Vegetation classification and mapping project report, Pinnacles National Monument.
Kittel G, Reyes E, Evens J, Buck J, Johnson D. 2012. Vegetation classification and mapping project report, Pinnacles National Monument.. Natural Resource Report. NPS/SFAN/NRR—2012/574. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
Between 2003 – 2008, the vegetation within a study area of 18,210 hectares (44,997 acres) that encompasses the Pinnacles National Monument (PINN), a quarter-mile buffer and several additional parcels of interest adjacent to the Park was mapped. The map was produced from photo interpretation of 2003 and 2005 natural color and 2002 color infrared digital 1 meter NAIP imagery orthophotos. In 2003 and 2004 Park staff collected vegetation and environmental data from 591 relevés to support the map and classification. Assessment of map accuracy entailed sampling of 766 additional data points in 2008. Multivariate analysis of the 2003-2004 plot data revealed 67 National Vegetation Classification (NVC) plant associations, alliances or Park special vegetation types within the Monument and environs. Of these, 45 are described at the plant association level; seven others are described at the alliance level. The remaining 22 are described as ‘Park specials’ because they occur only in small stands and appear to be unique to the Monument. The vegetation of the mapping project area is relatively diverse, including 50 NVC alliances. Chaparral, oak woodlands and dry herbaceous areas dominate the vegetation, accounting for ~35 associations. A total of 6,141 map polygons representing 34 vegetation map classes (including tree and shrub cover attributes), fourteen land use map classes and 7 miscellaneous classes were developed for the PINN vegetation mapping project. Of the 6,141 mapped polygons, 115 were assigned both a land use class and a vegetation class. The average polygon size across all map classes is 3 ha (7.3 acres). Natural and semi-natural vegetation classes cover 17,953 ha (44,362 acres), or 98.6% of the project area. Land use polygons, including ranch developments, agriculture and Park facilities cover 250 ha (617 acres), or 1.4 % of the project area. Final overall map Producer accuracy is 84.4% (Kappa correction = 83.1%). Final overall map User accuracy is 78.0% (Kappa correction = 75.6%).
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Kittel, Gwen; Reyes, Ed; Evens, Julie; Buck, Jennifer; Johnson, Debbie
- Date of Issue
- 2012-09
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- NRSS , PINN , SFAN , VMI
- 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, 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, Vegetation Inventory, Vegetation Inventory Report, Vegetation Map Report, Vegetation Mapping, Vegetation Plots