USGS:Biology Biological Informatics Program Vegetation Characterization Program Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Field Plots Data Metadata

Field Plots Data Metadata

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Metadata:

• Identification_Information
• Data_Quality_Information
• Spatial_Data_Organization_Information
• Spatial_Reference_Information
• Entity_and_Attribute_Information
• Distribution_Information
• Metadata_Reference_Information

Identification_Information:

Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: North Carolina State University, Center for Earth Observation

Publication_Date: 200803

Title: dewa_veg_plots_2004 - Modified

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data

Online_Linkage: <http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg/dewa/findex.html>

Larger_Work_Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program

Publication_Date: 20060831

Title:

Vegetation Classification and Mapping of Vegetation and Fire Fuel Models at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: document

Description:

Abstract:

Location of vegetation sampling plots use to collect data for vegetation classification and mapping at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. In this data set, the X, Y coordinates for six plots have been altered to protect a rare plant species that could be vulnerable to collection.

Purpose:

To identify locations of plots from which data was collected to use in the classification and mapping efforts at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

Time_Period_of_Content:

Time_Period_Information:

Single_Date/Time:

Calendar_Date: 20060831

Currentness_Reference: 20060831

Status:

Progress: Complete

Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None planned

Spatial_Domain:

Description_of_Geographic_Extent: Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Bounding_Coordinates:

West_Bounding_Coordinate: -77.276531

East_Bounding_Coordinate: -77.160305

North_Bounding_Coordinate: 39.853136

South_Bounding_Coordinate: 39.782080

Keywords:

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: none

Theme_Keyword: plot

Theme_Keyword: vegetation

Theme_Keyword: community classification

Theme_Keyword: vegetation association map

Theme_Keyword: National Park Service

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: none

Place_Keyword: Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Place_Keyword: Pennsylvania

Place_Keyword: New Jersey

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

Access_Constraints: none

Use_Constraints: none

Point_of_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program

Contact_Position: Ecologist

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical address

Address: 208 Airport Drive

City: Middletown

State_or_Province: Pennsylvania

Postal_Code: 17055

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: (717) 948-3962

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (717) 948-3957

Data_Set_Credit:

Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy

Native_Data_Set_Environment:

Microsoft Windows 2000 Version 5.0 (Build 2195) Service Pack 4; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.1.0.722

Data_Quality_Information:

Logical_Consistency_Report: ESRI point geometry

Completeness_Report:

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

Lineage:

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

The number and distribution of vegetation plots was determined according to the USGS/NPS Vegetation Mapping protocols. The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is considered a large park for which the gradient directed transect sampling (gradsect) approach should be used. The gradsect approach is a variant of a stratified random sampling strategy that intends to efficiently describe the full range of vegetation by sampling along the full range of environmental variability. Gradsects are areas of the park selected for sampling that contain the strongest environmental gradients and that are reasonably accessible. This strategy optimizes the amount of data collected relative to the time and effort spent during vegetation sampling.

In order to select gradsect areas, several environmental gradients and factors were examined, including elevation, slope, aspect, and geology. Due to the orientation of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area around the Delaware River, these factors form strong environmental gradients from the river to the ridgetops in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Thirteen potential gradsects stretching from rivershore to the park boundary were identified. These gradsects were distributed along the length of the park and on both sides of the river in order to capture environmental gradients between the southern and northern ends of the park, as well as the eastern and western sides of the river. For each of these potential gradsects, land ownership, accessibility, bedrock geology and diversity of vegetation cover types were then assessed. Seven gradsects that contained publically-owned land, reasonable access, and representative diversity of bedrock geology and vegetation cover types were selected for sampling.

To determine the number of plots that should have been sampled in each gradsect, the vegetation cover type map was used as a guide. The number of vegetation cover types and the number of polygons per cover type in each gradsect was examined. The USGS/NPS Vegetation Mapping 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. Therefore, in each gradsect, at least three polygons of each vegetation cover type were selected for sampling. For vegetation cover types with less than three polygons, each polygon was selected for sampling. For cover types with numerous polygons, or for types that covered large areas, polygons were selected that represented different aerial photograph signatures and environmental settings in order to capture the natural range of variability of the vegetation.

