Alpine Landscape Monitoring: Climate, Snow, and Plant Response
Integrates satellite-based snow tracking, climate downscaling, and field measurements of plant fitness to understand how changing snowpack and warming temperatures drive vegetation shifts across subalpine landscapes in the upper East River Valley.
Knowledge Graph (340 nodes, 4937 connections)
Research Primer
Background
The mountains around the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) in Gothic, Colorado, are a patchwork of habitats stacked along steep elevation gradients. Within just a few kilometers, conditions shift from sagebrush-dominated valley floors through aspen and conifer forests to subalpine meadows and alpine tundra. Alpine landscape ecology is the study of how organisms — plants, insects, mammals, and the microbes that live alongside them — are distributed across these gradients, and how climate, terrain, and biological interactions shape where species thrive, persist, or disappear. For the Gunnison Basin, this research matters because the same gradients that produce extraordinary biodiversity also make the region especially sensitive to warming temperatures, earlier snowmelt, and shifting precipitation.
A few core ideas help frame the findings that follow. Microclimate heterogeneity refers to the way slope, aspect, and elevation create a fine-grained mosaic of temperature and moisture conditions, so that two points only meters apart can feel like different climates. These small-scale differences produce climate refugia — pockets where cool or moist conditions persist even as the broader region warms, allowing species to hang on locally. Researchers also pay close attention to population processes such as survival, seed production, and lifetime reproductive success, because warming can alter not just where a species occurs but whether individuals successfully reproduce. In social insects like ants, an additional layer of complexity comes from the distribution of worker sizes within a colony, which can influence how efficiently a colony gathers resources and produces new workers.
Finally, alpine landscape ecology at RMBL spans both intact wild systems and lands shaped by people. Concepts such as multiple-use management — balancing recreation, grazing, conservation, and research on the same landscape — and population extermination, the local loss of a species due to environmental change, are increasingly central as managers try to anticipate which communities will reorganize as climate shifts.
Foundational work
Much of the foundational alpine ecology at RMBL grew out of detailed natural-history studies of small but tractable systems. A series of studies on the high-elevation ant Formica neorufibarbis established that worker size is highly variable within and among colonies, with head widths ranging from roughly 0.89 to 1.24 mm, and that this variation is tied to colony performance (Billick, 2002). Demographic work on the same species showed that some workers live four years or more, that colonies tend to retain older workers across seasons, and that workers persist longer in queenless colonies — a surprisingly long-lived life history for an alpine insect (Billick, 2003).
Parallel monitoring work in rare wetland habitats laid the groundwork for understanding how specialized alpine and subalpine plants are distributed across small landscapes. The Drosera rotundifolia monitoring protocol developed at the Mount Emmons Iron Fen, one of only a handful of acidic fens in Colorado, established repeatable transect methods and documented that this carnivorous plant is concentrated within ten meters of the fen pond's northeastern shoreline (Billick, 2001). Together, these early efforts demonstrated the value of long-term, place-based observation for detecting subtle ecological patterns in mountain systems.
Key findings
A central thread across this body of work is that within-population variation — in body size, age structure, or microhabitat — drives ecological outcomes that simple averages would miss. Experimental removal of workers from Formica neorufibarbis colonies showed that colonies losing their largest workers produced significantly less new biomass (about 50% of control cocoon mass) than colonies losing workers from across all size classes (about 56%), directly linking worker size distribution to colony fitness in a natural setting (Billick, 2002). A follow-up experiment in the related ant Formica obscuripes found that colonies whose worker-size distributions matched natural distributions retained more biomass over three weeks than colonies composed of only large or only small workers, again pointing to the value of size diversity (Billick & Carter, 2007).
Demographic findings reinforce the picture of alpine populations as structured and slow-turning. In four of five years, Formica neorufibarbis colonies retained older workers more reliably than they retained newly produced ones, and worker longevity increased in queenless colonies (Billick, 2003). This kind of buffering — long-lived individuals carrying colonies through harsh years — may be a general feature of alpine life histories, where short growing seasons constrain annual reproduction.
For plants, fine-scale habitat structure emerges as decisive. At the Iron Fen, Drosera rotundifolia occurrences clustered along a narrow shoreline band, with two independent monitoring approaches recording 262 and 359 plants respectively along their transects, though plants could establish farther inland where moisture and sunlight allowed (Billick, 2001). At the community scale, observations from a long-running subalpine meadow at RMBL document that warming is already driving local extinction, with at least one resident species disappearing from a meadow that has been monitored for decades (Panetta et al., 2018). Together, these findings show that climate sensitivity in mountain systems plays out through the combined lens of individual physiology, fine-scale habitat, and long-term demographic change.
