Core Sagebrush Areas 2020 (Fig. 5)

<div style='text-align:Left; font-size:12pt;'><p><span>File-based data for download: </span><a href='https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/62d57e89d34e87fffb2dda62' style='text-decoration:underline;' rel='nofollow ugc'><span>https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/62d57e89d34e87fffb2dda62</span></a></p><p><span style='font-size:medium; color:rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:&quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'>Related report with figures: </span><a href='https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20221081' style='font-size:12pt;' target='_blank' rel='nofollow ugc noopener noreferrer'>https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20221081</a><br /></p><p><span></span></p><p><span style='font-family:&quot;Avenir Next W01&quot;, &quot;Avenir Next W00&quot;, &quot;Avenir Next&quot;, Avenir, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif;'>Change over time (from 2001 to 2020) in the size and extent of core sagebrush areas (CSAs) as well as growth opportunity areas (GOAs) and other rangeland areas (ORAs) within the sagebrush biome of the United States. For 2020, 36.9 percent (244.9 million acres) of the landscape was identified as sagebrush rangelands.</span><span><br /></span></p><p><span style='font-size:12pt;'>These data were compiled as a part of a landscape conservation design effort for the sagebrush biome, and are the result of applying a spatially explicit model that assessed geographic patterns in sagebrush ecological integrity and used these results to identify Core Sagebrush Areas (CSAs), Growth Opportunity Areas (GOAs), and Other Rangeland Areas (ORAs). Our overall objective in this study was to characterize geographic patterns in ecological integrity of sagebrush ecosystems. These data represent the estimated integrity of sagebrush ecosystems, estimated from a spatial model that assigns high integrity is areas with abundant big sagebrush and perennial grass/forb cover and with minimal annual grass/forb cover, minimal conifers, and minimal human modification. This spatial model was applied over the entire sagebrush biome for several time periods and were estimated for 5 historical time periods between 1998 and 2020, and for one future time period (2030-2060). For each time period, input data were derived from satellite imagery, and the spatial model used those input values to estimate sagebrush ecological integrity. This approach to estimating ecological integrity was developed by consultation with experts from across the biome, allowing for the relationship between integrity and plant cover to vary among regions, as described in Doherty et al (2022). These data can be used to inform and prioritize conservation and restoration efforts across the sagebrush biome.</span><br /></p></div>