Vegetation information for the Tuzigoot National Monument Vegetation Inventory Project

Final reports for the vegetation classification, photointerpretation and accuracy assessment of the Tuzigoot National Monument Vegetation Inventory. The National Park Service (NPS) in conjunction with the National Biological Service (NBS) has created a program to "develop a uniform hierarchial vegetation methodology" at a national level and to create a geographical information system (GIS) database for the parks under its management. The purpose of the data is to document the state of vegetation within the national park system during the 1990's thereby providing a baseline study for further analysis at either regional or national levels. Aerial Information Systems (AIS) was subcontracted by Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), the prime contractor, to perform the photointerpretation for the program. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) was subcontracted by ESRI to conduct the field sampling effort and to support the development of the National Standard Classification.A number of parks, representing different regions, environmental conditions and vegetation types, were chosen to be part of the prototype phase of the program. The initial goal of the prototype phase is to "develop, test, refine, and finalize the standards and protocols" to be used during the production phase of the project. This includes the development of a standardized vegetation classification system for each park and the establishment of photointerpretation, field, and accuracy assessment procedures.Tuzigoot National Monument was designated as one of the prototype parks. The Monument represents a xeric climatic environment with a diverse range of vegetation types, ranging from desert scrub to wetland communities. For this park, AIS was responsible for the photointerpretation and automation of the vegetation units and TNC directed the field sampling effort and the classification assignments. Working in conjunction with the field biologists from TNC, AIS photointerpreted the vegetation units from stereo paired, color-infrared photography. This data was then input into an ARC/INFO GIS and rectified to a digital orthophoto image. The vegetation coverage was converted into the Standardized National Vegetation Classification System (SNVCS) using ecologist-assisted computer modeling techniques. The resulting vegetation map was reviewed and approved by TNC's Western Region director.