Leaders within the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission recognized the need for current vegetation datasets and maps to facilitate conservation planning and management. Prior to the initiation of this project, Ecological Mapping System (EMS) datasets had been completed by the Missouri Resource Assessment Partnership (MoRAP) for Texas and Oklahoma. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service facilitated meetings among states that highlighted the Texas and Oklahoma datasets. This led state leaders in Kansas and Nebraska to initiate the current project, with the aims of (1) producing the highest quality digital and map datasets possible, and (2) leveraging funds from each state by combining efforts. MoRAP was the overall project coordinator, and primary funding and oversight came from the states.Key elements of the EMS datasets include (1) use of 5,000 georeferenced ground data points to drive the outcomes, (2) use of European Space Agency Sentinel 2 satellite imagery which allowed for mapping at 9X better spatial resolution than common nationwide datasets (10 sq m versus 30 sq m see https://sentinel.esa.int/web/sentinel/home), and (3) use of local, state-based ecological expertise to define mapping targets, including the geographic location (e.g. region) and geophysical setting (e.g. soils, landforms) for target map types, which used the national Ecological Systems Classification as a starting point (see https://www.natureserve.org/conservation-tools/terrestrial-ecological-systems-united-states). Some specific methods included use of three dates of satellite imagery, use of image objects to improve spatial accuracy and facilitate modeling, and grouping of soils into ecoclass groups (ecogroups) from original digital soil Map Unit and Ecological Site information provided by NRCS (see https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/technical/ecoscience/desc/).A total of 47 EMS Types occurred in Kansas, and 46 in Nebraska. These included 68 types total, with 27 in common and 41 in just one of the two states. Cropland made up more than 40% of the region, while Central Mixedgrass Prairie, and the closely-related Western Mix-grass Prairie in NE, made up more than 16%. Sandhills grasslands made up more than 13% of the area, mostly in Nebraska, and Flint Hills Tallgrass Prairie make up 3.5%, all within Kansas. Cool-season, mainly non-native, grasslands, which were only mapped in the eastern third of the study area, made up more than 5% of the area. Upland Ruderal Deciduous Woodland, at about 1.5%, covered about twice as much area as all native upland deciduous woodlands and forests combined. Ruderal eastern redcedar woodland and shrubland covered 579,757 hectares, more than any native upland woodland type.
