AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Changes in Woody Fuel Loading and Ericaceous Shrub Cover from 2003 to 2019 in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Field Methods:
In 2003-2004, 180 locations within Great Smoky Mountains National Park were visited to inventory overstory composition, fuels, and ericaceous shrub cover (Waldrop et al., 2007). Overstory composition and ericaceous shrub cover were determined using fixed-area plots (0.02 ha). Within these fixed-area plots, fuels were observed using Brown’s Planar Intercept Method (Brown, 1974) as modified by Stottlemyer (2004). Using this technique, down-and-dead woody debris 0 – 1/4 in., 1/4 – 1 in., 1 – 3 in., and greater than 3 in. in diameter was tallied as 1-, 10-, 100-hr., and 1000-hr. timelag size classes, respectively, along three 50 ft. transects established at a 45o angle. Timelag refers to how each individual fuel-size class responds to changes in relative humidity (Brown, 1974). Using this method, 1-hr. and 10-hr. fuels were tallied within the first 6 ft. of each transect, 100-hr. fuels were tallied within the first 12 ft., and 1000-hr. fuels were tallied along the entire 50 ft. transect. A quality rating (sound or rotten) was additionally recorded for 1000-hr. fuels. Estimates of fuel loading in tons per acre were derived for each fuel-size class based upon these tallies (Brown, 1974; Stottlemyer, 2004). Litter depth, duff depth, and fuel bed height (defined as the distance from the top of the litter layer to the top of any coarse woody debris crossing the transect) were measured at three locations along each 50-ft. transect: 12-13 ft., 24-25 ft., and 40-41 ft. Thus, plot averages for each variable were based upon nine individual measurements. 

In summer 2019, we will revisit 50 of the 180 locations to obtain similar measurements of overstory composition, fuels, and ericaceous shrub cover. These locations contained a high proportion of T. canadensis in the overstory and/or a substantial accumulation of ericaceous shrubs when measured in 2003-2004.

Tags: aphn, appalachian-highlands-network, great-smoky-mountains-national-park, grsm, ser, southeast-region
Organization: Department of the Interior
Fish Inventory at Fort Frederica National Monument in 2005 - Data Package

Fort Frederica National Monument (FOFR) was surveyed in 2005 as park of a larger initiative to inventory fish at Southeast Coast Network parks. The purpose of the study was to sample fishes in 12 parks to supplement existing data or to provide preliminary records of fishes where no records existed. FOFR had not been previously sampled for fishes and is relatively small. Its habitats are restricted to marsh associated with a tidal river, high marsh (bloody marsh site) and a moat wetland (some small wells had no fishes). The four sites sampled in this park documented 21 species.

Tags: ecological-framework-biological-integrity-focal-species-or-communities-fishes, fish, fofr, fort-frederica, georgia, inventory, secn
Organization: Department of the Interior
2019 Estuarine Nutrient Enrichment Water Quality Monitoring Data for Fire Island National Seashore (Certified)

As part of the Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network's Estuarine Nutrient Enrichment Monitoring program, Network staff continued to estuarine water quality at several park units. This file contains spatial (i.e., not continuous) water quality data collected during  the 2019 field season at Fire Island National Seashore.

Tags: ecological-framework-water-water-quality-nutrient-dynamics, ecological-framework-water-water-quality-water-chemistry, environment, estuary, fiis, fire-island-national-seashore, inland-waters, monitoring, national-park-service, ncbn, new-york, northeast-coastal-and-barrier-network, northeast-region, nutrient-enrichment, resource-management, virginia, vital-signs, water, water-quality
Organization: Department of the Interior
2019 Estuarine Nutrient Enrichment Water Quality Monitoring Data for Cape Cod National Seashore (Certified)

As part of the Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network's Estuarine Nutrient Enrichment Monitoring program, Network staff continued to estuarine water quality at several park units. This file contains spatial (i.e., not continuous) water quality data collected during  the 2019 field season at Cape Cod National Seashore.