Current frontier
The temporal trajectory of this work is striking. Early studies in the early 2000s focused on mechanism — how worker size, demography, and microhabitat shape population performance under natural alpine conditions (Billick, 2002; Billick, 2003; Billick & Carter, 2007) (Billick, 2003) (Billick & Carter, 2007). By the late 2010s, attention had shifted to documenting climate-driven change directly, including local extinction in long-monitored subalpine meadows (Panetta et al., 2018). The arc of the field, in other words, has moved from understanding how alpine populations work to asking which of them will persist.
Recent directions emerging from this trajectory include integrating long-term monitoring with finer-scale climate data to identify potential refugia, using repeatable protocols (like those developed for Drosera) to detect range contractions early, and connecting demographic processes to landscape patterns. New methods such as LiDAR-based canopy mapping and dendroecological reconstruction of past forest conditions are beginning to extend this place-based ecology into three-dimensional landscape analyses.
Open questions
Key questions remain about how widely the lessons from a few well-studied species apply to the broader alpine flora and fauna of the Gunnison Basin. Which species can take advantage of microclimate refugia, and which are too dispersal-limited or specialized to track shifting conditions? How does within-population variation — the worker-size diversity of an ant colony, or the shoreline-to-inland gradient of a fen plant — buffer communities against climate stress, and where does that buffering break down? Linking long-term demographic monitoring at RMBL with landscape-scale climate and terrain data is likely to be the most productive frontier of the next decade, especially as managers seek concrete guidance on which meadows, fens, and forest stands deserve priority protection in a warming Gunnison Basin.
References
Billick, I. (2001). Drosera rotundifolia monitoring protocol. →
Billick, I. (2002). The relationship between the distribution of worker sizes and new worker production in the ant Formica neorufibarbis. Oecologia. →
Billick, I. (2003). Worker demography in the ant Formica neorufibarbis. Ecological Entomology. →
Billick, I., & Carter, C. (2007). Testing the importance of the distribution of worker sizes to colony performance in the ant species Formica obscuripes Forel. Insectes Sociaux. →
Panetta, A. M., Stanton, M. L., & Harte, J. (2018). Climate Warming Drives Local Extinction in a Subalpine Meadow. Mountain Views. →
Species (30) →
Concept (47) →
phenology
multiple-use management
meteorology
forest composition
seed production
canopy surface area
neighborhood effects
The influence of surrounding plant species composition and density on individual plant fitness and associated herbivore behavior
tree mortality
plant-microbial coupling
The coordination between plant and microbial diversity, wherein both communities experience large shifts in composition following disturbance or when ...
Great Basin Sagebrush Vegetation
Show 37 more concepts
microclimate heterogeneity
Variation in microclimatic conditions across small spatial scales, including differences in slope, aspect, and elevation that create diverse microclim...
wind shear
lifetime reproductive success
The total number of offspring that an individual successfully produces and rears to independence over their entire lifetime
herbivory
The consumption of plant material by animals
glacier retreat
sustainability
warming
survival
dendroecological reconstruction
Method of reconstructing past forest conditions using tree-ring data to determine establishment dates and estimate historical stand structure
judgment and decision-making framework
spatial variability
Characterization of how snow properties vary across spatial scales using correlation lengths and variogram analysis
chemical communication
Communication through chemical signals that mediate various aspects of social activities in insects, especially regulation of reproduction
bio-organic INPs
resilience
population extermination
Complete or near-complete elimination of local populations due to environmental catastrophe
reproductive status effects
Differential behavioral responses based on whether female marmots are reproductive or non-reproductive
kinship
morphological characteristics
thermally driven upvalley wind
Valley wind that develops due to differential heating between valley floor and surrounding slopes, typically flowing upslope during daytime
climate refugia
Areas where organisms can persist during periods of unfavorable climate change
Long Science
mountain lakes
volatile cues
gustnadoes
vortex twinning
snow-free season length
freezing temperature spectrum
earlier starts to the summer season
orthomosaic
bio-physical criteria
crossing distance
inertial instability
northness
Dobzhansky-MacArthur hypothesis
Predicts that a species' high-elevation range limit is determined by harsh abiotic conditions whereas its low-elevation range limit is set by antagoni...
induced defenses
reproductive output
The production of reproductives (males and new queens) by bumble bee colonies, measured as abundance of males in late season
individual fitness
Lifetime reproductive output of individual organisms, measured as total brood cell production across all nests for female bees
Protocol (15) →
Random Forest climate downscaling
Machine learning approach using Random Forest algorithms to downscale coarse resolution climate data to higher spatial resolution using topographic pr...
