Data Access

LTAR Regions GIS Layers

The LTAR Network is conducting research on the sustainable intensification of agroecosystems. To enable coordinated network level research, a spatial framework is required to facilitate analysis. However, no suitable spatial framework currently exists to meet the needs for the LTAR Network. To develop a framework for analysis the LTAR Network initiated the Regionalization Project. Goals also included providing a standardized spatial footprint for LTAR cross-site investigations, estimating the confidence with which results from research plots and fields could reasonably be extrapolated to “represented regions”, informing decisions about where additional research sites should be prioritized and facilitating public outreach of the LTAR Network. The product from this effort are 3 GIS datasets to describe: agricultural production, environmental impact, and rural prosperity. 

• 3 dataset available in Ag Data Commons.

• The primary article describing this effort: Regional Frameworks for the USDA Long-Term Agroecosystem Research Network

LTAR Data in the Ag Data Commons

Ag Data Commons provides access to a wide variety of open data relevant to agricultural research. Ag Data Commons is a centralized registry for USDA-funded data already on the web, as well as a repository for new data being published for the first time. While compliance with the U.S. Federal public access and open data directives is important, Ag Data Commons aim to surpass them. The goal of Ag Data Commons is to foster innovative data re-use, integration, and visualization to support bigger, better science and policy.

LTAR Network Spatial Data

GIS layers have been published to Ag Data Commons to spatially describe the LTAR Network sites and regions:

• The Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) Network Standard GIS Data Layers, 2020 version
• Long-Term Agroecosystem Research Network regions, 2018 version

LTAR Sites

Metadata and data from the following LTAR sites are presented. They are related to topics such as agricultural sustainability, climate change, ecosystem services, and natural resource conservation at the watershed or landscape scale.

• Archbold Biological Station (ABS), Venus, FL
• Cook Agronomy Farm (CAF), Pullman, WA
• Central Mississippi River Basin (CMRB), Columbia, MO
• Central Plains Experimental Range (CPER), Cheyenne, WY; Fort Collins, CO; Nunn, CO
• Eastern Corn Belt (ECB), Columbus, OH; West Lafayette, IN
• Gulf Atlantic Coastal Plains (GACP), Tifton, GA
• Great Basin (GB), Boise, ID; Burns, OR
• Jornada Experimental Range (JER), Las Cruces, NM
• Kellogg Biological Station (KBS), southwestern MI
• Lower Chesapeake Bay (LCB), Beltsville, MD
• Lower Mississippi River Basin (LMRB), Oxford, MS; AR; LA; MO
• Northern Plains (NP), Mandan, ND
• Platte River-High Plains Aquifer (PRHP), Lincoln, NE
• Southern Plains (SP), El Reno, OK
• Texas Gulf (TG), Riesel, TX
• Upper Chesapeake Bay (UCB), University Park, PA
• Upper Mississippi River Basin (UMRB), Ames, IA; MN; WI
• Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed (WGEW), Tucson, AZ; Tombstone, AZ

The LTAR Program on the Ag Data Commons

Related Research Networks

Phenocam Network

The PhenoCam Network is a cooperative continental-scale phenological observatory that uses imagery from networked digital cameras to track vegetation phenology in a diverse range of ecosystems across North America and around the World.  This is the list of Phenocams in the LTAR Network. 

AmeriFlux Network

AmeriFlux is a network of PI-managed sites measuring ecosystem CO₂, water, and energy fluxes in North, Central and South America. It was established to connect research on field sites representing major climate and ecological biomes, including tundra, grasslands, savanna, crops, and conifer, deciduous, and tropical forests. This is the list of Ameriflux towers in the LTAR Network. 

LTAR Remote Sensing/GIS Working Group Data Products

• The LTAR Network regions dataset: This dataset consists of three sets of regional boundaries. These GIS datasets are intended to be used for mapping the network and for summarizing spatial data relevant to domains of sustainable intensification corresponding with agricultural production, environmental impact, and rural prosperity.
• Spreadsheet of remote sensing and geospatial data products:  List of recommended data products by the LTAR Remote sensing/GIS Working Group.

