Lesley Sneddon, NatureServe USGS/CSS/Core Science Analytics and Synthesis 2003 and 2009 Plots V3.0 vector digital data http://www1.usgs.gov/vip/caco/cacogeodata.zip L.A. Sneddon, R.E. Zaremba, and M. Adams 201010 report Philadelphia, PA National Park Service Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR--2010/147 http://www.usgs.gov/core_science_systems/csas/vip/parks/caco.html doi:10.5066/F77P8WBZ Point features in this feature class represent locations of vegetation classification sampling plots used to develop an association-level vegetation classification and accuracy assessment points used to assess accuracy of the association-level of Cape Cod National Seashore by NatureServe for the National Park Service. Vegetation sampling was performed by NatureServe. Accuracy assesement was performed by Robert Zaremba and Lesley Sneddon. The feature class depicts point locations of vegetation classification sampling points and accuracy assessment observation points. Locations were recorded with a WAAS-enabled GPS unit. The accuracy assessment used a 76S GPS unit (WASS-enabled Garmin) was programmed with coordinates of the selected sampling locations Data were reformatted to match Plots V3.0 by the USGS/CSS/Core Science Analytics and Synthesis. 200308 200410 ground condition Complete None planned Cape Cod National Seashore and environs -70.244390 -69.928243 42.082353 41.673924 National Park Service Theme Category Thesaurus vegetation ISO 19115 Topic Category biota none vegetation vegetation map vegetation association vegetation alliance vegetation formation vegetation classification thematic accuracy assessment National Park System Unit Name Thesaurus Cape Cod National Seashore National Park System Unit Code Thesaurus CACO None Massachusetts Cape Cod Cape Cod National Seashore none 2003 2004 None Standardized National Vegetation Classification System vegetation classification alliance community association Kingdom Plantae None None Lesley Sneddon NatureServe Senior Regional Ecologist mailing address

11 Avenue de Lafayette, 5th Floor

Boston MA 02111 USA 617.542.1908 x 245 617.542.1602 lesley_sneddon@natureserve.org 9am-5pm http://www1.usgs.gov/vip/caco/cacoplots.pdf Locations of vegetation plots; low resolution for web browsing. PDF http://www1.usgs.gov/vip/caco/cacoaa.pdf Locations of thematic accuracy assessment sites; low resolution for web browsing. PDF Microsoft Windows XP Version 5.1 (Build 2600) Service Pack 3; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.3.1.3000 None Point locations for all 127 plots and all 492 accuracy assessment points are included. Each accuracy assessment point is representaed by one point in the shapefile. All points fall within vegetation association polygons. All vegetation plot sampling followed the USGS/NPS Vegetation Mapping Program protocols (The Nature Conservancy and Environmental Systems Research Institute 1994b). Plots were subjectively placed to be most representative of the vegetation within a given formation polygon. Within each polygon selected for sampling, a plot was established in an area that was most representative of the existing vegetation association (Mueller-Dombois and Ellenberg 1974). All vegetation data were collected following NatureServe's accepted natural heritage sampling protocols (Strakosch-Walz 2000), with 20-m x 20-m plots in forests and woodlands, 10-m x 10-m plots in shrublands, and 5-m x 5-m plots in herbaceous vegetation. In some cases, where the polygons were too narrow to reasonably accommodate standard plot sizes, the plots were adjusted accordingly, e.g., rectangular plots rather than square plots were used to accommodate linear stands. Abbreviated instructions for completing the field form and definitions of the fields can be found in the NBS/NPS Vegetation Mapping Program: Field Methods for Vegetation Mapping manual (The Nature Conservancy and Environmental Systems Research Institute 1994b). The vegetation was visually divided into eight strata: emergent trees (variable height), tree canopy (variable height), tree subcanopy (>5m in height), tall shrub (2-5m), short shrub (<2m), herbaceous, non-vascular, and vines. The percent cover was estimated for each species in each stratum using modified Braun - Blanquet cover classes (Strakosch-Walz 2000). Specimens of species that were not identifiable in the field were collected for later identification. In addition to floristic information, the following environmental variables were recorded at each plot: slope, aspect, topographic position, hydrologic regime, soil stoniness, average soil texture, and soil drainage. Any unvegetated area of the plot was characterized by the exposed substrate. Notes were taken on the plot representativeness of the surrounding vegetation and any other significant environmental information, such as landscape context, herbivory, stand health, recent disturbance, or evidence of historic disturbance. The vegetation profile and topographic position were sketched in cross-section to represent the location and setting of the plot. A digital photograph of each plot was also taken. The location of each plot was recorded with a global positioning system (GPS) unit, with the datum set to North American 1983 (Conus) and the coordinate system set to Universal Trans-Mercator (UTM) zone 19. Plot sampling was conducted in the summer of 2003 by NatureServe. Plot forms were crosswalked to the National Vegetaiton Classification System by NatureServe's Senior Regional Ecologist, Lesley Sneddon. 2003 Thematic accuracy has several objectives including to asssess the data's suitability for a particular application, to inform the map producers to learn more about data errors and improve the mapping process, and conform to production standards. Accuracy assessment (AA) sampling design followed the guidelines provided in the NPS Vegetation Mapping Program (The Nature Conservancy 1994) manuals with respect to the number of AA points sampled and their distribution across park polygons. The sampling design called for 516 points during the 2004 field season. AA sampling coordinates were selected by generating random points within the minimum and maximum easting and northing UTM coordinates of the park's extent. During July - October 2004, each accuracy assessment point was located in the field using a Garmin 76S unit. Sixteen points were eliminated prior to field work. Points were then buffered at a distance of 10 meters from the polygon border to exclude ecotonal areas that may be of ambiguous classification. Once in the field, eight points were found to be poorly accessible or were located in areas with poor GPS reception, and were not sampled. A total of 492 accuracy assessment plots were collected. The datum on the GPS units was set to North American 1983 (Conus) and the coordinate system was set to Universal Trans-Mercator (UTM) zone 19. The vegetation association at the point was then determined using the dichotomous key and the detailed vegetation descriptions. The minimum area of observation around the sampling point was a circle with a radius of 50 m. The dominant plant species in each stratum, environmental attributes, surrounding vegetation associations, rationale for classification and other comments were noted on a field form. After field work was completed, data from the 492 accuracy assessment points were entered into the NatureServe PLOTS 2.0 Database System on a Microsoft Access platform. Vegetation associations were identified using the vegetation key developed for the park. AA results were analyzed using a sample missclassification matrix. Overall accuracy, Lappa index and 90% confidence intervals were calculated in the Accuracy Assessment Procedures-USGS/NPS Vegetation Mappiong Program manual (The Nature Conservancy 1994). 2004 Lesley Sneddon NatureServe Senior Regional Vegetation Ecologist mailing address

