The Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) uses science to inform policy decisions, enrich conservation planning and implementation, and improve management decisions. A core requirement of CEAP is the use, analysis and interpretation of "big data". Inventory and monitoring data at multiple scales (plot, field, watershed, etc) are necessary to conduct the appropriate assessment of resource conditions on private lands. The National Resources Inventory (NRI) provides a standardized method of inventory data protocols, collection, storage and retrieval. But for data collected outside of the NRI framework, a database is needed that allows users to tailor their data collection and management in an efficient, site-specific, yet standardized manner. Aside from the obvious advantages to field staff, ranchers and researchers, database standardization is necessary for CEAP to utilize multiple data sources. CEAP-Grazing Lands has teamed up with the University of Arizona to adopt their open-sourced Vegetation GIS Data System (VGS) software as the foundational database for grazing land projects. This talk will illustrate the efficiency and benefits of utilizing VGS for CEAP big data needs.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.