Tags: caco, cape-cod-national-seashore, ecological-framework-water-water-quality-nutrient-dynamics, ecological-framework-water-water-quality-water-chemistry, environment, estuary, inland-waters, massachsetts, monitoring, national-park-service, ncbn, northeast-coastal-and-barrier-network, northeast-region, nutrient-enrichment, resource-management, virginia, vital-signs, water, water-quality
Organization: Department of the Interior
Freshwater Snail Inventory of Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River 2022-2023 - Open Format Dataset

The Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River (UPDE) unit of the National Park Service partnered with the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University (ANS) to perform a freshwater snail inventory within the park. ANS and UPDE teams conducted field research in July and August of 2022 and 2023 using a combination of kick sampling and hand-picking methods to determine the abundance and diversity of freshwater snail populations. Fifty-four sites were surveyed along the 73 miles of the Delaware River within UPDE and included cold-water and warmwater fisheries zones. In 2022, field collections occurred at 30 sites along the river edge from Hancock, NY to the No. 2 railroad bridge near Mill Rift, PA. In 2023, field work occurred at 24 sites in relatively disturbed areas and within unique river features that were not sampled in 2022. Snails were identified using traditional morphological taxonomy and DNA barcoding of the CO1 (Cytochrome c oxidase I) gene. Additional environmental DNA (eDNA) was analyzed from water collected at ten eDNA Atlas Sites. Based on genetic analysis, 27 species of gastropods were identified, one of which is a non-native species, the Japanese Mystery Snail (Cipangopaludina japonica); previous studies found 18 species and identified the mystery snail as the Chinese (Cipangopaludina chinensis). There were more snails below the Cannonsville Reservoir influence in the warmwater zone. A better understanding of the snail community and the ecosystem has been gained with the results of this inventory which will inform effective and responsible river management plans.

Tags: abundance, cold-water, darwin-core-archive-dwc-a, diversity, freshwater-snail, imd, japanese-mystery-snail, national-park-service, nps, nps-inventory-and-monitoring-division, nps-species-inventory-program, open-format, warmwater
Organization: Department of the Interior
Quantitative Plant Inventory at Big Cypress National Preserve in 2002-2004 - Open Format Dataset (Public)

A quantitative plant inventory was conducted between the years of 2002 and 2004 by the Institute for Regional Conservation (IRC) on the 295,100 ha Big Cypress National Preserve in southern Florida. The goal of the study was to document at least 90% of plant taxa in the preserve. Abundance was measured on three hundred, 1 km x 1 km, sample stations; two, 250 m, transects per station; intercept points spaced 2.5 m along transects; as well as sixty, 500 m, roadside belt transects. 1094 unique plant taxa, both previously known and unknown, were documented. The data has been processed for dissemination by the Inverntory and Monitoring Division (IMD), complying with Executive Order 13642, Making Open and Machine Readable the New Default for Government Information (GPO 2013). Four tabular datasets have been created using the raw data provided from the park, following Darwin Core naming standards and introducing data quality flagging where data was missing or unclear.

Tags: belt, intercept, inventory, npspecies, plant, road-transect, roadside, species, survey, taxonomy, transect, vegetation
Organization: Department of the Interior
Channel Island National Park: 2014 Terrestrial Vegetation Monitoring Results

This data set presents the data collected in 2014 as part of the long-term terrestrial vegetation monitoring program at Channel Islands National Park in collaboration with the Mediterranean Coast Network of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program.

The purposes of the monitoring program are to document the long-term trends in the major vegetation communities within the park. The data collected are from 30 m point-line intercept transects. In the past, each transect was sampled annually. However, beginning in 2012 the program began adding randomly located transects to improve the representativeness of the sampling, and transitioned to a rotating panel design. Now only a core subset of the transects are now read annually. Non-core transects are assigned to one of four panels and those transects are read only once every four years. 

A summary analysis of the 2014 data shows that:

•	98% of the transects that were to be monitored in 2014 were read (157 out of 160 transects).

•	The 157 transects were distributed across all five islands: Santa Rosa Island (n = 92), Santa Cruz Island (n = 24), Santa Barbara Island (n = 15), Anacapa Island (n = 13) and San Miguel Island (n = 13). 

•	Native plant cover averaged 69% across all islands and sampled communities. The percent native cover ranged from a low of 27% in seablite scrub on Santa Barbara Island to highs of nearly 100% in coastal strand on Santa Rosa Island and caliche scrub on San Miguel Island.

•	In general, the number of vegetation data points recorded per transect appears to correlate with average rainfall. In other words, as rainfall increases, vegetation cover increases and this is reflected in the number of “hits” or transect points containing vegetation. When precipitation declined there was a corresponding drop in the number of hits. In 2014, as a result of 3 years of below average rainfall, the average number of hits was at an all-time low of 61. The highest average number of hits was 240 in 1993. 

•	The number of vegetation communities varied by island. In 2014, there were 14 on Santa Rosa Island, 11 communities on Santa Cruz Island, 7 communities on San Miguel Island, 4 communities on Santa Barbara Island, and 3 communities on Anacapa Island. 

