United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Environmental Monitoring
Systems Laboratory
Las Vegas. NV 89193-3478
Research and Development
EPA/620/SR-93/001  July 1993
Project Summary
Environmental  Monitoring and
Assessment  Program:  EMAP-
Arid Colorado Plateau  Pilot
Study-1992:   Implementation
Plan
Susan E. Franson


  The 1992 Colorado Plateau Indicator
Pilot Study, the first field activity for
the  EMAP-Arid group, is designed to
evaluate several indicators of arid eco-
system condition for continued devel-
opment and implementation for moni-
toring. This Implementation Plan de-
scribes the conceptual approach for
the  pilot study; questions that will be
addressed  in  the study; the rationale
and process that led to the choice of a
portion of the Colorado  Plateau for the
study site;  and the rationale and pro-
cess for selection of the indicators to
be tested. The overall EMAP-Arid de-
sign Is presented along with the spe-
cifics for the pilot study and the  sam-
pling plot designs. Logistics, quality
assurance, information management
and  geographic information system
(CIS), and analysis and reporting of the
pilot study results also are addressed.
  The bulk of the implementation plan
describes the indicator categories that
are  to be evaluated in the pilot study:
vegetation composition, structure, and
abundance; soil properties including
erosion potential; and spectral proper-
ties of vegetation and soils from both
on-ground and remote sensors. These
indicator categories  were chosen for
their potential to relate to the issues of
sustainability and desertification which
are  of critical importance to arid eco-
systems. An appendix describes retro-
spective and landscape  Indicators that
will be further developed by EMAP-Arid
in the future.
  This Project Summary was developed
by  EPA's  Environmental  Monitoring
Systems Laboratory,  Las Vegas, NV, to
 announce key findings of the research
 project that Is fully documented in a
 separate  report of the same title (see
 Project Report ordering Information at
 back).

 Introduction
   In response to the growing awareness
 of regional and global-scale environmen-
 tal degradation brought about by the com-
 bined actions of all peoples on Earth,  na-
 tions throughout the world are acknowl-
 edging the need to obtain critical scientific
 information and are establishing environ-
 mental monitoring networks to assess  the
 condition of their important ecological re-
 sources. The U.S. Environmental Protec-
 tion Agency (EPA), in collaboration with
 other federal agencies, research institutes,
 and university  systems,  has initiated  the
 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
 Program (EMAP) to develop a long-term
 approach to assess and periodically docu-
 ment the condition of ecological resources
 at  regional and national scales and to
 create innovative methods for anticipating
 emerging  problems before they reach  cri-
 sis proportions. Desertification, livestock
 grazing,  biodiversity,  water quality and
 quantity, air quality, and global climatic
 change have all been identified as region-
 ally important issues in arid ecosystems.
 EMAP-Arid will monitor and report on  the
 condition  of arid and semi-arid ecosys-
 tems.
    Arid and semi-arid ecosystems occupy
 nearly all of the land surface area (exclud-
 ing high-elevation forests) west of 95° West
 longitude in  the conterminous United
 States. Much of this land is publicly owned
 and managed  by various state and fed-
                                               Printed on Recycled Paper

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 oral agencies. Because of the widespread
 Interest in arid ecosystems, and to take
 greatest advantage of all available exper-
 tise, the EMAP-Arid team is composed of
 scientists  from  various  universities,  re-
 search institutes, public  interest groups,
 and federal agencies. The success of the
 pilot study is dependent upon this mixture
 of affiliations that includes EPA, the Bu-
 reau of Land Management  (BLM),  Na-
 tional Park Service  (NPS), Forest Service
 (FS), Soil Conservation  Service (SCS),
 Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and the
 Navajo and Ute Nations.
  The Implementation Plan provides the
 mechanism for coordination  of indicator
 development and evaluation with  mem-
 bers from participating agencies and the
 external scientific community. The Imple-
 mentation Plan gives an  overview of the
 pilot study from a technical perspective. A
 companion document, the Field  Opera-
 tions and Training  Manual, presents the
 operational aspects  of the study, including
 (1) detailed protocols for each step of the
 field work; (2) a Safety Plan; and (3) a
 Quality Assurance Project Plan.