Satellite-based snow disappearance tracking
Time-series analysis of Landsat and Sentinel satellite imagery to determine seasonal snow disappearance dates using Normalized Difference Snow Index w...
Plant fitness monitoring in field experiment (Plantae)
Repeated measurements of plant morphological traits (tillers, leaves, height) and survival tracking to assess fitness responses to experimental treatm...
snow-free growing degree day calculation
Temperatures above 5°C summed only for days estimated to be free of snow to measure energy available for biological processes.
Multi-model PlanetScope snow cover classification
Machine learning approach for snow cover mapping using PlanetScope imagery with multiple model configurations incorporating spectral, topographic, and...
Multi-factor abiotic site characterization
Comprehensive measurement of soil nutrients, moisture, pH, topographic aspect, and interpolated climate variables to characterize abiotic conditions a...
bilinear resampling
Resampling of 0.6m resolution imagery to 1m grid resolution using bilinear interpolation.
UAV RGB orthomosaic generation
UAV flights using DJI Mavic 2 Pro collecting RGB images with 3cm ground sample distance. Images processed via Structure from Motion in Agisoft Metasha...
airborne LiDAR scanning
High-density airborne LiDAR scans collected in August-September 2015 and 2019 to generate normalized point clouds.
Linear regression gap filling
Statistical method used to fill missing data areas using relationships between 2018 and 2019 snow depths or snow depth to elevation relationships.
Show 5 more protocols
LiDAR point cloud processing
Processing of discrete-return LiDAR data using lidR package to generate canopy height models. Includes normalization, subsetting, and reprojection.
subcanopy solar radiation model
Applies subcanopy solar radiation model from Bode et al. 2014 to account for vegetation shading greater than 1m in height.
Rolatape transect gopher disturbance survey
Systematic survey of pocket gopher soil disturbances (eskers, mounds) along standardized transects using rolatape measuring wheels with perpendicular ...
NDVI calculation from NAIP imagery
Calculation of Normalized Differential Vegetation Index from 4-band aerial imagery using (NIR-Red)/(NIR+Red) formula.
Ant worker size manipulation experiment
Experimental removal of workers of specific sizes from ant colonies to test effects on subsequent reproductive output. Workers were collected, measure...
Place (39) →
upper East River Valley
Copper Creek trail
Gothic Mountain
Silverton
subalpine meadow
Mono Lake
Niwot Ridge
Judd Falls
Convict Creek
H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest
Show 29 more places
Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory
Mountain Research Station
Uncompaghre Peak
Windy Ridge
Sagehen Creek Field Station
Mt. Lincoln
Baker, Nevada
Bumthang Valley
Senator Beck Basin Study Area
Diamond Mountains
Diamond Peak
Mt. St. Helens
Valentine Eastern Sierra Reserve
Mammoth Mountain
HJ Andrews Experimental Forest
Lookout Creek watershed
Mack Creek
South Cascade Glacier
Wolverine glaciers
Sperry Glacier
Spring Valley
Mono
Mount Washington Observatory
SNARL
Valentine Camp
Inyo
Gulkana
Mono County
Mammoth Lakes
Publication (13) →
Climate Warming Drives Local Extinction in a Subalpine Meadow
Pocket gopher activity across elevation gradients.
The relationship between the distribution of worker sizes and new worker production in the ant Formica neorufibarbis
What abiotic and biotic factors predict the shapes of plant diversity-productivity relationships?
2,4‐D Herbicide, Vegetation, and Pocket Gopher Relationships Black Mesa, Colorado
The importance of aspen root abundance and palatability in excluding northern pocket gophers from aspen groves
The influence of pocket gophers <i>Thomomys talpoides</i> on erosion
The effect of melatonin on growth rates of post-natal deer mice
The effect of pocket gopher herbivory on the limitation of aspen outgrowth
Sympatry of Pocket Gophers on Mesa de Maya, Colorado
Dataset (115) →
Mammalian herbivores restrict the altitudinal range limits of three alpine grass species (transplant and herbivore exclusion experiment and demographic data from natural populations), West Elk Mountains, Colorado, USA 2015-2018
Though rarely experimentally tested, biotic interactions have long been hypothesized to limit low-elevation range boundaries of species. We tested the...
Mammalian herbivores restrict the altitudinal range limits of three alpine grass species, West Elk Mountains, Colorado, USA 2015-2018
Though rarely experimentally tested, biotic interactions have long been hypothesized to limit low-elevation range boundaries of species. We tested the...
