Estimating Resistance and Resilience of Military Lands Using Vegetation Indices
Abstract
Military training inevitably leads to land degradation; however, some ecosystems have higher resistance and resilience to training based on the functional traits of existing vegetation, making them preferred for long-term use. This work estimated resistance and resilience for the continental United States using dominant plant species for numerous plant communities, resistance and resilience values for plant functional groups, and national community vegetation maps. Two datasets were combined to obtain greater detail and values for all land area. Results indicate that graminoid communities have the highest resistance values, and shrublands the lowest; and that eastern deciduous forests and prairies have the highest resilience values, and evergreen forests and shrublands the lowest. This lists the resistance and resilience values of a selection of Army installations using both datasets and a new combined metric. This new method will help the Army determine the portfolio of installations that will best meet its future training land requirements.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 17, 2017
- Accession Number
- AD1049213
Entities
People
- Dick L. Gebhart
- Ryan R. Busby
- Steven J. Oxley
- Wade A. Wall
- William D. Tarantino
Organizations
- Construction Engineering Research Laboratory