Acadia National Park Vegetation Mapping Project - Spatial Vegetation Data
Dates
Publication Date
2003-10
Start Date
1997-05-27
End Date
1997-05-28
Summary
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) has produced the Vegetation Spatial Database Coverage (vegetation map) for the Acadia National Park Vegetation Mapping Project, USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program (VMP). The vegetation map is of Acadia National Park (NP) and extended environs, providing 99,693 hectares (246,347 acres) of map data. Of this coverage, 52,872 hectares (130,650 acres) is non-vegetated ocean, bay, and estuary (53% of coverage). Acadia NP comprises 19,276 hectares (47,633 acres) of the total data coverage area (19%, 40% not counting ocean and estuary data). Over 7,120 polygons make up the coverage, each with map class description and, for vegetation classes, physiognomic [...]
Summary
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) has produced the Vegetation Spatial Database Coverage (vegetation map) for the Acadia National Park Vegetation Mapping Project, USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program (VMP). The vegetation map is of Acadia National Park (NP) and extended environs, providing 99,693 hectares (246,347 acres) of map data. Of this coverage, 52,872 hectares (130,650 acres) is non-vegetated ocean, bay, and estuary (53% of coverage). Acadia NP comprises 19,276 hectares (47,633 acres) of the total data coverage area (19%, 40% not counting ocean and estuary data). Over 7,120 polygons make up the coverage, each with map class description and, for vegetation classes, physiognomic feature information. The spatial database provides crosswalk information to all National Vegetation Classification System (NVCS) floristic and physiognomic levels, and to other established classification systems (NatureServe?s U.S. Terrestrial Ecological System Classification, Maine Natural Community Classification, and the USGS Land Use and Land Cover Classification). This mapping project has identified 53 NVCS associations (vegetation communities) at Acadia National Park through analyses of vegetation sample data. These associations are represented in the map coverage with 33 map classes. With all vegetation types, land use classes, and park specific categories combined, 57 map classes define the ground features within the project area (58 classes including the class for no map data). Each polygon within the spatial database map is identified with one of these map classes. In addition, physiognomic modifiers are added to map classes representing vegetation to describe the vegetation structure within a polygon (density, pattern, and height). The spatial database was produced from the interpretation of spring 1997 1:15,840-scale color infrared aerial photographs. The standard minimum mapping unit (MMU) applied is 0.5 hectares (1.25 acres). The interpreted data were transferred and automated using base maps produced from USGS digital orthophoto quadrangles. The finished spatial database is a single seamless coverage, projected in Universal Transverse Mercator, Zone 19, with datum in North American Datum of 1983. The estimated overall thematic accuracy for vegetation map classes is 80%.
The Vegetation Spatial Database Coverage (vegetation map) was produced for the Acadia National Park Vegetation Mapping Project, USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program. The focus of this metadata report centers on the vegetation map itself and not necessarily on vegetation classification or accuracy assessment. Although references are made to classification and accuracy assessment, their full documentation is found in separate metadata reports and in the Project?s technical report.
Preview Image
Vegetation distribution of Acadia National Park and environs; low resolution for web browser (1 M file size).