Air Temperature Growing Degree-days Early Season Timeseries
These are maps of annual accumulated spring snow-free growing potential (snow-free growing degree days, SFGDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, deri...
Snow-free Freezing Degree-days Annual Mean (2002-2021)
This is a map of accumulated snow-free freezing potential (freezing degree days, FDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from daily minimum te...
Snow-free Growing Degree-days 0-60 Days Post Snow Standard Deviation (2002-2021)
This is a map of temporal variability in accumulated snow-free growing potential (snow-free growing degree days, SFGDD) for the Upper Gunnison dom...
Snow-free Growing Degree-days Early Season Standard Deviation (2002-2021)
This is a map of temporal variability in accumulated spring snow-free growing potential (snow-free growing degree days, SFGDD) for the Upper Gunni...
Snow-free Growing Degree-days Late Season Standard Deviation (2002-2021)
This is a map of temporal variability in accumulated fall snow-free growing potential (snow-free growing degree days, SFGDD) for the Upper Gunniso...
Air Temperature Growing Degree-days Early Season Standard Deviation (2002-2022)
This is a map of temporal variability in accumulated growing potential (growing degree days, GDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from dail...
Snow-free Growing Degree-days Annual Standard Deviation (2002-2021)
This is a map of temporal variability in accumulated snow-free growing potential (snow-free growing degree days, SFGDD) for the Upper Gunnison dom...
Snow-free Growing Degree-days Late Season Timeseries
These are maps of accumulated fall snow-free growing potential (snow-free growing degree days, SFGDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from ...
Show 105 more datasets
Air Temperature Growing Degree-days Late Season Standard Deviation (2002-2022)
This is a map of temporal variability in accumulated fall growing potential (growing degree days, GDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from...
Snowpack Proportional Reduction in Late Season Growing Degree Days (2002-2021)
This is a map of the influence of snow on the energy available for plant growth (growing degree days, GDD) in late summer and fall for the Upper G...
Snow-free Freezing Degree-days Early Season Mean (2002-2021)
This is a map of accumulated spring snow-free freezing potential (snow-free freezing degree days, SFFDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived fr...
Snow-free Freezing Degree-days Annual Standard Deviation (2002-2021)
This is a map of temporal variability in accumulated snow-free freezing potential (freezing degree days, FDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, deriv...
Snowpack Proportional Reduction in Early Season Growing Degree Days (2002-2021)
This is a map of the influence of snow on the energy available for plant growth (growing degree days, GDD) in spring and early summer for the Uppe...
Snow-free Freezing Degree-days 0-60 Days Post Snow Standard Deviation (2002-2021)
This is a map of temporal variability in accumulated snow-free freezing potential (freezing degree days, FDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, deriv...
Snow-free Growing Degree-days Annual Mean (2002-2021)
This is a map of accumulated snow-free growing potential (snow-free growing degree days, SFGDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from daily ...
Snow-free Freezing Degree-days Early Season Standard Deviation (2002-2021)
This is a map of temporal variability in accumulated spring snow-free growing potential (snow-free growing degree days, SFGDD) for the Upper Gunni...
Snow-free Freezing Degree-days Late Season Mean (2002-2022)
This is a map of accumulated fall snow-free freezing potential (snow-free freezing degree days, SFFDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from...
Snow-free Freezing Degree-days Late Season Standard Deviation (2002-2021)
This is a map of temporal variability in accumulated fall snow-free freezing potential (snow-free freezing degree days, SFFDD) for the Upper Gunni...
Snowpack Proportional Reduction in Growing Degree Days (2002-2021)
This is a map of the influence of snow on the energy available for plant growth (growing degree days, GDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived ...
Snow-free Freezing Degree-days 0-60 Days Post Snow Mean (2002-2021)
This is a map of accumulated snow-free freezing potential (freezing degree days, FDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from daily minimum te...
Snow-free Growing Degree-days 0-60 Days Post Snow Mean (2002-2021)
This is a map of accumulated snow-free growing potential (snow-free growing degree days, SFGDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from daily ...
Snow-free Growing Degree-days Late Season Mean (2002-2021)
This is a map of accumulated fall snow-free growing potential (snow-free growing degree days, SFGDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from d...
Snow-free Freezing Degree-days 0-60 days Post-snow Timeseries
These are maps of annual accumulated snow-free freezing potential (freezing degree days, FDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from daily mi...
Air Temperature Freezing Degree-days Early Season Timeseries
These are maps of annual accumulated spring snow-free freezing potential (snow-free freezing degree days, SFFDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, de...
