Accuracy Assessment 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?

   USBR Remote Sensing and GIS Group, Denver, Colorado, Unpublished Material, Grand Teton National Park Vegetation Mapping Project Accuracy Assessment Points: None None, None, None.

   Online Links:

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

   Other_Citation_Details: None

2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

   West_Bounding_Coordinate: -110.942967

   East_Bounding_Coordinate: -110.425347

   North_Bounding_Coordinate: 44.127478

   South_Bounding_Coordinate: 43.549991

   Description_of_Geographic_Extent: Grand Teton National Park and environs

3. What does it look like?

   <http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg/grte/images/grteaa.pdf> (PDF)

   Locations of accuracy assessment sites; low resolution for web browsing.

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

   Beginning_Date: 2004

   Ending_Date: 2004

   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 (1106)

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

      Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator

      Universal_Transverse_Mercator:

      UTM_Zone_Number: 12

      Transverse_Mercator:

      Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: 0.999600

      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -111.000000

      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 0.000128
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.000128
      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?

   grte_aapts

   Point Attribute Table (Source: NPS)

   FID

   Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI)

   Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

   Shape

   Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI)

   Coordinates defining the features.

   AREA

   Point File Contains No Area (Source: ESRI)

   Positive real numbers that are automatically generated.

   PERIMETER

   Point File Contains No Perimeter (Source: ESRI)

   Perimeter is always zero for point coverages. Values are automatically generated.

   GRTE_AA_PT

   Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI.)

   Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

   PLOT_CODE

   User-defined feature number. (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Unique Code Used to Identify AA Points.

   PROV_NAME

   Provisional Name of Plant Association Recorded by Field Crew (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual provisional name.

   PROV_NAME2

   Second Provisional Name of Plant Association Recorded by Field Crew (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual second provisional name.

   PROV_NAME3

   Third Provisional Name of Plant Association Recorded by Field Crew (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual third provisional name.

   ELCODE

   NVCS CODE for Plant Association (Source: NatureServe)

   Textual and numerical code.

   CLASS_NAME

   Classified Plant Associaiton Name (Source: NatureServe)

   Textual class name.

   OTHERVEG

   First Other Plant Association Found Within 50-meter Radius (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual first other plant association name.

   OTHERVEG2

   Second Other Plant Association Found Within 50-meter Radius (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual second other plant association name.

   MAP_CODE

   Corresponding Map Code of the Plant Association (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual map code name.

   ELEV

   Elevation of the Point as Recorded by the GPS Unit (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Numerical code.

   AIR_PHOTO

   Corresponding Aerial Photo Number (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual and numerical code.

   SUBLOC

   Sub-location of the Point in the Park (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual sub-location description.

   QUAD

   Name of the USGS Quadrangle that the Point is on (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual quadrangle name.

   GPS

   Internal GPS Number of the Waypoint (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual and numerical of GPS number name.

   GPS_TECH

   Description of the GPS Unit (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Trimble GPS unit.

   PDOP

   Error Value of the GPS Point (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Numerical GPS error value.

   FIELD_X

   UTM X Value as Recorded in the Field (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Numerical of X universal transverse mercator location description.

   FIELD_Y

   UTM Y Value as Recorded in the Field (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Numerical of Y universal transverse mercator location description.

   X_CORRECT

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

   Numerical of X universal transverse mercator location description.

   Y_CORRECT

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

   Numerical of X universal transverse mercator location description.

   UTM_ZONE

   UTM Zone (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Value	Definition
   12	UTM Zone 12

   DATE

   Date of Data Collection (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Numerical of the date the plot was observed.

   SURVEYORS

   Names of the Surveyors Who Collected the Data (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual surveyors last names.

   PHOTOS

   Corresponding Ground Photos (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual of yes or no for ground photos.

   PERMANENT

   Is the Point Permanently Marked in the Field (Yes/No) (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual of yes or no for permanently marked point.

   REPRESENT

   Description of How Representative the Point is of the Surrounding Vegetation or Polygon (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual representative description.

   ELEV_UNIT

   Units of the Elevation Values (feet/meters) (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Value	Definition
   1	meters
   2	feet

   SLOPE

   Degree of Slope at the Point (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Numerical of slope type.

   ASPECT

   General Aspect of the Point in Degrees (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Numerical of aspect type.

   TOPO_POS

   General Position of the Point on the Landscape (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual of topology position type description.

   LANDFORM

   General Landform that the Point lies on (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual of landform description.

