Rangeland managers in the western U.S. need information to help plan for shifts in plant production that will accompany a potentially warmer, drier and more variable climate. Climate pivot points are a promising new method to identify production responses to climate conditions and define when production shifts from below to above average.� In addition to determining critical water needs of vegetation, the pivot point framework provides information on drought resistance. We apply the concept of climate pivot points to the landscape level using high temporal frequency remote sensing observations of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), a proxy for plant production. We characterize climate conditions using a water balance model that integrates climate and site factors that moderate climate. We stratify the landscape to vegetation map units to define pivot points, drought resistance, and response in grasslands, blackbrush, and sagebrush shrublands.� We found differences in plant responses and drought resistance related to vegetation type and soil properties.� Our findings can be used to track the dynamics of vegetation condition at landscape scales within the growing season and as an early warning sign of undesirable vegetation state changes.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.