RAP

Q & A

Comment - Dirac Twidwell at University of Nebraska in Lincoln is using this tool to show the conversion of the grasslands prairie biome into closed canopy juniper forest. He has wildfire data in there as well. and he's showing that prescribed fire associations in conjunction with large wildfires are doing an effective job of stopping biome conversion and habitat loss.

Q - Can you add in other data sources to the app? Say I have a bunch of ecological site point data that might help with soil correlations and ESD and Rangeland Health development?

A - Right now the RAP outputs analysis for one feature (or set of features) at a time. For more complex analysis we make the RAP data available for download and or as web services. You're welcome to contact me directly at eric.jensen@umontana.edu if you'd like more information.

Comment: Great, thanks Eric. I am wondering mainly due to the more limited NRI Range data we have in CA and how some other data sources might give us better information

Comment : this seems similar to the Rangeland Productivity monitoring service/fuel cast tool

Q - How do we access the app? I look forward to checking it out.

A - Here's a link to the website, click "Launch App" to open the application: https://rangelands.app/

Q - Was any actual validation work done across the ecosystems we have across California?

Q - Can you remind us how you are generating the 16 day data?

Q - Could this tool replace the present drought validation and forecasting?

Q - What is the cost?

A - The Rangeland Analysis Platform is freely available to users.

Q - Can you show change over time in an animation?

Q - Please ask them to state what the spatial accuracy of their biomass estimations are.
A - Validation can be viewed at https://rangelands.app/products/#biomass We compared it to 16,500 on-the-ground plots, RPMS, and gSSURGO

Q - Where is the fire boundary layer from?

A - The fire layer is from the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity Program: https://www.mtbs.gov/

Q - Will temporary wetlands affect the results of RAP maps?

Comment - Our sheep and goats devour Star Thistle at late growth stages.

Q - What breed of goats?

A - Spanish x Boer Goats + Katahdin Sheep. Primarily running a wether herd. Shepherdess Land & Livestock Co. running out of the Ojai Valley, Ventura County.

Comment - The breed certainly can influence what the animal's capability for accessing and processing different types of plant materials, but the previous experience of the animals with the plants is probably more often the larger influence. Animals that have been exposed to undesirable vegetation for several generations are acclimated to thriving on these forages.