Overview

Basics

Basics
This manuscript discusses field sampling, data analysis and comparisons of various models as predictors of wildlife occupancy for specific vegetation desired conditions, thereby fulfilling the objectives of the project. The project demonstrated that multiple geospatial datasets and assessment methods can be used to derive indicators associated with Tahoe's healthy vegetation and hazardous fuels desired condition, even when funding is constrained.

Completed
2009
2010
2013
$186,577

Pat Manley (pmanley@fs.fed.us)
10/31/2017
10/31/2017
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Location Information Location Notes

Organizations

Organizations

EIP Details

EIP Basics

04.01.01.0123 - P047: Monitoring Desired Conditions for Vegetation and Wildlife Habitat in the Lake Tahoe Basin

Performance Measures

Expected Performance Measures

Expected Performance Measures

No expected performance measures set for this project.

Reported Performance Measures

Reported Performance Measures

No annual performance measure accomplishments entered for this project.

Funding

Expected Funding

Expected Funding
$186,577
$186,577
$0

Total
Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (Pacific Southwest Research Station) (USFS - PSW) $186,577 $186,577 $0
Grand Total $186,577 $186,577 $0

Reported Expenditures

Reported Expenditures
Total 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009
Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (Pacifi... $186,577 $37,316 $37,315 $37,315 $37,316 $37,315
Grand Total $186,577 $37,316 $37,315 $37,315 $37,316 $37,315

Photos

Photos

No photos available.

Other Details

Watersheds

No watersheds set for this project.

Threshold Categories

  • Information on the condition of populations and habitats of plants and animals is needed for determining the status of desired conditions, understanding potential conflicts in multipleuse objectives in the context of sustainability, and formulating management direction to achieve these objectives.

Local and Regional Plans

No Local and Regional Plans set for this project.

Related Projects

Related Projects

No Related Projects set for this project.

External Links

No external links entered.

Notes

Notes
07/27/2017 4:48 PM Kiara Cuerpo-Hadsall Match Funding: $ 190,000
07/27/2017 4:47 PM Kiara Cuerpo-Hadsall Objectives:

The objective of this study was to help managers identify meaning indicators for upland habitat
ecological condition in accordance with vegetation desired conditions identified as part of
Tahoe’s Pathway planning process and per a draft “Healthy Vegetation and Hazardous Fuels
Desired Condition Monitoring Plan” (Greenberg and Dobrowski 2009). The draft monitoring
plan identified indicators to characterize vegetation conditions relative to desired conditions as: 1)
landscape extent of forest/non-forest types, 2) forest structural class, 3) ecological condition of
non-forested lands (e.g., meadows), 4) total burned area, 5) area treated in wildland urban
interface that meet flame length standards, and 6) percent of private and public parcels in urban
areas that meet defensible space prescription. Absent from the list of indicators was indicator(s)
to assess wildlife habitat conditions. We tested the ability of the proposed vegetation indicators to
also represent change in probability of wildlife occurrence within habitat. Remote sensing and insitu
field sampling were proposed methods to generate indicator values and as such were
reviewed to determine their implementation efficacy for monitoring program managers.

07/27/2017 4:47 PM Kiara Cuerpo-Hadsall Findings:

Efficacy of methods prescribed in the draft vegetation monitoring plan (Greenberg and
Dobrowski 2009):

- Through this project the following GIS data derivative products were assembled from
existing sources or otherwise uniquely derived from 2010 LiDAR and WorldView 2
datasets, including: 1) Digital Elevation Model (DEM), 2) Canopy Height Model
(CHM), 3) Canopy bulk density, 4) Slope, 5) Aspect, 6) Tree Stems (map of individual
tree locations - attributed with a) height to crown base (HTCB), b) crown bulk density,
c) dbh, d) height), 7) Tree crown map (perimeter of individual trees), 8) Canopy cover
(CC), 9) Fuel model surface, 10) Tree stand boundaries, 11) Existing vegetation type,
12) Distribution of past wildfires, 13) Distribution of past fuel treatments, 14) TARI and
SEZ Maps (from SEZ project), 15) Land Cover Database (the National Land Cover
Database for 1992, 2001, 2006 and 2011).

*** See www.fs.fed.us/PSW/partnerships/tahoescience for additional findings.

07/27/2017 4:45 PM Kiara Cuerpo-Hadsall Management Implications:

- LiDAR based change detection is accurate and useful for several indicators, including
impervious surfaces and vegetation cover, but collecting and processing the information
is labor intensive, expensive, and not well suited for use annually.

- It is suggested that one approach to annual monitoring would be to develop algorithm
based assessments of changed using more frequently available (and less expensive)
imagery from a source such as Planet Labs (https://www.planet.com/data/). This data
may also be used retrospectively, to be able to capture changes as far back in time as the
imagery and resolution allows. When integrated with older LANDSAT imagery, this
would allow the Lake Tahoe Basin to assess change as far back as 1984.

- The use of multi-species approaches to inform land management can also enhance
biodiversity conservation by identifying habitat conditions that support unique suites of
species. Management approaches that consider the extent and distribution of habitat
conditions across landscapes have the greatest likelihood of conserving and restoring
biodiversity and ecosystem functions.