Vegetation and soil cover from 134 reclaimed oil and gas well pads and 583 AIM reference plots in the Southwestern United States

These data were compiled to assess the recovery of vegetation on reclaimed oil and gas sites. Objective(s) of our study were to assess patterns in reclamation outcomes relative to 1) soil attributes, climate, and time since 39 reclamation and 2) plant and soil reference benchmarks. These data represent observations of vegetation and soil cover from 134 reclaimed oil and gas well pads and 583 AIM reference plots. These data were collected on lands impacted by oil and gas development on the Colorado Plateau as well as Arizona and New Mexico Plateau of New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. Data was collected from July- September of 2020 and May-September of 2021. These data were collected by Assessment Inventory and Monitoring (AIM) certified field crews using field observations and AIM methods. These data can be used to estimate plant community recovery on reclaimed oil and gas pads.