 Conceptual Approach
  EMAP-Arid is following a strategic plan
 based in part on the National Research
 Council (NRC) and  EMAP guidelines for
 designing and implementing environmen-
 tal monitoring programs  (Figure 1). The
 Colorado Plateau Pilot Study  - 1992 rep-
 resents the step in which exploratory stud-
 ies are conducted. The pilot study is one
 type of exploratory study, generally  in-
 tended to answer specific questions about
 indicator performance, including sensitiv-
 ity, components of variance, data collec-
 tion protocols, and logistical requirements.
 Pilot studies are not intended to provide
 estimates of ecological condition.
  The Colorado  Plateau  Pilot Study will
 evaluate and field test a number of issues
 related  to design,  ecological indicators,
 quality assurance,  logistics,  information
 management, and analysis and reporting
 before full scale  implementation. Results
will  be used to plan future pilot studies
and  to  develop  regional  demonstration
projects leading to full scale implementa-
tion.
  The specific objectives of the pilot study
are:
  1)   To gather and evaluate information
      to move selected ecological indica-
      tors from the "research" category to
      the  "development" stage in the in-
      dicator implementation process.
  2)   Evaluate the  utility of using classi-
      fied Thematic Mapper imagery and
      other data acquired from the FWS
       GAP Program to select frame ma-
       terials for the pilot study and  to
       provide data for extent estimation
       of arid ecosystems.
   3)  Evaluate the sampling plot designs
       appropriate to the selected indica-
       tors.
   4)  Evaluate  the  logistical,  quality as-
       surance, information management,
       data analysis, and reporting require-
       ments and constraints based on the
       pilot study data.
   For each of these objectives, specific
 questions  have  been formulated that the
 pilot is designed to answer.

 Site Selection and Description
 of the Study  Area
   In selecting an area for the pilot study,
 regions were first considered based on
 the availability of ecological data relevant
 to  addressing questions of sustainability
 and desertification. A decision analysis pro-
 cess developed  by  Kepner and Tregoe
 (K-T Analysis) was used to select the pilot
 study  area from the list  of candidates.
 Criteria that the study site should meet so
 that the study objectives could be achieved
 were defined. These criteria included the
 relationship of the study area to the is-
 sues of desertification and global climate
 change; the availability, quality, and quan-
 tity of data relevant to sustainability, retro-
 spective data, and remote sensing imag-
 ery; and the opportunity for collaboration
 with other EMAP groups.  Each site was
 scored based on how well it met each of
 the  criteria. This process  resulted in the
 selection of the Colorado Plateau for the
 location of the study area.
   Figure 2 shows the Colorado Plateau
 region with the  1992 pilot study area in
 Southeastern Utah shaded. The Colorado
 Plateau is an arid and semi-arid tableland
 in the southwestern United  States. The
 Plateau supports a great diversity of eco-
 systems including cold deserts; alpine tun-
 dra; hanging gardens; woodlands; shrublands;
 and cryptogamic communities of  mosses, li-
 chens, fungi, and cyanobacteria comprising
 most of the biomass on otherwise sterile soils.

 Design
  The  EMAP   design  specifies   a
 probablistic sample based on  a  random
 systematic triangular grid with 27.1  km
 between nearest  neighbor grid points. The
 EMAP-Arid design conforms to the overall
 EMAP design. The  design  of the  pilot
 specifies sampling at points offset from
the EMAP  grid points. This offset allows
testing of  the EMAP design in arid  sys-
tems while avoiding any possible  interfer-
 ence with the site that will be sampled in
 implementation.
   The population of interest to EMAP-Arid
 is composed of those terrestrial systems
 where  potential evapotranspiration ex-
 ceeds  precipitation; annual  precipitation
 ranges from < 5 to 60 cm; air tempera-
 tures range from -40 to 50°C; and vegeta-
 tion is  dominated by  woody perennials,
 graminoides, succulents, and drought-re-
 sistant  trees in low-form, open canopies.
 Arid lands include associated riparian com-
 munities and exclude intensively managed
 agriculture.  Subpopulations of interest to
 EMAP-Arid  include the following formation
 types: desertscrub, grasslands, scrubland,
 woodland, tundra,  riparian forrest, riparian
 scrub, and strandland. For the pilot study,
 sampling will be restricted to those sites
 that fall within the Great Basin Desertscrub
 or Great Basin Conifer Woodland forma-
 tion types.  Great Basin  Desertscrub  is
 characterized by low, widely spaced hemi-
 spherical shrubs with the major dominants
 being  sagebrushes,  saltbushes,  and
 winterfat. Great Basin Conifer Woodland
 is characterized by the unequal dominance
 of openly spaced juniper and pinyon trees
 that rarely exceed  12 m in height.
  The sample plot design (Figure 3) is a
 unified  whole that  encompasses the par-
 ticular sampling design components for
 each  of the individual indicator category
 measurements discussed below. The four
 circular subplots (MD, A1, B1, C1)  upon
 which trees  and shrubs >  1.5 m in height
 will be  measured  were designed to be
 compatible with the plot design employed
 by EMAP-Forest.

