Abstract Title
Spatial Assessment and Documentation of Rangeland Health on Grazing Allotments in Sensitive Areas Using Low-Cost and Open-Source Geospatial Technology
Abstract
Rangeland Monitoring often includes an element of spatial analysis to determine the vegetative index of a landscape. Spatial analysis can be done with geospatial and drone technology; technologies that are commonly expensive and require extensive training to use. This project analyzes a variety of low-cost and open-source geospatial technologies to determine their accessibility, ease-of-use, and application. The technologies used included QGIS, QGIS Cloud, and Google Earth Engine. It was found that while these programs can be used for spatial analysis, they are less intuitive and contain less capability when compared to high-cost programs. Ranchers who may want to perform their own rangeland health and spatial analyses should keep this in mind when choosing programs to purchase and utilize.
Spatial Assessment and Documentation of Rangeland Health on Grazing Allotments in Sensitive Areas Using Low-Cost and Open-Source Geospatial Technology
Rangeland Monitoring often includes an element of spatial analysis to determine the vegetative index of a landscape. Spatial analysis can be done with geospatial and drone technology; technologies that are commonly expensive and require extensive training to use. This project analyzes a variety of low-cost and open-source geospatial technologies to determine their accessibility, ease-of-use, and application. The technologies used included QGIS, QGIS Cloud, and Google Earth Engine. It was found that while these programs can be used for spatial analysis, they are less intuitive and contain less capability when compared to high-cost programs. Ranchers who may want to perform their own rangeland health and spatial analyses should keep this in mind when choosing programs to purchase and utilize.