Manzanar National Historic Site: Vegetation classification and mapping project report
Cogan D and Taylor J. 2014. Manzanar National Historic Site: Vegetation classification and mapping project report. Natural Resource Technical Report. NPS/MANZ/NRTR—2014/868. Fort Collins, Colorado
The National Park Service (NPS) established Manzanar National Historic Site (MANZ) in 1992 to conserve and interpret history of a former World War II relocation camp used to detain and house Japanese Americans. The historic site covers 330-hectares located in the Owens Valley in eastern California between the towns of Lone Pine and Independence. The Historic site also helps preserve the history of the valley starting with the Paiute Native American legacy, the fruit orchard farming and cattle ranching periods, and more recent water diversion efforts by Los Angeles. Across this diverse background, the vegetation at MANZ has undergone numerous changes and now reflects both the natural and human history of the site. To better understand and document MANZ vegetation and to establish a baseline for comparison to both past and future changes, the NPS and the NPS Mojave Desert Network Inventory and Monitoring Program (MOJN I&M) started a MANZ vegetation inventory effort in 2008. A 4-year, 4-phase program was initiated to classify and map MANZ vegetation as part of the NPS Vegetation Inventory Program. Phase 1, conducted by botanists/ecologists from MOJN I&M in 2008, collected data at 28 classification plots placed in representative vegetation. Field work was directed through use of a preliminary vegetation map created by the USGS. In addition to classification plots, researchers visited 253 preliminary vegetation polygons and recorded observation point and verification data. In phase 2, the MANZ field data was analyzed by MOJN I&M botanists to classify 13 unique plant alliances (11 associations) using the revised U.S. National Vegetation Classification (rUSNVC) system. Phase 3, conducted by an ecology team based at Joshua Tree National Park sampled vegetation at 126 stratified random accuracy assessment (AA) points to create preliminary assessment of the vegetation map in 2009. In phase 4, Cogan Technology, Inc. (CTI) reviewed all existing data, made necessary updates, and finalized the project. The final MANZ spatial database and map layer was produced by CTI from 2010 imagery using 21 map units that were directly cross-walked or matched to their corresponding rUSNVC plant association/alliance or land cover types. The final map layer was assessed for thematic accuracy by creating contingency tables and map layer final overall accuracy was determined to be 96% with a Kappa value of 95%. Products developed for MANZ are described and presented in this report include: - A Final Report that includes keys to the vegetation and imagery signatures, AA information, and all of the project methods and results; - A Spatial GIS Database containing spatial data for the vegetation, plots, and AA points; - Digital Photos from the field sampling efforts; - Metadata for all spatial data (Federal Geographic Data Committee-compliant); - Vegetation Descriptions of the associations/alliances, and; - Photo Signature Key to the map classes
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Cogan, Dan; Taylor, Jeanne
- Date of Issue
- 2014-05
- Units
- MANZ , MOJN , NRSS , VMI
- Keywords
- Accuracy Assessment, Alliance, Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata Shrubland Alliance, association, Atriplex confertifolia Shrubland Alliance, Atriplex lentiformis Shrubland Alliance, Atriplex polycarpa Shrubland Alliance, Classification, Cogan Technology Inc., CTI, dichotomous vegetation key, ENVI, Environment for Visualizing Images, Ericameria nauseosa Shrubland Alliance, Inventory, MANZ, Manzanar National Historic Site, Mapping, Mixed Forb Alliance, Mixed Herbaceous Alliance, mixed woodland, Mojave Desert Network, MOJN, NAIP, National Agriculture Imagery Program, National Vegetation Inventory Program, NatureServe, NVIP, photo-interpretation key, revised U.S. National Vegetation Classification, Rosa woodsii var. ultramontana Temporarily Flooded Shrubland Alliance, rUSNVC, Salix exigua, Salix laevigata Seasonally flooded Woodland Alliance, U.S. Geological Survey, USGS, Vegetation, Vegetation Map Report
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Vegetation Complex