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ARS Home » Plains Area » Las Cruces, New Mexico » Range Management Research » Research » Research Project #446431

Research Project: Outreach and Communication for the Rangeland Analysis Platform

Location: Range Management Research

Project Number: 3050-21600-001-003-A
Project Type: Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Jul 1, 2024
End Date: Sep 30, 2025

Objective:
RAP is a rangeland management and monitoring tool intended to be used alongside local data and knowledge to develop sustainable rangeland management strategies and implement climate smart practices. RAP helps users analyze the outcomes of land management actions and plan for future actions, such as evaluating the impacts of drought on perennial forage on both seasonal and yearly scales, identifying where to implement future restoration treatments, or evaluating the effectiveness of restoration treatments. RAP is currently maintained and operated by the USDA Agricultural Research Service, Jornada Experimental Range in collaboration with Partnerships in Data Innovation. New Mexico State University will assist ARS with research to develop outreach and communication tools that help ranchers and land managers understand and leverage RAP most effectively.

Approach:
1. Complete a literature review of fractional cover in rangeland research and management. 2. Develop a structure for a bibliographic web tool. 3. Coordinate with ARS and BLM scientists to develop fractional vegetation cover web tools.