The geodatabase contains 13 relate tables that together provide updated and synchronized classifications to an existing vegetation map layer for each of the nine park units in the Great Lakes Network (GLKN) of the National Park Service (NPS) Natural Resource Inventory and Monitoring Program. The classifications include 1) vegetation types at every hierarchical level in the 2015 version of the U.S. National Vegetation Classification (USNVC) and 2) map classes that represent vegetation and land cover in the vegetation map layers. Furthermore, the tables provide a crosswalk between the two classifications (vegetation and map). Each park unit in GLKN has received, at different times over several years, vegetation data products from the NPS Vegetation Mapping Inventory (VMI) Program. However, the vegetation and map classifications were at different stages of development over these years. With this geodatabase product, having a series of already linked relate tables, the original vegeta ...

The Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map (CAVM) is a geoecological map (front) of the entire Arctic with a unified legend (back). It is the first vegetation map of an entire global biome at a comparable resolution. It was funded by the US National Science Foundation (OPP-9908-829), the US Fish & Wildlife Service, the US Geological Survey and the US Bureau of Land Management. The CAVM region is north of the climatic limit of trees and is characterized by an arctic climate, arctic flora, and tundra vegetation. It excludes tundra regions than have a boreal flora such as the boreal oceanic areas of Iceland and the Aleutian Islands and alpine tundra south of the latitudinal treeline. The map was published at 1:7.5 million scale and displays the vegetation using 15 units (CAVM Team 2003, legend details: www.arcticatlas.org/maps/themes/cp/cpvg). The methods used to make the map are described in Walker et al. 2005. The CAVM is a polygon (vector) map. The GIS data are in shapefile format, and include fields for bioclimate subzone, floristic province, lake cover, landscape, substrate chemistry and vegetation category. There is also a landscape age shapefile which was created after the publication of the CAVM (Raynolds et al. 2009) In addition, there are a number of raster maps of the same extent (the Arctic), based on satellite data from the Advanced High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instruments. These include the false color-infrared and NDVI images which formed the base maps for the CAVM mapping effort (Walker et al. 2005, Raynolds et al. 2006), a recent biomass map (Raynolds et al. 2012), biomass trends (Epstein et al. 2012), NDVI trends (Bhatt et al. 2010), and Summer Warmth Index (Raynolds et al. 2008). Go to Website Link :: Toolik Arctic Geobotanical Atlas below for details on legend units, photos of map units and plant species, glossary, bibliography and links to ground data. Map Themes: AVHRR Biomass 2010, AVHRR Biomass Trend 1982-2010, AVHRR False Color Infrared 1993-1995, AVHRR NDVI 1993-1995, AVHRR NDVI Trend 1982-2010, AVHRR Summer Warmth Index 1982-2003, Bioclimate Subzone, Coastline and Treeline, Elevation, Floristic Provinces, Lake Cover, Landscape Physiography, Landscape Age, Substrate Chemistry, Vegetation Layer References CAVM Team. 2003. Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map, scale 1:7 500 000. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) Map No. 1. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, Alaska. Bhatt, U. S., D. A. Walker, M. K. Raynolds, J. C. Comiso, H. E. Epstein, G. J. Jia, R. Gens, J. E. Pinzon, C. J. Tucker, C. E. Tweedie, and P. J. Webber. 2010. Circumpolar arctic tundra vegetation change is linked to sea ice decline. Earth Interactions 14:1-20. doi: 10.1175/2010EI1315.1171. Epstein, H. E., M. K. Raynolds, D. A. Walker, U. S. Bhatt, C. J. Tucker, and J. E. Pinzon. 2012. Dynamics of aboveground phytomass of the circumpolar arctic tundra during the past three decades. Environmental Research Letters 7:015506 (015512 pp). Raynolds, M. K., D. A. Walker, and H. A. Maier. 