The LandscapeToolbox

The Methods Guide helps you find the field and remote-sensing methods most useful for your rangeland assessment and monitoring needs. It provides reviews on how well each method performs to answer specific questions as well as descriptions, relative costs, references to rangeland applications, and contact information for the different techniques. The techniques are rated through expert and user reviews. The Methods Guide is intended to be the users’ first step to selecting assessment and monitoring protocols by providing enough information on strengths, limitations, and rangeland applications that users can seek additional, more specific how-to information on the recommended techniques.

While the results should be useful for work in rangeland systems around the globe, the Methods Guide was created with and for managers of arid and semi-arid ecosystems of the western United States. The guide is in the early phases of development so the subjects addressed at this time are limited in scope. The current focus is on upland shrub steppe vegetation and topics include grazing management, vegetation mapping, weeds, juniper encroachment, seral stage and condition, and some limited treatment of wildlife habitat concerns. In the future we hope to expand the system to consider more topics and attributes of rangeland management. We welcome your feedback on important topics and questions to add to the system. If you would like to help us expand the scope of the methods guide and suggest additional questions, click here.

For more information, see our Frequently Asked Questions page.