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Volume 15
Issue 21
10.3390/rs15215102
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Article

Rangeland Brush Estimation Tool (RaBET): An Operational Remote Sensing-Based Application for Quantifying Woody Cover on Western Rangelands

by
Chandra Holifield Collins
1,*,
Susan Skirvin
2,
Mark Kautz
1,
Zachary Winston
2,
Dustin Curley
2,
Andrew Corrales
2,
Andrew Bishop
3,
Nadine Bishop
4,
Cynthia Norton
5,
Guillermo Ponce-Campos
2,
Gerardo Armendariz
1,
Loretta Metz
6,
Philip Heilman
1 and
Willem van Leeuwen
7
1
USDA—Agricultural Research Service, Southwest Watershed Research Center, 2000 E. Allen Road, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
2
University of Arizona School of Natural Resources and the Environment, The University of Arizona, 1064 E. Lowell Street, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
3
Rainwater Basin Joint Venture, 2550 N. Diers Avenue, Grand Island, NE 68803, USA
4
USDA—Natural Resources Conservation Service, 706 East 5th Street, Imperial, NE 69033, USA
5
University of Arizona School of Natural Resources and the Environment, Arizona Remote Sensing Center, The University of Arizona, 1064 E. Lowell Street, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
6
USDA—Natural Resources Conservation Service, Soil Health Division, 1311 E. 4th Street #211, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
7
University of Arizona School of Natural Resources and the Environment, School of Geography Development & Environment, Arizona Remote Sensing Center, The University of Arizona, 1064 E. Lowell Street, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Remote Sens. 2023, 15(21), 5102; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15215102
Submission received: 28 August 2023 / Revised: 18 October 2023 / Accepted: 19 October 2023 / Published: 25 October 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing in Land Management)
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Abstract

Much of the western United States is covered by rangelands used for grazing and wildlife. Woody plant cover is increasing in areas historically covered by grasslands and can cause numerous problems, including losses in wildlife habitat, forage for grazing, and overall losses in soil health. Land managers and conservationists are working to control these increases in woody plants, but need tools to help determine target areas to focus efforts and resources where they are most needed. In this work, we present RaBET (Rangeland Brush Estimation Tool), which uses transparent, well-understood methodologies with remotely sensed data to map woody canopy cover across large areas of rangelands. We demonstrate that our process produced more accurate results than two currently available tools based on advanced machine learning techniques. We compare two methods of map validation: traditional field methods of plant canopy measurements; and aircraft-based photography, which decreases the amount of time and resources needed. RaBET is a remote sensing-based application for obtaining repeatable, accurate measures of woody cover to aid land managers and conservationists in the control of woody plants on rangelands.
Keywords: Landsat; woody cover; rangelands; vegetation maps Landsat; woody cover; rangelands; vegetation maps

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Holifield Collins, C.; Skirvin, S.; Kautz, M.; Winston, Z.; Curley, D.; Corrales, A.; Bishop, A.; Bishop, N.; Norton, C.; Ponce-Campos, G.; et al. Rangeland Brush Estimation Tool (RaBET): An Operational Remote Sensing-Based Application for Quantifying Woody Cover on Western Rangelands. Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 5102. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15215102

AMA Style

Holifield Collins C, Skirvin S, Kautz M, Winston Z, Curley D, Corrales A, Bishop A, Bishop N, Norton C, Ponce-Campos G, et al. Rangeland Brush Estimation Tool (RaBET): An Operational Remote Sensing-Based Application for Quantifying Woody Cover on Western Rangelands. Remote Sensing. 2023; 15(21):5102. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15215102

Chicago/Turabian Style

Holifield Collins, Chandra, Susan Skirvin, Mark Kautz, Zachary Winston, Dustin Curley, Andrew Corrales, Andrew Bishop, Nadine Bishop, Cynthia Norton, Guillermo Ponce-Campos, and et al. 2023. "Rangeland Brush Estimation Tool (RaBET): An Operational Remote Sensing-Based Application for Quantifying Woody Cover on Western Rangelands" Remote Sensing 15, no. 21: 5102. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15215102

APA Style

Holifield Collins, C., Skirvin, S., Kautz, M., Winston, Z., Curley, D., Corrales, A., Bishop, A., Bishop, N., Norton, C., Ponce-Campos, G., Armendariz, G., Metz, L., Heilman, P., & van Leeuwen, W. (2023). Rangeland Brush Estimation Tool (RaBET): An Operational Remote Sensing-Based Application for Quantifying Woody Cover on Western Rangelands. Remote Sensing, 15(21), 5102. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15215102

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