Description: As part of Vital Signs Monitoring, the North Coast and Cascades Network (NCCN) of the National Park Service (NPS) developed a protocol for monitoring landscape change using Landsat satellite imagery. The protocol was implemented at Mount Rainier National Park (MORA) in 2013 using LandTrendr (Landsat-based Detection of Trends in Disturbance and Recovery) algorithms developed by the Laboratory for Applications of Remote Sensing in Ecology (LARSE) at Oregon State University.Eight categories of landscape change that occurred at MORA and surrounding areas from 1987 to 2017 were mapped and labeled: Avalanches, Clearing, Development, Fire, Mass Movements, Progressive Defoliation, Riparian, and Tree Topplings. The Avalanche category captures long, linear change which partially or completely removes vegetation from the valley wall following a release of a large mass of snow down a mountain side. Clearings are areas under forest management where practices vary from thinning to clearcuts. The Development category captures changes associated with complete and persistent removal of vegetation and transformation to a built landscape. Changes due to Fire vary in intensity from full canopy removal to partial burns that leave behind a mixture of dead and singed trees. The Mass Movement category includes both landslides found on valley walls and debris flows associated with streams. Progressive Defoliation is a change type in which the forest cover remains but has declined due to insect infestation, disease or drought. Riparian changes are restricted to the valley floors alongside major streams and rivers and capture areas where either conifer or broadleaf vegetation previously existed and has been converted to river channel. Change due to Tree Toppling is evidenced by broken or topped trees, generally due to wind but sometimes to root rot. Only changes larger than 0.8 ha (2 ac) and for which the duration of the period of landscape change was less than 4 years were mapped. This version of the data set was generated by running LandTrendr in Google Earth Engine and is a replacement of the 1985-2009 data set published in 2000 (NPS Data Store Record 2282287).
Copyright Text: North Coast and Cascades Network Inventory and Monitoring Program