2006. NDVI patterns and phytomass distribution in the circumpolar Arctic. Remote Sensing of Environment 102:271-281. Raynolds, M. K., J. C. Comiso, D. A. Walker, and D. Verbyla. 2008. Relationship between satellite-derived land surface temperatures, arctic vegetation types, and NDVI. Remote Sensing of Environment 112:1884-1894. Raynolds, M. K. and D. A. Walker. 2009. The effects of deglaciation on circumpolar distribution of arctic vegetation. Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing 35:118-129. Raynolds, M. K. 2009. A geobotanical analysis of circumpolar arctic vegetation, climate, and substrate. PhD Thesis, University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Raynolds, M. K., D. A. Walker, H. E. Epstein, J. E. Pinzon, and C. J. Tucker. 2012. A new estimate of tundra-biome phytomass from trans-Arctic field data and AVHRR NDVI. Remote Sensing Letters 3:403-411. Raynolds, M. K., D. A. Walker, A. Balser, C. Bay, M. W. Campbell, M. M. Cherosov, F. J. A. Daniëls, P. B. Eidesen, K. A. Ermokhina, G. V. Frost, B. Jedrzejek, M. T. Jorgenson, B. E. Kennedy, S. S. Kholod, I. A. Lavrinenko, O. Lavrinenko, B. Magnússon, S. Metúsalemsson, I. Olthof, I. N. Pospelov, E. B. Pospelova, D. Pouliot, V. Y. Razzhivin, G. Schaepman-Strub, J. Šibík, M. Y. Telyatnikov, and E. Troeva. 2019. A raster version of the Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map (CAVM). Remote Sensing of Environment 232:111297. Walker, D. A., M. K. Raynolds, F. J. A. Daniels, E. Einarsson, A. Elvebakk, W. A. Gould, A. E. Katenin, S. S. Kholod, C. J. Markon, E. S. Melnikov, N. G. Moskalenko, S. S. Talbot, B. A. Yurtsev, and CAVM Team. 2005. The Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map. Journal of Vegetation Science 16:267-282.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) has produced the Vegetation Spatial Database Coverage (vegetation map) for the Acadia National Park Vegetation Mapping Project, USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program (VMP). The vegetation map is of Acadia National Park (NP) and extended environs, providing 99,693 hectares (246,347 acres) of map data. Of this coverage, 52,872 hectares (130,650 acres) is non-vegetated ocean, bay, and estuary (53% of coverage). Acadia NP comprises 19,276 hectares (47,633 acres) of the total data coverage area (19%, 40% not counting ocean and estuary data). Over 7,120 polygons make up the coverage, each with map class description and, for vegetation classes, physiognomic feature information. The spatial database provides crosswalk information to all National Vegetation Classification System (NVCS) floristic and physiognomic levels, and to other established classification systems (NatureServe’s U.S. Terrestrial Ecological System Classification, Maine Natural Community Classification, and the USGS Land Use and Land Cover Classification). This mapping project has identified 53 NVCS associations (vegetation communities) at Acadia National Park through analyses of vegetation sample data. These associations are represented in the map coverage with 33 map classes. With all vegetation types, land use classes, and park specific categories combined, 57 map classes define the ground features within the project area (58 classes including the class for no map data). Each polygon within the spatial database map is identified with one of these map classes. In addition, physiognomic modifiers are added to map classes representing vegetation to describe the vegetation structure within a polygon (density, pattern, and height). The spatial database was produced from the interpretation of spring 1997 1:15,840-scale color infrared aerial photographs. The standard minimum mapping unit (MMU) applied is 0.5 hectares (1.25 acres). The interpreted data were transferred and automated using base maps produced from USGS digital orthophoto quadrangles. The finished spatial database is a single seamless coverage, projected in Universal Transverse Mercator, Zone 19, with datum in North American Datum of 1983. The estimated overall thematic accuracy for vegetation map classes is 80%.

