Assessing Rangeland Forage Productivity & Quality
The Use of Remote Sensing to Inform Collaboratively Managed Landscapes on Colorado's Northern Front Range
Introduction
Research Question
Are there differences in spatial patterns of (a) forage productivity and (b) forage nutritive quality, among select government-owned lands that have been historically managed by grazing compared to areas excluded from grazing?
Study Region
GIS Concepts
Data Schema
Site History & Map
GIS Analyses
Naming Conventions
Flowchart
Visualizing the analysis process.
Let's take a closer look.
Results
Results of the multi-layered ArcGIS analysis illustrated spatial differences of (a) forage productivity (Net Primary Productivity) and (b) forage nutritive quality (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) between historically grazed and ungrazed parcels of select government-owned landscapes on the Northern Front Range of Colorado. To statistically examine these differences, 2 types of tests were performed: Analysis of Variance and t-tests.
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
A Two-Way ANOVA was performed to test differences in the means of each variable as a function of both Study Site and Treatment (grazed versus ungrazed) based on the significant level alpha = 0.05. Assumptions of equal variance and normally distributed data were confirmed by examining Residual vs Fitted plots, Normal Q-Q plots, and Histograms.
T-TESTS
T-tests were used to test the hypothesis that there were actual differences in the means of grazed versus ungrazed areas for each of the variables: NPP in above and below average precipitation years and NDVI in above and below average precipitation years. T-tests were conducted using a 95% confident interval and an alpha = 0.05. A Fisher's test for homoscedasticity was performed to account for unequal sample sizes, and appropriate steps were taken (i.e. coding for equal or unequal variances) based on the result.
A Closer Look at Soapstone Prairie...
Coyote Ridge Natural Area
A Closer Look at Coyote Ridge...
Coalton Trail Open Space
A Closer Look at Coalton Trail...
Lowry Ranch
A Closer Look at Lowry Ranch...
Conclusions
References
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