ABSTRACT
Adequate assessments of vast expanses of rangeland-a primary prerequisite to effective conservation planning-require landscape-scale evaluations that accurately represent the resources (e.g., soil, vegetation, wildlife, water), the structure and function of the resource-providing systems, and the natural range of variation in measured resource condition indicators. We discuss why conventional rangeland survey methods are inadequate for this task and how geographic information systems, ground survey data, and high-altitude and/or satellite imagery can be used with 1-to 50-mm-resolution digital imagery and
9.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 152 9.1.1 Conventional Rangeland Surveys ..................................................... 152 9.1.2 Data Variation in Rangeland Inventory and Monitoring .................. 153 9.1.3 Need for Landscape-Scale Management .......................................... 153 9.1.4 Cost and Scientific Rigor .................................................................. 154 9.1.5 Objective-What Can This Chapter Do for You? ............................ 155
9.2 Digital Imagery, GIS, and Image Analysis Software ................................... 155 9.2.1 Image-Based Ecological Assessments .............................................. 155 9.2.2 Image-Based Measurements ............................................................. 157
9.2.2.1 SamplePoint Software ........................................................ 157 9.2.2.2 ImageMeasurement Software ............................................ 157
9.2.3 Scientific Method and Use of GIS in Planning Aerial and Ground Surveys ................................................................................ 158
9.3 Case Studies .................................................................................................. 159 9.3.1 Has Stocking Rate Affected Ground Cover? .................................... 159 9.3.2 Does Revegetation Meet the Standards of Performance? ................. 160 9.3.3 What Is the Status of Leafy Spurge? ................................................ 163 9.3.4 Is Your Conservation Grazing Plan Producing a Benefit? ............... 165
9.4 Conclusions ................................................................................................... 167 9.5 Hands-On Examples ..................................................................................... 167 Acknowledgments .................................................................................................. 168 References .............................................................................................................. 168
new software programs to make rangeland surveys more objective, repeatable, and cost effective. We then review example applications of rangeland surveys that we have conducted to answer specific landscape-scale management questions. The online exercise adds to the illustrated utility of these kinds of aerial surveys with hands-on examples of survey planning, database queries, and how to use commonly available software in data evaluation and analyses.
