Field data for the Vegetation Mapping Inventory Project of Fort Necessity National Battlefield

This reference is an assemblage of field data collected as part the baseline vegetation inventory for the park unit. Typical files here are vegetation plot data, accuracy assessment data, field photos, PDF showing locations of vegetation plots and accuracy assessment data, and other data for this type. All vegetation plot sampling followed the USGS/NPS Vegetation Mapping Program protocols (The Nature Conservancy and Environmental Systems Research Institute 1994b). The protocol suggests that each vegetation association should be sampled at least three times in order to capture the naturally occurring variation within the park. If each of the eight identified formations (Table 2) included only one association in Fort Necessity National Battlefield, then the minimum number of plots needed would have been 22. This assumed that polygons labeled with modified Anderson level II categories would not be sampled and that for formations with less than three polygons, one plot would be placed in each polygon. Based on the initial reconnaissance and previous vegetation mapping efforts of the park, it was determined that the Lowland or submontane cold-deciduous forest formation included multiple vegetation associations, thereby requiring more sampling effort. Conversely, some formations such as Mixed needle-leaved evergreen - cold-deciduous forest, Conical-crowned temperate evergreen forest, and Conical-crowned temperate evergreen woodland applied to a single association, thereby requiring less sampling effort. Considering these factors, 45 polygons, stratified across formations, biophysical environments, and aerial photography signatures, were selected for sampling (Table 2). Since Fort Necessity National Battlefield was classified as a medium-sized park, the sampling area encompassed the entire park and representative polygons of each formation-level vegetation type were selected for sampling.

Field data for the Vegetation Mapping Inventory Project of Fort Necessity National Battlefield

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