Productivity of U.S. Rangelands, Annual Data Z-scores Albers Projection (Image Service)

Note: To download this raster dataset, go to ArcGIS Open Data Set and click the download button, and under additional resources select any of the download options. Data can also be downloaded from the FSGeodata Clearinghouse.More information about rangeland productivity and the effects of drought are available in this StoryMap; additional drought and rangeland products from the Office of Sustainability and Climate are available in our Climate Gallery.Time enabled image service showing estimates of annual production of rangeland vegetation.Production data were generated using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from the Thematic Mapper Suite from 1984 to 2023 at 250 m resolution. The NDVI is converted to production estimates using two regression formulas depending on the level of the NDVI; there is one equation for lower values (and thus lower production values) and one for higher values. This raster dataset yields estimates of annual production of rangeland vegetation and should be useful for understanding trends and variability in forage resources. These results were then converted to Z-scores for easier comparison of annual relative productivity in coterminous U.S. rangelands, and for rapid display in online time-enabled applications. This Z-scores dataset as well as the raw lbs/acre data that the Z-scores were derived from can be downloaded from: https://data.fs.usda.gov/geodata/rastergateway/rangelands/index.phpMore information about rangeland productivity and the effects of drought are available in this story map.