Rangeland Condition Monitoring Assessment and Projection (RCMAP)
Summary
The USGS RCMAP (Rangeland Condition Monitoring Assessment and Projection) project has worked with BLM scientists and land managers to develop actionable remote-sensing based vegetation classifications. RCMAP quantifies the percent cover of rangeland components across the western U.S. using Landsat imagery from 1985-2024. The RCMAP product suite consists of ten fractional components: annual herbaceous, bare ground, herbaceous, litter, non-sagebrush shrub, perennial herbaceous, sagebrush, shrub, shrub height, and tree, in addition to the temporal trends of each component. Several enhancements were made to the RCMAP process relative to prior generations. The mapping area included eight regions which were subsequently mosaicked for all [...]
Summary
The USGS RCMAP (Rangeland Condition Monitoring Assessment and Projection) project has worked with BLM scientists and land managers to develop actionable remote-sensing based vegetation classifications. RCMAP quantifies the percent cover of rangeland components across the western U.S. using Landsat imagery from 1985-2024. The RCMAP product suite consists of ten fractional components: annual herbaceous, bare ground, herbaceous, litter, non-sagebrush shrub, perennial herbaceous, sagebrush, shrub, shrub height, and tree, in addition to the temporal trends of each component. Several enhancements were made to the RCMAP process relative to prior generations. The mapping area included eight regions which were subsequently mosaicked for all ten components. These data can be used to answer critical questions regarding the influence of climate change and the suitability of management practices. Component products can also be downloaded at https://www.mrlc.gov/data and interacted with at https://www.mrlc.gov/rangeland-viewer/. Also included in this community page are the previous versions (version 5: years 1985-2021, version 4: years 1985-2020, version 3: 1985-2018, projections for the 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s Time-Periods, and the Ecological Potential Fractional Component Cover). Land managers and scientists can use annual fractional cover maps to monitor changes to vegetation composition, evaluate past management practices, target future improvements, determine locations of critical wildlife habitat, assess effects of climate change and interannual variation, and appraise landscape health and fragmentation.
Note: Version 6 (years 1985-2023) is the latest version and was released on 1-17-2024.
The goal of this project is to provide a dense Landsat imagery time series of rangeland fractional components across the Western U.S. from 1985 to the present year released. These data will provide an inventory of land cover validated products with estimates of precision for the western rangelands. Climate change, shifting fire regimes, and management practices are increasingly impacting the health of the ecosystem. This dataset will fill the need for improved monitoring change within the large rangeland habitat.