   GEOLOGY

   Presence of any Geological Feature (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual of geology description.

   COWARDIN

   General Wetland Description (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual cowadrin classification description.

   ENVIRO

   General Environmental Comments about the Point (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual of environment description.

   LANDSCAPE

   General Landscape Comments about the Point (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual of landscape description.

   T1_HGT

   Height of the Emergent Stratum (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual and numerical of T1 height (whole & decimal numbers).

   T1_COVER

   Relative Percent Cover of the Emergent Stratum (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Numerical of T1 cover (whole numbers).

   T2_HGT

   Height of the Canopy Stratum (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual and numerical of T2 height (whole & decimal numbers).

   T2_COVER

   Relative Percent Cover of the Canopy Stratum (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Numerical of T2 cover (whole numbers).

   T3_HGT

   Height of the Sub-canopy Stratum (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual and numerical of T3 height (whole & decimal numbers).

   T3_COVER

   Relative Percent Cover of the Sub-Canopy Stratum (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Numerical of T3 cover (whole numbers).

   S1_HGT

   Height of the Tall Shrub Stratum (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual and numerical of S1 height (whole & decimal numbers).

   S1_COVER

   Relative Percent Cover of the Tall Shrub Stratum (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Numerical of S1 cover (whole numbers).

   S2_HGT

   Height of the Short Shrub Stratum (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual and numerical of S2 height (whole & decimal numbers).

   S2_COVER

   Relative Percent Cover of the Short Shrub Stratum (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Numerical of S2 cover (whole numbers).

   S3_HGT

   Height of the Dwarf Shrub Stratum (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual and numerical of S3 height (whole & decimal numbers).

   S3_COVER

   Relative Percent Cover of the Dwarf Shrub Stratum (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Numerical of S3 cover (whole numbers).

   H_HGT

   Height of the Herbaceous Stratum (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual and numerical of H height (whole & decimal numbers).

   H_COVER

   Relative Percent Cover of the Herbaceous Stratum (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Numerical of H cover (whole numbers).

   N_HGT

   Height of the Non-vascular Stratum (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual and numerical of N height (whole & decimal numbers).

   N_COVER

   Relative Percent Cover of the Non-vascular Stratum (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Numerical of N cover (whole numbers).

   DISTURB

   Evidence of Any Disturbance in the Area (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual description of other disturbance.

   COMMENTS

   General Comments About the Data Collection (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual of other general description.

   OPT3

   Dominant Species in the Canopy Stratum (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual classification comments.

   OPT4

   Dominant Species in the Sub-canopy Stratum (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual classification comments.

   OPT5

   Dominant Species in the Tall Shrub Stratum (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual classification comments.

   OPT6

   Dominant Species in the Short Shrub Stratum (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual classification comments.

   OPT7

   Dominant Species in the Dwarf Shrub Stratum (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual classification comments.

   OPT8

   Dominant Species in the Herbaceous Stratum (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual classification comments.

   OPT9

   Dominant Species in the Non-vascular Stratum (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual classification comments.

   RATIONALE

   Rationale for Classifying the Plant Association based on the Field Key (Source: Grand Teton National Park)

   Textual rationale classification comments.

   Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:

   Attributes were either generated by ArcInfo or assigned by Grand Teton National Park or the USBR Remote Sensing GIS Group.

   Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:

   Grand Teton National Park Vegetation 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.) and Gwen Kittle (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 2001-2005 vegetation map.

How was the data set created?

1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

   None (source 1 of 1)

   Unknown, Unknown, None.

   Type_of_Source_Media: paper

   Source_Contribution: None

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

   Date: 2005 (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
   13582 West Alaska Place
   Lakewood, Colorado 80228
   United States of America
   

   303-910-9768 (voice)
   None (FAX)
   dancogan@cogantech.com
   

   Hours_of_Service: 8 am - 5 pm

   Contact_Instructions: None

   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. PDOP +/- error values were recorded.

3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

   GPS accuracy varies for each plot. PDOP +/- error values were recorded.

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

   All points required for the accuracy assessment at Grand Teton National Park 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:

Acknowledgment of the USBR Remote Sensing and GIS Group would be appreciated in products derived from these data. Any person using the information presented here should fully understand the data collection and compilation process before beginning their analysis/use. The burden of determining fitness for use lies with the user.

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/grte/index.html>

   • Cost to order the data: None

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:

Last modified: 23-Dec-2005
Last Reviewed: 27-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>