Vegetation Classification and Mapping Project Report - USGS

More documents

Recommendations

Info

USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Colonial National Historical Park Summary Accurate and up-to-date vegetation maps are recognized by the National Park Service (NPS) Inventory and Monitoring Program as one of twelve basic data sets for every national park with significant natural resources. The National Park Service (NPS) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have put forth standards and protocols for classification and mapping of vegetation communities on NPS lands. The USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program recognizes the United States National Vegetation Classification (USNVC) as the standard vegetation classification to be used in these mapping projects. Vegetation data collected from seven national parks in Virginia were combined with over 2,000 existing plot samples from throughout the Mid-Atlantic Piedmont and Coastal Plain and used to refine the USNVC for the mid-Atlantic region. This classification was used to map and describe the vegetation at the seven national parks in Virginia. This report documents the classification and mapping of vegetation at Colonial National Historical Park. Forty map classes representing 31 USNVC associations, seven nonstandard, park-specific vegetation classes, and seven Anderson Level II land-use categories were used to map the 3,452-ha (8,529-ac) park. Vegetation map classes were determined through extensive field reconnaissance, data collection, and analysis. Leaf-off aerial photography from 2002 served as the base map, and field sampling was conducted from 2003–2005. Spatial data were digitized onscreen over digital orthophoto mosaics created from scanned color infrared, stereo pair 1:6,000 scale aerial photography using a 0.5 hectare minimum mapping unit. The vegetation map for Colonial National Historical Park covers 3498 ha (8644 ac) in and around the park. Transitional vegetation covers 37.4% of the land in the park (1,308.4 ha [3,233.0 ac]). Cultural map classes cover 19.3% (676.6 ha [1671.9 ac]) of the park and include the Anderson land-use categories and other man-made or maintained areas in the park. Tidal wetlands account for approximately 16.3% (568.5 ha [1404.7 ac]) of the park, and nontidal wetlands cover 4.9% (171.9 ha [424.7 ac]). Open water accounts for 2% of the area on the vegetation map. The remaining 20.1% (702.5 ha [1,736.0 ac]) of the park land is mapped as later successional, upland forests. A vegetation map of Colonial National Historical Park was created following the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program protocols. Vegetation map classes were crosswalked to the Natural Communities of Virginia and to the USNVC in order to provide a regional and global context for the park’s vegetation. One hundred and eighty-three randomly selected accuracy assessment sampling points were collected throughout the park and used to assess the thematic accuracy of the map. The Kappa Index for the final vegetation map was 83.8 ± 4.7%, with an overall accuracy of 84.7%. A field key to the vegetation classes, and detailed descriptions for map classes, or associations within a map class, were developed to assist with field recognition and classification. Additional products associated with this project include leaf-on and leaf-off orthophoto mosaics, a database of vegetation plot data and accuracy assessment data, digital photos of vegetation associations, 14
USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Colonial National Historical Park and spatial data files for the vegetation map, plot sample points, and accuracy assessment sample points with associated Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)-compliant metadata. Products for Colonial National Historical Park and similar national park vegetation mapping projects can be accessed at the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program website: http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg/. Keywords: vegetation association, vegetation classification, vegetation mapping, Colonial National Historical Park. 15
Page 1 and 2: National Park Service U.S. Departme
Page 3 and 4: USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program
Page 13: USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program
Page 65 and 66:
USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program
Page 67 and 68:
Page 69 and 70:
Page 71 and 72:
Page 73 and 74:
Page 75 and 76:
Page 77 and 78:
Page 79 and 80:
Page 81 and 82:
Page 83 and 84:
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
Page 93 and 94:
Page 95 and 96:
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101 and 102:
Page 103 and 104:
Page 105 and 106:
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115 and 116:
Page 117 and 118:
Page 119 and 120:
Page 121 and 122:
Page 123 and 124:
Page 125 and 126:
Page 127 and 128:
Page 129 and 130:
Page 131 and 132:
Page 133 and 134:
Page 135 and 136:
Page 137 and 138:
Page 139 and 140:
Page 141 and 142:
Page 143 and 144:
Page 145 and 146:
Page 147 and 148:
Page 149 and 150:
Page 151 and 152:
Page 153 and 154:
Page 155 and 156:
Page 157 and 158:
Page 159 and 160:
Page 161 and 162:
Page 163 and 164:
Page 165 and 166:
Page 167 and 168:
Page 169 and 170:
Page 171 and 172:
Page 173 and 174:
Page 175 and 176:
Page 177 and 178:
Page 179 and 180:
Page 181 and 182:
Page 183 and 184:
Page 185 and 186:
Page 187 and 188:
Page 189 and 190:
Page 191 and 192:
Page 193 and 194:
Page 195 and 196:
Page 197 and 198:
Page 199 and 200:
Page 201 and 202:
Page 203 and 204:
Page 205 and 206:
Page 207 and 208:
Page 209 and 210:
Page 211 and 212:
Page 213 and 214:
Page 215 and 216:
Page 217 and 218:
Page 219 and 220:
Page 221 and 222:
Page 223 and 224:
Page 225 and 226:
Page 227 and 228:
Page 229 and 230:
Page 231 and 232:
Page 233 and 234:
Page 235 and 236:
Page 237 and 238:
Page 239 and 240:
Page 241 and 242:
Page 243 and 244:
Page 245 and 246:
Page 247 and 248:
Page 249 and 250:
Page 251 and 252:
Page 253 and 254:
Page 255 and 256:
Page 257 and 258:
Page 259 and 260:
Page 261 and 262:
Page 263 and 264:
Page 265 and 266:
Page 267 and 268:
Page 269 and 270:
Page 271 and 272:
Page 273 and 274:
Page 275 and 276:
Page 277 and 278:
Page 279 and 280:
Page 281 and 282:
Page 283 and 284:
Page 285 and 286:
Page 287 and 288:
Page 289 and 290:
Page 291 and 292:
Page 293 and 294:
Page 295 and 296:
Page 297 and 298:
Page 299 and 300:
Page 301 and 302:
Page 303 and 304:
Page 305 and 306:
Page 307 and 308:
Page 309 and 310:
Page 311 and 312:
Page 313 and 314:
Page 315 and 316:
Page 317 and 318:
Page 319 and 320:
Page 321 and 322:
Page 323 and 324:
Page 325 and 326:
Page 327 and 328:
Page 329 and 330:
Page 331 and 332:
Page 333 and 334:
Page 335 and 336:
Page 337 and 338:
Page 339 and 340:
Page 341 and 342:
Page 343 and 344:
Page 345 and 346:
Page 347 and 348:
Page 349 and 350:
Page 351 and 352:
Page 353 and 354:
Page 355 and 356:
Page 357 and 358:
Page 359 and 360:
Page 361 and 362:
Page 363 and 364:
Page 365 and 366:
Page 367 and 368:
Page 369:
show all

Vegetation Classification and Mapping Project Report - USGS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?