Mapbook atlas of riparian vegetation for 2006, 2016, and the change between years

Models of riparian vegetation were created by digital image sampling to collect environmental response data. National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery at the time step and a scripted Google Earth Engine image visualization and data collection interface was used to ocularly interpret the presence and absence of riparian vegetation. Final models were applied using Landsat composite imagery and associated vegetation indices with the digitally collected occurrence locations. The random forest algorithm was used within Google Earth Engine to develop models for 2006 and 2016 by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ecoregion III. Models were constrained to valley bottoms across the Colorado River Basin. A change map was created by differencing 2006 and 2016 results for a gain, loss and persistence map. Detailed methods can be found in Woodward et al. (In prep).Users of these maps and other analysis products are solely responsible for interpretations made from these products. The Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory makes every effort to ensure this map is free of errors but does not warrant the map or its features are either spatially or temporally accurate or fit for a particular use. The Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory provides this map without any warranty, either express or implied.An ArcGIS created Mapbook atlas of the results of modeling riparian vegetation across the Colorado River Basin. The atlas includes an overview of the Colorado River Basin with these model results as well as an indexed tile-by-tile map of the results for a more detailed view. Detailed methods can be found in Woodward et al. (In prep)This project was funded by the Walton Family Foundation

Elevation (10 meter) for Colorado River Basin

The DEM layer was downloaded in approximately 127 tiles, it was merged and reprojected to North America Albers Equal Area Conic coordinate system.This elevation layer, which is part of the National Elevation Dataset (NED), is available from the USGS National Geospatial Program. It has a 10 meter resolution and covers the Colorado River Basin.This project was funded by the Walton Family Foundation

Tablet field data collection (shapefiles)

Data were collected in the field with high-resolution imagery loaded on computer tablets. Points were classified based on their dominant vegetation in three main categories: tamarisk, Russian olive, or absence. Dominance was defined as occupying greater than 50% of the canopy within a roughly 7 m radius circle. Collected information classified the status of tamarisk as either live, dead, a mixture of live and dead or having red foliage from tamarisk beetle attack (called "red phase tamarisk" in the data). Further, absence points were classified to indicate the dominant vegetation or land cover (i.e., water, bare ground, etc.) at that location.The tamarisk & Russian olive data is mainly collected in Colorado, Utah and Arizona. Sampling is done opportunistically as land ownership, access, and logistics allow.These shapefiles contain the 3,493 species occurrence and absence records for Russian olive and tamarisk represented in the Tablet Data Collection csv file. These are organized by location.This project was funded by the Walton Family Foundation

Tablet field data collection (csv)

Data were collected in the field with high-resolution imagery loaded on computer tablets. Points were classified based on their dominant vegetation in three main categories: tamarisk, Russian olive, or absence. Dominance was defined as occupying greater than 50% of the canopy within a roughly 7 m radius circle. Collected information classified the status of tamarisk as either live, dead, a mixture of live and dead or having red foliage from tamarisk beetle attack (called "red phase tamarisk" in the data). Further, absence points were classified to indicate the dominant vegetation or land cover (i.e., water, bare ground, etc.) at that location.The tamarisk & Russian olive data is mainly collected in Colorado, Utah and Arizona. Sampling is done opportunistically as land ownership, access, and logistics allow.This dataset contains 3,491 species occurrence and absence records for Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) and tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) along rivers within the Colorado River Basin in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.This project was funded by the Walton Family Foundation

Mapping native and non-native riparian vegetation in the Colorado River Watershed

Revised October 24, 2018.Includes bibliographical references.Using remote sensing to map riparian vegetation, particularly single species such as tamarisk and Russian olive, requires georeferenced occurrence locations with estimations of foliar cover to train remote sensing-based models. This report details on the data, resources, methods and results to developing riparian vegetation, tamarisk and Russian olive distribution models along the Colorado River and its’ main tributaries. Change in riparian vegetation for Colorado River Basin was analyzed, finding an overall increase in riparian vegetation between 2006 and 2016. Also, an evaluation of the change map in known regions of tamarisk management showed that our models did identify a substantial decrease in tamarisk. The results of this study are a promising next step for project partners to utilize remote sensing to monitor the efficacy of management efforts throughout the Colorado River Basin and inform future management strategies.This project was funded by the Walton Family Foundation