This vector polygon dataset represents the vegetation for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and immediate vicinity. Polygons are attributed with the final, post-accuracy assessment map class. Created for public distribution from Master Vegetation Data.Vegetation units were determined by stereoscopic examination of color air photos flown 7/2001, by AIS, Redlands, CA, in collaboration with Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, National Park Service, Department of the Interior (NPS-SAMO). Vegetation classification developed by Todd Keeler-Wolf, State Vegetation Ecologist, and NPS-SAMO. Classification and air photo interpretation based on approximately 6,000 ground-based observations made by CNPS Rapid Assessment protocols. Vegetation classification is in accordance with standards of the U. S. National Vegetation Classification. This dataset is demonstrated to be in substantial compliance with U. S. National Map Accuracy Standards. Note that the accuracy of an individual class will vary from the overall accuracy figures, and that due to limited resources not all classes were fully evaluated using field data. Refer to the accuracy assessment section of the supporting documentation for detailed information and type specific accuracy results.These data were created through field vegetation classification and air photo interpretation as part of the NPS Vegetation Inventory Program (VIP). The NPS Vegetation Inventory Program uses the National Vegetation Classification Standard (NVCS), a classification system well integrated with the major scientific efforts in the taxonomic classification of vegetation. The classification system is a Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) standard for the physiognomic levels (coarser detail). Work continues on the floristic levels (fine detail) through both the FGDC Vegetation Subcommittee and the Ecological Society of America Vegetation Panel. The map class themes represent NVCS natural/semi-natural vegetation communities. Maps are produced in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM), NAD83 datum with a 1:24,000 scale and a minimum mapping unit of 0.5 hectares. The vegetation maps must meet the National Map Accuracy Standards for positional accuracy and the minimum class accuracy goal across all vegetation and land cover classes of 80 percent.This is baseline information for use in managing and protecting resources of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Alliance Level vegetation maps were commissioned for D01 HARV. The intended use was to prototype and determine the cost/benefit of making highly detailed maps for allocation of plots in a spatially balanced design across the landscape. A companion Domain 10 CPER Alliance map and prototype dataset was also part of this effort.

The Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument Seboeis Unit Vegetation Mapping Project was initiated in the fall of 2019 by a grant through the USGS Natural Resource Preservation Program to classify and map vegetation types of the Seboeis Unit thereby providing resource managers and biological researchers with useful baseline vegetation information. This layer provides the vegetation map for the Seboeis Unit. Information for this layer was collected in 2019 and 2020. After completion of the accuracy assessment process, 33 map classes represent the Seboeis Unit of the monument. Of the 33 map classes that represent the Seboeis Unit, 28 represent natural (including ruderal) vegetation types, consisting of 50 U.S. National Vegetation Classification (USNVC) association types. For the remaining 5 of the overall 33 map classes, 2 represent USNVC cultural types for barren areas and developed areas and 3 represent non-USNVC types for non-vegetated open water. Of the 28 map classes representing natural (including ruderal) vegetation types, 15 represent a single vegetation type (when it exists above an the minimum mapping unit [MMU]), 7 represent 2 vegetation types mapped together, 5 represent 3 vegetation types mapped together, and 1 represents 6 vegetation types mapped together. Polygon units were mapped to either a 0.5 ha or 0.25 ha minimum mapping unit, depending on vegetation type. Collectively, the spatial-database layer (vegetation map) produced for the Seboeis Unit vegetation mapping project consists of 1,261 polygons and covers 4,854.8 ha, with an average polygon size of 3.8 ha. The 28 map classes representing natural (including ruderal) vegetation types apply to 97.6% of polygons (1,231 polygons; average size of 3.9 ha) and cover 98.6% of the Seboeis Unit (4,787.5 ha). Further broken down, map classes representing natural vegetation types indicate that the Seboeis Unit is 93.2% forest and woodland (4,526.6 ha), 4.0% shrubland (195.3 ha), and 1.3% herbaceous cover (65.6 ha). Map classes representing cultural vegetation types in the USNVC apply to 1.0% of polygons (12 polygons; average size of 2.5 ha) and cover 0.6% of the Seboeis Unit (29.7 ha). Map classes representing non-vegetation open and flowing water (non-USNVC) apply to 1.4% of polygons (18 polygons; average size of 2.1 ha) and cover 0.8% of the Seboeis Unit (37.4 ha). The information in this layer is explained in depth in the report titled Vegetation Map for the Seboeis Unit of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.