Snow-free Growing Degree-day 0-60 Days Post Snow Timeseries
These are maps of annual accumulated snow-free growing potential (snow-free growing degree days, SFGDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived fro...
Air Temperature Freezing Degree-days Annual Timeseries
These are maps of annual accumulated freezing potential (freezing degree days, FDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from daily minimum temp...
Snowpack Onset Day of Year Yearly Timeseries
This dataset represents an estimate of the day of year (i.e. , "Julian Day") of the onset of the seasonal snowpack. Specifically these are...
Snowpack Proportional Reduction in Early Season Freezing Degree Days (2002-2021)
This is a map of the influence of spring snow on early season freezing potential (snow-free freezing degree days, SFFDD) for the Upper Gunnison do...
Snowpack Proportional Reduction in Freezing Degree Days (2002-2021)
This is a map of the influence of snow on growing season freezing potential (snow-free freezing degree days, SFFDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain,...
Snowpack Persistence Day of Year Yearly Timeseries
This dataset represents an estimate of the day of year (i.e. , "Julian Day") of the persistence of the seasonal snowpack. Specifically the...
Hydrologically Corrected (cut) 1m Digital Elevation Model for the Upper East River Domain
<p>This is a hydrologically corrected digital elevation model derived from the 2018 NEON AOP dataset. It represents the height above sea level for imp...
Air Temperature Growing Degree-days Annual Timeseries
These are maps of accumulated growing potential (growing degree days, GDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from daily maximum temperature m...
Air Temperature Growing Degree-days Late Season Timeseries
These are maps of annual accumulated fall growing potential (growing degree days, GDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from daily maximum t...
Subcanopy Potential Solar Radiation on Day of Year 172 for the Upper East River Derived from 2018 NEON AOP Data
<p>This dataset represents potential clear-sky incident solar radiation (in w/m^2) for day of year 172 (summer solstice), taking into account shading ...
Snow-free Freezing Degree-days Late Season Timeseries
These are maps of annual accumulated fall snow-free freezing potential (snow-free freezing degree days, SFFDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, deri...
Snow-free Freezing Degree-days Early Season Timeseries
These are maps of annual accumulated spring snow-free freezing potential (snow-free freezing degree days, SFFDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, de...
Snow-free Growing Degree-days Annual Timeseries
These are maps of annual accumulated snow-free growing potential (snow-free growing degree days, SFGDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived fro...
Snow-free Growing Degree-days Early Season Timeseries
These are maps of annual accumulated spring snow-free growing potential (snow-free growing degree days, SFGDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, deri...
Air Temperature Freezing Degree-days Annual Mean (2002-2021)
This is a map of accumulated freezing potential (freezing degree days, FDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from daily minimum temperature ...
Air Temperature Freezing Degree-days Annual Standard Deviation (2002-2021)
This is a map of variability in accumulated freezing potential (freezing degree days, FDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from daily minim...
Air Temperature Freezing Degree-days Early Season Mean (2002-2021)
This is a map of spring accumulated freezing potential (freezing degree days, FDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from daily minimum tempe...
Subcanopy Potential Solar Radiation on Day of Year 265 for the Upper East River Derived from 2018 NEON AOP Data
<p>This dataset represents potential clear-sky incident solar radiation (in w/m^2) for day of year 265 (fall equinox), taking into account shading fro...
Air Temperature Freezing Degree-days Early Season Standard Deviation (2002-2021)
This is a map of temporal variability in spring accumulated freezing potential (freezing degree days, FDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived ...
Air Temperature Freezing Degree-days Late Season Standard Deviation (2002-2021)
This is a map of temporal variability in fall accumulated freezing potential (freezing degree days, FDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived fr...
Subcanopy Potential Solar Radiation on Day of Year 355 for the Upper East River Derived from 2018 NEON AOP Data
<p>This dataset represents potential clear-sky incident solar radiation (in w/m^2) for day of year 355 (winter solstice), taking into account shading ...
Air Temperature Growing Degree-days Annual Standard Deivation (2002-2021)
This is a map of temporal variability in accumulated growing potential (growing degree days, GDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from dail...
Air Temperature Growing Degree-days Early Season Mean (2002-2022)
This is a map of accumulated growing potential (growing degree days, GDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from daily maximum temperature ma...
Air Temperature Growing Degree-days Late Season Mean (2002-2022)
This is a map of accumulated fall growing potential (growing degree days, GDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from daily maximum temperatu...