•	Nine vegetation communities (as currently classified) occurred on more than 1 island. The most common shared community was Valley/Foothill grassland which was found in one form or another on all five islands within the park. The next most common communities were coreopsis scrub, coastal sage scrub, and island chaparral which were shared on 3 islands, although not necessarily on the same 3 islands. The other 5 shared communities – caliche scrub, coastal bluff scrub, mixed woodland, oak woodland, and riparian were shared on 2 islands each.

Tags: 2014, channel, island, monitoring, national, park, results, terrestrial, vegetation
Organization: Department of the Interior
SCPN Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Data Package for 2007-2024

Data in this package were collected from 2007-2024 as part of the Southern Colorado Plateau Network's long-term aquatic macroinvertebrate monitoring program. Data and subsequent analyses can be found in Cross References.

Tags: abundance, aquatic-invertebrates, aquatic-macroinvertebrates, community, long-term-monitoring, stream-ecology, streams, taxonomy, vital-sign
Organization: Department of the Interior
SFCN Colonial Nesting Birds Data Package Version 2 - Biscayne National Park (2009-2024)

Breeding colonies of wading birds (orders Ciconiiformes, Pelecaniformes) and seabirds (orders Suliformes, Pelecaniformes) serve as important indicators of aquatic ecosystem health, as they respond to changes in food abundance and quality, contaminants, invasive species, and disturbance. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, Restoration Coordination & Verification program (CERP-RECOVER) has identified wading-bird colonies as an important ecosystem restoration indicator. The National Park Service South Florida/Caribbean Inventory & Monitoring Network (SFCN) ranked colonial nesting birds eighth out of 44 vital signs of park natural resource conditions for ecological significance and feasibility. However, while large-scale monitoring efforts are occurring in the rest of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, only minimal historic data collection and no extensive ongoing monitoring of wading bird and seabird nesting have occurred in Biscayne National Park. Consequently, due to their high importance as
biological indicators and because they are a gap occurring in regional monitoring efforts, the network has initiated a monitoring program of colonial nesting birds in Biscayne National Park

The specific monitoring objectives of this monitoring program are to determine status and long-term trends in:
1) Numbers and locations of active colonies of colonial nesting birds with a special focus on Double-crested Cormorants, Great Egrets, Great White Herons, Great Blue Herons, White Ibises, and Roseate Spoonbills.
2) Annual peak active nest counts of colonial nesting birds in Biscayne National Park with a special focus on the species mentioned above.
3) An annual nesting index (i.e., sum of monthly nest counts) with a special focus on the species mentioned above.
4) Timing of peak nest counts for the focal species.

Tags: birds, biscayne-national-park, cerp, colonial-birds, colonial-nesting-bird-data, colonial-nesting-birds, data-package, national-park-service, nesting, nesting-birds, south-florida, south-florida-caribbean-network, wading-birds
Organization: Department of the Interior
Field data for the Vegetation Mapping Inventory Project of Zion National Park - Open Format Data Package

These data were converted from the originally delivered Microsoft Access PLOTs database from the Vegetation Mapping Inventory Project of Zion National Park.  These comma-delimited data tables contain(s) vegetation mapping plot classification and accuracy assessment data, as well as summary information about the data itself. If a table is empty, then it was empty in the original database.

Tags: accuracy-assessment, botanical-survey, classification, database, habitat-types, imagery, national-vegetation-classification, nvc, nvcs, plots, releve, remote-sensing, usnvcs, vegetation, vegetation-inventory, vegetation-map, vegetation-mapping, zion, zion-national-park
Organization: Department of the Interior
Great Lakes Network 2006-2024 Large Rivers Water Quality Monitoring Data as of 2025-03-15

This data package was created 2025-03-15 17:41:53 by NPSTORET and includes selected project, location, and result data.

Data contained in Great Lakes Network NPSTORET back-end file (GLKNRVWQ_BE_20250303.ACCDB) were filtered to include:

Station:
- Include Trip QC And All Station Visit Results
Value Status:
- Accepted or Certified (exported as Final) or Final

The data package is organized into five data tables:
- Projects.csv - describes the purpose and background of the monitoring efforts
- Locations.csv - documents the attributes of the monitoring locations/stations
- Results.csv - contains the field measurements, observations, and/or lab analyses for each sample/event/data grouping
- HUC.csv - enumerates the domain of allowed values for 8-digit and 12-digit hydrologic unit codes utilized by the Locations data table
- Characteristics.csv - enumerates the domain of characteristics available in NPSTORET to identify what was sampled, measured or observed in Results

