LandNET

Program Overview

YERC’s LandNET is a community based cooperative which aims to monitor and predict the health of our landscapes.  Having data on their land’s soil moisture and soil carbon can help landowners become more resilient to drought and other environmental challenges.  LandNET data will be shared and visualized through YERC’s easily accessible EPIIC Center so that it can be used to monitor and make accurate predictions about plant and soil health. Through LandNET, landowners can work to improve the productivity of their lands and increase their profit margins in the long term.

Objectives

Diagnostics and Prognosis for Agro-Ecosystem Health

• We collect data through a cooperative and standardized process which focuses on the privacy and management of landowner monitoring data.

• Data is collected to create useful information to monitor and soil moisture, snowmelt, plant stress, and additional biodiversity metrics (e.g., insects, birds) of healthy landscapes.

• The data we collect is posted to our EPIIC Center which displays data trends for the public to view and analyze.  Monitoring data will also be used for prognosis--data products and tools for both short term forecasts and longer-term planning (what we call What-if-Scenarios) 

• EPIIC Center will aid in wise land management decisions and evaluate smart conservation ranching practices.  Such monitoring and planning tools will allow adaptation and mitigation strategies for drought impacts, saving money on key ranchlands in the GYE.

What we monitor

We reached out to Montana producers to determine what types of soil information is most important to them when making land management decisions. Using their insight, LandNET will provide data on:

• Soil Carbon Content

• Soil Moisture & Infiltration

• Plant Diversity (bare ground, % cover, structure)

• Biodiversity (bird species & abundance, wildlife presence, etc.)

Our Technology

We monitor the health of soil and plant communities through the use of:

• Fixed Soil Monitoring Stations

• Soil Moisture Probes

• Cell Phone-enable citizens

• Drones

How to Participate

• Collaborate by allowing access to producer land

• Purchase or Cost-share equipment for data collection

• Make a General Donation to the LandNET program

• Become a Friend of YERC and stay informed

• Stay in the know by following us on social media!!