Snowpack Proportional Reduction in Late Season Freezing Degree Days (2002-2021)
This is a map of the influence of fall snow on late season freezing potential (snow-free freezing degree days, SFFDD) for the Upper Gunnison domai...
Hydrologically Corrected (cut and burned) 1m Digital Elevation Model for the Upper East River Domain
This is a hydrologically corrected digital elevation model derived from the 2018 NEON AOP dataset. It represents the height above sea level for imperv...
1 m Resolution topographic aspect "southness" for the Upper Gunnison Basin derived from 2015 and 2019 LiDAR
<p>This is a 1 m resolution map of the relative "southness" of topographic aspect, computed from the cosine of the topographic aspect using the equati...
1 m Resolution topographic aspect "westness" for the Upper Gunnison Basin derived from 2015 and 2019 LiDAR data
<p>This is a 1 m resolution map of the relative "westness" of topographic aspect, computed from the cosine of the topographic aspect using the equatio...
Snow-free Growing Degree-days Early Season Mean (2002-2021)
This is a map of accumulated spring snow-free growing potential (snow-free growing degree days, SFGDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from...
Snowpack Onset Day of Year Standard Deviation (1993-2022)
This dataset represents an estimate of interannual variability in the day of year (i.e., "Julian Day") of the onset of the seasonal snowpack. ...
Snowpack Duration Standard Deviation (Water Year 1993 - 2022)
This dataset represents an estimate of interannual variability in the number of days of continuous seasonal snowpack from 1993 - 2022. This map is d...
Landscape Flowering Phenology Field Data for Sites in the Vicinity of Crested Butte, CO.
This dataset represents field observations of reproductive development (flowering phenology) in 135 species of flowering plants collected at 12 fiel...
Minimum 2m Air Temperature Monthly Timeseries
These are maps of monthly averages of daily minimum air temperature for the Upper Gunnison domain measured in degrees C. Estimates were derived fr...
Quality-controlled and Gap-filled 1m Digital Elevation Model for the Upper East River Domain
This is a bare-earth digital elevation model from the 2018 NEON AOP dataset. Areas outside the boundaries of the Upper East River domain were filled w...
Leaf-on 1m Digital Surface Model for the Upper East River Domain
<p>This is a digital surface model from the 2018 NEON AOP dataset. It represents the height above sea level for objects attached to the ground, such a...
1m Digital Elevation Model with Buildings Derived from the 2018 NEON AOP Dataset
<p>This is a digital surface model from the 2018 NEON AOP dataset. It represents the height above sea level for objects attached to the ground, such a...
Leaf-off 1m Digital Surface Model of the Upper East River Domain
<p>This is a digital surface model from the 2018 NEON AOP dataset. It represents the height above sea level for objects attached to the ground, such a...
Single-direction Flow Accumulation Map for the Upper East River Domain
<p>This map represents estimated flow accumulation from a hydrologically corrected digital elevation model. The map was derived in GRASS GIS using a s...
Single-direction Stream Flowlines for the Upper East River Domain
<p>This map represents estimated stream flowlines from a hydrologically corrected digital elevation model. The lines were derived in GRASS GIS using a...
Single-direction Major Streams for the Upper East River Domain
<p>This map represents estimated stream flowlines from a hydrologically corrected digital elevation model. The lines were derived in GRASS GIS using a...
Styled 2018 snow depth basemap of the Upper East River domain
<p>This is a styled basemap showing snow depth on March 31st, 2018 derived from repeat LiDAR data collection by the Airborne Snow Observatory. This da...
Styled 2019 snow depth basemap of the Upper East River domain
<p>This is a styled basemap showing snow depth on April 7th 2019 derived from repeat LiDAR data collection by the Airborne Snow Observatory. This data...
Drone ortho basemap of the Gothic Townsite, June 17th, 2019
This is a visible (RGB) orthomosaic derived from UAV imagery via Structure from Motion processing. UAV flights were performed in sunny conditions on J...
Drone ortho basemap of the Gothic Townsite, July 22nd 2019
This is a visible (RGB) orthomosaic derived from UAV imagery via Structure from Motion processing. UAV flights were performed in cloudy conditions on ...
Drone ortho basemap of the Gothic Townsite, September 25th, 2019
This is a visible (RGB) orthomosaic derived from UAV imagery via Structure from Motion processing. UAV flights were performed in Sunny conditions on S...
Drone ortho basemap of the Gothic Townsite, August 27th 2019
This is a visible (RGB) orthomosaic derived from UAV imagery via Structure from Motion processing. UAV flights were performed in Sunny conditions on A...