In addition to the gradsect sampling, vegetation cover types not adequated sampled by the gradsect method were targeted. Temporarily flooded and semipermanently flooded vegetation cover types on Delaware River islands and shoreline were accessed by canoe and sampled over a three day period. Rare wetland and ridgetop communities identified in previous surveys were visited and sampled during six additional days. Towards the end of the second field season of plot sampling, the distribution of vegetation cover types sampled was compared to the distribution of all vegetation cover types in the park. Cover types that were underrepresented by the plot sampling were targeted for additional field visits. During these field visits, it was determined that most of the vegetation encountered were already adequately sampled, however some additional plots were sampled in vegetation that differed from previously sampled plots. Plot sampling was conducted from May through September in 2003 and 2004.

Process_Date: 20040930

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

The vegetation plots shapefile was altered to create a shapefile suitable for public distribution. The X, Y coordinates for each plot that contains a rare plant species that could be vulnerable to collection were changed to the coordinates for the park centroid.

Coordinates were altered in this manner for six plots. 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.

Process_Date: 20080305

Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:

Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Vector

Point_and_Vector_Object_Information:

SDTS_Terms_Description:

SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: Entity point

Point_and_Vector_Object_Count: 251

Spatial_Reference_Information:

Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:

Planar:

Grid_Coordinate_System:

Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator

Universal_Transverse_Mercator:

UTM_Zone_Number: 18

Transverse_Mercator:

Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: 0.999600

Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -75.000000

Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 0.000000

False_Easting: 500000.000000

False_Northing: 0.000000

Planar_Coordinate_Information:

Planar_Coordinate_Encoding_Method: coordinate pair

Coordinate_Representation:

Abscissa_Resolution: 0.000016

Ordinate_Resolution: 0.000016

Planar_Distance_Units: meters

Geodetic_Model:

Horizontal_Datum_Name: North American Datum of 1983

Ellipsoid_Name: Geodetic Reference System 80

Semi-major_Axis: 6378137.000000

Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.257222

Entity_and_Attribute_Information:

Detailed_Description:

Entity_Type:

Entity_Type_Label: dewa_veg_plots_2004

Entity_Type_Definition: attributes from shapefile table

Entity_Type_Definition_Source: Pennyslvania Natural Heritage Program

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: FID

Attribute_Definition: Internal feature number.

Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Unrepresentable_Domain:

Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Shape

Attribute_Definition: Feature geometry.

Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Unrepresentable_Domain: Coordinates defining the features.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: PLOT_CODE

Attribute_Definition: plot code

Attribute_Definition_Source: NPS four letter park code plus unique number

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Unrepresentable_Domain: NPS four letter park code plus unique number

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: crd_alt

Attribute_Definition:

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.

Attribute_Definition_Source: North Carolina State University

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Enumerated_Domain:

Enumerated_Domain_Value: No

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: The X, Y coordinates for the plot have not been altered.

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: North Carolina State University

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Enumerated_Domain:

Enumerated_Domain_Value: Yes

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: The X, Y coordinates for the plot have been altered.

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: North Carolina State University

Distribution_Information:

Distributor:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization:

USGS Biological Resources Division, Center for Biological Informatics

Contact_Person: USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Coordinator

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Physical Address

Address: USGS

Address: Biological Resources Division, CBI

Address: Building 810, Room 8000

City: Denver

State_or_Province: Colorado

Postal_Code: 80225-0046

Country: USA

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing Address

Address: USGS

Address: Biological Resources Division, CBI

Address: PO BOX 25046, DFC, MS302

City: Denver

State_or_Province: Colorado

Postal_Code: 80225-0046

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: (303) 202-4220

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (303) 202-4229

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (303) 202-4219 (org)

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: gs-b-npsveg@usgs.gov

Resource_Description: Downloadable Data

Distribution_Liability:

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.

Standard_Order_Process:

Digital_Form:

Digital_Transfer_Information:

Format_Name: HTML

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name: <http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg/dewa/index.html>

Fees: None

Metadata_Reference_Information:

Metadata_Date: 20080321

Metadata_Review_Date: 20080728

Metadata_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Coordinator

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical address

Address:

U.S. Geological Survey, Center for Biological Informatics, MS 302,
Room 8000, Building 810, Denver Federal Center

City: Denver

State_or_Province: Colorado

Postal_Code: 80225

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: (303) 202-4220

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (303) 202-4219

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: gs-b-npsveg@usgs.gov

Metadata_Standard_Name:

FGDC-STD-001.1-1999 Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata, 1998 Part 1: Biological Data Profile, 1999

Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998

Metadata_Extensions:

Online_Linkage:

<http://metadata.nbii.gov/portal/community/Communities/Toolkit/Metadata/FGDC_Metadata/>

Profile_Name: Biological Data Profile FGDC-STD-001.1-1999