Ross Natural History Reservation: A Review of Recent Dynamics from Aerial Photography

Ross Natural History Reservation (RNHR) is a Natural Area of Emporia State University, located at the eastern edge of the Flint Hills in east-central Kansas. Previous analysis of aerial photographs covered the period 1945 to 2006. More recent developments and trends are presented here for the period 2007 to 2020. We employ conventional, large-format National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery along with small-format aerial photography (SFAP) taken with kites, helium blimp, and unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to document qualitative changes in land cover and land use. A wildfire in July 2012 was a major event that burned >90% of RNHR. Other significant developments include a reduction in the number of human-built structures, establishment and later realignment of experimental disturbance plots, rediscovery of the 19th-century Fruitland Schoolhouse remains, and a severe wind storm in 2019. The combination of NAIP and SFAP provides spatial and temporal resolutions for general interpretation as well as detailed analyses, which have revealed a mosaic of botanical and archaeological footprints.