Drone ortho basemap of the Gothic Townsite, November 15th, 2019
<qgis stylecategories="AllStyleCategories" maxscale="0" minscale="1e+08" hasscalebasedvisibilityflag="0" version="3.18.1-Zürich">This is a visible (RG...
Drone ortho basemap of the Gothic Townsite, May 25th 2019
This is a visible (RGB) orthomosaic derived from UAV imagery via Structure from Motion processing. UAV flights were performed in sunny conditions on M...
Vegetation Structure Maps for the Upper East River Domain Derived from 2015 and 2019 LiDAR Data
<p>This is a map of various vegetation canopy structure metrics derived from high-density airborne LiDAR scans collected in August - September 2015 an...
Subcanopy Potential Solar Radiation on Day of Year 80 for the Upper East River Derived from 2018 NEON AOP Data
<p>This dataset represents potential clear-sky incident solar radiation (in w/m^2) for day of year 265 (fall equinox), taking into account shading fro...
1 m Resolution WGS84 UTM Zone 13N X Coordinate for the Upper Gunnison Domain
<p>This map records the UTM X Coordinate (measured in meters) for every pixel in the Upper Gunnison Domain, as measured using the WGS84 UTM Zone 13N C...
1 m Resolution WGS84 UTM Zone 13N Y Coordinate for the Upper Gunnison Domain
<p>This map records the UTM Y Coordinate (in meters) for every pixel in the Upper Gunnison Domain, as measured using the WGS84 UTM Zone 13N Coordinate...
1 m Resolution topographic slope for the Upper Gunnison Basin derived from 2015 and 2019 LiDAR data.
This is a 1 m resolution map of topographic slope (measured in degrees) computed using a 3*3 pixel kernel and Horn's formula. It is derived from a 1m ...
1m Resolution NDVI for the Upper Gunnison Basin derived from October 2017 NAIP Imagery
This is a 1m resolution map of Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI) derived from resampled 0.6m 4-band orthoimagery collected as part of th...
1 m Resolution 4-band orthoimagery for the Upper Gunnison Basin derived from October 2017 NAIP imagery
This is a 1m resolution map of Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI) derived from resampled 0.6m 4-band orthoimagery collected as part of th...
1 m Resolution NDVI for the Upper Gunnison Basin derived from September 2019 NAIP Imagery
This is a 1m resolution map of Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI) derived from resampled 0.6m 4-band orthoimagery collected as part of th...
1 m Resolution 4-band orthomosaic for the Upper Gunnison Basin derived from September 2019 NAIP Imagery
<p>This is a 1m resolution aerial imagery orthomosaic resampled from 0.6m 4-band orthoimagery collected on September 14th 2019 as part of the USDA Nat...
Snowpack Duration Yearly Timeseries
These maps represent annual estimates of the number of days of continuous seasonal snowpack from 1993 - 2022. The maps are derived from estimates ...
Average 2m Air Temperature Monthly Timeseries
These are maps of monthly averages of daily average air temperature for the Upper Gunnison domain measured in degrees C. Estimates were derived fr...
Maximum 2m Air Temperature Monthly Timeseries
These are maps of monthly averages of daily maximum air temperature for the Upper Gunnison domain measured in degrees C. Estimates were derived fr...
Quality-controlled 1m Digital Elevation Model for the Upper East River Domain
<p>1m Resolution bare-earth Digital Elevation Model for the Upper East River Derived from 2018 NEON AOP Data. This version has been re-processed to re...
Air Temperature Freezing Degree-days Late Season Timeseries
These are map of annual fall accumulated freezing potential (freezing degree days, FDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from daily minimum ...
Snow-free Freezing Degree-days Annual Timeseries
These are maps of annual accumulated freezing potential (freezing degree days, FDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from daily minimum temp...
Air Temperature Freezing Degree-days Late Season Mean (2002-2021)
This is a map of fall accumulated freezing potential (freezing degree days, FDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from daily minimum tempera...
Air Temperature Growing Degree-days Annual Mean (2002-2021)
This is a map of accumulated growing potential (growing degree days, GDD) for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from daily maximum temperature ma...
Snowpack Duration Mean (Water Year 1993 - 2022)
This dataset represents an estimate of the mean number of days of continuous seasonal snowpack from 1993 - 2022. This map is derived from estimates ...
Snowpack Onset Day of Year Mean (1993 - 2022)
This dataset represents an estimate of the mean day of year (i.e., "Julian Day") of the onset of the seasonal snowpack. Specifically these a...
Snowpack Persistence Day of Year Mean (1993 - 2022)
This dataset represents an estimate of the mean day of year (i.e., "Julian Day") of the persistence of the seasonal snowpack from 1993 - 2022. ...
