Vegetation and soil data describing oil and gas well pad reclamation and surrounding reference areas in the Southwestern United States

These data were compiled to monitor potential changes in vegetation and soil properties to indicate recovery of reclaimed oil and gas sites with time since reclamation and allow for the comparison of reclaimed well pads with reference sites of similar site characteristics. Objective(s) of our study were to identify the recovery patterns of (1) individual soil characteristics and (2) holistic multivariate soil recovery as well as (3) determine how site properties and environmental factors affect reclamation outcomes. These data represent observations of 134 reclaimed oil and gas well pads. These data were collected by Assessment Inventory and Monitoring (AIM) certified field crews using field observations and AIM methods on lands impacted by oil and gas development on the Colorado Plateau and New Mexico Plateau of New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. These data can be used to estimate recovery on reclaimed oil and gas pads.