Vegetation Classification and Mapping Project Report - USGS

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Glossary Glossary modified from USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program: http:// biology.usgs.gov/npsveg/glossary.html. Accuracy: The closeness of results of observations, computations, or estimates to the true values or to values that are accepted as being true (Rabchevsky 1984). In the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program there are two aspects of accuracy: thematic and positional accuracy. Accuracy assessment: The process of determining the positional and thematic accuracy of the spatial vegetation community data. This is an independent process performed after the vegetation mapping and classification is complete. Accuracy assessment point: A location where accuracy assessment data are collected. Aerial photography: Analog imagery taken from an airplane. The optical axis is oriented perpendicular to the earth’s surface so that the film is parallel to the surface being photographed. (also Vertical Aerial Photography). A sequence of aerial photographs will overlap so the photos can be used in stereoscopic analysis (stereo pairs). The overlap is referred to as “endlap” (top-to-bottom area in common, same flightline) and “sidelap” (side-toside area in common, different flightlines) (portions from Rabchevsky 1984). Aerial photography used in the program is 9 × 9-inch vertical, stereoscopic, color or color infrared photography. Alliance: A physiognomically uniform group of associations sharing one or more diagnostic (dominant, differential, indicator, or character) species that, as a rule, are found in the uppermost stratum of the vegetation (FGDC 1997). This is the second-finest level in the National Vegetation Classification Standard hierarchy. See the table under USNVC. Anderson Classification System: A land cover/land use classification system developed for use with remote sensing systems in the 1970s adopted for the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program to map cultural land cover (Anderson et al. 1976); see below. Anderson Classification System. Level I Urban.or.Built-up. Land Agricultural.Land Water.(nonvegetated.portion) Barren.Land Perennial.Snow.or. Ice Level II Residential Commercial and Services Industrial Transportation, Communications, and Utilities Industrial and Commercial Complexes Mixed Urban or Built-up Land Other Urban or Built-up Land Cropland and Pasture Orchard, Groves, Vineyards, Nurseries, and Ornamental Horticultural Areas Confined Feeding Operations Other Agricultural Lands Streams and Canals Lakes Reservoirs Bays and Estuaries Dry Salt Flats Beaches Sandy Areas other than Beaches Strip Mines, Quarries, and Gravel Pits Transitional Areas Mixed Barren Lands Perennial Snowfields Glaciers Note: This is not the complete Anderson Level II Classification. Areas of natural vegetation are classified under the NVCS. Association: The finest level of the National Vegetation Classification Standard. The association is a physiognomically uniform group of vegetation stands that share one or more diagnostic (dominant, differential, 61
Vegetation Classification and Distribution Mapping Report: Petrified Forest National Park indicator, or character) overstory and understory species. These elements occur as repeatable patterns of assemblages across the landscape, and are generally found under similar habitat conditions (FGDC 1997). See table under USNVC an example. Within the program association is the preferred term, but it is also synonymous with community, community type, plant community, type, vegetation community, and vegetation type. Attribute: (digital data) A numeric, text, or image data field in a relational database table (such as a GIS) that describes a spatial feature (point, line, polygon, cell) (ESRI 1994). Automate: The process of entering data into a computer. Synonymous with digitize. Base map: The source or control from which all spatial data are developed and geo-referenced to. Photo interpreted data are transferred to a base to rectify and register the data. For this program, base maps consist of USGS DOQQs or specially made orthophotos. Class: The level in the National Vegetation Classification Standard hierarchy based on the structure of the vegetation and determined by the relative percentage of cover and the height of the dominant, uppermost life forms (Grossman et al. 1998). See the table under USNVC. Classification accuracy: How closely the map classes match the vegetation communities found on the landscape. This is determined by accuracy assessment protocols. See “Producing rigorous and consistent accuracy assessment procedures” at http://biology.usgs. gov/npsveg/aa/index.html for more information. Also see producer and user accuracy. Community: An assemblage of species that co-occur in defined areas at certain times and have the potential to interact with one anther (Grossman et al. 1998). May also refer to an association in the USNVC, but this is not preferred. Contingency table: A table that compares mapped data with ground data to determine accuracy. The “known” classes derived from accuracy assessment plots are compared to the classes derived from photo interpretation. The results are then tabulated in the form of a contingency table to determine the degree of misclassification that has occurred between classes. Also referred to as error matrix, confusion matrix, or misclassification matrix. For an example of a contingency table see http://biology.usgs. gov/npsveg/scbl/aa_matrix.html. Cover: The area of ground covered by the vertical projection of the aerial parts of plants of one or more species.(FGDC 1997). Cover type: A designation based upon the plant species forming a plurality of composition within a given area (e.g., Oak–Hickory) (FGDC 1977). Also refers to an alliance or group of alliances in the USNVC. Coverage: A file format used by Arc/Info software for vector spatial data. Crosswalk: Relationship between the elements of two classification systems. For example, there is a crosswalk between map classes and units of the NVCS. This relationship is often shown in a look up table. Datum: A mathematical model that describes the size and shape of the ellipsoid. The earth is not a sphere, but an ellipsoid distorted by rotation about its axis, with the globe bulging at the equator and flattened at the poles. The flattening is not uniform around the Earth due to the influence of the continents location (Snyder 1982). Using the wrong datum in relation to geographic coordinates can result in errors of hundreds of meters in position. This Program uses the North American Datum (NAD) of 1983 or NAD83. 62
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National Park Service U.S. Departme
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Vegetation Classification and Distr
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The National Park Service, Natural
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Acronyms and Abbreviations AA ac AP
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Executive Summary The classificatio
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Acknowledgments Behind the authors
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Page 75: Literature Cited ties: Terrestrial
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Appendix D Plant species list The s
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D3 Appendix D continued Scientific
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Appendix E Plant community and map
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Appendix E: Plant community and map
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Appendix F Plant community and map
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F3 Appendix F continued Plant commu
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Appendix F continued Plant communit
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G4 B1 Cottonwood / Rubber Rabbitbru
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G6 B3 Blue Sage Dwarf-Shrubland Fig
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G8 B5 Copperweed - Alkali Sacaton S
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G10 B7 Drummond Goldenweed - Gallet
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G12 B9 Greasewood / New Mexico Salt
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G14 B11 Iodine Bush Shrubland Figur
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G16 B13 Sandsage Colorado Plateau S
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G18 B15 Tamarisk Shrubland Figure.G
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G20 B17 Winter-fat / Blue Grama Dwa
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G22 B19 Alkali Sacaton - Blue Grama
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G24 B21 Blue Grama Herbaceous Veget
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G26 B23 Galleta - Alkali Sacaton He
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G28 B25 New Mexico Saltbush / Alkal
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G30 B27 Russian Thistle Sand Dune V
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G32 B29 Arizona Siltbush Sparse Veg
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G34 B31 Slender Buckwheat Sparse Ve
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G36 B33 Airstrip Figure.G65..Photos
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G38 B35 Barren Wash Figure.G68..Gro
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G40 B37 Park Sites Figure.G71..Phot
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G42 B39 Residences Figure.G73..Phot
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G44 B41 Run-off Control Feature Fig
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G46 B43 Stock Ponds Figure.G77..Pho
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G48 B45 Vegetated Wash Complex Figu
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Appendix H: Accuracy Assessment Dat
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Table H-4. Contingency table: Manag
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The Department of the Interior prot
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Vegetation Classification and Mapping Project Report - USGS

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