 Indicators

 Introduction
  Indicators are associated with  assess-
 ment endpoints  and societal   values
 through a conceptual model. This provides
 the framework for  indicator development
 that was employed  during a series of work-
 shops to identify candidate indicators that
 relate  to the issues  of  sustainability,
 biodiversity,  and aesthetics. These candi-
 date indicators were then  evaluated  in a
 K-T analysis to select those that would be
 tested in the pilot  study. Those selected
 include  spectral properties; vegetation
 composition, structure, and abundance;
 and soil properties including erosion indi-
 ces.

 Spectral Properties Indicators
  Vegetation and soils reflect light in spe-
cific and characteristic patterns that de-
pend on a variety of factors including their
composition, moisture  content, shadow-
 ing, presence of other materials, etc. These

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                                                   Step 1
                                                   Define
                                            Expectations and Goals
       Stop 2
       Define
    Study Strategy     »^
      Refine
     Questions
        Step 4
       Develop
    Sampling Design
     Rethink
     Monitoring
     Approach
J
                                                  Can
                                               Changes Be
                                                Detected

                                                  StepS
                                              Implement Study

                                                 Step6
                                            Produce Information
              No
     Is Information
       Adequate?
                                                                            Yes
       (Source: NRC 1990)


      Figure 1.  Elements of designing and implementing a monitoring program.
                                                                                         Steps
                                                                                   Conduct Exploratory
                                                                                    Studies if Needed
                                                                                                          Make Decisions
                                                                               j
                                                                                             Step 7
                                                                                           Disseminate
                                                                                           Information
characteristic patterns of the reflected light
can be  determined from  the spectra re-
corded by either ground-based spectrom-
eters  or by various sensors on  remote
platforms including satellites.
  The pilot study will examine spectra from
remote platforms including the Advanced
Very  High  Resolution  Radiometer
(AVHRR), Multispectral Scanner (MSS)
and Thematic Mapper (TM). A personal
spectrometer will be used on the sites to
collect ground-based spectra from the six
vegetation transects (radial and external)
and seven circular subplots (Figure 3).
During the field season  a catalogue of
spectra  from plant  species and soil types
encountered will also be developed.
  The spectral properties  category of indi-
cators is designed to examine the rela-
tionships between remote sensing mea-
surements and ecological variables deter-
mined from ground-based measurements.

Vegetation Composition,
Structure, and Abundance
  The  composition, structure, and abun-
dance of vegetation have been recognized
as useful indicators of environmentally in-
duced  changes in arid ecosystems. Data
for trees and shrubs <1.5 m in height will
be recorded  for twelve quadrats  located
along  each  of  the  radial and  exterior
transects (Figure 3). Within these quad-
rats  are 20 x 50 cm subquadrats where
species composition and vegetation cover
and  height will be recorded for grasses
and forbs. In conjunction with the vegeta-
tion measurements in these subquadrats,
                     data will be collected on the surface fea-
                     tures of the site (rock fragment size and
                     distribution, percentage bare  soil,  litter
                     cover, etc.). These surface features data
                     will be used with soil properties indicators
                     in determining soil erosion estimates. The
                     species identification, height, trunk diam-
                     eter and  crown diameters  (longest and
                     the perpendicular) will be recorded for trees
                     and shrubs >1.5 m in  height  in the four
                     circular subplots (A1,  B1, C1, and MD,
                     Figure 3).

