Vegetation Information for the Walnut Canyon National Monument Vegetation Inventory Project
Hansen M, Coles J, Thomas K, Cogan D, Reid M. 2004. Vegetation Information for the Walnut Canyon National Monument Vegetation Inventory Project. Walnut Canyon National Monument and environs, Flagstaff, Arizona
Final report for the Walnut Canyon National Monument vegetation inventory project. Walnut Canyon National Monument (WACA) Vegetation Mapping Project was initiated in the spring of 1999 as part of and in accordance with the U.S. Geological Survey/National Park Service (USGS-NPS) Vegetation Mapping Program, and was completed in the spring of 2004. The Vegetation Mapping Program is a cooperative effort administered by the USGS and the NPS, and was initiated as part of the NPS Inventory & Monitoring Program. The primary goal of the Vegetation Mapping Program is to classify, describe, and map vegetation for approximately 270 NPS units.This mapping project was performed by the following organizations under contract to the CBI:• The Remote Sensing and GIS Group (RSGIG), Technical Service Center, Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), Department of Interior, Denver, Colorado• The Colorado Plateau Research Station (CPRS), Southwest Biological Science Center (SBSC), USGS, Flagstaff, Arizona• NatureServe, Boulder, ColoradoThirteen vegetation map classes, three land cover map classes, and eight Anderson Level II land-use map classes were used for interpretation of approximately 20,700 ac (6,900 ha), encompassing the Monument (~3,600 ac/1,500 ha) and surrounding environs (~17,100 ac/8,400 ha). Vegetation map classes were determined through extensive field reconnaissance, data collection, and analysis in accordance with the National Vegetation Classification (NVC). The vegetation map was created from 1996 1:12,000 scale color infrared aerial photographs (0.5 hectare minimum mapping unit). All vegetation and land-use information was then transferred to a GIS database using the latest grayscale USGS digital orthophoto quarter-quads (DOQQs) as the base map and a combination of on-screen digitizing and scanning techniques. Overall thematic map accuracy for the entire mapping effort was assessed at 69.2% using the acceptable error criteria with a Kappa Index of 66.7%. The overall 90% confidence interval is 64.1% to 71.8%.Final products are presented in this report and on the accompanying CD-ROM (Appendix A).• Vegetation Classification Descriptions• Land-use Classification System• Vegetation Classification Key• Digital and Hard Copy Vegetation Map• Digital Project Boundaries• Digital Field Points Coverage (Observation, Classification, Accuracy Assessment)• Photos of Field Sites• Accuracy Assessment Results• Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)-compliant Metadata
- Type
- Unpublished Report
- Authors
- Hansen, Monica; Coles, Janet; Thomas, Kathryn; Cogan, Daniel; Reid, Marion
- Date of Issue
- 2004
- Units
- SCPN , VMI , WACA
- Keywords
- Accuracy Assessment, Aerial Photography, alliances, Associations, community association, Digital Orthophoto, Digital Spatial Database, DOQ, DOQQ, Field Data, flight line, GIS, GPS, habitat mapping, Inventory Projects, Landcover, Landscape, National Park, National Park Service Inventory, National Vegetation Classification Standard, National Vegetation Classification System, NVCS, Orthophoto, Plots, U.S. National Vegetation Classification, USNVC, USNVCS, Vegetation Inventory, Vegetation Inventory Report, Vegetation Map Report, Vegetation Mapping, Vegetation Plots