Strategic Plan

Agreement

Open

Open

6/1/2016 - "5. Provide ARS with annual performance reports and a final performance report per the applicable provisions. The annual reports are due by June 1 of each year the Agreement is active..."

1. Work Closely with the ARS in planning and conducting the research outlined below.

   1. TL Swetnam has worked closely with ARS staff to create new data products and analyze data and write results for scientific papers.

2. Conduct research using Cooperator and ARS facilities, as appropriate. Activities include:
   
   

   1. Review LiDAR derived digital elevation models from Pima County (SRER) and USGS contracted QL1 airborne lidar products (Walnut Gulch) to ensure bare earth topography has been accurately separated from vegetation and assess algorithms.

      1. Analysis of the SRER lidar has been completed (bare earth and segmentation of the vegetation)

      2. The pilot USGS Walnut Gulch lidar data was delivered in February and underwent a quick quality control / quality assurance
         
         

         1. Woolpert lidar processing
            
            

      3. The full USGS lidar data set has not been delivered (as of 5/12/2016).

   2. Map large woody species on SRER and Walnut Gulch using airborne lidar data.

      1. The SRER lidar has been segmented into a single stem inventory which include the canopy metrics and point cloud details for each shrub taller than 2 feet. 

         1. Species characterization has not yet been conducted. Once the WGEW lidar is delivered the analysis can begin.

   3. Develop a method to scale from the individual perennial midgrass plant to NEON AOP 1 meter resolution using ground, and UAV lidar and imagery for which some portion of the imagery capture or processing could be done in house or contracted, depending on the maturity of the available tools.

      1. Collaborator and sub-contractor Temuulen Sankey (NAU) has prepared a manuscript for Geophysical Research Letters which discusses her UAV hyperspectral and lidar capability. Some of the letter discusses the utility of the UAV for collecting fine scale observations which can be scaled down and be compared to NEON AOP data. 

   4. Assess the ability of UAV lidar to quantify forage utilization at the pasture scale.

      1. We collected UAV lidar and SfM on Walnut Gulch in October 2015. We have also begun to collect UAV SfM data on SRER which will be ongoing through Fall 2016.

   5. Contract for a consistent classification on both the SRER and Walnut Gulch to vegetative states appropriate for the MLRA 41 ecological site state and transition models. 

      1. This work is being led by Dan Robinett

3. Work closely with ARS to prepare findings for publication in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at meetings and/or commodity groups.

   1. We are currently working with ARS to submit the Sankey et al. letter to GRL (est. submission 5/31), and are continuing to develop new papers for future submission. 

4. Be responsible and accountable for the performance and conduct of all Cooperator employees assigned to the project. ARS does not have authority to supervise Cooperator employees or engage in the employer/employee relationship of the Cooperator

5. see top note 

6. Refer to applicable provisions regarding Publications and Acknowledgement of Support

7. The following acknowledgement of Awarding Agency support must appear in the publications of any materials which is based upon or developed under this agreement (whether or not copyrighted).
   "This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, under Agreement No. 58-2022-5-13."
   All such materials must also contain the following disclaimer unless the publication is formally cleared by USDA:
   "Any opinions, findings, conclusion, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

Range Use Agreement 

Milestones