Vegetation classification and mapping: Missouri National Recreational River

Baldvins, Tom; Ley, Matt; Stevens, Joe; Jones, David; Shepler, Hannah

The vegetation inventory project at Missouri National Recreational River (MNRR) classified and mapped vegetation within the park administrative boundary and estimated thematic map accuracy quantitatively. The project was conducted over a four year period from the summer of 2015 to the winter of 2019. The project follows guidance provided by the National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Mapping Inventory (VMI) Program. The overall process includes initial planning and scoping, imagery procurement, field data collection, data analysis, imagery interpretation and classification, and accuracy assessment. The initial planning and scoping meetings to support study plan development took place in December, 2009, in Yankton, South Dakota, and included representation by MNRR, NPS Northern Great Plains Network, Colorado State University (CSU), and other interested agencies and organizations. A variety of existing imagery sources were utilized for the MNRR mapping project. The primary imagery used for the base map for the project was 2016 60 cm National Aerial Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery. Additional imagery supporting the interpretation phase included current and historic true-color Google Earth and Bing Maps imagery, as well as 2015 4-band 30 cm imagery from Cornerstone Mapping Inc., and imagery from Digital Globe, Inc. (2014 WorldView-2, Quickbird). Prior to field work, the preliminary classification developed for the study plan identified 114 U.S. National Vegetation Classification (USNVC) associations; 34 were known to occur in the project area, while the other 80 associations were potentially located in the area. Existing vegetation and mapping data combined with field-collected vegetation plot data contributed to the final vegetation classification. Vegetation data collected at 162 subjective plot locations at MNRR over the summer of 2015 supported vegetation classification using hierarchical clustering and professional expertise. Additional types were identified in the course of additional field work and photointerpretation reconnaissance. The final vegetation classification includes 42 USNVC associations and 10 park special types. Types include 20 forest and woodland types, 8 shrubland types, 17 herbaceous types, and 7 sparse vegetation types. The final mapping model, which cross walks vegetation types present with what can be consistently classified and mapped (i.e., interpreted), consists of 31 map classes within MNRR. Of these, six represent land use cover classes (cultivated crops, pasture/hay ground, non-vegetated barren land or borrow pit, developed open space, developed low, medium, or high intensity, and water). Of the 25 non-land use map classes, 14 represent a single USNVC association or park special, two map classes represent two USNVC associations or park specials, five map classes represent three USNVC associations or park specials, two map classes represent four USNVC associations or park specials, one map class represents five USNVC associations or park specials, and one map class represents six USNVC associations or park specials. Species dominating in forest and woodland types include eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana), green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa), roughleaf dogwood (Cornus drummondii), common hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides), Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), and white snakeroot (Ageratina altissima). Dominant species of the shrubland types found in the park are roughleaf dogwood (Cornus drummondii), Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia), and sandbar willow (Salix interior). Other less extensive shrubland types are dominated by either western snowberry (Symphoricarpos occidentalis) or smooth sumac (Rhus glabra). The most common species within herbaceous types tend toward ruderal, and include Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), smooth brome (Bromus inermis), and cuman ragweed (Ambrosia psilostachya).

Vegetation classification and mapping: Missouri National Recreational River

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