This map package contains information on vegetation type classes, tree canopy cover, tall shrub canopy cover, and tree size from four existing vegetation mapping projects. These maps were prepared for the Chugach National Forest to provide up-to-date and more complete information about vegetative communities, structure and patterns across the Forest. The Copper River Delta vegetation dominance type product was completed in 2013; the Kenai Peninsula data products were completed in 2017; Cordova was completed in 2021; and the Glacier project area was completed in 2022.Nearly 11 million terrestrial acres were mapped through a partnership between the Geospatial Technology and Applications Center (GTAC), Chugach National Forest, the Alaska Regional Office, and other State, Tribal and Federal agencies. The Chugach National Forest and their partners prepared the regional classification system and identified the desired map units (map classes) that characterized the existing vegetation. GTAC served as the technical lead for developing the mapping methodology that produced the final data products. A combination of field and image interpreted reference data were used to inform the map models. Federal, State, and contracted staff collected plot data on the ground, while Ducks Unlimited and GTAC personnel collected reference information from a helicopter. Classification and regression models were used to characterize modeling units (mapping polygons) with the following vegetation attributes: 1) vegetation type; 2) tree canopy cover; 3) tree size; and 4) tall shrub canopy cover. The minimum map feature depicted is 0.25 acres. Map products were designed according to National Forest Service vegetation mapping standards and are stored in Federal databases.For more detailed information on mapping methodology please see the individual project reports and the Chugach Regional Vegetation Mapping Report.

During summer 2019, botanists with the Maine Natural Areas Program collected data from 94 vegetation plots for plant community characterization. The sampling data were entered into the National Park Service PLOTS version 4.0 (National Park Service 2018) for analyses to characterize vegetation associations in the U.S. National Vegetation Classification. An accuracy assessment was performed on the draft version of the vegetation map layer. During the summer of 2020, field crews collected data from 107 stratified and randomly selected sites for evaluating the accuracy of the vegetation map layer for those map classes representing U.S. National Vegetation Classification associations. The accuracy assessment field data were then compared to the vegetation map data. Results from the accuracy assessment study show an overall accuracy of 87.6% (kappa index of 87.0%) based on an analysis of data from 105 of the 107 accuracy assessment sites.

The Ouray National Wildlife Refuge (ONWR) was established in 1960 as an inviolate sanctuary for migratory birds and any other management purpose. In 2000, the Refuge published a Comprehensive Conservation Plan in accordance with the 1997 National Wildlife Refuge Improvement Act. The plan shifted the Refuge’s emphasis toward ecosystem-based management of all resident and migratory species. Refuge and Regional staff asked that a detailed and accurate vegetation map be developed for planning and for managing the Refuge effectively. The Bureau of Reclamation’s Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Group (RSGIS) was contracted by US Fish and Wildlife Service to map vegetation and land-use classes at ONWR using remote sensing and GIS technologies originally developed for the National Park Service’s Vegetation Mapping Program.

The diverse vegetation and complicated land-use history of Ouray National Wildlife Refuge presented a unique challenge to mapping vegetation at the plant association level of the US National Vegetation Classification. To meet this challenge, the project consisted of two linked phases: (1) vegetation classification and (2) digital vegetation map production. To classify the vegetation, we sampled representative plots located throughout the 14,025-acre (5676 ha) project area. Analysis of the plot data using ordination and clustering techniques yielded 58 distinct plant associations. To produce the digital map, we used a combination of new color-infrared aerial photography and fieldwork to interpret the complex patterns of vegetation and land-use at ONWR. Eighty-one map units were developed and the vegetation units matched to the corresponding plant associations. The interpreted map data were converted to a GIS database using ArcInfo©. Draft maps created from the vegetation classification were field-tested and revised before an independent ecologist conducted an assessment of the map’s accuracy. The accuracy assessment revealed an overall database accuracy of 75.2%.

