Development of Keys to Associations: A Tool to Facilitate Vegetation Mapping, Inventories and Sampling

Sneddon, Lesley

Project to create a key to associations to help facilitate vegetation mappping and inventories. The National Vegetation Classification (NVC) is the first comprehensive and fine-scale classification of vegetation that is applicable across the entire country. The NVC is a much-needed tool that was developed to help biologists, conservation workers and managers make effective decisions. For the first time, managers can use this system to determine what types of vegetation occur at a site, to evaluate the quality of the occurrences, to assess the rarity of the types, and to use a common language to communicate across refuge and park boundaries, as well as with other agencies and organizations. The Federal Geographic Data Committee adopted the upper levels of the NVC as a reporting standard for all relevant federal agencies. The National Park Service adopted association level of the NVC in 1994 as a standard to map all Inventory and Monitoring parks in the country. The NVC has been growing in scope and depth for many years as a result of collection and analysis of field data and existing literature. Over 5000 associations are recognized nation-wide. The NVC in the northeastern states (Maine to Virginia) is comprised of approximately 800 associations, with perhaps a total of 1000 to be expected when complete. Approximately 60% of the currently recognized 800 associations have at least the minimum amount of descriptive information required to confirm identity of a particular stand of vegetation. We propose to develop descriptions and user-friendly keys to associations for A) the Lower New England l Northern Piedmont ecoregion and B) the North Atlantic Coast / Chesapeake Bay ecoregions. Our goal is to produce keys that do not rely on detailed knowledge of all plant species, but instead incorporate obvious environmental characteristics, selected prominent plant species, and other readily observed attributes that a reasonably competent field biologist would be able to interpret with a minimum of effort. Such a key is possible because although associations are based on plant species composition, their classification relies on environmental setting and vegetation structure as well. See the sample key produced for Assateague Island National Seashore in Appendix 1

Development of Keys to Associations: A Tool to Facilitate Vegetation Mapping, Inventories and Sampling

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