Field Plots FAQ Metadata

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Frequently-anticipated questions:

• What does this data set describe?
  1. How should this data set be cited?
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
  8. What biological taxa does this data set concern?
• Who produced the data set?
  1. Who are the originators of the data set?
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
• Why was the data set created?
• How was the data set created?
  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
• How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?
  1. How well have the observations been checked?
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the data, including topology?
• How can someone get a copy of the data set?
  1. Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
  2. Who distributes the data?
  3. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?
  4. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
  5. How can I download or order the data?
• Who wrote the metadata?

What does this data set describe?

1. How should this data set be cited?

   Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program, 20070712, alpo_veg_plots_2005_public.

   Online Links:

   • <http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg/ftp/vegmapping/alpo/alpoplot.zip>

   This is part of the following larger work.

   Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program, 20061231, Vegetation Classification and Mapping at Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site.

2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

   West_Bounding_Coordinate: -78.858729

   East_Bounding_Coordinate: -78.451388

   North_Bounding_Coordinate: 40.469325

   South_Bounding_Coordinate: 40.350584

   Description_of_Geographic_Extent: Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site

3. What does it look like?

4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

   Calendar_Date: 31-Dec-2006

   Currentness_Reference: 20061231

5. What is the general form of this data set?

   Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data

6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
   1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?

      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):

      • Entity point (77)

   2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?

      Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator

      Universal_Transverse_Mercator:

      UTM_Zone_Number: 17

      Transverse_Mercator:

      Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: 0.999600

      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -81.000000

      Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 0.000000

      False_Easting: 500000.000000

      False_Northing: 0.000000

      Planar coordinates are encoded using coordinate pair
      Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.000064
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.000064
      Planar coordinates are specified in meters

      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is Geodetic Reference System 80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.000000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222.
      

7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

   alpo_veg_plots_2005_public

   attributes from shapefile table (Source: Pennyslvania Natural Heritage Program)

   FID

   Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI)

   Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

   Shape

   Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI)

   Coordinates defining the features.

   PLOT_CODE

   unique plot identification code (Source: Investigator)

   NPS four letter park code plus unique number

   crd_alt

   Field used to indicate whether X, Y coordinates for the plot have been altered to protect a rare species that could be vulnerable to collection (Source: NCSU)

   Value	Definition
   yes	The X, Y coordinates for the plot have been altered.
   no	The X, Y coordinates for the plot have not been altered.

   UTM_X

   Easting coordinate of site location. (Source: USGS)

   Easting coordinate added using XTools Pro.

   UTM_X

   Northing coordinate of site location. (Source: USGS)

   Northing coordinate added using XTools Pro.

8. What biological taxa does this data set concern?

   Taxonomy:

   Keywords/Taxon:

   Taxonomic_Keyword_Thesaurus: None

   Taxonomic_Keywords: Standardized National Vegetation Classification System

   Taxonomic_Keywords: vegetation classification

   Taxonomic_Keywords: alliance

   Taxonomic_Keywords: community association

   Taxonomic_Classification:

   Taxon_Rank_Name: Kingdom

   Taxon_Rank_Value: Plantae

Who produced the data set?

1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
   • Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program

2. Who also contributed to the data set?

   Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy

3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
   Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program
   Ecologist
   208 Airport Drive
   Middletown, Pennsylvania 17055
   USA
   

   (717) 948-3962 (voice)
   (717) 948-3957 (FAX)
   

Why was the data set created?

To identify locations of plots from which data was collected to use in the classification and mapping efforts at Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site.

How was the data set created?

