A new disturbance automated reference toolset (DART) was developed to monitor human land surface impacts using soil-type and ecological context. DART identifies reference areas with similar soils, topography, and geology; and, based on a satellite vegetation index, compares the disturbance condition to the reference area condition using a quantile-based approach. DART was able to represent 26-55% of variation of relative differences in bare ground and 26-41% of variation in total foliar cover when comparing sites with nearby ecological reference areas using the Soil Adjusted Total Vegetation Index (SATVI). �Assessment of ecological recovery at oil and gas pads on the Colorado Plateau revealed that more than half of well-pads were below the 25th percentile of reference areas particularly in grasslands, blackbrush (Coleogyne ramosissima) shrublands, arid canyon complexes, warmer areas with more summer-dominated precipitation, and state administered areas. Results showcase the usefulness of DART for assessing discrete surface land disturbances, and highlight the need for more targeted rehabilitation efforts at oil and gas well-pads in the arid southwest US.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.