Title:

Nebraska windbreaks original plantings (1935-1942)

Author(s):

Carman, Richard; Kellerman, Todd A.

Publication Year:

2021

How to Cite:

These data were collected using funding from the U.S. Government and can be used without additional permissions or fees. If you use these data in a publication, presentation, or other research product please use the following citation:

Carman, Richard; Kellerman, Todd A. 2021. Nebraska windbreaks original plantings (1935-1942). Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2021-0102

Abstract:

Windbreaks, or shelterbelts, are linear tree plantings which provide a variety of ecological functions on the landscape including reducing soil erosion and protecting farmsteads and livestock. The Prairie States Forestry Project began during the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s in an effort to reduce soil erosion taking place in the Great Plains of the United States. This massive undertaking planted nearly 200 million trees from North Dakota to Texas.

This data publication contains a digital representation of windbreaks in Nebraska that were planted during the Prairie States Forestry Project, 1935-1942. Using original paper section plat maps, the locations of the windbreaks were digitized using current aerial photography (NAIP, USDA-FSA) in a GIS (ArcMap 10.3, ESRI.) Locations were compared visually using landmarks such as roads and farmsteads identified using Public Land Survey System (PLSS) overlay maps. Linear features were drawn as accurately as possible with this information. The data can be viewed as one complete dataset, or by each year only. This data publication also compares the condition of the original windbreak using several years of current imagery. The windbreak can be INTACT, PARTIAL, or MISSING and has been visually reviewed using NAIP imagery for the years 2003, 2010, 2014, and 2016.

Keywords:

farming; environment; imageryBaseMapsEarthCover; Environment and People; History; Inventory, Monitoring, & Analysis; Resource inventory; Natural Resource Management & Use; Agroforestry; Dust Bowl; Prairie States Forestry Project; windbreaks; agroforestry; resource inventory; Nebraska

Related publications:

• Karle, Sarah; Carman, Richard. 2020. Digital cultural heritage and rural landscapes: preserving the histories of landscape conservation in the United States. Built Heritage. 4(5). https://doi.org/10.1186/s43238-020-00006-6

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