Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Vegetation Mapping Project - Spatial Vegetation Data
Vegetation Inventory
Dates
Publication Date
2010-06
Time Period
2004-10-09
Summary
The geographic information system (GIS) format spatial data set of vegetation for Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (APIS) was created for the National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Inventory Program (VIP). The APIS covers an area of approximately 28,972 ha (71,591 acres). 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 (NVC) Standard (Vr 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 2004 and extensive field surveys. Individuals [...]
Summary
The geographic information system (GIS) format spatial data set of vegetation for Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (APIS) was created for the National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Inventory Program (VIP). The APIS covers an area of approximately 28,972 ha (71,591 acres). 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 (NVC) Standard (Vr 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 2004 and extensive field surveys. Individuals who cooperated in this project include; USGS Center for Biological Informatics, NPS Biological Resources Management Division, USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, NPS Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, and NatureServe. The vegetation data are distributed as an ESRI format file geodatabase, 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 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Vegetation Characterization Program lends a cooperative role in the NPS VIP. 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.