                     Soil Properties
                        Soil properties influence the  amount of
                     moisture and nutrients available for plant
                     growth, the vertical and horizontal move-
                     ment of moisture and nutrients through
                     ecosystems, and  transportation of  sus-

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                               Colorado Plateau, FY92
          N
                                                              120km
  Figure 2.  Map of the Colorado Plateau.
pended and dissolved solids into  neigh-
boring water bodies. Thus, soil properties
are important in interpreting results of veg-
etation measurements and are themselves
subject to change. At half of the sites, a
complete soil profile will be described from
a pit dug to 1.5 rn or bedrock.  Each hori-
zon  present in these soil  pits will  be
sampled. In addition, surface soils will be
described from two pits dug to 50 cm, with
samples collected from the top two hori-
zons. At the other half of the sites,  three
surface soil pits will be dug and sampled.
All soil samples will be sent to the SCS
Lincoln Soil Laboratory for complete analy-
sis of physical and chemical  properties.
Logistics
  Logistics include all the activities nec-
essary to plan and implement the pilot
study including obtaining site access per-
mission, scheduling,  training, shipping
samples, data and sample tracking, com-
munications, and providing support to the
field sampling  crews. Each field sampling
crew consists of  a field supervisor, soil
scientist, botanist, spectrometer technician,
and field  technician,  each  with specific
responsibilities during the sampling activi-
ties. A  flow chart briefly describing the
daily activities involved  in  the  approxi-
mately eight-week  field component of the
pilot is given in Figure 4. Access to sites
where permission of the owner has been
granted  will  be by four wheel drive ve-
hicle, hiking, helicopter, or a combination
of these. The pilot will determine the logis-
tic requirements for the upcoming demon-
stration  study, including  the  special re-
quirements of  sampling  with interagency
teams. The  logistical  details of the pilot
study are fully described in the Field Op-
erations  and Training Manual.

Quality Assurance
   Quality assurance (QA) for EMAP-Arid
is based on a philosophy of guidance and
assistance rather than enforcement. The
goal of  QA  is to ensure that the type,
amount,  and quality of the field data col-
lected are adequate to  meet the objec-
tives of the study. The Quality Assurance
Project Plan is a part of the Field Opera-
tions and Training Manual, but the Imple-
mentation  Plan gives an overview of the
QA activities for the pilot. Key  activities
include crew comparability and resampling
repeatability studies, field audits to ensure
protocols are being followed, and  dupli-
cate soil sampling as a quality assurance
check on  the  laboratory  analyses. After
the pilot, the activities will include working
with the  indicator leads  to develop data
quality objectives for  the demonstration
study.

Information Management and
GIS
   Information management for the pilot
study involves five  main functions: pre-
fjeld planning and preparation; field activi-
ties; central office activities; external data
set acquisition; and data assimilation, re-
view,  and assessment.  Thus, data  are
managed from  development of data entry
forms through collection and use in analy-
sis and reporting. Programs will be devel-
oped and tested for personal data record-
ers to allow  electronic data entry in  the
field for the vegetation measurements.

Analysis and  Reporting
  The focus  of EMAP-Arid Colorado Pla-
teau Pilot  Study  is to evaluate selected
indicators and  the logistical, QA,  and in-
formation management  requirements of
implementing them. This evaluation  will
rely heavily on statistical  analysis of  the
variance  components  of each  measure-
ment  and  indicator but will also  include
other  statistical analyses and subjective
considerations. The approach will be to
answer each specific question formulated
to address the objectives of the pilot study.
The  results will  be incorporated  ijito a
report on the pilot study and used to plan
future demonstration and pilot studies.

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                                                                  N
       R • Radial Transect
      ~E - External Transect
       P - Soil Pit Clockwise from Radial Transect
  Figure 3.  EMAP-Arid sample plot design.
Candidate Indicators
  During the discussions and workshops,
several categories of indicators in addition
to those being tested  in the  1992 pilot
were proposed that have great  promise
for  monitoring arid  ecosystem condition.
Two of  these indicator  categories, land-
scape and retrospective history, have pa-
rameters that can be determined in part
from existing data or data already being
collected in the pilot  study as part of other
                                                                 10 m
indicator measurements, and could be de-
veloped for the pilot study after the  field
season, should funding allow. Landscape
indicators being considered include habi-
tat/cover type proportions, spatial distri-
bution of agriculture and riparian vegeta-
tion per stream reach, fractal dimension,
abundance/density of  key physical  fea-
tures, spatial distribution of grazing inten-
sity, and riparian condition. Retrospective
indicators being considered include tree-
ring  series, meteorological  data, pollen
records, packrat middens, and fossil char-
coal records.

