Datasets / Spatial Vegetation Data for Dinosaur National Monument Vegetation Mapping Project


Spatial Vegetation Data for Dinosaur National Monument Vegetation Mapping Project

Published By National Park Service, Department of the Interior

Issued over 9 years ago

US
beta

Summary

Type of release
ongoing release of a series of related datasets

Data Licence
Not Applicable

Content Licence
Creative Commons CCZero

Verification
automatically awarded

Description

This polygon feature class represents vegetation communities mapped at Dinosaur National Monument. The polygons were delineated following guidelines set by the National Vegetation Classification System (October 1995). Original lines were drawn on a mylar overlay on top of printed 1:12,000 digital scale orthophoto quadrangles (DOQ), collected in the summer of 2002. Hard copy 9X9 stereo aerial photography was used for photo interpretation. Intuitive ecological modeling and visual interpretation cues, such as shape, size, pattern, tone, texture, color, and shadow, were used to develop the polygons. Additional data layers used to aid the interpretation include slope, hydrology, geography, and ground-collected vegetation information. The lines developed in the image interpretation step were scanned using a large format scanner. The resultant scanned raster image was converted into a vector coverage to facilitate editing the linework within ArcGIS. The line work was cleaned, polygons created and attributed. The attributed vegetation classes were subjected to an accuracy assessment, following which final adjustments were made to the vegetation classes. As with any digital layer, this layer is a representation of what is actually occurring on the ground. Errors are inherent in any interpretation of ground qualities. Due to the "snapshot" nature of the DOQs, this vegetation layer reflects conditions that existed when the imagery was collected.