Buffalo National River Vegetation Mapping Project - Spatial Vegetation Data
Vegetation Inventory
Dates
Publication Date
2012-06-01
Time Period
2006-10
Summary
The geographic information system (GIS) format spatial data set of vegetation for Buffalo National River (BUFF) was created for the National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Inventory Program (VIP). The BUFF administrative boundary covers an area of nearly 38,000 ha. The map classification scheme used to create the vegetation data set is designed to represent local vegetation types at the finest level possible using the National Vegetation Classification Standard (NVCS) Version 2. Physiognomic information was also recorded, including height (woody vegetation), canopy density, and coverage patterns. The vegetation data set was developed by interpreting aerial photographs collected in October of 2006 and extensive field surveys. Individuals [...]
Summary
The geographic information system (GIS) format spatial data set of vegetation for Buffalo National River (BUFF) was created for the National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Inventory Program (VIP). The BUFF administrative boundary covers an area of nearly 38,000 ha. The map classification scheme used to create the vegetation data set is designed to represent local vegetation types at the finest level possible using the National Vegetation Classification Standard (NVCS) Version 2. Physiognomic information was also recorded, including height (woody vegetation), canopy density, and coverage patterns. The vegetation data set was developed by interpreting aerial photographs collected in October of 2006 and extensive field surveys. Individuals who cooperated in this project include; National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Inventory Program, NPS BUFF, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Upper Midwest Environmental Science Center (UMESC), USGS Mid-Continent Geographic Science Center (MCGSC), NatureServe, and the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission (ANHC). The vegetation data are distributed as a polygon feature class in the geodatabase for the project, stored in Universal Transverse Mercator zone 15 mapping coordinates, North American Datum 1983.
The NPS VIP is an effort to classify, describe, and map existing vegetation of national park units. Managed by the NPS Biological Resources Management Division, the NPS VIP provides baseline vegetation information for the NPS Natural Resource I&M Program. The USGS Vegetation Characterization Program lends a cooperative role in the NPS VIP and serves the data sets on the Internet. Vegetation layers and associated information support a wide variety of resource assessment, park management, and planning needs. They also provide structure for framing and answering critical scientific questions about vegetation communities and their relation to environmental processes across the landscape.
