Thanks to Cool Green Science:

Space Cowboys: A New Generation of Prairie Keepers

BY LISA FELDKAMP

How many cows can you graze and maintain a healthy prairie? Where and for how long? These are important questions for ranchers and scientists interested in sustainably supporting cattle and protecting prairie habitat for wildlife.

The answer relies on complex and changing variables (precipitation, vegetation, soil, herd characteristics, etc.); results are difficult and tedious to monitor on the ground. That’s why The Nature Conservancy in Oregon is partnered with other private landowners, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the University of Idaho to use satellites to monitor vegetation cover on the Zumwalt Prairie. Yes, satellites.

Satellite data allows conservation geographers to accurately assess vegetation cover. Looking at imagery over time can reveal changes in the density of plants.

“If you see that a pasture two years in a row is decreasing in the amount of cover,” Vincent Jansen, a doctoral student working on the project says, “[ranchers] might be able to say, ‘Okay, we’re going to put less cows in there this next year.’”…

Read the whole story here.