Spatial Vegetation Data FAQ Metadata
Frequently-anticipated questions:
- Title: Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Vegetation Mapping Project - Spatial Vegetation Data
- Abstract:
-
Vegetation map of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area provides local park-specific names for vegetation types, as well as crosswalks to the National Vegetation Classification System (NVCS), including association, alliance and formation level attributes. Crosswalks to the NVCS were determined on 29 June 2006.
- How should this data set be cited?
Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program, 20060831, DEWA_Vegetation_2006_public.
Online Links:
This is part of the following larger work.
Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program, 20060831, Vegetation Classification and Mapping of Vegetation and Fire Fuel Models at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.
- What geographic area does the data set cover?
- West_Bounding_Coordinate: -77.281698
- East_Bounding_Coordinate: -77.153808
- North_Bounding_Coordinate: 39.858207
- South_Bounding_Coordinate: 39.773127
- Description_of_Geographic_Extent: Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and environs
- What does it look like?
- Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
- Calendar_Date: 31-Aug-2006
- Currentness_Reference: 20060831
- What is the general form of this data set?
- Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data
- How does the data set represent geographic features?
- How are geographic features stored in the data set?
This is a Vector data set.
It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
- What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
- 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 coordinates are encoded using coordinate pair
Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.000016
Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.000016
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.
- How does the data set describe geographic features?
- DEWA_Vegetation_2006_public
- attribute from shapefile table
(Source: Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program)
- FID
- Internal feature number.
(Source: ESRI)
Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.
- ALLIANCEID
- record number of polygon
(Source: Add Record Number script in ArcView 3.2)
unqiue number for each polygon
- VEG_STRC
- vegetation structure, leaf phenology and hydrologic regime of vegetation in polygon
(Source: Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program)
vegetation structure, leaf phenology and hydrologic regime of vegetation in polygon
- FUEL_MODEL
- fire behavior fuel model
(Source: Anderson (1982))
Anderson (1982) fire behavior fuel models
- Shape
- Feature geometry.
(Source: ESRI)
Coordinates defining the features.
- FORM_NAME
- formation level vegetation type
(Source: National Vegetation Classification System)
National Vegetation Classification System formation-level vegetation type names
- FORM_CODE
- code for formation level vegetation type
(Source: National Vegetation Classification System)
National Vegetation Classification System code for formation-level vegetation types
- CVR_CLSS
- canopy cover class
(Source: FARSITE model, Finney (1998))
| Value | Definition |
|---|
| 1 | 0 - 20% canopy cover
|
| 2 | 21 - 50% canopy cover
|
| 3 | 51 - 80 % canopy cover
|
| 4 | 81 - 100%
|
- SIG_DEAD
- concentrations of dead and dying trees, typically eastern hemlocks
(Source: Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program)
| Value | Definition |
|---|
| Y | denotes concentrations of dead and dying trees, typically eastern hemlocks
|
| <blank> | no dense concentrations of dead and dying trees, normal natural level of mortality
|
- LOCAL_NAME
- local park-specific name for vegetation type
(Source: Fike 1999, Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program, Walz et al 2006, New Jersey Natural Heritage Program, National Vegetation Classification System)
park-specific local names for vegetation association
- ALLIA_CODE
- code for alliance-level vegetation type
(Source: National Vegetation Classification System)
National Vegetation Classification System code for alliance-level vegetation types
- ASSOC_SCI
- scientific name for vegetation association
(Source: National Vegetation Classification System)
National Vegetation Classification System scientific name for vegetation associations
- ASSOC_ENG
- English name for vegetation association
(Source: National Vegetation Classification System)
National Vegetation Classification System English name for vegetation associations
- ASSOC_CODE
- code for vegetation association
(Source: National Vegetation Classification System)
National Vegetation Classification System CEGL code for vegetation associations
- ALLIAN_SCI
- scientific name for vegetation alliance
(Source: National Vegetation Classification System)
National Vegetation Classification System scientific name for vegetation alliances
- ALLIAN_ENG
- English name for vegetation alliance
(Source: National Vegetation Classification System)
National Vegetation Classification System English name for vegetation alliances
- 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 are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
- Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program
- Who also contributed to the data set?
- To whom should users address questions about the data?
Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program
Ecologist
208 Airport Drive
Middletown, Pennsylvania 10755
USA
(717) 948-3962 (voice)
(717) 948-3957 (FAX)
To provide an up-to-date digital geospatial vegetation database containing base line information about the park's vegetation associations to the park's resource managers in order to ensure effective, long-term management of the natural resources held in trust.
- From what previous works were the data drawn?
- How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
- Date: 31-Aug-2006 (process 1 of 2)
-
A vegetation cover type map was delineated from a 2002 digital aerial photo mosaic. Then, 251 vegetation plots were sampled in the park. These data were analyzed to determine the number and distribution of vegetation associations present in the park. The vegetation cover type map was then revised and attributed with the association names. Then 1,130 thematic accuracy assessment points were randomly placed within the association map, following a stratified random sampling plan. Based on the accuracy assessment data, the association map was revised further.
- Date: 01-Feb-2007 (process 2 of 2)
-
Five polygons were identified to contain sensitive information and were merged into surrounding polygons to protect the location information
- What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
- How well have the observations been checked?
The Kappa index for the preliminary vegetation association map was 55.0% ± 2.5%, with the overall percent accuracy calculated as 56.1%. The Kappa index and errors of commission and omission reported for the vegetation association map and many vegetation associations fall below the USGS/NPS vegetation mapping protocol requirement of 80%. However, this low level of accuracy is typical for vegetation mapping efforts of large parks.
Based on the thematic accuracy assessment data, the preliminary vegetation association map was revised and corrected to create the final vegetation association map depicted in this shapefile. Therefore, the thematic accuracy of this final vegetation association map is greater than that reported above for the preliminary vegetation association map. However, re-assessing the thematic accuracy of the final vegetation association map would require another round of intensive field sampling. The costs of a second round of sampling do not seem justified simply to quantify the level of increased accuracy in the final map.
- How accurate are the geographic locations?
- How accurate are the heights or depths?
- Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
Shapefile covers entire park area.
- How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
Check Topology script was run on shapefile in ArcView 3.2. No silvers or gaps were found.
Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
- Access_Constraints: none
- Use_Constraints: none
- 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
- What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?
Downloadable Data
- 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.
- How can I download or order the data?
- Availability in digital form:
- Cost to order the data: None
- Dates:
- Last modified: 23-Apr-2008
Last Reviewed: 19-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:
-
Generated by mp version 2.9.12 on Wed May 19 15:58:54 2010
Return to USGS Vegetation Characterization Program at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
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U.S. Department of the Interior |
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