Sagebrush Foliar Nitrogen

Characterizing Habitat Quality -- Rangeland Shrub Protein (Nitrogen)

Project lead: Jessica Mitchell

We are finalizing a wall-to-wall map of sagebrush foliar Nitrogen content for the USDA ARS Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed in Idaho.  The predicted surface can be evaluated as a forage quality tool, especially when combined with wildlife foraging patterns, weed mapping, and fire history.  The map combines extensive ground sampling (biomass, density, specific leaf area, chemical analysis) with mosaicked flightlines of airborne remote sensing data. The campaign was supported under a NASA Terrestrial Ecology grant (NNX14AD81G) and led by Boise Center Aerospace Lab. Data were collected with an AVIRIS-NG imaging spectrometer and Airborne Snow Observatory lidar scanning system. 

 

Sagebrush Foliar Nitrogen mapped for the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed in Idaho.