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USGS:Biology arrow icon Biological Informatics Program arrow icon Vegetation Characterization Program arrow icon Fort Larned National Historic Site arrow icon Accuracy Assessment FAQ Metadata

Accuracy Assessment FAQ Metadata

Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title: Fort Larned National Historic Site Vegetation Mapping Project - Accuracy Assessment Points
Abstract:
This metadata is for the 2006 accuracy assessment points (spatial database) created from the sample points collected at Fort Larned National Historic Site.
Supplemental_Information:
This coverage was created from field data in order to conduct a thematic accuracy assessment of the vegetation database at Fort Larned National Historic Site.
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    USBR Remote Sensing and GIS Group, Denver, Colorado, Unpublished Material, fols_aa_pts: None None, None, None.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: None

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -99.240808
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -99.205577
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 38.188727
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 38.118488
    Description_of_Geographic_Extent: Fort Larned National Historic Site and environs

  3. What does it look like?

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

    Beginning_Date: 2006
    Ending_Date: 2006
    Currentness_Reference: ground condition

  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 (106)

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

      Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator
      Universal_Transverse_Mercator:
      UTM_Zone_Number: 14
      Transverse_Mercator:
      Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: 0.999600
      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -99.000000
      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 0.000001
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.000001
      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?

    fols_aa_pts
    Feature Class (Source: Kansas Biological Survey)

    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 Code Used to Identify AA Points (Source: Kansas Biological Survey)

    Unique Code Used to Identify AA Points.

    NAME1
    Plant Association Name (Source: Kansas Biological Survey)

    Textual first other plant association name.

    MAP_CODE
    Map Code for the First Plant Association (Source: Kansas Biological Survey)

    Global explanation of map class codes used for field and map calls.

    NAME2
    Second Plant Association Name (Source: Kansas Biological Survey)

    Textual second other plant association name.

    MAP_CODE2
    Map Code for the Second Plant Association (Source: Kansas Biological Survey)

    Global explanation of map class codes used for field and map calls.

    FINAL_CODE
    Final Map Code used for the AA (Source: Kansas Biological Survey)

    Numerical final map code used in AA.

    ELCODE
    NVC Code for the Plant Association (Source: Kansas Biological Survey)

    Textual and numerical code.

    LOCATION
    Location of the Point in the Park (Source: Kansas Biological Survey)

    Project-derived location descriptions providing general location in and around FOLS.

    SUBLOC
    Sub-location of the Point in the Park (Source: Kansas Biological Survey)

    Textual sub-location description.

    X_CORRECT
    Corrected UTM X Value (Source: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation)

    Easting coordinate collected during field assessment.

    Y_CORRECT
    Corrected UTM Y Value (Source: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation)

    Northing coordinate collected during field assessment.

    UTM_ZONE
    UTM Zone of the AA Point (Source: Kansas Biological Survey)

    UTM Zone 14.

    DATUM
    Projection Datum of the AA Point (Source: Kansas Biological Survey)

    NAD 83.

    ACCURACY
    Accuracy of the GPS Unit in Meters (Source: Kansas Biological Survey)

    Numerical GPS accuracy for AA points.

    DATE
    Date of Data Collection (Source: Kansas Biological Survey)

    Numerical of the date the plot was observed.

    SURVEYORS
    Names of the Surveyors Who Collected the Data (Source: Kansas Biological Survey)

    Textual surveyors intials.

    HETERO
    Description of the heterogeneity of the vegetation in the vicinity of the AA point (Source: Kansas Biological Survey)

    Textual vegetation description near AA points.

    OTHER
    Other Vegetation Association Found Near Point (Source: Kansas Biological Survey)

    Textual of other general description.

    OTHER2
    Third Vegetation Association Found Near Point (Source: Kansas Biological Survey)

    Textual of other general description.

    SPECIES
    Number of Plant Species Recorded at the Point (Source: Kansas Biological Survey)

    Numerical count of plant species at each accuracy assessment point.

    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    Attributes were either generated by ArcInfo or assigned by Fort Larned National Historic Site or NatureServe.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
    Fort Larned National Historic Site Mapping Project Final Report (DOI - USGS/USBR)

  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)

    • USBR Remote Sensing and GIS Group, Denver, Colorado

  2. Who also contributed to the data set?

    USBR Remote Sensing and GIS Group: Mike Pucherelli. Others: Dan Cogan (Cogan Technology Inc.), Kelly Kindscher (Kansas Biological Survey), and Jim Drake (Nature Serve).

  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?

    Bureau of Reclamation
    c/o Mike Pucherelli
    Group Manager
    P.O. Box 25007 Bldg. 56 Denver Federal Center M.S. D-8260
    Denver, Colorado 80225
    United States of America

    303-445-2267 (voice)
    303-445-6337 (FAX)
    mpucherelli@do.usbr.gov

    Hours_of_Service: 8 am - 5 pm
    Contact_Instructions: None

Why was the data set created?

Points were collected on the ground to calculate the thematic accuracy of the vegetation map.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

    None (source 1 of 1)
    None, Unpublished Material, None: None, None.

    Type_of_Source_Media: paper
    Source_Scale_Denominator: Ground Condition
    Source_Contribution: None

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

    Date: 2006 (process 1 of 1)
    Points were located using a stratified random sampling method. Portions of the methodology were derived from the USGS/NPS Vegetation Mapping Program's Accuracy Assessment Procedures. Vegetation data at each point was recorded by qualified ecologists using a standard NVC Point data collection form. Data was manually transferred to a MS Access database. Point coverage was created by importing the database into ArcView as an event theme.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Dan Cogan
    Cogan Technology Inc.
    Vice-President
    21 Valley Road
    Galena, Illinois 61036
    United States of America

    815-777-1773 (voice)
    None (FAX)
    dancogan@cogantech.com

    Hours_of_Service: 8 am - 5 pm
    Contact_Instructions: None

  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?

    Positional Accuracy is only as good as the GPS Receiver used. Thematic accuracy was not checked for this layer. Thematic data was collected on the ground by trained ecologists.

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    GPS accuracy varies for each plot. Error values were recorded.

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

    GPS accuracy varies for each plot. Error values were recorded.

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

    All points required for the accuracy assessment at Fort Larned National Historic Site are included in this coverage.

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

    All point features were checked for uniqueness and for correct and complete attributing.

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?

    Downloadable Data

  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?

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 13-Mar-2008
Last Reviewed: 24-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 Mon May 24 09:12:02 2010
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