Geospatial files associated with the delineation and characterization of surface-moisture zones in the vicinity of mapped springs in Harney County, Oregon, 2017

This data collection includes spatial and tabular datasets related to the delineation and characterization of surface moisture zones (SMZs) in the vicinity of springs mapped in the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) in southeastern Oregon using time-series analysis of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data derived from Landsat Thematic Mapper 5 imagery from 1985-2011. The study area is within and adjacent to the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area (CMPA), which is a protected area of approximately 1,732 km2 managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Harney County, Oregon. Within or adjacent to the Steens Mountain CMPA, approximately 1,100 springs are mapped in the NHD, however very little hydrologic data exists for these springs. Data in this data release were produced using a set of scripts written in the R programming language, which are also included in this data release (see ‘larger works citation’ to access R scripts and associated metadata). These data processing scripts, data products, and associated metadata provide documentation for a novel remote-sensing based approach to assess the potential resilience of spring-dependent ecosystems to inter-annual changes in water availability. This approach uses time-series analysis of NDVI to (1) delineate SMZs in the vicinity of mapped springs in a semi-arid sage-steppe landscape, (2) derive quantitative indicators of the relative resilience of these SMZs to inter-annual changes in water availability, and (3) synthesize these indicators into an overall resilience score for each cluster of springs. Specifically, for 39 spring clusters in Harney County, Oregon, USA, these scripts process Landsat-derived NDVI and precipitation data from 1985-2011 to derive 7 potential indicators of SMZ resilience to water-cycle changes. For detailed information on the resilience indicators, including their conceptual basis, methods of calculation, and interpretation, see Cartwright and Johnson (2018) and the R scripts and their associated metadata in this data release. References: Cartwright and Johnson (2018), Springs as hydrologic refugia in a changing climate? A remote sensing approach. Ecosphere X(X).

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  "010:12"
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[
  "geospatial"
]