Using advanced satellite products to better understand inventory and monitoring data within the context of the larger ecoregion

Background/Question/Methods Based on the notion that parks are part of a larger ecosystem, we are working to integrate National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring data from three networks with multiple satellite products. The work is being done through the joint NPS/USGS National Park Monitoring Program. The goal of this particular project is to better understand how the plant community vital signs monitored in the Great Plains reflect the larger trends observed throughout the corresponding ecoregions.
Results/Conclusions The talk will describe our compilation of publicly available data on vegetation phenology at a relatively course spatial resolution (250m) and monthly data a higher spatial resolution (30m).  We will show how our project is using ArcGIS Explorer to display this imagery in conjunction with I&M data.  Finally we will describe our plans for using habitat modeling techniques to combine the I&M data with the remote sensing data and climate information to extrapolate the measurements throughout the park and into the areas around the park.