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The definition of metrics that capture key sustainability concerns; |
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the development of spatial datasets characterizing these metrics; and, |
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the development of decision models and tools for analysis and synthesis, which characterize trajectories of change, and report these metrics in a manner that provides significant value to a range of clients. |
The use of remotely sensed data is particularly relevant to sustainability metric development, given its intrinsically spatial nature and regional dimension.
PNWRC Role
The PNWRC is developing the Northwest Explorer to help inform government agencies, policymakers, interest groups and commercial entities on issues critical to the sustainability of our region. The Explorer will be comprised of a set of web-based decision models that utilize remotely sensed data, in combination with additional data sources. It will provide both datasets and higher-level analysis of past, current and forecasted conditions against critical regional sustainability parameters.
The Northwest Explorer provides an organizing framework for the
geospatial projects undertaken through the PNWRC (see diagram below).
Technical projects conducted by the PNWRC will provide baseline
characterization data for the Northwest Explorer. While the Explorer is expected
to serve the needs of a targeted set of end users concerned with
sustainability, resource managers concerned with specific terrestrial,
aquatic, and marine management issues will also benefit from the direct
results of technical projects in each of these areas.
The need
Over 80 percent of the water supply in the
western United States results from
mountain snowmelt, where a large portion of land is owned and managed by
the federal government. Many local, state, and federal agencies depend on
knowledge of the runoff from mountain basins, including those interested in
agriculture, power generation, tourism, contaminant transport, and fire
prediction. Water resource managers require accurate and timely predictions
of water supplies and demands to allocate limited resources to meet complex
and often competing demands for water. Accurate estimates and forecasts of
snow-cover extent, snow water equivalence, and snowmelt are important for
both flood forecasting and longer-term management. There is a critical need
by water resource managers for improved short-term to seasonal water supply
and demand forecasts. PNWRC Role
Water Resource Forecasting
The overall goal of this project is to provide water resource managers, such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Bureau of Reclamation, with operational tools for doing improved streamflow forecasting in snow-dominated basins in the Pacific Northwest. Ultimately, this information will help water resource managers to better support their end users (e.g. reservoir operators, state fish and wildlife agencies, farmers, and recreation enthusiasts) in balancing water resource needs.
The PNWRC efforts are currently focused on developing improved
techniques for estimating snow-cover and incorporating this data into
models to support streamflow prediction (see snow-cover extent map
below). Tradeoffs in complexity and performance between two existing
models – the Snowmelt Runoff Model (SRM) and the Distributed Hydrologic
Soil Vegetation Model (DHSVM) – are being analyzed and features of each
are being incorporated into a hybrid model. During 2004-2005, the hybrid
model will be tested in both snow-dominant and rain-dominant basins, and
if successful, will be applied to other basins in the Pacific Northwest. The information on regional water resource availability produced by these
tools will support the regional assessment of sustainability as forecast
information is made accessible in the Northwest Sustainability Decision
Support System.
Snow Prediction Model Output
The Need
Invasive annual grasses such as downy brome (Bromus tectorum), also known as cheatgrass, have reshaped the landscape of many ecosystems in the western United States. Downy brome now dominates vast sagebrush grasslands, increasing the fire frequency and reducing sagebrush communities and associated native species. This species and other invasive plant species cost Americans over $137 billion per year and have encroached upon over 100 million acres in the United States. In Idaho, available data indicates that the amount spent to control noxious weeds and agricultural pests exceeds $10 million per year (Idaho Invasive Species Council, 2003).
In addition to monetary costs associated with the attempts for controlling invasive and noxious weeds, evidence also suggests that invasive species alter disturbance regimes, and in many cases such alterations result in drastic ecosystem changes, including direct species replacements and altered ecosystem processes. Land managers and agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Idaho Department of Agriculture, Idaho State Department of Lands, Bonneville and Ada counties and the Duck Valley tribe, are all concerned with an accelerating downward ecological spiral that is occurring on the 25 million acres of public land dominated by cheatgrass. These land managers have expressed strong interest in cheatgrass identification and management tools.
PNWRC Role
The PNWRC will provide land managers with tools that more accurately delineate areas infested with the most pernicious invasive weeds in the region, and enable them to develop more targeted eradication and control plans. The PNWRC team is focused initially on cheatgrass; however the techniques, once demonstrated, are expected to be extendable to other invasive weeds.
Through this project, the PNWRC is developing a set of tools to
help detect and map cheatgrass, and better plan for eradication. The team
is developing a phenological model of cheatgrass development, which could
save land managers time and money by determining the most useful times to
collect geospatial imagery and predicting the phenological stages that
are most important for eradication (see model output below). The models
and applications are currently being validated with the goal of
developing a decision support system for cheatgrass management in 2005.
Output from model delineating cheatgrass density on the Big Desert Allotment study site in southeast Idaho
The Need
Coastal development and other human activities have dramatically altered the Puget Sound nearshore environment. The impact of the development and degradation of Puget Sound beaches and the introduction of contaminants can be felt throughout the ecosystem. Habitat for aquatic species is lost and the livelihoods of people who depend on the nearshore environment are affected by these activities. A regional restoration effort, known as the Puget Sound Nearshore Ecological Restoration Project (PSNERP), has been initiated by a group of federal and state agencies to help address these challenges. The purpose of the PSNERP is to identify significant ecosystem problems in the Puget Sound Basin, evaluate potential solutions and restore and preserve critical nearshore habitat.
PNWRC Role
The PNWRC will partner with the PSNERP participants to provide critical information required to support nearshore habitat restoration in the Puget Sound region. Currently, the PNWRC is evaluating alternative remote sensing technologies and data sets for potential applicability to the mapping of nearshore environments. In the longer term, this information will be used to help prioritize areas for nearshore restoration, and assess the impacts of restoration strategies.
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