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About the Rangeland Analysis Platform's Production Explorer

The RAP’s primary datasets measure rangeland vegetation cover and the rangeland production “from the Great Plains all the way to the Pacific Coast” (The Art of Range Podcast, 2019). The Vegetation Cover dataset is an estimate of rangeland cover over five common vegetation classes and is available in annual timesteps. With data going back to 1986 and updating every 16 days, the RAP provides a map of perennial and annual forbs and grasses, shrubs, trees, and bare ground, making it possible to visualize and quantify nearly 40 years of change in the land cover types. Further, the Production dataset is an estimate of total rangeland production—estimating herbaceous forage in lbs/acre in both annual and 16-day timesteps.

Data Source: Sourced from LandSAT satellite imagery combined with data collected by Bureau of Land Management’s Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring Strategy; National Park Service Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network; and National Resources Conservation Service National Resources Inventory.

Time-Step: Updates annually and every 16 days, and hosts rangeland data dating back to 1986.

Potential Use-Cases for Tribes:

  • Monitor overgrazing
  • Monitor key biodiversity areas for Tribal climate planning
  • Observe how production has changed within the current growing season or over multiple years
  • Utilizing the 16-day timestep in the Production dataset, Tribes can analyze the growth curve of their rangeland production & track near real-time production
  • View the gap between potential production and actual production to potentially inform management practices that can help “close the gap” and prevent loss of revenue
 

Learn How to Use The Production Explorer