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Andrew Strassman

Andrew is involved in the management of the vegetation mapping program at UMESC and actively works to document vegetation in the field and interpret aerial imagery to the finest scale of the U.S. National Vegetation Classification (USNVC) for vegetation mapping projects.

Research Interests:

  • General Ecology
  • Ecological Restoration
  • Vegetation Classification
  • Vegetation Mapping
  • Integration of GIS-based datasets and decision making into active ecological management
  • Application of technology in the field

Active Projects:

  • 2020 Systemic Land Cover/Use Mapping Project, Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS)
  • Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument Seboeis Unit Vegetation Mapping Project
  • Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument TFG Unit Vegetation Mapping Project

Completed Projects:

  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail (APPA) Vegetation Mapping Project
  • Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (JELA) Vegetation Mapping Project
  • Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSM) Vegetation Mapping Project
  • Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CUVA) Vegetation Mapping Project
  • Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MISS) Vegetation Mapping Project
  • Natchez Trace Parkway (NATR) Vegetation Mapping Project

Education and Certifications

  • 2005 M.S., Terrestrial Ecology, University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

  • 2002 B.S., Biology, B.S. Economics, University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point

Science and Products

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Figure 1: Tile A showing the lidar point cloud along the eastern shore of Railroad Island in Pool 13 with gaps delineated.

Forest Canopy Gap Dynamics: Quantifying Forest Gaps and Understanding Gap-level Forest Regeneration

Floodplain forest is a major and critical component of the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS). The current and future condition of floodplain forest on the UMRS is receiving increased attention from managers as the forest appears to be declining and not regenerating. A primary concern is invasive reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea), Dutch elm disease (Ophiostoma ulmi and O. novo-ulmi), and...
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Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
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Forest Canopy Gap Dynamics: Quantifying Forest Gaps and Understanding Gap-level Forest Regeneration

Floodplain forest is a major and critical component of the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS). The current and future condition of floodplain forest on the UMRS is receiving increased attention from managers as the forest appears to be declining and not regenerating. A primary concern is invasive reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea), Dutch elm disease (Ophiostoma ulmi and O. novo-ulmi), and...
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2020 Systemic Land Cover Data, Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) program, through its Long Term Resource Monitoring (LTRM) element, collected aerial imagery of the systemic Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) during the summer of 2020. A Land Cover/Land Use (LCU) spatial database was developed based on the 2020 aerial imagery, which adds a fourth systemic-wide database to the existin
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Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

2020 Systemic Imagery, Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) program, through its Long Term Resource Monitoring (LTRM) element, collected aerial imagery of the systemic Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) during the summer of 2020. The main purpose of the aerial imagery was to develop Land Cover/Land Use (LCU) spatial datasets of navigable pools (the stretch of river between lock
By
Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Updated vegetation map of Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge using 2019 acquired imagery

Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is a 50,000 acre refuge overlaid on portions of the former Jefferson Proving Ground (JPG) in Jefferson, Jennings, and Ripley counties, Indiana. Beginning in 1996, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) began managing the area. Big Oaks NWR was established in June 2000 as an “overlay” Refuge through a 25-year real estate permit
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Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

National Park Service Vegetation Mapping Inventory Program: Great Smoky Mountains National Park vegetation mapping project

The National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Mapping Inventory (VMI) Program is an effort to classify, describe, and map existing vegetation communities in national park units throughout the United States. The NPS VMI Program is managed by the NPS Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Inventory and Monitoring Program and provides baseline vegetation information to natural resource managers, resea
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Ecosystems, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

National Park Service Vegetation Mapping Inventory Program: Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve Vegetation Mapping Project

The National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science office in Fort Collins, Colorado, publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics. These reports are of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Na
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Ecosystems, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

National Park Service Vegetation Mapping Inventory Program: Appalachian National Scenic Trail vegetation mapping project

The National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Mapping Inventory (VMI) Program classifies, describes, and maps existing vegetation of national park units for the NPS Natural Resource Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program. The NPS VMI Program is managed by the NPS I&M Division and provides baseline vegetation information to the NPS Natural Resource I&M Program. The U.S. Geological Survey Upper Midwest
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Ecosystems, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

National Park Service Vegetation Mapping Inventory Program: Natchez Trace Parkway vegetation mapping project report

The National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Mapping Inventory (VMI) Program is an effort to classify, describe, and map existing vegetation of national park units for the NPS Natural Resource Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program. The NPS VMI Program is managed by the NPS I&M Division and provides baseline vegetation information to the NPS Natural Resource I&M Program. The U.S. Geological Survey U
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Ecosystems, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

National Park Service Vegetation Inventory Program, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio

The National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Inventory Program (VIP) is an effort to classify, describe, and map existing vegetation of national park units for the NPS Natural Resource Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program. The NPS VIP is managed by the NPS Biological Resources Management Division and provides baseline vegetation information to the NPS Natural Resource I&M Program. The U.S. Geologi
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Ecosystems, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

National Park Service vegetation inventory program: Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, Minnesota

The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MISS) vegetation mapping project is an initiative of the National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Inventory Program (VIP) to classify and map vegetation types of MISS. (Note: “MISS” is also referred to as “park” throughout this report.) The goals of the project are to adequately describe and map vegetation types of the park and to provide the NPS N
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Ecosystems, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

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