Title | A data commons approach can help span scales and stakeholders to support ecosystem conservation and land use |
Publication Type | Conference Paper |
Year of Publication | 2020 |
Authors | McCord S, Webb N, Bonefont K, Burke R, Edwards B, Bestelmeyer BT, Herrick JE |
Conference Name | Ecological Society of America |
Date Published | 02/2020 |
Conference Location | Salt Lake City, Utah |
ARIS Log Number | 374804 |
Abstract | Background: Drivers of ecosystem changes include climate change, changing land uses, land management, and invasive species. Research efforts are underway to understand the impacts these drives on ecosystem services and agricultural production systems. At the same time, land managers seek to understand these interactions and implement conservation practices to ensure that management objectives are being met. To address these research and management needs, scientists and land managers have developed a range of disconnected data collection and monitoring initiatives. A strength of these initiatives has been the adoption of a suite of standardized vegetation and soil monitoring methods. These methods measure vegetation cover and structure, as well as soil horizon characteristics across dryland ecosystems from the Chihuahan Desert to the Arctic Tundra to the Mongolian Steppe. Yet, using this multi-scale ecosystem information can be challenging as it is difficult to locate and access these standardized data, ensure that they are trustworthy, and connect them to models and analytical tools. Here we present the Landscape Data Commons, which provides common rangeland datasets, standardized analysis tools and linkages to models that can integrate and add value to the data. The Landscape Data Commons provides a capability to deliver monitoring-derived information to benefit research, policy and land management across the United States and internationally. |