Vegetation mapping inventory project: Haleakalā National Park
Green K, Schulz K, Lopez C, Ainsworth A, Selvig M, Akamine K, Meston C, Mallinson J, Urbanski E, Fugate S. 2015. Vegetation mapping inventory project: Haleakalā National Park. Natural Resource Report. NPS/PACN/NRR—2015/986. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
This report details the methods used and results of the vegetation inventory for Haleakalā National Park (HALE). HALE’s unique vegetation spans 13,462 ha (33,265 ac) on the Hawaiian Island of Maui and includes an active volcano. The park’s dynamic landscape, huge expanse, and extreme range of elevation and climate combine to create a distinctive and exciting national park. The vegetation inventory was a team effort managed by the National Park Service (NPS), Pacific Island Network (PACN), and staffed by personnel from the NPS, University of Hawaii (UH), Cogan Technology, Inc. (CTI), NatureServe, and Kass Green & Associates (KGA). The objective of a vegetation inventory is to “produce high-quality, standardized maps and associated data sets of vegetation and other land-cover occurring within parks” in support of resource assessment, park management and conservation needs (NPS 2013c). The NPS collected 220 vegetation classification plots and observation sites at HALE which were analyzed by NatureServe to create a key for 73 and descriptions for 52 of the 76 vegetation associations at HALE. To ensure data compatibility throughout the NPS and other agencies, the National Vegetation Classification Standard, Version 2 was used to characterize HALE’s vegetation. Digital Globe Quickbird and Worldview2 imagery of HALE were obtained from the US Department of Agriculture – National Resource Conservation Service (USDA - NRCS). The imagery was segmented in eCognition software and both the imagery and the segments were taken to the field to support the calibration trip. Following the calibration trip, KGA labeled the segments using the imagery, ancillary data sets, and classification and regression tree analysis to create a preliminary map. The preliminary map was reviewed by PACN staff and assessed in the field by KGA and HALE staff during the validation trip. Manual edits based on the comments and results from the validation trip were made to the preliminary map to create HALE’s draft vegetation map. PACN personnel collected 601 accuracy assessment (AA) samples of HALE’s vegetation. The sample reference labels (i.e. AA samples) were compared to the draft map labels at each sample location to create an error matrix. Overall draft map accuracy of HALE is 76% using the primary reference label, and 80% when the secondary label is accepted. Using the AA results, PACN and KGA personnel reviewed the AA data and decided which associations would be collapsed into map classes for creation of HALE’s final vegetation map, resulting in 71 vegetated and four unvegetated map classes. The draft map was manually edited for errors discovered during AA, and the final map was delivered.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Green, Kass; Schulz, Keith; Lopez, Chad; Ainsworth, Alison; Selvig, Meagan; Akamine, Kathryn; Meston, Colin; Mallinson, J. Woody; Urbanski, Elizabeth; Fugate, Steve
- Date of Issue
- 2015-07
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- HALE , NRSS , PACN
- Keywords
- Accuracy Assessment, Biota, International Vegetation Classification, National Park, National Park Service, National Vegetation Classification Standard, National Vegetation Classification System, NPS, NVCS, U.S. National Vegetation Classification, US Geological Survey, USA, USGS, USNVC, Vegetation, Vegetation Inventory, Vegetation Map, Vegetation Mapping Inventory
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Vegetation Complex