Related Data Resources

• agclass.nal.usda.gov: The National Agricultural Library’s Agricultural Thesaurus and Glossary are online vocabulary tools of agricultural terms in English and Spanish and are cooperatively produced by the National Agricultural Library, USDA, and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture as well as other Latin American agricultural institutions Cancel belonging to the Agriculture Information and Documentation Service of the Americas (SIDALC).
• resources.data.gov:  An online repository of policies, tools, case studies, and other resources to support data governance, management, exchange, and use throughout the federal government.
• geoplatform.gov:  The Geospatial Platform is a cross-agency collaborative effort and Shared Service that embodies the principles and spirit of Open Government, emphasizing government-to-citizen communication, accountability, and transparency.
• USDA GeoHub: The Enterprise Geospatial Management Office provides enterprise-level leadership to align geospatial strategic planning, policy, tactical implementation and operational capability with USDA’s Mission requirements and performance goals. Our key focus areas are: ensuring agency geospatial products and services are represented and managed as enterprise assets; enabling equal access to shared services; conducting public service innovation prototypes
• Landscape Change Monitoring System: The Landscape Change Monitoring System (LCMS) is a remote sensing-based system for mapping and monitoring landscape change across the United States. LCMS produces annual maps depicting change (vegetation loss and vegetation gain), land cover, and land use from 1985 to present that can be used to assist with a wide range of land management applications.
• SSURGO-Query Tool: This tool was developed for CEAP-Grazing Lands. Intended users of this application are soil scientists or conservationists, rangeland/pastureland management specialists, agronomists, foresters, ecological site specialists, and anyone wanting to query specific soil properties or characteristics at the MLRA (major land resource area) scale from current soil survey geographic information (SSURGO). This online tool was designed to aid users with identification of soil/ecological site concepts, grouping landscapes for modeling purposes, to provide management-pertinent soils data for more efficient conservation planning, and to link research-scale data to soils data.
• Ecosystem Dynamics Interpretive Tool (EDIT): The Ecosystem Dynamics Interpretive Tool (EDIT) is an online information system for the development and sharing of ecological site descriptions, ecosystem state and transition models, and land management knowledge.
• Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation (CMRA): Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation (CMRA) integrates information from across the federal government to help people consider their local exposure to climate-related hazards. People working in community organizations or for local, Tribal, state, or Federal governments can use the site to help them develop equitable climate resilience plans to protect people, property, and infrastructure.
• Rangeland Analysis Platform:  The Rangeland Analysis Platform (RAP) is an interactive web application designed to assist in managing and monitoring America’s rangelands. The RAP datasets are derived from over 40 years of remote sensing data (1984-2018) and they enable users to monitor trends and changes in different types of rangeland vegetation at the pasture, landscape, or regional scales. The tool was developed for landowners, managers, and conservationists to quickly and easily access information that can guide land use decisions. The RAP is designed to be used alongside local knowledge and on-the-ground data to plan management actions. Data provided through the RAP Beta version currently includes vegetation cover. Other data will include forage productivity, riparian condition and sensitivity, climate and drought monitoring, and more. 
• Dynamic World: The real world is as dynamic as the people and natural processes that shape it. Dynamic World is a near realtime 10m resolution global land use land cover dataset, produced using deep learning, freely available and openly licensed. It is the result of a partnership between Google and the World Resources Institute, to produce a dynamic dataset of the physical material on the surface of the Earth. Dynamic World is intended to be used as a data product for users to add custom rules with which to assign final class values, producing derivative land cover maps.
• OpenET: OpenET uses best available science to provide easily accessible satellite-based estimates of evapotranspiration (ET) for improved water management across the western United States. Using the Data Explorer, users can explore ET data at the field scale for millions of individual fields or at the original quarter-acre resolution of the satellite data.
• ResearchDataGov.org: ResearchDataGov is a web portal for discovering and requesting access to restricted microdata from federal statistical agencies