Operationalize best-in-class science and data for valuable insights

Harmonized datasets to help you take action faster

Vibrant Planet processes hundreds of best-in-class science and datasets – delivering insights to mitigate risk and maximize ecosystem health.  We package these datasets for easy hand-off into final planning and permitting.

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01

Leading disturbance hazard modeling and visualizations

From developing comprehensive wildfire structure exposure scores, to modeling detailed predictions of ember production and spread during wildfires, Pyrologix, a Vibrant Planet Company, powers our platform’s industry-leading fire hazard modeling.

A map displaying a "Structure Exposure Score" for fire hazards in a specific area. The score ranges from low to high, indicating varying levels of fire intensity and annual burn probability.

Wildfire

Leverage state-of-the-art methods developed by Pyrologix, a Vibrant Planet Company, such as WildEST, and FlamMap and FSim, pioneered by the USFS Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory.

Drought

Understand drought probability and intensity based on modeled historical and projected future precipitation, classified by intensity.

Overstocking

See the likelihood and exposure of forests to widespread tree mortality during periods of low water availability and warm temperatures.

02

Landscape analysis at super-fine detail

Using remote sensing and computer vision technologies, Vibrant Planet transforms remote sensing and satellite imagery from sources including the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP), Sentinel, existing lidar, and more.

Our models harmonize dozens of these datasets to build a more temporally and spatially consistent view of a vegetation structure, including a synthetic Canopy Height Model (CHM), canopy cover estimates, and a mapping of canopy dominant trees.

The result is a wall-to-wall vegetation map at fine scale, updated regularly.

03

Segmentation to the treatment unit

Aerial map with a data panel displaying stats: Unit acres: 11, Ownership: USFS, Average slope: 36%, Average flame length: 14', Canopy cover: 73%, Recommended treatment: Manual thinning, Cost to treat: $26K.

Together with topography, vegetation type, and the precise, current, and 3D synthetic CHM, we apply algorithms that group biophysically homogeneous polygons.

Based on ownership and/or similar controlling interests, we subdivide these homogenous polygons into management units that will respond similarly to treatments.

04

Complex socio-ecological values, quantified

Bar chart showing Relative Value percentages for categories: Recreation, Assets, Wildlands Health (continuous data), and Biodiversity, with subcategories listed under each main category.

From homes and utility lines to carbon, and aspen groves and Threatened and Endangered species, we help quantify the relative importance of the values across a landscape. This allows a fair comparison between them, including tradeoffs of management decisions.

We employ a risk and opportunity-based framework to quantify the relative value of resources and assets, including their contributions to safety, how irreplaceable they are, and their uniqueness in a landscape.

When considered in concert with our hazard and treatment modeling, our processing optimizes the treatment mix across the area of interest to maximize risk reduction and ecological benefit.

05

Embedded ecosystem function data

In partnership with researchers across the globe, our Applied Science team develops cutting-edge science to help land mangers achieve ecosystem resilience.

Map depicting aboveground live biomass, with a legend indicating low biomass as 323 t/ha in partnership with CTrees. Dense green areas represent regions with high biomass levels.

Biodiversity response functions

We’re helping land managers understand how treatments impact ecosystem health, assess current risk to threatened and endangered species habitat, and weigh tradeoffs of different treatment mixes.

For example, land managers can see how watershed restoration could be best led by beaver activity, or how species like wolverine may respond to human intervention in landscapes.

Hydrology

We recognize that water is an asset, a habitat, and a risk factor. Land managers and their partners need to anticipate the cumulative impacts of treatments and disturbance to the multiple roles of water. By combining remote sensing, physics-based models, and machine learning we are developing new methods to quantify changes to water quality, water availability, and post-disturbance risks like debris flows and flash floods. Our approach to connectivity across the landscape lets land managers prioritize forest projects that reduce the risk of sedimentation in downstream water supply reservoirs and high-quality habitat streams.

Wildlands health

We’re exploring and quantifying the benefits of innovative, ecological forest management. This can lead to a dramatic reduction in wildfire and drought hazard, address forest health, and retain healthy living ecosystems that provide essential ecosystem services such as carbon storage and sequestration to protect us against the worst impacts of climate change.

In partnership with CTrees, we're serving users with 5-meter resolution above ground biomass carbon data, and exposing current storage to hazard and risk, to demonstrate the cost of ‘no-action’.

The most comprehensive data sources in one place

We integrate the most up-to-date, verified publicly-available datasets from top scientific organizations and government agencies including:

    Open data, open science

    Novel data products our team creates are made publicly available through the Vibrant Planet Data Commons for scientific and educational pursuits. 

    Every dataset and scientific model curated into our platform or created by our team is transparently documented in our product guide.

    "I'm driven to make best-available biodiversity science actionable. What doesn't get included in the decision, doesn't get valued or considered. To solve the climate and biodiversity crises, we need great, science-based decisions to happen much, much faster – and that's what we're doing here at Vibrant Planet."  
    Sophie Gilbert
    Lead Biodiversity Scientist
    Vibrant Planet

    See our methodology in action

    Learn how our platform supports wildfire resilience management at all land management scales