NCCN Landscape Dynamics Monitoring MORA geospatial data 1985-2009

This data set contains 1985-2009 Landsat/LandTrendr derived landscape change data from Mount Rainier National Park and surrounding study area, labeled by landscape change type chosen from a discrete list. This data set is an updated version (V2B) of the data set summarized in the following report: Landsat-based Monitoring of Landscape Dynamics in the Mount Rainier National Park: 1985-2009. Natural Resource Data Series NPS/NCCN/NRDS—2014/637. The updates include the addition of Confidence and Alt_type fields and additional office validation and labeling of patches inside the park boundary and surrounding USFS Wilderness Areas. This data set is considered superior to the V2A data set that was used for report summaries.

As part of Vital Signs Monitoring, the North Coast and Cascades Network (NCCN) of the National Park Service (NPS) developed a protocol for monitoring landscape change using Landsat satellite imagery. The protocol was implemented at Mount Rainier National Park (MORA) in 2013 using LandTrendr (Landsat-based Detection of Trends in Disturbance and Recovery) algorithms developed by Oregon State University.

LandTrendr tracks the spectral trajectory of Landsat pixels through time and smoothes their spectral index signatures into coherent segments describing periods of stability or change. The primary outputs from LandTrendr are the year of change onset, the duration of change, and the magnitude of the change. Adjacent pixels with the same year of change onset are then grouped into patches. Only changes larger than 0.8 ha (2 ac) and for which the duration of the period of landscape change is less than or equal to 4 years are retained.

Eight categories of landscape change were mapped: Avalanches, Clearing, Development, Fire, Mass Movements, Progressive Defoliation, Riparian, and Tree Topplings. The Avalanche category captures long, linear change which partially or completely removes vegetation from the valley wall following a release of a large mass of snow down a mountain side. Clearings are areas under forest management where practices vary from thinning to clearcuts. The Development category captures changes associated with complete and persistent removal of vegetation and transformation to a built landscape. Changes due to Fire vary in intensity from full canopy removal to partial burns that leave behind a mixture of dead and singed trees. The Mass Movement category includes both landslides found on valley walls and debris flows associated with streams. Progressive Defoliation is a change type in which the forest cover remains but has declined due to insect infestation, disease or drought. Riparian changes are restricted to the valley floors alongside major streams and rivers and capture areas where either conifer or broadleaf vegetation previously existed and has been converted to river channel. Change due to Tree Toppling is evidenced by broken or topped trees, generally due to wind but sometimes to root rot. These data were summarized in Antonova, N., C. Copass, and S. Clary. 2014. Landsat-based Monitoring of Landscape Dynamics in Mount Rainier National Park: 1985-2009. Natural Resource Data Series NPS/NCCN/NRDS—2014/637. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. (https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2209197).