Research Objectives

In response to these challenges, this research aims to create the first high-resolution, continuous land cover map within the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts BCR. The final land cover map product and data obtained from this research are aimed at supporting re-search, non-governmental, and federal stakeholders involved in current and future con-servation efforts of species that live in BCR 33

• Develop an ML algorithm trained to classify vegetation land cover using remote sensing spectral data and phenology metrics from 2013-2020
• Calibrate, validate, and refine the final ML-derived vegetation map using a collection of openly sourced remote sensing and ground-based ancillary data, images, and lim-ited fieldwor
• Harmonize a new transboundary classification system by expanding existing land cover mapping resources from the US portion of BCR 33 into Mexico