2008 Annual Report 1a.Objectives (from AD-416) 1. Accurately measure PJ canopy and nearest neighbor distances. 2. Accurately measure bare ground in the interspaces between trees. 3. Monitor recruitment and seedling age classes. 4. Develop data for relating canopy diameter to tree mass. 5. Measure the rate of canopy closure, the dynamics of associated herbaceous species, and related changes to ground cover. 1b.Approach (from AD-416) We will use a 2-camera system to obtain 1- and 10-mm/pixel (GSD), geocoded, nested and simultaneously-acquired, aerial images to monitor piñon-juniper woodland cover, size structure, and understory at a site in central New Mexico. Image analysis will be done using “SamplePoint.” The area to be surveyed is a 28,000 acre piñon-juniper/grassland ecotone at New Mexico State University’s Corona Range and Livestock Research Center. Flight transects in E-W direction at 1 mile intervals will be conducted across this area. In the second year of the project we will work with BLM NSTC to test the application of stereo VLSA imagery to measuring PJ above-ground biomass. 3.Progress Report Pinyon-juniper woodlands in New Mexico and in other areas of the West are invading grasslands and reducing livestock forage. The investigation of this and other landscape-scale processes, and related management effects have been hindered by lack of effective methods for making fine-scale measurement across extensive areas in a cost-effective and timely manner. Historic efforts to use high-resolution aerial photography for rangeland monitoring have been limited by low image quality from motion blur. Recent advances limiting motion blur make systematic aerial sampling a practical means for acquiring hundreds to thousands of geo-coded aerial samples (images) uniformly-spaced across areas of interest. Geo-coding allows each sample to be described by aspect, elevation, soils, vegetation, and other characteristics using Geographic Information System data bases that are commonly available. In this project we are using high-resolution aerial imagery acquired to characterize pinyon-juniper woodland structure and its understory, assess the interspace ground cover and the response of these woodland areas to management practices at the New Mexico State University, Corona Range and Livestock Research Center (CRLRC). During 10 – 14 Sept. 2007 we acquired almost 1500 targets at 2 resolutions (~3,000 images). Image analysis for ground cover has begun. A contract for the harvest and weighing of juniper has been developed. Methods used to monitor the activities of this in-house project during the 2008 FY have included a meeting with NMSU cooperator in February and multiple phone calls and emails to define annual goals and review progress toward objectives.