Products developed for the Ouray National Wildlife Refuge Vegetation Mapping Project include • the final report, vegetation key, map accuracy assessment results and contingency table, and photo interpretation key; • spatial database coverages of the vegetation map, vegetation plots, accuracy assessment sites, and flight line index; • digital photos (scanned from 35mm slides) of each vegetation type; • graphics of all spatial database coverages; • Federal Geographic Data Committee-compliant metadata for all spatial database coverages and field data. 12

In addition, the Refuge and USFWS copies of this report contain • original aerial photographs of the project area; • digital data files and hard copy data sheets of the observation points, vegetation field plots, and accuracy assessment sites; • original slides of each vegetation type.

A map service depicting Forest Service existing vegetation polygons for Region 5.This Existing Vegetation (EVeg) polygon feature class is a CALVEG (Classification and Assessment with LANDSAT of Visible Ecological Groupings) map product from a scale of 1:24,000 to 1:100,000. The geographic extent entails the northeastern portion of CALVEG Zone 6, Central Coast. Source imagery for this layer ranges from the year 1998 to 2015. The CALVEG classification system was used for vegetation typing and crosswalked to other classification systems in this database including the California Wildlife Habitat Relationship System (CWHR).Metadata and DownloadsThis record was taken from the USDA Enterprise Data Inventory that feeds into the https://data.gov catalog. Data for this record includes the following resources: ISO-19139 metadata ArcGIS Hub Dataset ArcGIS GeoService For complete information, please visit https://data.gov.

This shapefile is an vegetation map of Colonial National Historical Park, Virginia. It was developed by The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage in cooperation with North Carolina State University's Center for Earth Observation for the Northeast Region of the National Park Service. The data was created following general guidelines set forth by the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program. Map classes are crosswalked to the U.S. National Vegetation Classification (USNVC) or level II of the Andersons land use land cover classification system. Crosswalks to the USNVC were determined on September 27, 2007. The map is based on field work performed in the summers of 2003-2005 and photo interpretation of aerial photo mosaics produced by North Carolina State University Center for Earth Observation from photography obtained in October 2001 and March 2002.

This web map contains data layers viewable for eighteen mid-level existing vegetation maps (1:100,000) prepared for the Tongass National Forest to provide up-to-date and more complete information about vegetative communities, structure, and patterns across the project area. Over 18 million acres were mapped through a partnership between the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service Field Services & Innovation Center – Geospatial Office (GO), the Tongass National Forest, and the Alaska Regional Office. The Tongass National Forest and their partners prepared the regional classification system, identified the desired map units (map classes) and provided general project management. GO provided project support and expertise in vegetation mapping. Maps are available for the six integrated vegetation attributes: project map group, project vegetation type, Tongass NF map group, Tongass NF vegetation type, NVC division, and NVC macrogroup. For forested areas, maps are available for the twelve forest structure metrics: tree canopy cover, tree canopy cover class, tree size, biomass (Mg/ac) for trees ≥2” diameter at breast height (DBH), crown competition factor (CCF), gross board feet (GBF), quadratic mean diameter (QMD) for trees ≥2” DBH, QMD for trees ≥9” DBH, rumple index, stand density index (SDI) for trees ≥9” DBH, trees per acre (TPA) for trees ≥1’ tall, and TPA for trees ≥6” DBH. The minimum map feature depicted on the map is 0.25 acres. The map products conform to the mid-level mapping standards referenced in the Existing Vegetation Classification, Mapping, and Inventory Technical Guide (Nelson et al. 2015). For more detailed information on mapping methodology please see the Tongass National Forest Existing Vegetation Project Report or the individual area project reports.