11 Avenue de Lafayette

Boston MA 02111 USA (617) 542-1908 x 245 (617) 542-1620 lesley_sneddon@natureserve.org 9-5 Data were reformatted using Plots V3.0, and then the Shapefiles and the data was imported into a geodatabase by the USGS/CSS/Core Science Analytics and Synthesis. 201103 Metadata imported. 201103 Vector Entity point 615 Universal Transverse Mercator 19 0.999600 -69.000000 0.000000 500000.000000 0.000000 coordinate pair 0.000100 0.00010 meters North American Datum of 1983 Geodetic Reference System 80 6378137.000000 298.257222 CACO_VegPoints Feature class attribute table NatureServe OBJECTID Internal feature number. ESRI Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated. Shape Feature geometry. ESRI Coordinates defining the features. Plot_Code Unique identifier for this Accuracy Assessment, Observation or Plot point Plots V3.0 Unique plot number. Pnts_Type Point type (accuracy assessment point, observation point or plot point) Plots V3.0 Accuracy Assessment Point AA Point Plots V3.0 Observation Point Observation Point Plots V3.0 Plot Point Plot Point Plots V3.0 X_Coord X Coordinate (UTM Easting) Plots V3.0 Easting coordinate. Y_Coord Y Coordinate (UTM Northing) Plots V3.0 Northing coordinate. rc_VegPoints_tAA_tPlots Defines relationship between Veg points and basic AA/plot attributes National Park Service USGS/CSS/Core Science Analytics and Synthesis USGS-NPS Vegetation Characterization Program Coordinator mailing and physical address

Denver Federal Center, Building 810, MS 302

Denver Colorado 80225 (303) 202-4220 303-202-4219 gs-b-npsveg@usgs.gov Downloadable Data The U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. These data and related graphics (if available) are not legal documents and are not intended to be used as such. The information contained in these data is dynamic and may change over time. The data are not better than the original sources from which they were derived. It is the responsibility of the data user to use the data appropriately and consistent within the limitations of geospatial data in general and these data in particular. Any related graphics (if available) are intended to aid the data user in acquiring relevant data; it is not approriate to use the related graphics as data. The U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service gives no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of these data. It is strongly recommended that these data are directly acquired from an U.S. Geological Survey and National Park Service servers and not indirectly through other sources which may have changed the data in some way. Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the utility of the data on another system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. This disclaimer applies both to individual use of the data and aggregate use with other data. It is also strongly recommended that careful attention be paid to the contents of the metadata file associated with these data. Mention of trade names or commercial products in this metadata report does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the U. S. Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey and National Park Service. HTML http://www.usgs.gov/core_science_systems/csas/vip/parks/caco.html Internet Access None 20090824 20110317 USGS/CSS/Core Science Analytics and Synthesis USGS-NPS Vegetation Characterization Program Coordinator mailing and physical address

Denver Federal Center, Building 810, MS 302

Denver Colorado 80225 (303) 202-4220 303-202-4219 gs-b-npsveg@usgs.gov FGDC Biological Data Profile of the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata FGDC-STD-001.1-1999 http://www.usgs.gov/core_science_systems/csas/metadata/index.html