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The Landscape Data Commons: A system for standardizing, accessing, and applying large environmental datasets for agroecosystem research and management

December 10, 2023

Understanding where, when, and why agroecosystems are changing requires quality information about ecosystems that span land tenure, ecological processes, and spatial scales. Over the past two decades, land management agencies and research groups have adopted a suite of standardized methods for monitoring rangelands, which have been implemented at over 85,000 monitoring locations globally. However, the ability to use these data to understand agroecosystem dynamics and change across scales and across land ownership has been limited because, until now, these data have not been available in a harmonized, accessible format for analyses, modeling, and decision-support tools. We present the Landscape Data Commons, a cyberinfrastructure platform that harmonizes and aggregates standardized agroecosystem data, enables linkages to models, and facilitates analysis and interpretation of data within decision-support tools. The Landscape Data Commons provides a community platform for users to contribute data and develop next-generation tools to support agroecosystem management through the 21st century.

Publication Year 2023
Title The Landscape Data Commons: A system for standardizing, accessing, and applying large environmental datasets for agroecosystem research and management
DOI 10.1002/ael2.20120
Authors Sarah E. McCord, Nicholas P. Webb, Brandon T. Bestelmeyer, Kristopher Bonefont, Joseph R. Brehm, Joel R. Brown, Ericha M. Courtright, Christopher Dietrich, Michael C. Duniway, Brandon L. Edwards, Christopher Fraser, Jeffrey E. Herrick, Anna C Knight, Loretta J Metz, Justin W. Van Zee, Craig E. Tweedie
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Agricultural & Environmental Letters
Index ID 70250456
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Southwest Biological Science Center