Vegetation classification and mapping project report, Golden Spike National Historic Site
Coles J, Wight A, Von Loh J, Schulz K, Evenden A. 2011. Vegetation classification and mapping project report, Golden Spike National Historic Site. Natural Resource Technical Report. NPS/NCPN/NRTR—2011/508. National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science. Fort Collins, Colorado
A Vegetation Report, containing the following items: Photo Interpretation Key, Vegetation Descriptions, Vegetation Key, Photos of Map Classes, Accuracy Assessment Methods and Results. The Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory and Monitoring Network worked with the support of the U.S. Geological Survey - National Park Service Vegetation Mapping Program to describe and map vegetation at Golden Spike National Historic Site (GOSP). This collaborative effort involved many project partners, particularly engineering-environmental Management (e2M), the Western Region office of NatureServe, and other cooperators. The mapping area is 1,144 hectares (2,826 acres), encompassing public and private lands within the NHS administrative boundary. Project partners identified plant associations for GOSP and determined an effective mapping approach using 1:12,000-scale, true color orthophotography. The team collected vegetation and environmental data from three vegetation classification plots and 46 observation points located within the GOSP boundary. Fieldwork and mapping were completed during 2007. Analysis of the classification plot data revealed 18 National Vegetation Classification (NVC) plant associations or park special vegetation types within GOSP. Several additional plant associations for which map units were developed were not sampled with classification plots, but were instead documented by extensive field notes and photographs. Vegetation and land use were delineated in the field on base maps of 1:12,000 orthophotography acquired in 2006. This was possible because of the small size of the NHS and because virtually every part of the unit is accessible on foot. Because GOSP is relatively small, the program standard minimum mapping unit of 0.5 ha (1.24 ac) was not used, and polygons were delineated down to approximately 0.1 ha. In addition, GOSP staff requested that significant occurrences (patches and stands) of native grasses be recorded, which was accomplished by using a separate point layer. Ten unvegetated land use/land cover types were delineated, including roads, NPS facilities, and one sparsely vegetated geologic exposure unit. A total of 552 map polygons representing 29 natural and semi-natural vegetation map classes, nine land use classes, and one sparsely vegetated geologic exposure map class were interpreted for the GOSP mapping project. Average polygon size across all map classes is 1.1 ha (2.6 acres). Natural and semi-natural vegetation, and sparsely vegetated map classes are represented by 514 polygons covering 1,108 ha (2,738 acres). Land use/land cover polygons within GOSP include cultivated fields, roadways, railroad beds, and NPS facilities that total 38 polygons and cover 35.7 ha (88.2 acres) of the NHS. The most common map class was Big Sagebrush / Cheatgrass Shrubland (S-BSCG) with 141 polygons covering 27.8% of the mapping area. Because each polygon was visited and delineated in the field, a traditional thematic accuracy assessment of the 29 vegetated map classes was not employed.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Coles, Janet; Wight, Aneth; Von Loh, Jim; Schulz, Keith; Evenden, Angela
- Date of Issue
- 2011-11
- Publisher
- National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science
- Units
- GOSP , NCPN , NRSS
- 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, NCPN Vegetation Mapping Inventory, NVCS, Orthophoto, Plots, U.S. National Vegetation Classification, USNVC, USNVCS, Vegetation Inventory, Vegetation Inventory Report, Vegetation Map Report, Vegetation Mapping, Vegetation Plots