2011 Annual Report 1a.Objectives (from AD-416) The objective of this cooperative research project is to develop technologies and technology transfer activities for integrative assessment and monitoring of arid and semi-arid rangelands in Asia and North America. 1b.Approach (from AD-416) Collaborative experiments will be designed and implemented at jointly identified sites in the Southwestern United States and Mongolian rangelands. Experiments will be patterned after existing experiments to. 1)design assessment and monitoring technologies that integrate ground-based and remotely sensed indicators of ecosystem properties, and. 2)design methods to described ecological sites in a global manner applicable to both U.S. and Mongolian rangelands. Technology transfer activities will be conducted on both continents through both field and classroom training programs. 3.Progress Report Staff from the research unit provided 3 months of training to 2 visiting scientists from Mongolia sponsored by the MSRM during the winter of 2011. Training focused on assessment and monitoring technologies suitable for use in Mongolia. USDA staff provided data management training to MSRM personnel in Mongolia in April. Staff also provided instruction in field monitoring technologies to MSRM staff at monitoring sites in Mongolia in May-August 2011. These technology transfer activities have been viewed as extremely successful by our Mongolian partners. The primary use of these rangelands is for livestock production, and these training and field site visits have been essential to transferring these monitoring technologies as well as providing additional scientific evaluations of their utility and application in drastically different environments than the western U.S. Our health assessment technology was translated into Mongolian language in 2011. Communication occurred through e-mail by ADODR during FY 11 in preparation for on-site instruction / training.