VegDRI to Expand Coverage and Refine Views

This year VegDRI map coverage will expand to 15 states and new quick-view options will allow users to see cropland or rangeland conditions separately at both state and regional levels. Researchers are also testing new data inputs and calculations and incorporating user input.

VegDRI – the Vegetation Drought Response Index – integrates satellite, climate, and biophysical data to map the impact of drought on vegetation conditions across a spectrum ranging from very dry to very lush. The diverse set of environmental information used to calculate the VegDRI allows this indicator to tune in to drought-related vegetation stress. The 2007 VegDRI season will begin on May 8, with maps generated every two weeks throughout the growing season that classify patterns at a one-square-kilometer spatial resolution.

The National Drought Mitigation Center produces VegDRI in collaboration with the US Geological Survey’s (USGS) Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS), and the High Plains Regional Climate Center (HPRCC), with sponsorship from the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA).

Main researchers working on VegDRI are Dr. Brian Wardlow and Dr. Tsegaye Tadesse at the NDMC, and Jesslyn Brown with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) at EROS.
New quick-view options include maps of conditions over specific land use types such as cropland and rangeland, maps for individual states, and tables summarizing  percentages of areas in different categories of dryness. This information will be provided in a convenient pdf format via the Monitoring section of the NDMC’s web site – http://www.drought.unl.edu/monitor/monitor.htm.

The new ability to view VegDRI results over different land uses should make the maps more meaningful for users with specific interests in rangeland and cropland conditions. “The ability for a rancher or range scientist to look at VegDRI over only rangeland areas allows them to more easily focus on a specific area of interest and more effectively assess spatial patterns of drought stress on rangeland over time,” Wardlow said. “The development of these types of value-added features is important for presenting the VegDRI information in a useful form to agricultural producers, policymakers, and the general public. We hope to produce other value-added VegDRI products in the near future and encourage users to provide feedback on what types of features they would like to see developed in these new products.”  

Dynamic VegDRI maps will still be accessible through the USGS viewer at http://gisdata.usgs.gov/website/Drought_Monitoring/.  The dynamic USGS drought viewer allows users to zoom to a local, sub-county scale in the VegDRI map, to develop customized views of the VegDRI map by overlaying administrative boundaries, rivers, and road networks, and to compare the VegDRI with other drought indicators such as the US Drought Monitor (USDM) (http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/). “Our new quick-view map options are a great complement to the more intensive and comprehensive interactive USGS drought viewer,” said Brown. “If you see drought patterns that interest you in the quick state views, then you can investigate them further in the USGS viewer.” 

When VegDRI production resumes in May, coverage will be expanded to include Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma, in addition to the initial states (Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas). Researchers anticipate adding the western states next year, with expansion across the eastern U.S. to follow in 2009.

A new experimental product called VegOUT (Vegetation Outlook) will also make its debut in 2007, offering outlooks on general vegetation conditions based on climate and ocean data, satellite-based observations of current vegetation conditions, and other environmental information. The Summer 2007 issue of DroughtScape will offer an in-depth look at VegOUT.

Back to DroughtScape Spring 2007