The Landscape Toolbox

The Landscape Toolbox project began with two concepts:

1. There are many different techniques, tools, methods, data sources, and models available to aid in the monitoring and assessment of rangeland landscapes; and
2. For the most part, with a few notable exceptions, these tools are not being used effectively or in a coordinated manner.

The reasons why these tools are not being widely used are varied, but two of the main reasons were a lack of general understanding as to what the different tools/methods did and when it was appropriate to use them and the absence of any sort of system to integrate different techniques into a workflow that could address management or monitoring objectives. As a result, the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, the Bureau of Land Management’s AIM program and the Idaho Chapter of The Nature Conservancy are working with both public and private land management partners to develop a system, the Landscape Toolbox, for describing and integrating ecological analysis and monitoring tools that is designed to enable better rangeland management at landscape scales.

The goal of the Landscape Toolbox is to realize better ecosystem management by integrating existing and emerging field, remote sensing, and analysis methods for rangeland assessment, monitoring, and planning.