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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 Field Plots FAQ Metadata

Field Plots FAQ Metadata

Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title: Fort Larned National Historic Site Vegetation Mapping Project - Field Plot Points
Abstract:
This metadata is for the 2005 vegetation data points (spatial database) created from the sample vegetation plots collected at Fort Larned National Historic Site.
Supplemental_Information:
This GIS layer was created from the GPS coordinates recorded at the center of each plot.
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    USBR Remote Sensing and GIS Group, Denver, Colorado, Unpublished Material, fols_plots: None None, None, None.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: None

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -99.240905
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -99.207105
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 38.188564
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 38.118247
    Description_of_Geographic_Extent: Fort Larned National Historic Site

  3. What does it look like?

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

    Calendar_Date: 2005
    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 (67)

    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_plots
    attributes from shapefile table (Source: Fort Larned National Historic Site)

    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 Plots (Source: Fort Larned National Historic Site)

    Unique plot number.

    GEN_NAME
    Generic Plant Association Name assigned by Kansas Botanical Survey (Source: Fort Larned National Historic Site)

    Textual generic association name.

    OFF_NAME
    Official Plant Association Name assigned by Kansas Botanical Survery (Source: Fort Larned National Historic Site)

    Textual official association name.

    CODE
    NVC Plant Association or Alliance Code (Source: Fort Larned National Historic Site)

    CEGL code.

    COM_NUMBER
    Plant Community Code (Source: Fort Larned National Historic Site)

    Textual plant community code.

    MAP_UNIT_
    Vegetation Map Unit Name (Source: Fort Larned National Historic Site)

    Map unit association scientific name.

    MAP_UNIT__
    Vegetation Map Unit Code (Source: Fort Larned National Historic Site)

    Map unit code.

    PLOTS
    Plot Code (Source: Fort Larned National Historic Site)

    Unique plot text code.

    PLOT_COD_1
    Internal Plot Code (Source: Fort Larned National Historic Site)

    NPS four letter park code plus unique number

    POINT
    GPS Point Number (Source: Fort Larned National Historic Site)

    Unique GPS number.

    DATE_
    Date the Plot Was Collected (Source: Fort Larned National Historic Site)

    Plot date.

    N
    North Corrdinate for the Plot (Lat-Long) (Source: Fort Larned National Historic Site)

    Northing coordinate.

    W
    West Corrdinate for the Plot (Lat-Long) (Source: Fort Larned National Historic Site)

    West coordinate.

    LAT
    Latitude Coordinate for the Plot (Source: Fort Larned National Historic Site)

    Latitude coordinate.

    LONG
    Longitude Coordinate for the Plot (Source: Fort Larned National Historic Site)

    Longitude coordinate.

    CHECKED
    Field plots verified (Source: Fort Larned National Historic Site)

    Yes or blank.

    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: David Salas,Trudy Meyer, and Mike Pucherelli. Others: Dan Cogan (Cogan Technology Inc.), Kelly Kindscher (Kansas Botanical 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?

Plots were collected by the Kansas Botanical Survey to characterize the vegetation at Fort Larned National Historic Site and vicinity. This GIS layer was created from the GPS coordinates recorded at the center of each plot to map their distribution and location in the Park.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

    None (source 1 of 1)
    None, None, None.

    Type_of_Source_Media: paper
    Source_Scale_Denominator: None
    Source_Contribution: None

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

    Date: Unknown (process 1 of 1)
    Plots were subjectively placed by qualified ecologists to characterize the plant communities. Portions of the methodology were derived from the USGS/NPS Vegetation Mapping Program's Field Methods for Vegetation Mapping standard. Vegetation data in each sample plot was recorded by qualified ecologists using a standard NVC plot 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.

    Data sources used in this process:

    • None

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • 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. No GPS error or PDOP values were recorded.

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

    GPS accuracy varies for each plot.

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

    All field plots collected in 2005 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: 25-Feb-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 10:11:54 2010
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