Research Project: Development of an All-lands Wind Erosion Model

Location: Range Management Research

Project Number: 3050-21600-001-030-I
Project Type: Interagency Reimbursable Agreement

Start Date: Jul 1, 2021
End Date: Sep 30, 2026

Objective:
Wind erosion: The overall objectives of the work are: 1. Maintain AERO model code and develop AERO model to support CEAP-GL goals. 2. Guide CEAP-GL team on use of national monitoring datasets and remote sensing products to support multi-scale assessments including wind erosion, dust emission and other indicators with respect to conservation practices. 3. Build our understanding of where, when, and how much wind erosion and dust emission occur across the US with respect to conservation practices and that contribute to objectives of CEAP-GL conservation assessments as guided by CEAP-GL. 4. Develop the underpinning science and knowledge required to incorporate wind erosion information into decision support for conservation practices, including using Ecological Site Descriptions (ESDs) and state-and-transition models (STMs) to support assessments of the impacts of land use and land cover change and land management on wind erosion and dust emissions in the US. Data commons: The overall objectives of the work are: 5. Harmonize monitoring data from NRI, BLM AIM, BLM LMF and the National Wind Erosion Research Network that contribute to management objectives of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), CEAP-GL conservation assessments. 6. Develop a website with access to specific data for CEAP-GL partners with appropriate confidentiality credentials to obtain processed data suitable for use in rangeland assessments. 7. Link harmonized data to ESDs and Ecological Site Groups (ESGs) to connect quantitative information including status of indicators and current condition to conservation practices. 8. Develop model parameterization files and analysis tools that leverage linked harmonized monitoring data, models and model estimates (e.g., AERO, RHEM) in the ESD/STM framework and other data to support CEAP-GL assessments. 9. Produce multi-indicator analyses from harmonized data and other data to support CEAP-GL objectives at different scales as guided by CEAP-GL objectives.

Approach:
Wind erosion: The position will: FY21.1 Maintain AERO model code and develop AERO model to support CEAP-GL goals. FY21.2 Guide CEAP-GL team on use of national monitoring datasets and remote sensing products to support multi-scale assessments including wind erosion, dust emission and other indicators with respect to conservation practices. FY21.3 Refine calibration of size-resolved dust emission scheme in AERO model with dust concentration data (2019-2021) from the National Wind Erosion Research Network and other sources. FY21.4 Develop AERO tiered drag partition scheme to represent oriented roughness and soil surface disturbance due to tillage tools and other cropland practices that are applied in grazing lands using National Wind Erosion Research Network data (2015-2020). FY21.5 Integrate remote sensing-based drag partition scheme into AERO model to support assessment of continuous spatial and temporal patterns of wind erosion across the US. FY21.6 Develop national soil particle size distribution database for use with AERO model that can be included in the Landscape Data Commons: develop methodology to select representative soil samples from NRCS and BLM sampling and sample acquisition. FY21.7 Incorporate wind erosion information into Ecological Site Descriptions (ESD) summaries including information about model uncertainty that can be interpreted by users to inform selection and assessment of conservation practices. Data commons: The positions will: Y21.8 Maintain and improve the underlying software infrastructure of the Landscape Data Commons. FY21.9 Develop an application programming interface (API) and R package to enable access to the Landscape Data Commons via local coding processes. This process will be tested by linking the Landscape Data Commons to EDIT. FY21.10 Produce RHEM model inputs from harmonized monitoring data. FY21.11 Incorporate model estimates from NRI, BLM AIM and BML LMF into the Landscape Data Commons by linking plot-level model estimates to plot-level indicator summaries. FY21.12 Develop software tools to key monitoring data in the Landscape Data Commons to ESDs and ESGs in coordination with CEAP-GL priorities. FY21.13 Develop online data visualization tools (on the Landscape Data Commons) to report indicator summaries, including model estimates at the ESD and ESG levels. FY21.14 Support CEAP-GL with multi-indicator analyses using the Landscape Data Commons on all lands in the western US.