1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

   Date: 30-Jun-2005 (process 1 of 2)

   The number and distribution of vegetation plots was determined according to the USGS/NPS Vegetation Mapping protocols. The protocol suggests that each vegetation association should have been sampled at least three times in order to capture the naturally occurring variation within the park. If each of the vegetation cover types represented only one association in Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, the minimum number of plots needed would have been 34. This assumed that areas labeled with modified Anderson level II categories would not be sampled, and that for cover types with less than three polygons, one plot would be placed in each polygon. However, it is more likely that some cover types represent multiple associations. Alternatively, a few of the vegetation cover types assigned to the map may actually represent a single association. This occurs because of significant variation in vegetation structure and leaf phenology caused by past land use, natural resource management, and environmental setting. Regardless, the vegetation cover type map is a useful guide to determine the intensity, distribution, and location of vegetation sampling. Based on the cover type map, our initial reconnaissance of the park, and vegetation mapping efforts at other parks, we estimated that 80 plots was the approximate number needed to sufficiently capture the range of vegetation types. Eighty polygons representing different aerial photograph signatures and vegetation cover types were then selected for sampling.

   Plot sampling was conducted in August 2005. The diversity of vegetation types, especially within the Deciduous Forest cover type, was less than originally estimated, and therefore, only 77 plots were sampled in total. All vegetation types were sampled over a range of environmental variables. One vegetation cover type, Temporarily Flooded Mixed Evergreen - Deciduous Forest, was not sampled because it's one mapped polygon was primarily outside the park's boundary and it contained a mosaic of two forest types already adequately sampled.

   Data sources produced in this process:

   • Vegetation plots shapefile

   Date: 11-Jul-2007 (process 2 of 2)

   The vegetation plots shapefile was altered to create a shapefile suitable for public distribution. The X, Y coordinates for one plot that contains a rare plant species that could be vulnerable to collection were rounded as follows: the coordinate value was rounded up if the last three digits = 000-499; the coordinate value was rounded down if the last three digits = 500-999. A field named "crd_alt" was added to the shapefile attribute table; the value for this field is "no" if the plot coordinates have not been altered and "yes" if the plot coordinates were altered.

3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

1. How well have the observations been checked?

2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?

   Each plot is represented by one point. All points fall within the mapped polygons.

5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?

   ESRI point geometry

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?

Access_Constraints: none

Use_Constraints: none

1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
   USGS/CSS/Core Science Analytics and Synthesis
   c/o USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Coordinator
   Denver Federal Center, Building 810, Room 8000, MS 302
   Denver, Colorado 80225
   

   (303) 202-4220 (voice)
   303-202-4219 (FAX)
   gs-b-npsveg@usgs.gov
   

2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

   The name of the shapefile that this metadata record documents is: alpo_veg_plots_2005_public.shp

3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

   The U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. These data and related graphics (if available) are not legal documents and are not intended to be used as such.

   The information contained in these data is dynamic and may change over time. The data are not better than the original sources from which they were derived. It is the responsibility of the data user to use the data appropriately and consistent within the limitations of geospatial data in general and these data in particular. Any related graphics (if available) are intended to aid the data user in acquiring relevant data; it is not approriate to use the related graphics as data.

   The U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service gives no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of these data. It is strongly recommended that these data are directly acquired from an U.S. Geological Survey and National Park Service servers and not indirectly through other sources which may have changed the data in some way. Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the utility of the data on another system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. This disclaimer applies both to individual use of the data and aggregate use with other data. It is also strongly recommended that careful attention be paid to the contents of the metadata file associated with these data. Mention of trade names or commercial products in this metadata report does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the U. S. Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey and National Park Service.

4. How can I download or order the data?
   • Availability in digital form:

     Data format:	HTML
     Network links:	<http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg/alpo/index.html>

   • Cost to order the data: None

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:

Last modified: 12-Jul-2007
Last Reviewed: 11-May-2010

Metadata author:

USGS/CSS/Core Science Analytics and Synthesis
c/o USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Coordinator
Denver Federal Center, Building 810, Room 8000, MS 302
Denver, Colorado 80225

(303) 202-4220 (voice)
303-202-4219 (FAX)
gs-b-npsveg@usgs.gov

Metadata standard:

FGDC Biological Data Profile of the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001.1-1999)

Metadata extensions used:

• <http://www.nbii.gov/portal/server.pt/community/fgdc_metadata/255>