James P. Vanderhorst North Carolina State University, Center for Earth Observation USGS/CSS/BIP/Center for Biological Informatics 20091222 Plots V3.0 vector digital data http://www1.usgs.gov/vip/gari/garigeodata.zip Vanderhorst, J. P., B. P. Streets, Z. Acharo, and S. C. Gawler. 201011 and 201002 Final technical report describing methods and results of the vegetation classification and mapping project Philadelphia, PA National Park Service http://www.usgs.gov/core_science_systems/csas/vip/parks/gari.html doi:10.5066/F74747TF This feature class contains point features which represent locations of vegetation sampling plots in Gauley River National Recreation Area. Location coordinates for most plots were collected using a global positioning system and details on these data are included in the attribute table. The attribute table includes information on GPS methods and accuracy, date of plot sampling, surveyors names, and community classification. Complete data from plots is archived in the Plots2-WV database maintained by the West Virginia Natural Heritage Program. In this data set, the X, Y coordinates for 11 plots have been altered to protect species of concern. Also shows the location of thematic accuracy assessment sampling points used in the vegetation classification and mapping of Gauley River National Recreation Area. Also shows the location of thematic accuracy assessment sampling points used in the vegetation classification and mapping of Gauley River National Recreation Area. The purpose of this data set is to provide locations of plots that were sampled in order to develop a classification of natural and semi-natural vegetation and to identify the locations of sampling points used to assess the thematic accuracy in Gauley River National Recreation Area. Data were reformatted to match Plots V3.0 by the USGS/CSS/BIP/Center for Biological Informatics. 19950728 20090929 ground condition Complete None planned Gauley River National Recreation Area, West Virginia and environs -81.121200 -80.882150 38.242038 38.140979 none vegetation plots GPS natural communities plant communities accuracy assessment observation point plot point National Park Service Theme Category Thesaurus Vegetation ISO 19115 Topic Category biota none Gauley River Meadow River Mercer County Summers County West Virginia National Park System Unit Name Thesaurus Gauley River National Recreation Area National Park System Unit Code Thesaurus GARI None Standardized National Vegetation Classification System vegetation classification alliance community association Kingdom Plantae none none James P. Vanderhorst West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Vegetation Ecologist mailing and physical address

PO Box 67, Ward Road

Elkins WV 26241 USA 304-637-0245 James.P.Vanderhorst@wv.gov http://www1.usgs.gov/vip/gari/gariplots.pdf Locations of vegetation plots; low resolution for web browsing. PDF http://www1.usgs.gov/vip/gari/gariaa.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 9.3.1.3500 Points were derived from Trimble GPS Coordinates or hand mapped on topographic maps. A few points fall outside the proclamation boundaries of Gauley River National Recreation Area. Includes all plots sampled for project. Also includes plots sampled by West Virginia Natural Heritage Program in 1995 from riparian areas in the park and in 2000 from Carnifax Ferry State Park. Each accuracy assessment point is represented by one point in the shapefile. All points fall within the geographic extent of the vegetation map. Plots were subjectively chosen to sample the geographic range and ecological diversity of the study area. Plot locations were selected along elevational gradients or to sample unique community types as they were encountered in the field. An ecological land unit model was developed to improve sampling equity across landform, elevation, aspect, and geological gradients. Throughout the project, plots were located to represent high quality natural vegetation (relatively weed free, away from roads and other human caused ground disturbance, etc) for natural types, but semi-natural types (e.g. successional forests, old fields) were also sampled. Point features were produced from locational coordinates collected using GPS units (Trimble GeoExplorer, GeoXT; Garmin) or from points mapped by hand on topographic maps. GPS data from Trimble units were post-process differentially corrected and exported as attributed GIS files using Trimble Pathfinder Office software. Plot points were attributed with community names determined by the vegetation classification. 20091222 James P. Vanderhorst West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Vegetation Ecologist mailing and physical address

PO Box 67

Elkins WV 26241 USA 304-637-0245 James.P.Vanderhorst@wv.gov 11 plots were moved to protect species of concern. They were moved to the centroid in the park. A new field (crd_alt) was also added to identify these points. 20101207 Kristina Callahan NPS Data Manager mailing address

422 Forest Resources Building

University Park PA 16802 none kristina_callahan@nps.gov The number and distribution of sampling points was determined by map class abundance and frequency as recommended in the USGS/NPS Vegetation Mapping protocols. A stratified random sampling approach was used, distributing the sampling effort across the vegetation map classes. A random sample of points stratified by vegetation map class was selected. Random points were generated in ArcGIS. Sample points located close to polygon boundaries were moved to at least 30 meters inside the polygon to avoid ecotones. In long narrow polygons where that was not possible, sample points were moved to a point approximately equidistant from the polygon boundaries. An ArcGIS shapefile containing the sample points was created and the attribute table was edited to include the fields needed to record the data to be collected at each point. The shapefile was imported into Trimble .ssf format and loaded into a Trimble GeoXT global positioning system (GPS) unit. This allowed the field ecologist to enter data directly into an electronic file in real time. In September 2009, an ecologist collected field data at a total of 147 sample points. Accuracy assessment points were located in the field using a Trimble GeoXT GPS unit. The vegetation or land cover at each accuracy assessment point was classified based on the vegetation key developed for the vegetation mapping project. 201002 Data were reformatted using Plots V3.0, and then the shapefiles and the data was imported into a geodatabase by the USGS/CSS/BIP/Center for Biological Informatics. 201103 Metadata imported. 201103 Vector Entity point 367 Universal Transverse Mercator 17 0.999600 -81.000000 0.000000 500000.000000 0.000000 coordinate pair 0.000100 0.000100 meters North American Datum of 1983 Geodetic Reference System 80 6378137.000000 298.257222 GARI_VegPoints Feature class attribute table National Park Service 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 Relationship Class 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/gari.html Internet Access None 20101208 20110401 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