of vast landscapes with disturbance and environmental contexts varying over space and time. This question is pertinent for landscapes dominated by sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) which face a suite of threats from disturba
By
Land Management Research Program, Fort Collins Science Center

Assessing vegetation recovery from energy development using a dynamic reference approach

Ecologically relevant references are useful for evaluating ecosystem recovery, but references that are temporally static may be less useful when environmental conditions and disturbances are spatially and temporally heterogeneous. This challenge is particularly acute for ecosystems dominated by sagebrush (Artemisia spp.), where communities may require decades to recover from disturbance. We demons
Authors
Adrian P. Monroe, Travis W. Nauman, Cameron L. Aldridge, Michael O'Donnell, Michael C. Duniway, Brian S. Cade, Daniel Manier, Patrick J. Anderson
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center, Southwest Biological Science Center

USGS scientists are using a time-varying approach to monitor and predict recovery of sagebrush ecosystems following disturbance.

Predicting recovery rates of vegetation following disturbance could help inform future placement of energy development to minimize environmental impacts. In this study, USGS scientists are using a time-varying approach to monitor and predict recovery of sagebrush ecosystems following disturbance. Within areas where the DART is currently developed in the WLCI study area, scientists will identify suitable reference sites near well pads and then characterize vegetation and bare ground cover at reference and disturbed sites at 2- to 5-year intervals from 1985 to 2015. These data will enable modeling to determine how recovery potential changes over time according to differences in soils, weather, and well pad characteristics. This information and resulting spatial data can help inform future development and planning processes.

link
Interactive map that identifies Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) cases

Damage Assessment and Restoration Tracking System (DARTS)

USGS science support staff provide database management and system administration for the NRDAR Damage Assessment and Restoration Tracking System (DARTS).
By
Columbia Environmental Research Center
link

Damage Assessment and Restoration Tracking System (DARTS)

USGS science support staff provide database management and system administration for the NRDAR Damage Assessment and Restoration Tracking System (DARTS).
Learn More

Sagebrush recovery analyzed with a dynamic reference approach in southwestern Wyoming, USA 1985-2018

Identifying ecologically relevant reference sites is important for evaluating ecosystem recovery, but the relevance of references that are temporally static is unclear in the context of vast landscapes with disturbance and environmental contexts varying over space and time. This question is pertinent for landscapes dominated by sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) which face a suite of threats from disturba
By
Land Management Research Program, Fort Collins Science Center

Assessing vegetation recovery from energy development using a dynamic reference approach

Ecologically relevant references are useful for evaluating ecosystem recovery, but references that are temporally static may be less useful when environmental conditions and disturbances are spatially and temporally heterogeneous. This challenge is particularly acute for ecosystems dominated by sagebrush (Artemisia spp.), where communities may require decades to recover from disturbance. We demons
Authors
Adrian P. Monroe, Travis W. Nauman, Cameron L. Aldridge, Michael O'Donnell, Michael C. Duniway, Brian S. Cade, Daniel Manier, Patrick J. Anderson
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center, Southwest Biological Science Center