Assessing the carbon consequences of western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) encroachment across Oregon, USA

John L. Campbell; Robert Kennedy; Warren B. Cohen; Richard F. Miller

doi:10.2111/rem-d-11-00012.1

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Assessing the carbon consequences of western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) encroachment across Oregon, USA

Formally Refereed

Authors:

John L. Campbell, Robert Kennedy, Warren B. Cohen, Richard F. Miller

Year:

2012

Type:

Scientific Journal

Station:

Pacific Northwest Research Station

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2111/rem-d-11-00012.1

Source:

Rangeland Ecology and Management. 65(3): 223-231

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Abstract

Our ability to assess the continental impacts of woody encroachment remains compromised by the paucity of studies quantifying regional encroachment rates. This knowledge gap is especially apparent when it comes to quantifying the impact of woody encroachment on large-scale carbon dynamics. In this study, we use a combination of aerial photography from 1985-1986 and 2005 and near-annual Landsat satellite imagery over the same period to assess the rates of encroachment by western juniper, Juniperus occidentalis Hook., into the grasslands and shrublands of eastern Oregon. The approximately 20-yr Landsat reflectance trajectories identified for the juniper woodlands of eastern Oregon did not correlate well with changes in juniper crown cover over the same period, suggesting that systematic trends in reflectance are being driven by vegetation other than juniper.

Keywords

biomass, crown cover, Landsat, reflectance, remote sensing

Citation

Campbell, John L.; Kennedy, Robert E.; Cohen, Warren B.; Miller, Richard F. 2012. Assessing the carbon consequences of western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) encroachment across Oregon, USA. Rangeland Ecology and Management. 65(3): 223-231.