This web map contains data layers viewable for ten mid-level existing vegetation maps (1:100,000) prepared for the Tongass National Forest, Ketchikan Misty Fjords Project Area to provide up-to-date and more complete information about vegetative communities, structure, and patterns across the project area. Approximately 4.6 million acres, 3.5 million acres of which are terrestrial lands including inland waterbodies and rivers, were mapped through a partnership between the Geospatial Technology and Applications Center (GTAC), Tongass National Forest, and the Alaska Regional Office. The Tongass National Forest and their partners prepared the regional classification system, identified the desired map units (map classes) and provided general project management. GTAC provided project support and expertise in vegetation mapping.Maps are available for the following vegetation characteristics: vegetation type, tree canopy cover, trees per acre (TPA) for trees ≥ 1’ tall, trees per acre for trees ≥ 6” diameter at breast height (DBH), quadratic mean diameter (QMD) for trees ≥ 2” DBH, QMD for trees ≥ 9” DBH, thematic tree size, biomass for trees ≥ 2” DBH, gross board feet (GBF) for trees ≥ 9” DBH, and stand density index (SDI) for trees ≥ 9” DBH.The minimum map feature depicted on the map is 0.25 acres. The map products conform to the mid-level mapping standards referenced in the Existing Vegetation Classification, Mapping, and Inventory Technical Guide (Nelson et al. 2015). This map product was generated using imagery primarily acquired in 2019 – 2022, reference information collected in the summers of 2019 – 2022, and LiDAR data from 2018. Therefore, the final map can be considered indicative of the existing vegetation conditions found within the project boundary in 2022.For more detailed information on mapping methodology please see the Ketchikan Misty Fjords Existing Vegetation Project Report.

The Department of Defense and the other desert managers are developing and organizing scientific information needed to better manage the natural resources of the Mojave Desert. One product from this endeavor is the Central Mojave Vegetation Map (developed by US Dept of Interior, USGS Western Ecological Research Center and Southwest Biological Science Center) that displays vegetation and other land cover types in the eastern Mojave of California. Map labels represent alliances and groups of alliances as described by the U.S. National Vegetation Classification. The nominal minimum mapping unit is 5 hectares. Each map unit is labeled by a primary land cover type and a secondary type where applicable. In addition, the source of data for labeling each map unit is also identified in the attribute table for each map unit. Data were developed using field visits, 1:32,000 aerial photography, SPOT satellite imagery, and predictive modeling.

This shapefile is an vegetation map of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Virginia. It was developed by The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage in cooperation with North Carolina State University's Center for Earth Observation for the Northeast Region of the National Park Service. The data was created following general guidelines set forth by the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program. Map classes are crosswalked to the U.S. National Vegetation Classification (USNVC) or level II of the Andersons land use land cover classification system. Crosswalks to the USNVC were determined on February 20, 2007. The map is based on field work performed in the summer of 2002-2005 and photo interpretation of aerial photo mosaics produced by North Carolina State University Center for Earth Observation from photography obtained in October 2001 and February 2002.

ABSTRACT: The U.S. Geological Survey Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) has produced a vegetation spatial database coverage (vegetation map) for the Acadia National Park Vegetation Mapping Project, USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program (VMP). Thematic accuracy requirements of the VMP specify 80% accuracy for each map class (theme) that represents National Vegetation Classification System (NVCS) associations (vegetation communities). The UMESC selected 728 field sites, all within Acadia National Park fee and easement lands, for a thematic accuracy assessment (AA) to the vegetation map. The sites were randomly generated, stratified to map class themes that represent NVCS natural/semi-natural vegetation communities using VMP standards. Certain modifications to the process were necessary to accommodate logistical challenges. Local botanists collected field data for 724 of the sites during the 1999 field season. Thematic AA used 688 sites. Sites not used for the analysis were due to the elimination of an entire map class because of irreconcilable classification concepts (19 sites), or to other reasons including unmanageable error with GPS coordinate, duplicate site location, and incomplete field data (17 sites). Regardless of their use in the analysis, all 724 AA sites collected are represented in the Accuracy Assessment Site Spatial Database.

