Untangling the Interactions Between Rural Outmigration, Grassland Degradation, and Sustainable Land Use in Mongolia
Project Start Date
03/01/2022
Project End Date
03/01/2025
Science Theme Name
Solicitation
Team Members:
Person Name | Person role on project | Affiliation |
---|---|---|
Qiongyu Huang | Principal Investigator | Smithsonian Institution , Front Royal , USA |
Melissa Songer | Collaborator | Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, US |
Peter Leimgruber | Collaborator | Smithsonian Institution, Front Royal, US |
Nicole Motzer | Co-Investigator | National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center , Annapolis , USA |
Ginger Allington | Co-Investigator | Natural Resources and the Environment , Cornell University, Ithaca, NY , USA |
Tungalag Ulambayar | Collaborator | Zoological Society Luujin , Ulaanbaatar , Mongolia |
Kirk Olson | Collaborator | Wildlife Conservation Society- Mongolia , Sukhbaatar district , Mongolia |
Ochirkhuyag Lkhamjav | Collaborator |
Abstract
The objectives of the proposal are to: 1. Assess changes in household demographics, livestock management practices, and opportunities of sustainable livelihoods related to rural outmigration; 2. Develop and assess novel algorithms for quantifying fractional grass cover, fractional vegetational functional types, and a synthetic grassland resilience index by leveraging medium-resolution satellite imagery and UAV data, and 3. Use statistical matching method to systematically assess the differences of fractional grass cover and resilience at the district level as a function of changing human and social capital.
We will evaluate changes to rural demographics and livelihoods associated with rural outmigration through a household survey administered across multiple districts in three Mongolian provinces. Survey questions will focus on the rural herding labor force, finances, and associated decisions, and potential impact on opportunities for a sustainable livelihood. We will use Landsat-8 data to model fractional grass cover in two periods between 2013 and 2022. The model will be trained using UAV-derived vegetation functional type information based on object-based segmentation and classification algorithm. We will use the Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 (HLS) data to create a fractional vegetation functional types product circa 2020 and, subsequently, a synthetic grassland resilience index map. The resulting metrics will be compared between regions using a statistical matching method to systematically assess the social drivers of degradation.
Project Research Area