Mapbook atlas of tamarisk occurrence for 2016 for select Landsat scenes

Models of tamarisk occurrence were created on a Landsat scene by scene basis. There were six scenes modeled in total that included portions of the Dolores, Green, Gila, Verde, and Colorado River. Models were developed using a presence background approach with multi-temporal Landsat imagery and derived indices using the random forest algorithm.Select Landsat scenes in the Colorado River Basin.Users of these maps and other analysis products are solely responsible for interpretations made from these products. The Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory makes every effort to ensure this map is free of errors but does not warrant the map or its features are either spatially or temporally accurate or fit for a particular use. The Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory provides this map without any warranty, either express or implied.An ArcGIS created Mapbook atlas of the results of modeling tamarisk occurrence in select scenes in Colorado River Basin for 2016. The atlas includes an overview of the Colorado River Basin with these model results as well as an indexed tile-by-tile map of the results for a more detailed view.This project was funded by the Walton Family Foundation

2016 riparian vegetation within the Colorado River Basin

A raster that depicts modeled riparian vegetation in 2016. Training data were collected in Google Earth Engine using National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery. Presence and absence riparian vegetation locations were ocularly estimated within Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ecoregion III boundaries within the Colorado River Basin. Random forests models were then developed at each ecoregion using Landsat composites and associated vegetation indices. Results were mosaicked to create a continuous raster across the Colorado River Basin.GeoTiff raster of 2016 riparian vegetation within the Colorado River Basin. This map was created from a random forest model developed in Google Earth Engine.This project was funded by the Walton Family Foundation

2006 riparian vegetation within the Colorado River Basin

A raster that depicts modeled riparian vegetation in 2006. Training data were collected in Google Earth Engine using National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery. Presence and absence riparian vegetation locations were ocularly estimated within Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ecoregion III boundaries within the Colorado River Basin. Random forests models were then developed at each ecoregion using Landsat composites and associated vegetation indices. Results were mosaicked to create a continuous raster across the Colorado River Basin.GeoTiff 30 meter raster of 2006 riparian vegetation within the Colorado River Basin. This map was created from a random forest model developed in Google Earth Engine.This project was funded by the Walton Family Foundation

Valley bottom extraction tool results for Colorado River Basin

Valley bottoms are representative of the "maximum riparian corridor extent", an area which separates the vegetative, topographic, and environmental characteristics of riparian areas from those of the upland. The Valley Bottom Extraction Tool (V-BET) (Gilbert et al., 2016), a freely available ArcMap Toolbox, was used to map valley bottoms across the Colorado River Basin. The V-BET tool requires two primary data inputs: a high resolution (≤10 m2) digital elevation model and hydrologic flowline data with high cartographic precision. The hydrologic flow line data was obtained from the National Hydrography Dataset and a 10-meter digital elevation model from the National Elevation Dataset. The study area was separated into 149 distinct hydrological unit codes (HUCs) at the HUC-8 level and processed each HUC independently within the V-BET toolbox in ArcMap v10.3. Resulting valley bottom extents, which are output from the tool as polygon files, were qualitatively verified by trained interpreters and edited (mainly streams and rivers equal to Strahler stream order "3") manually in a geographic information system to remove any superfluous channels or over/under estimations of extent using the refinement and editing process detailed in Gilbert et al. (2016). This zip file contains two versions of the Valley bottom extraction tool results for the Colorado River Basin; one as a raster version and another as a polygon shapefile.Valley Bottom Extraction Tool (V-BET) was used to spatially define riparian corridors based on topography and vegetation. The V-BET algorithm was applied to all streams and rivers present within the Colorado River Basin (CRB) that were less than or equal to Strahler stream order "3" (USGS National Hydrologic Database, 2016), thereby capturing the extent of valley bottoms and riparian corridors along the majority of large streams and rivers within the expansive CRB network.This project was funded by the Walton Family Foundation