Location: Range Management Research
Project Number: 3050-21600-001-116-I
Project Type: Interagency Reimbursable Agreement
Start Date: Jul 1, 2024
End Date: Jun 30, 2029
Objective:
RAP is actively used in NRCS conservation planning, resource assessment, and outcome-based evaluation efforts on rangelands. It is important that RAP data and web tools remain available for use by NRCS staff and agricultural producers to support decision making. This agreement will ensure that RAP data products are available, improved, and continue to meet the needs of NRCS. Through this agreement, NRCS and ARS will collaborate to: 1) ensure that RAP data products remain available and accessible to NRCS and its stakeholders, 2) research, develop, and deploy improved RAP data layers, and 3) review RAP system architecture to explore how functionalities can be used within Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Amazon Web Services (AWS) environments.
Approach:
Task 1. Maintain availability and operational functions of RAP data layers via web applications and data storage sites.
ARS will ensure that all RAP web applications and data products will continue to be operational and available to NRCS and the public. Deliverables include maintaining availability of the following until September 30, 2025:
1. The Rangeland Analysis Platform: https://rangelands.app
2. The RAP Production Explorer: https://jornada-data.shinyapps.io/production-explorer/ (Deliverable: ongoing availability of the website)
3. RAP data layers in Google Earth Engine:
a. CONUS-wide 16-day herbaceous production raster layer, available via web apps and through Google Earth Engine.
b. CONUS-wide herbaceous annual production raster layer, available via web apps and through Google Earth Engine.
c. CONUS-wide vegetation cover raster layer, available via web apps and through Google Earth Engine.
4. RAP Web Map Tile Service (WMTS) for mapping Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
5. RAP data storage at the University of Montana
Task 2. Deploy improved RAP data layers.
ARS is developing a new version of RAP (v4) that will improve upon the accuracy of the existing RAP v3 model and data products, particularly for the annual herbaceous and shrub cover elements. The objective of this task is to make RAP v4 operationally available to NRCS and partners. This will be achieved by running the RAP model using the Google Earth Engine and Google Cloud platforms. The following deliverables will be produced by January 2026:
1. CONUS-wide 16-day herbaceous production raster layer, available via web apps and through Google Earth Engine.
2. CONUS-wide herbaceous annual production raster layer, available via web apps and through Google Earth Engine.
3. CONUS-wide vegetation cover raster layer, available via web apps and through Google Earth Engine. This is a shared task between ARS, BLM, FSA, and NRCS (see Table 1 below).
Task 3. Review RAP system architecture with NRCS staff
ARS will support NRCS’ efforts to migrate some or all functionalities of Rangeland Analysis Platform to the FPAC AWS environments, including, but not limited to the following activities:
1. Provide the application’s source code to NRCS to deposit into a code repository for analysis
2. Provide an overview of the application, to include technology infrastructure or solutions stack (“tech stack”), the application’s core functionalities, system architecture, workflows, and data model
3. Provide documentation to include, but not limited to the following:
a. application system architecture diagram(s),
b. business process model diagram(s),
c. data model(s),
d. test results,
e. user documentation, and
f. miscellaneous artifacts
4. Provide a detailed demonstration of the application to the NRCS software development team(s)ARS agrees to participate in a series of knowledge transfer meetings with NRCS and contracted developers which may include, but are not limited to, discussions on the following topics:
a. Code review
b. Roles and authentication
c. User Interface/ User Experience (UI/UeX)
d. Quality assurance and testing
e. Deployment and Release steps
