Spatial Vegetation Data 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, 20050930, fone_veg_map_association_2005.

   Online Links:

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

   This is part of the following larger work.

   Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program, 20050930, Vegetation Classification and Mapping at Fort Necessity National Battlefield.

2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

   West_Bounding_Coordinate: -79.641425

   East_Bounding_Coordinate: -79.574660

   North_Bounding_Coordinate: 39.880555

   South_Bounding_Coordinate: 39.803275

   Description_of_Geographic_Extent: Fort Necessity National Battlefield and environs

3. What does it look like?

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

   Beginning_Date: 01-Jun-2003

   Ending_Date: 30-Sep-2005

   Currentness_Reference: 20050930

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):

      • G-polygon (94)

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

      The map projection used is Transverse Mercator.

      Projection parameters:

      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 0.000016
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.000016
      Planar coordinates are specified in meters

      The horizontal datum used is WGS84.
      The ellipsoid used is WGS84.
      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?

   fone_veg_map_association_2005

   attribute table for shapefile (Source: Pennsylvania 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.

   FORM_CODE

   code for formation-level vegetation type (Source: National Vegetation Classification System)

   National Vegetation Classification System code for formation-level vegetation types

   FORM_NAME

   name of formation-level vegetation type (Source: National Vegetation Classification System)

   National Vegetation Classification System formation-level vegetation types

   ALLIA_CODE

   code for alliance-level vegetation types (Source: National Vegetation Classification System)

   National Vegetation Classification System codes for alliance-level vegetation types

   ALLIAN_SCI

   scientific name of alliance-level vegetation types (Source: National Vegetation Classification System)

   National Vegetation Classification System scientific name for alliance-level vegetation types

   ALLIAN_ENG

   english name for alliance-level vegetation types (Source: National Vegetation Classification System)

   National Vegetation Classification System english name 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

   CEGL code for vegetation association (Source: National Vegetation Classification System)

   National Vegetation Classification System CEGL code for vegetation associations

   LOCAL_NAME

   local park-specific commmon name for vegetation association (Source: Fike (1999), Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program, National Vegetation Classification System)

   local park-specific names for vegetation associations

   ALLIANCEID

   unique number of each polygon (Source: "Add record number" script in ArcView 3.2)

   unqiue number for each polygon

   Veg_Strc

   vegetation structure and leaf phenology of vegetation in polygon (Source: Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program)

   vegetation structure and leaf phenology of vegetation in polygon

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, Pennsylvania Science Office of The Nature Conservancy, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy

3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
   Pennsylvania Science Office of The Nature Conservancy
   Ecologist
   208 Airport Drive
   Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057
   USA
   

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

Why was the data set created?

To provide an up-to-date digital geospatial vegetation database for the park as crucial baseline information for proper park natural and cultural resource stewardship.

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-Sep-2005 (process 1 of 1)

   Formation-level vegetation map was delineated from the 2003 digital aerial photo mosaic. Forty-seven vegetation plots were sampled in the park. These data were analyzed to determine the vegetation associations present in the park. The formation-level vegetation map was then revised and attributed with the association names. Sixty-three thematic accuracy assessment points were randomly placed within the association map, following a stratefied random sampling plan. Based on the accuracy assessment the association map was revised further.

   Data sources used in this process:

   • C:\NPS 6 Parks\NPS 6 parks GIS\FONE GIS\WPC data points\fone_plots_only.shp.xml

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?

   Based on the contingency matrix analysis, the Kappa index for the vegetation association map was 64.8% ± 10.2%, with the overall percent accuracy calculated as 69.8%. The majority of this error can be attributed to misclassification of three hardwood types: Northern Red Oak - Mixed Hardwood Forest, White Oak - Mixed Hardwood Forest, and Tuliptree Forest. Three communities, Conifer Plantation, Wet Meadow, and Successional Old Field, meet the USGS/NPS vegetation mapping protocol requirement of 80% accuracy. Red Maple - Black Cherry Successional Forest nearly meets the requirement with 90% error of omission and 75% error of commission. Error could not be calculated for Sugar Maple - Basswood Forest because no accuracy assessment point fell within the one small polygon of this forest type.

2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

   The final horizontal positional accuracy for the digital photo mosaic is 1.19 meters and meets Class 1 National Map Accuracy Standards.

3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

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

   The polygons cover the entire park area.

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

   A topology script was run on the shapefile in ArcView 3.2 to determine that there are no gaps or slivers.

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?
   • Availability in digital form:

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

   • Cost to order the data: None

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:

Last modified: 27-Feb-2006
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:

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