Fractional Estimates of Multiple Exotic Annual Grass (EAG) Species in the Sagebrush Biome, USA, 2016 - 2024 (ver. 5.0, July 2025)
This dataset release provides historical (2016 - 2024) estimates of fractional cover for Exotic Annual Grass (EAG) species and a native perennial bunch grass in the western United States. The dataset includes five fractional cover maps per year, accompanied by five corresponding confidence maps, for a group of 15 species of EAGs. The following 15 species are included in the overall EAG cover estimate (species followed by * indicate specific maps for that species); field brome* (Bromus arvensis), medusahead* (Taeniatherum caput-medusae), cheatgrass* (Bromus tectorum), rattlesnake brome (Bromus briziformis), rescuegrass (Bromus catharticus), Bald brome (Bromus commutatus and Bromus racemosus), ripgut brome (Bromus diandrus), soft brome (Bromus hordeaceus and Bromus hordeaceus spp. hordeaceus), Japanese brome (Bromus japonicus), compact brome (Bromus madritensis and Bromus madritensis ssp. Rubens), red brome (Bromus rubens), rye brome (Bromus secalinus). Sandberg blue grass (Poa secunda) is not considered an EAG by this project or included in the EAG layer. We map Poa secunda separately as it can have similar phenology to many invasive grasses such as cheatgrass. The data were generated using a combination of field observations from Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) plots; remotely sensed data from the Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 (HLS) product (specifically Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) , and various environmental, vegetation, remotely sensed, and geophysical drivers. Additionally, artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques were employed in the data generation process. For 2024 maps we used a 40,154 AIM plots from 2016-2024. Pixels over 2350-m in elevation or classified as other than grassland/herbaceous or shrub (likely rangelands) were masked based on the 2023 National Land Cover Database (NLCD).
Complete Metadata
| accessLevel | public |
|---|---|
| bureauCode |
[
"010:12"
]
|
| contactPoint |
{
"fn": "Devendra Dahal (CTR)",
"@type": "vcard:Contact",
"hasEmail": "mailto:devendra.dahal.ctr@usgs.gov"
}
|
| description | This dataset release provides historical (2016 - 2024) estimates of fractional cover for Exotic Annual Grass (EAG) species and a native perennial bunch grass in the western United States. The dataset includes five fractional cover maps per year, accompanied by five corresponding confidence maps, for a group of 15 species of EAGs. The following 15 species are included in the overall EAG cover estimate (species followed by * indicate specific maps for that species); field brome* (Bromus arvensis), medusahead* (Taeniatherum caput-medusae), cheatgrass* (Bromus tectorum), rattlesnake brome (Bromus briziformis), rescuegrass (Bromus catharticus), Bald brome (Bromus commutatus and Bromus racemosus), ripgut brome (Bromus diandrus), soft brome (Bromus hordeaceus and Bromus hordeaceus spp. hordeaceus), Japanese brome (Bromus japonicus), compact brome (Bromus madritensis and Bromus madritensis ssp. Rubens), red brome (Bromus rubens), rye brome (Bromus secalinus). Sandberg blue grass (Poa secunda) is not considered an EAG by this project or included in the EAG layer. We map Poa secunda separately as it can have similar phenology to many invasive grasses such as cheatgrass. The data were generated using a combination of field observations from Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) plots; remotely sensed data from the Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 (HLS) product (specifically Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) , and various environmental, vegetation, remotely sensed, and geophysical drivers. Additionally, artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques were employed in the data generation process. For 2024 maps we used a 40,154 AIM plots from 2016-2024. Pixels over 2350-m in elevation or classified as other than grassland/herbaceous or shrub (likely rangelands) were masked based on the 2023 National Land Cover Database (NLCD). |
| distribution |
[
{
"@type": "dcat:Distribution",
"title": "Digital Data",
"format": "XML",
"accessURL": "https://doi.org/10.5066/P9GC5JVG",
"mediaType": "application/http",
"description": "Landing page for access to the data"
},
{
"@type": "dcat:Distribution",
"title": "Original Metadata",
"format": "XML",
"mediaType": "text/xml",
"description": "The metadata original format",
"downloadURL": "https://data.usgs.gov/datacatalog/metadata/USGS.61716970d34ea36449a77130.xml"
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|
| identifier | http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/USGS_61716970d34ea36449a77130 |
| keyword |
[
"Annual grass",
"Annual herbaceous",
"Arizona",
"California",
"Cheatgrass",
"Colorado",
"Exotic",
"Great Basin",
"Harmonized Landsat Sentinel",
"Idaho",
"Kansas",
"Medusahead",
"Montana",
"NDVI",
"Nebraska",
"Nevada",
"New Mexico",
"North Dakota",
"Noxious",
"Oklahoma",
"Oregon",
"Perennial bunch grass",
"Poa secunda",
"Red brome",
"Rye brome",
"Sagebrush",
"Soft brome",
"South Dakota",
"Texas",
"USGS:61716970d34ea36449a77130",
"United States",
"Utah",
"Washington",
"Wyoming",
"environment",
"invasive species",
"nonindigenous species",
"remote sensing",
"western United States"
]
|
| modified | 2025-07-16T00:00:00Z |
| publisher |
{
"name": "U.S. Geological Survey",
"@type": "org:Organization"
}
|
| spatial | -124.9400, 31.1700, -109.0000, 49.0000 |
| theme |
[
"Geospatial"
]
|
| title | Fractional Estimates of Multiple Exotic Annual Grass (EAG) Species in the Sagebrush Biome, USA, 2016 - 2024 (ver. 5.0, July 2025) |