The National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Inventory Program (VIP) is an effort to classify, describe, and map existing vegetation of national park units for the NPS Natural Resource Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program. The NPS VIP is managed by the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Division and provides baseline vegetation information to the NPS Natural Resource I&M Program. The USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, NatureServe, and NPS Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MISS) have completed vegetation classification and mapping of MISS for the NPS VIP.

Mappers, ecologists, and botanists collaborated to identify and describe vegetation types within the U.S. National Vegetation Classification (USNVC) and to determine how best to map them by using aerial imagery. The team collected data from 132 vegetation plots within MISS to develop detailed descriptions of USNVC associations. Data from 52 verification sites were also collected to test both the dichotomous key to vegetation associations and the application of vegetation types to a sample set of map polygons. Furthermore, data from 776 accuracy assessment (AA) sites were collected (of which 757 were used to test accuracy of the vegetation map layer). These data sets led to the identification of 45 vegetation association in the USNVC at MISS.

A total of 45 map classes were developed to map the vegetation and open water of MISS, including the following: 35 map classes represent natural (including ruderal) vegetation in the USNVC, 7 map classes represent cultural vegetation (agricultural and developed) in the USNVC, and 3 map classes represent non-vegetative open-water bodies (non-USNVC). Features were interpreted from viewing color-infrared digital aerial imagery dated September and October 2012 (during peak leaf-phenology change of trees) via digital onscreen three-dimensional stereoscopic workflow systems in geographic information systems (GIS). The interpreted data were digitally and spatially referenced, thus making the spatial database layers usable in GIS. Polygon units were mapped to either a 0.5 ha or 0.25 ha minimum mapping unit, depending on vegetation type.

A geodatabase containing various feature-class layers and tables shows the locations of USNVC vegetation types (vegetation map), vegetation plot samples, verification sites, AA sites, project boundary extent, and aerial image centers. The feature-class layer and relate tables for the vegetation map provides 4,498 polygons of detailed attribute data covering 21,771.6 ha of area, with an average polygon size of 4.8 ha; the vegetation map covers the entire administrative boundary for MISS.

Summary reports generated from the vegetation map layer show map classes representing USNVC natural (including ruderal) vegetation associations apply to 4,012 polygons (89.2% of polygons) and cover 8,938.7 ha (41.1%) of the map extent. Of these polygons, the map layer shows MISS to be 27.5% forest and woodland (5,986.2 ha), 1.6% shrubland (353.6 ha), 11.2% herbaceous vegetation (2,431.8 ha), and 0.8% sparse vegetation (163.9 ha). Map classes representing USNVC cultural types apply to 415 polygons (9.2% of polygons) and cover 7,628.5 ha (35.0%) of the map extent. Map classes representing non-vegetative open-water bodies (non-USNVC) apply to 71 polygons (1.6% of polygons) and cover 5,204.4 ha (23.9%) of the map extent.

For a full report on the National Park Service Vegetation Inventory Program mapping effort, see: National Park Service Vegetation Inventory Program (pdf, 54 MB)

