Invasion of the exotic grasses: Mapping their progression via satellite

TL;DRAbstract

Several exotic annual grass species are invading the Intermountain West. After disturbances including wildfire, these grasses can form dense stands with fine fuels that then shorten fire intervals. Thus invasive annual grasses and wildfire form a positive feedback mechanism that threatens native ecosystems. Chief among these within Nevada are Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass), Bromus rubens (red brome), and Schismus barbatus (Mediterranean grass). These grasses have an early phenology for both green-up and senescence that can be detected from the difference in greenness between two well-timed satellite images, allowing grass cover to be geographically modeled. The Nevada Natural Heritage Program is using imagery from Landsat and MODIS satellites to map annual grass invasion, and has completed a map of annual grass cover for the State of Nevada. The models and final map were developed from 806 training sites, remotely sensed data for two seasons from Landsat 5 TM and MODIS satellite sensors,

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