Review of EPA's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program Overall Evaluation (1995) / Chapter Skim
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3 Program-Wide Components
3 Program-Wide Components
Pages 46-64
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From page 46... ...
The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Pilot Program suggests that the current Landscape Characterization program focuses on land-cover mapping for all resources using thematic mapper data, apparently fulfilling the Landscape Ecology program's goal 46
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From page 47... ...
Monitoring of the spatial distribution of land cover will provide crucial information regarding our national environmental status. The Place of Landscape Programs Within EMAP The role of the landscape programs has changed since the initial phases of EMAP in which Landscape Characterization was described as a central and pivotal program that would provide necessary information for resource groups.
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From page 48... ...
Evaluation The EMAP-Landscape Ecology plan is extremely well written, providing a coherent theoretical framework for assessing ecological status and trends at landscape scales. This document arguably has provided the clearest description of the connections among societal values, assessment questions, conceptual models of ecological phenomena, and indicator variables.
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From page 49... ...
Such an effort would require interaction and integration among resource groups at the empirical stage, relying on common sites and common indicator variables (see Chapter 2~. EMAP-Landscape Ecology's current plans are to study the indicators of landscape structure discussed in the large body of theoretical work on landscape ecology.
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From page 50... ...
Providing landscape-level data surrounding each of the EMAP study sites seems to be a major reason for the existence of EMAP-Landscape Characterization. The benefits of the interactions between the individual resource groups and EMAP-Landscape Characterization will be diminished without a strong information management system that will allow the individual resource groups easy access to the land-cover data.
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From page 51... ...
A new indicator-strategy document has since been developed and was distributed in the spring of 1994 (Barber, 1994~. This more recent document serves as the formal basis for the review of the overall indicator strategy of the EMAP program.
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From page 52... ...
52 EMS P: O Vera// Eva/ua lion Table 3-1 EMAP INDICATOR STRATEGY; summarized from pages 17-18 of the indicator strategy document Stage Indicator selection identify environmental values of the resource formulate assessment questions identify major stressors develop conceptual models of structure and response to stressors select indicators for research and evaluation Indicator evaluation evaluate logistics at regional and national scales characterize temporal and spatial variability develop nominal-subnominal criteria prepare example statistical summaries and assessments determine sampling densities required to meet data-quality objectives select core indicators for implementation Indicator implementation monitor core indicators nationally prepare annual summaries prepare periodic assessments Indicator Re-evaluation periodically re-evaluate core performance identify emerging assessment questions conduct research on new indicators Source: Barber, 1994
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From page 53... ...
A question remains, however, as to whether the current document is comprehensive enough to guide such a key element of the overall EMAP program. While it clearly presents an overall strategy for indicator development, it is still weak in terms of clarifying specific procedures and organizational arrangements that will ensure that program development is consistent with the vision of the strategy document.
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From page 54... ...
The indicator development strategy clearly calls for the use of explicit conceptual models as a basis for selecting potential indicators for field evaluation that are scientifically sound. These models will provide a scientifically defensible hypothesis showing how indicators are related to resource values and assessment end points.
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From page 55... ...
Documenting the mechanistic link between an indicator and its stressors and as sessment end point is crucial to the retrospective assessment approach (Thornton et al., 1994~. The problem is, while the assessment framework document discusses the issue of establishing cause and effect in some detail, the indicator strategy document says little on this key point.
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From page 56... ...
The current document provides little information as to how EMAP will evaluate the performance of a potential indicator with respect to Barber's Table 2, nor does it discuss whether any or all of the criteria are essential. There are numerous evaluation issues that need program-level guidance if the indicator selection strategy is going to yield the nationally applicable set of indicators EMAP envisions for each resource group.
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From page 57... ...
The indicator strategy document wisely provides for a phased indicator evaluation (Table 3; Barber, 1994, page 41~. Problems associated with spatial scale in indicator performance are likely to be common, as noted above, and careful testing in pilot and then demonstration projects before national implementation is likely to be the most efficient approach in the long run.
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From page 58... ...
Having a documented strategy, however, is not a replacement for organizational structure and guidance in this area. The strategy document, in conjunction with a strong central office for indicator coordination, would be a key asset in the EMAP program, and would help to ensure that the massive amounts of data that EMAP proposes to collect will in fact be useful in future retrospective assessments.
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From page 59... ...
Scientific data typically involve very long transactions, are transformed for a variety of simulation processes and models, have heavy reliance on metadata, and are more complex in structure and organization. As a result of these fundamental differences, the EMAP-Information System must be carefully designed to facilitate the myriad future uses appropriate for scientific data that could easily be overlooked when trying to retrofit existing relational database technology for purposes for which it was not designed.
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From page 60... ...
EMAP-Information System user requirements involve databases containing a large and heterogeneous collection of data sets, which are spatially distributed and spatially indexed. In relation to such a database, EMAP-Information System users should also have access to a large variety of analytical and visualization tools that may be applied to various subsets of the data, over various spatial scales, and at various stages of information processing.
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From page 61... ...
In particular, the plan makes a single reference to an early conference on scientific databases. There is no reference to database developments in programs that have similarities to EMAP, such as NSF's Long-Term Ecological Research program.
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From page 62... ...
It is not clear whether EMAP drew upon appropriate expertise in drafting the strategic plan. · The plan gives no significant indication that user requirements, and their central role in EMAP-lnformation System, have been given adequate consideration.
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From page 63... ...
. While there is some interaction with a consortium of federal agencies involving a large, spatially indexed database located at the EROS Data Center, the links between such systems and EMAP-lnformation System are at best vague.
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From page 64... ...
Based on our reading of the strategic plan and on our evaluation of the rapid prototype, the committee has very serious doubts as to whether the current approach to designing, implementing, and managing EMAP-lnformation System is an appropriate solution to the long-term data and information processing requirements of EMAP.
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