Applications of the Lost Meadows Model

Montane riparian meadows hold important ecological, cultural, and land management value. Riparian meadows rely on the slowing, spreading, and sinking down of water. In the process of road construction, mining, and livestock grazing, people have altered stream flows in ways that dries meadows out. Over time the surrounding forest can encroach on, and even entirely cover, the former meadow area. These “lost meadows” no longer provide the same suite of services. Understanding their former extent can support land management decision-making and activities, especially related to meadow restoration.

To see the potential of mountain meadows on a landscape scale, a machine learning algorithm was developed by Forest Service researchers. The algorithm was trained with currently identified riparian meadows in the Sierra Nevada. Topographic, hydrologic and climatic characteristics of those areas were then used to predict potential locations of “lost meadows”.

The maps of potential meadow areas produced by the model are now available via ArcGIS Online and the USDA Forest Service Data Archive. This workshop is intended to introduce the importance and potential uses of the model output and provide details on how to access the maps and use them in project planning at both landscape and site-level scales.