Snowpack Persistence Day of Year Standard Deviation (1993-2022)
This dataset represents an estimate of interannual variability in the day of year (i.e., "Julian Day") of the persistence of the seasonal snowpack...
1 m Resolution Basic Landcover Map for the Upper Gunnison Domain Derived from NAIP Imagery and LiDAR
<p>This is 1 meter resolution landcover map developed for the RMBL Spatial Data Platform. Source datasets include 2017 and 2019 4-band imagery from th...
3 m Resolution 20th Percentile Canopy Height Estimates for the Upper Gunnison Basin derived from 2015 and 2019 LiDAR Data
This is a map of 20th percentile canopy height above the ground for the Upper Gunnison River Basin based on 2015 and 2019 LiDAR data. Height is measur...
1 m Resolution Canopy Height Estimates for the Upper Gunnison Basin derived from 2015 and 2019 LiDAR Data
This is a map of vegetation canopy height above the ground for the Upper Gunnison River Basin based on 2015 and 2019 LiDAR data. Height is measured in...
3 m Resolution Understory Cover for the Upper Gunnison Basin derived from 2015 and 2019 LiDAR Data
<p>This is a map of vegetation understory cover or density for the Upper Gunnison River Basin based on 2015 and 2019 LiDAR data. Cover is measured as ...
1 m Resolution Digital Elevation Model for the Upper Gunnison Domain derived from 2015 and 2019 LiDAR Data
<p>This is a 1 m resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM) for the Upper Gunnison River domain derived from public LiDAR datasets. The primary data sou...
Winter Travel Time from Crested Butte for the Upper East River Domain
<p>This map represents the estimated on-road and off-road travel time in minutes from Crested Butte via the fastest travel means available (snowmobile...
Summer Travel Time from Gothic for the Upper East River Domain
<p>This map represents the estimated on-road and off-road travel time in minutes from Crested Butte via the fastest travel means available (snowmobile...
Minimum 2m Air Temperature Daily Timeseries
These are maps of daily minimum air temperature for the Upper Gunnison domain measured in degrees C. Estimates were derived from weather station a...
Maximum 2m Air Temperature Daily Timeseries
These are maps of daily maximum air temperature for the Upper Gunnison domain measured in degrees C. Estimates were derived from weather station a...
3 m Resolution 80th Percentile Canopy Height Estimates for the Upper Gunnison Basin Derived from 2015 and 2019 LIDAR Data
<p>This is a map of 20th percentile canopy height above the ground for the Upper Gunnison River Basin based on 2015 and 2019 LiDAR data. Height is mea...
Styled canopy structure basemap of the Upper Gunnison domain
<p>This dataset is a styled basemap depicting vegetation canopy structure variables in the Upper Gunnison domain overlaid on high-resolution topograph...
A composite high resolution canopy height map for the Upper East River domain
<p>This dataset represents a 1/3 m resolution vegetation canopy height model for the upper East River Watershed in Western Colorado. Source datasets ...
Basic High-resolution Landcover Map for the Upper East River Domain
<p>This is a landcover map derived from the 2018 NEON AOP dataset for the upper east river. </p><p>1=needle-leaf trees and shrubs 2=deciduous trees an...
Quality-controlled Vegetation Canopy Height Model for the Upper East River Domain
This is a vegetation canopy height map from the 2018 NEON AOP dataset. It was derived from the NEON Lidar-based digital surface model and the re-proce...
Gothic Colorado WInter 2022 Snow Depth Lidar
Gothic Colorado Winter 2022 Snow Depth Lidar from Jan7, Jan 26, and Feb 14 2022. Additionally, includes snow off.
Small Sub-watersheds of the Upper East River Domain
<p>This map represents estimated watersheds for stream segments derived from a hydrologically corrected digital elevation model. The flow lines were d...
Large Sub-watersheds of the Upper East River Domain
<p>This map represents estimated watersheds for stream segments derived from a hydrologically corrected digital elevation model. The flow lines were d...
Styled slope and aspect basemap of the Upper Gunnison domain
<p>This dataset is a styled basemap depicting topographic slope and aspect of Upper Gunnison domain using a rainbow color scale with contour lines, op...
Mask for the Upper Gunnison SDP Domain at 3 m resolution
This is a 3m resolution binary map representing areas within the Upper Gunnison Domain of the RMBL Spatial Data Platform.
Surface Water Map at 1m Resolution for the Upper East River Domain
<p>This map represents the estimated binary presence of surface water during the NEON Airborne Observation Platform campaign in July 2018. Values of 1...