Kansas Natural Heritage Inventory, Kansas Biological Survey USGS/CSS/BIP/Center for Biological Informatics 20100630 Plots V3.2 vector digital data http://www1.usgs.gov/vip/tapr/taprgeodata.zip doi:10.5066/F7TD9V90 The field methods used by the Kansas Natural Heritage Inventory in sampling and classifying the vegetation followed the methodology outlined by the USGS-BRD/NPS Vegetation Mapping Program and the NVC (Grossman et al. 1994, Grossman et al. 1998). The application of these methods to Tallgrass Prairie National Park is outlined below. Vegetation data were collected in characteristic plots by KBS in July 2008 and from additional plot information acquired from the Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network. Characteristic plots were located in areas that were visually representative of the preliminary vegetation categories. Plots were 100 m2 in area, and GPS coordinates were recorded with a Garmin receiver. To maintain consistency with other projects in Kansas, plots were square. The accuracy for all of the recorded points ranged from 1-7 meters in horizontal accuracy, as recorded by the GPS receiver. Ten plots were sampled for most preliminary vegetation types: rocky mixed prairie, restored prairie, riparian vegetation, and brome fields. For "weedy" vegetation, only four characteristic plots were sampled due to the low abundance of the vegetation type. Ten plots were also sampled for springs and seeps, which were not characterized as a polygon vegetation type, but were mapped as points from Kansas Geological Survey data. All plants found within the characteristic plots were identified to species level where possible. In a few cases, identification was only possible to the genus level (i.e., non-reproductive Muhlenbergia and Carex species). Visual estimates of percent cover were made for all species, including live material and the current year's standing dead. To maintain consistency with local vegetation surveys and other work of KBS, a continuous range of possible cover estimates was used, rather than cover classes. Plants found to cover at least one half of one percent of the plot were assigned one percent (0.01) and those with less than one half of one percent a "trace" (T). Also to maintain consistency with published accounts and similar projects in the region, species were assigned names following the Flora of the Great Plains (McGregor and Barkley 1986). An updated synonymy was completed when data were entered into the PLOTS database. Noteworthy surrounding vegetation, slopes, unusual soil features, and noticeable use by animals were also noted at each plot. Most plots were on a gentle slope with an A horizon of silty clay loam soils. Additional plot data were obtained from the Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network. Tallgrass prairie sampling was conducted in 2008 on ten permanent plots. Each plot comprises two, 50 m long transects with ten sets of nested subplots systematically arranged. Working from the smallest to the largest plot, all herbaceous, woody shrub and tree seedling and sapling species were identified. Foliar cover was estimated in the 100 m2 subplot using a modified Daubenmire (1959) scale. Forest overstory data were obtained from a breeding bird survey conducted in 2008, in which overstory trees were tallied in 18 plots. For additional attribute information, see the homedata.mdb file assiciated with this project. During 2009 a total of 132 AA points were sampled. Twenty of these points represented springs and seeps, which are not included in the vegetation classification layer. The data recorded on the field forms were subsequently entered into the PLOTS database and reviewed for data entry errors by Kansas Natural Heritage Inventory staff. The results were imported from the database into a GIS layer where they were visually compared in two stages to the vegetation map coverage. The first step was to compare the AA points to the original target locations to check for erroneous points. However, no GPS receiver or location errors were observed. The second review step involved comparing the vegetation classification assigned by the field botanists to the vegetation classification assigned to the mapped polygon. If a mismatch was found, the mapped polygon would be corrected. Once the data were reviewed the accuracy analysis was conducted. In the case of TAPR, the AA process was streamlined using methods developed from previous studies at Rocky Mountain National Park (Salas et al. 2004) and Wupatki National Monument (Hansen et al. 2004). All of the statistics and calculations used to analyze these data are described at length in the program manuals (TNC et al. 1994). Final assessments for each point were recorded using an error matrix. To show the location of sample plots and accuracy assessment visited at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. The intended use of all data in the park's GIS library is to support diverse park activities including planning, management, maintenance, research, and interpretation. Data were reformatted to match Plots V3.2 by the USGS/CSS/BIP/Center for Biological Informatics. 201006 ground condition Complete None planned Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve and environs -96.596773 -96.504003 38.494012 38.396355 None National Park Service Plots Observations Accuracy Assessment Vegetation Field data Points None Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve Kansas Chase County Flint Hills USA None Standardized National Vegetation Classification System vegetation classification alliance community association Kingdom Plantae None None Kelly Kindscher Kansas Natural Heritage Inventory, Kansas Biological Survey Associate Scientist mailing and physical address

2101 Constant Ave.

Lawrence Kansas 66047 USA (785) 864-1529 (785) 864-1537 kindscher@ku.edu Microsoft Windows XP Version 5.1 (Build 2600) Service Pack 3; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.3.1.3000 Examination of the final error matrix (Appendix A) shows an overall accuracy of 92.0%. Only one map class fell below the 80% standard, cropland, due to its low frequency and low sample size. Areas of confusion occurred between similar vegetation types. Confusion occurred between bur oak forest, successional forest, and wet ravine vegetation, which all had significant overlap in species and were sometimes difficult to distinguish from aerial imagery. Unknown Unknown Dataset copied. \\Franklin\D\NPSProject\Tallgrass\Data\GIS\TallgrassPrairie013110_new2KD.mdb 20100330 Dataset copied. \\FRANKLIN\D$\NPSProject\Tallgrass\Data\GIS\TallgrassPrairie013110_new2KD.mdb 20100518 Metadata imported. C:\Users\kars\AppData\Local\Temp\xml2BE9.tmp 20110413 Data were reformatted using Plots V3.2, and then the shapefiles and the data was imported into a geodatabase by the USGS/CSS/BIP/Center for Biological Informatics. 201105 Metadata imported. 201105 Vector Entity point 174 Universal Transverse Mercator 14 0.999600 -99.000000 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 TAPR_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 V3.2 Unique plot number. Pnts_Type Point type (accuracy assessment point, observation point or plot point) Plots V3.2 Accuracy Assessment Point AA Point Plots V3.2 Observation Point Observation Point Plots V3.2 Plot Point Plot Point Plots V3.2 X_Coord X Coordinate (UTM Easting) Plots V3.2 Easting coordinate. Y_Coord Y Coordinate (UTM Northing) Plots V3.2 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/tapr.html Internet Access None 20110414 20110602 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