GCPO Grassland existing vegetation type from LANDFIRE

This layer was created by selecting classes relevant to conservation of the grassland-prairie-savanna broadly defined habitat from the LANDFIRE Existing Vegetation Type (evt) spatial data product clipped to the boundary of the GCPO LCC. The layer was generated as in input layer for the Draft Grassland Condition Index raster data layer in support of the GCPO LCC rapid ecological assessment of the Grassland-Prairie-Savanna Priority Habitat. In selecting vegetation types, “grasslands” were defined as any landscape dominated by grass, excluding classes considered to be features of other priority habitats, such as marshes, dunes, glades, woodlands, and pine savanna. The 44 selected grassland classes included pasture/hay and cutover forest regeneration. From these, 30 classes were selected to represent a more restrictive definition of prairie. This “prairie” designation was made for any class for which the class description emphasized the presence of native plants. Prairie classes were ranked more highly in the generation of the Draft Grassland Condition Index raster data layer. A complete description of the process can be found in our Draft Grasslands Ecological Assessment Report found at https://www.fws.gov/science/catalog.