Project Number: 6235-11210-006-58
Project Type: Reimbursable

Start Date: Jul 01, 2007
End Date: Sep 30, 2009

Objective:
1) To evaluate use of remotely located electronic sensors to monitor off-road vehicle use of arid and semi-arid rangelands. 2) To complete and evaluate a landscape-scale, ecological site-based baseline ecological health survey based on protocols and indicators developed at the Jornada Experimental Range.

Approach:
1) A suite of sensors will be selected based on literature evaluations of durability, accuracy and precision. The sensors will be placed in multiple locations in areas where Off-Highway-Vehicle traffic is anticipated using a randomized complete block design with one sensor of each type per block. The blocks will represent a range of conditions. A motion-activated photo sensor and human observers will be used as the standard/control. 2) A landscape will be stratified into ecological site and, to the extent possible, ecological state using recently developed state and transition models. Plots will be randomly selected within each site/state combination.