Conclusions
  The EMAP-Arid Colorado  Pilot Study -
1992 Implementation Plan presents a de-
scription of the activities of the EMAP-Arid
group during the summer of 1992. Details
of the objectives of the pilot study, ratio-
nale for study site and indicator selection,
sampling design,  logistics, quality assur-
ance,  information management,  analysis
and  reporting, and  the individual indica-
tors to be measured are presented in the
Implementation Plan. A companion docu-
ment,  the Field Operations and  Training
Manual, has been  prepared to augment
the information provided in the  Implemen-
tation Plan and provides greater detail on
field sampling methods, safety, and qual-
ity assurance.
  The pilot study will apply the EMAP
design to  arid  ecosystems in an  effort to
evaluate candidate indicators of arid eco-
system  condition.  The  pilot  is  an
interagency effort involving  EPA, BLM,
NPS, FS, SCS, FWS, and the Navajo  and
Ute Nations. Special logistical  requirements
resulting from  this interagency effort will
be  evaluated along with  the  indicators.
The  results of this pilot study will provide
information for future development of the
EMAP-Arid program.
  The information in this  document  has
been funded in part by the U.S. Environ-
mental Protection Agency through Con-
tract #68-CO-0049 to Lockheed Engineer-
ing and Sciences Company,  Cooperative
Agreement #CR-816385-02 to  the Desert
Research  Institute of  the  University  and
Community  College System of Nevada,
Interagency Agreement #DW 89934398 to
the Department of Energy (Idaho National
Engineering Laboratory),  Interagency
Agreement #DW  14935509-01-0 to  the
Bureau of Land Management, Interagency
Agreement #DW 12935623-01-0 to the Soil
Conservation Service, and Purchase  Or-
der #2V-0489-NAEX to the University of
Arizona.   It has  been subject  to  the
Agency's peer and administrative  review,
and it  has been approved for publication
as an EPA document.
  Mention of trade names or commercial
products does not constitute endorsement
or recommendation for use.

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                                 Check Batteries for GPS PS-//,  and Motorola ftacfb
                              Assemble Gear and Pack Vehicle Using Daily Check Lists
                                                   File Itinerary
                                                  Depart for Site
                                                  Arrive at Site
                                                Verify Site Location
                                                  Establish Plot
                                            Begin Site Characterization
                                                 Photograph Site
                   Soy Sampling Activities
             Hole Excavation, Site Photography,
            Soil Profiling, Soil Sampling, Complete
          Pedon Coding Form, and Plot Restoration
     Vegetation Sampling Activities
 Surface Characterization, Herbaceous
Cover Measurements, Trees and Shrub
           Measurements
                                              Spectral Measurements
                                         Begin at 10:30 Sampling Plots in the
                                         Same Order as Vegetation Sampling
                                        Check Field Forms for Completeness
                                               Field Supervisor Initials
                                             Depart Site and Relocate to
                                                  Nightly Lodging
                                           Field Forms and Sample Labels
                                           Checked for Completeness and
                                                     Accuracy
                                             Download Electronic Data
                                              Equipment Maintenance
                                                 Charge Batteries
Figure 4.  Flow chart of daily activities.
                                                                          . GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1993 - 5SO-W7/JWIM

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 The EPA Editor, Susan E. Franson, is with the Environmental Monitoring Systems
  Laboratory, Las Vegas, NV 89193-3478.
 William G. Kepner is the EPA Project Officer (see below).
 The complete report, entitled "Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program:
  E MAP-Arid Colorado Plateau Pilot Study - 1992: Implementation Plan," (Order
  No. PB93-181 618/AS; Cost: $27.00, subject to change) will be available only
  from:
        National Technical Information Service
        5285 Port Royal Road
        Springfield,  VA 22161
        Telephone:  703-487-4650
 The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at:
        Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory
        U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
        Las Vegas,  NV 89193-3478
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
Center for Environmental Research Information
Cincinnati, OH 45268

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