Landsat-based Monitoring of Landscape Dynamics in the National Parks of the Sierra Nevada Inventory & Monitoring Network (SIEN) Narrative (Draft)
Kennedy R, Nelson P, Yang Z, Cohen W, Pfaff E, Gholson B. 2010. Landsat-based Monitoring of Landscape Dynamics in the National Parks of the Sierra Nevada Inventory & Monitoring Network (SIEN) Narrative (Draft). National Park Service
Ecological monitoring is a key element of park stewardship. Effective monitoring allows managers to identify and track the status and trend in the condition of key park resources, evaluate the efficacy of resource management activities, improve understanding of natural variation in ecological patterns and processes, and provide an early warning of potential threats to ecological integrity and sustainability. This document is a draft landscape monitoring protocol developed by Oregon State University cooperators for the Sierra Nevada Inventory & Monitoring Network. Although remote sensing tools are attractive for ecological monitoring, the translation of ecological goals into terms appropriate for remotely-sensed measurement is often an iterative and challenging process. In collaboration with Sierra Nevada National Park Service staff and USGS scientists, we identified the types of landscape transition associated with different monitoring objectives, the spatial and temporal grain of remote sensing imagery measurement needed to capture those transitions, potential analytical tools needed to process imagery to capture those changes, and the reference data available to corroborate or validate them. Based on the iterative evaluation of methods, data, and reference sources, a final set of monitoring objectives was selected to be met under the current protocol: 1. Determine temporal and spatial changes in landscape mosaics across SIEN parks every 5-10 years (time frame dependent upon pace of change and available funds). Landscape mosaics may include: • Vegetation type and cover • Other land cover types such as streams and lakes, bare ground, rock, roads, and developed areas 2. Determine fire regime characteristics across SIEN parks on an annual basis, and monitor trends through time in selected characteristics. These may include fire size, fire severity, fire frequency, and fire season. 3. Monitor changes in vegetation response to fire over variable time frames (1 to many years) post-fire and among different types of fire regime characteristics (low to high severity, different seasons, different frequencies). 4. Detect spatial and temporal changes in vegetation condition (or health) across SIEN parks – which may indicate change from other agents of change such as insects, pathogens, air pollutants, and drought.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Kennedy, Robert; Nelson, Peder; Yang, Zhiqiang; Cohen, Warren; Pfaff, Eric; Gholson, Brett
- Date of Issue
- 2010-09-24
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- IMDP , NRSS , SIEN
- Keywords
- Aerial Photography, Great Lakes, Indiana, Land Use Protocol, Landsat, Landscape dynamics, Landscape Dynamics Protocol, Michigan, Minnesota, Monitoring, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Sierra Nevada, Wisconsin, Yosemite National Park
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Human Use | Consumptive Use | Consumptive Use , Ecological Framework: Landscapes | Landscape Dynamics | Land Cover and Use