Aerial Information Systems, Inc. (AIS) was contracted by the Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority to perform an update to their original 2005 Western Riverside Vegetation Map. The project was funded through a Local Assistance Grant from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). The original vegetation layer was created in 2005 using a baseline image dataset created from 2000/01 Emerge imagery flown in early spring. The original map has been used to monitor and evaluate the habitat in the Western Riverside County Multi-species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP). An update to the original map was needed to address changes in vegetation makeup that have occurred in the intervening years due to widespread and multiple burns in the mapping area, urban expansion, and broadly occurring vegetation succession.The update conforms to the standards set by the National Vegetation Classification System (NVCS) published in 2008 by the Federal Geographic Data Committee. (FGDC-STD-005-2008, Vegetation Subcommittee, Federal Geographic Data Committee, February 2008) The update also adheres to the vegetation types as represented in the 2008-second edition of the Manual of California Vegetation (MCV2). Extensive ground based field data both within and nearby the western Riverside County mapping area has been acquired since the completion of the project in 2005. This additional data has resulted in the reclassification of several vegetation types that are addressed in the updated vegetation map. The mapping area covers 1,017,364 acres of the original 1.2 million acres mapped in the 2005 study. The new study covers portions of the Upper Santa Ana River Valley, Perris Plain, and the foothills of the San Jacinto and Santa Ana Mountains but excludes US Forest Service land. The final geodatabase includes both an updated 2012 vegetation map and a retroactively corrected 2005 vegetation base layer. Vegetative and cartographic comparisons between the newly created 2012 image-based map and the original vegetation map produced in 2005 are described in this report.The Update mapping was performed using baseline digital imagery created in 2012 by the US Department of Agriculture – Farm Service Agency’s National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP). Vegetation units were mapped using the National Vegetation Classification System (NVCS) to the Alliance and Association level as depicted in the MCV2. Approximately 55% of the study area is classified to vegetated or naturally occurring sparsely vegetated types; the remaining 45% is unvegetated, with over a third (36%) in urban development and an additional 9% in agriculture. The major tasks for the Update project consisted of updating the original mapping classification to conform to the changes and refinements to the MCV2 classification, updating the existing vegetation map to 2012 conditions, retroactively correcting the 2005 vegetation interpretations, creating the final report and project metadata, and producing the final vegetation geodatabase. After completion of the original 2005 vegetation map, CDFW crosswalked the original mapping units to the NVCS hierarchical names as defined in the Manual of California Vegetation (MCV).The original crosswalk was revised during the Update effort to reflect changes in the original MCV classification as depicted in the second edition (MCV2). Changes were minor and did not result in a significant effort in the updating process. The updating process in many steps is similar to the creation of the original vegetation map. First, photo interpreters review the study area for terrain, environmental features, and probable vegetation types present. Questionable photo signatures on the new baseline imagery (2012 NAIP) were compared to the original 2000/01 Emerge imagery. Photo signatures for a given vegetation polygon were correlated between the two image datasets. Production level updates to the linework and labeling commenced following the correlation of the two baseline image datasets and the subsequent refinement of photo interpretation criteria & biogeographical descriptions of the types. Existing datasets depicting topography, fire history, climate and past vegetation gathering efforts aided photo interpreters in their delineations and floristic assignments during the updating effort. The production updating effort took approximately 11 months.

The files linked to this reference are the geospatial data created as part of the completion of the baseline vegetation inventory project for the NPS park unit. Current format is ArcGIS file geodatabase but older formats may exist as shapefiles. To produce a USNVC association-level vegetation map that satisfied the standards of the USGS/NPS Vegetation Mapping Program, the alliance-level vegetation map developed by Agius was edited and refined onscreen in ArcGIS 9.1. The Agius (2003b) vegetation map was not developed following the USGS/NPS Vegetation Mapping Program standards and therefore could not be used as the final vegetation classification map. Polygons that represented vegetation were readily attributed to existing associations in the U.S. National Vegetation Classification. Polygons that represented intensive land uses were attributed with names modified from the Anderson Level II categories.. Because Saugus Iron Works National Historic Park is a small park with only 21 polygons, the mapping did not rely entirely on aerial photograph interpretation, but also incorporated lines sketched onto a hard-copy map on site. Using ArcGIS 9.1, polygon boundaries were drawn onscreen based on the plot data and additional field observations. Each polygon was attributed with the name of an USNVC association or an Anderson Level II (modified) land use/land cover map class based on plot data, field observations, aerial photography signatures, and topographic maps. The shapefile was projected in Universal Transverse Mercator Zone 19 North, North American Datum 1983, meters, in ArcGIS 9.1.