Period of record for filtered data is 2006-04-11 to 2024-10-30.  This data package is a snapshot in time of one National Park Service project. The most current data for this project, which may be more or less extensive than that in this data package, can be found on the Water Quality Portal at:

https://www.waterqualitydata.us/data/Result/search?project=GLKNRVWQ&mimeType=csv&zip=yes&dataProfile=biological&providers=STORET

Tags: air-temperature, alkalinity, ammonium, biological-substances, calcium, carbon, chloride, chlorophyll-a, depth, dissolved-oxygen, elements-and-compounds, magnesium, nitrogen, nitrogen-compounds, npstoret, ph, phosphorus, physical-properties, potassium, river-water-quality-monitor, secchi-depth, sodium, specific-conductivity, streamflow, sulfate, suspended-solids, turbidity, water-level, water-properties, water-quality, water-temperature, wave-height, weather, wind, wind-direction
Organization: Department of the Interior
Field data for the Vegetation Mapping Inventory Project of Wupatki National Monument - Open Format Data Package

These data were converted from the originally delivered Microsoft Access PLOTs database from the Vegetation Mapping Inventory Project of Wupatki National Monument.  These comma-delimited data tables contain(s) vegetation mapping plot classification and accuracy assessment data, as well as summary information about the data itself. If a table is empty, then it was empty in the original database.

Tags: accuracy-assessment, botanical-survey, classification, database, habitat-types, imagery, national-vegetation-classification, nvc, nvcs, plots, releve, remote-sensing, usnvcs, vegetation, vegetation-inventory, vegetation-map, vegetation-mapping, wupa, wupatki-national-monument
Organization: Department of the Interior
Summary Data from Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Interagency Whitebark Pine Long Term Monitoring Program

This summary data set in Microsoft Excel format is from the master relational database for whitebark pine pine tree monitoring starting in 2004 at permanent, long term monitoring plots on federally administered lands throughout the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Tags: ecological-framework-biological-integrity-infestations-and-disease-plant-diseases, pinus-albicaulis, scrub-pine, white-pine, whitebark-pine
Organization: Department of the Interior
2022 E. coli results from surface water collections within horse concession zones of the Cades Cove Riding Stables, Abrams Creek, TN, Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

These data represent ten (10) weeks of monitoring E. coli levels in Abrams Creek upstream and downstream of the Cades Cove Riding Stables in Cades Cove, TN, GRSM. Water samples from Abrams Creek were later taken to Twin Creeks Science Center, Gatlinburg, TN, GRSM, where nutrient packs were added to the samples, which were then aliquoted into sealed trays and placed in an incubator for 24-hours. After the 24-hour incubation period, trays were removed and placed under a blacklight hood to determine the number of aliquoted wells that fluoresced from bacterial growth. From these observations, E.coli numbers were recorded and later quantified using the IDEXX Water MPN Generator V 1.4.4.

Tags: cades-cove-horses, e-coli-counts, horse-concessions, manure-runoff, riding-stables
Organization: Department of the Interior
GLKN Vegetation Monitoring: Certified Data 2007-2022

The spreadsheet contains certified data extracted from the GLKN Vegetation Monitoring database for the years 2007-2022. The data included is for trees, groundlayer, shrubs, browse, coarse woody materials, forest canopy, and earthworms. The GLKN Vegetation Monitoring Database is designed to hold field data and to disseminate certified data in a variety of ways.

Tags: certified-data, ecological-framework-biological-integrity-focal-species-or-communities-forest-woodland-communit, ecological-framework-biological-integrity-focal-species-or-communities-vegetation-complex, monitoring, natural-resource-management, plants, vegetation
Organization: Department of the Interior
ARCN Lagoons Discrete Water Quality Data, 2003-2024 (Ver. 2025-04-15)

This dataset consists of a snapshot in time of the discrete water quality data collected in the coastal lagoons of northwestern Alaska. 

This data release consists of one file, 2025-04-15 ARCN Lagoons Discrete Water Quality Data.csv, containing discrete water quality data from 2003-2024 for the coastal lagoons of Alaska. Data collection is intended to be ongoing. Cumulative updates to this dataset will be added as results are extended. 

Methods are described in the monitoring protocol:

Jones T, Apsens S, Miller S, Robards M. 2018. Coastal lagoons vital signs monitoring protocol for the Arctic Network: Volume 1, report narrative, version 1.0. Natural Resource Report. NPS/ARCN/NRR—2018/1824. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2257596

and standard operating procedures:

Jones T. 2017. Coastal Lagoon Vital Signs Monitoring Protocol for the Arctic Network: Standard Operating Procedures Version 1.0. National Park Service https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2310242

Tags: anigaaq, atilagauraq, atiligauraq, aukulak, bering-land-bridge, cape-krusenstern, chemistry, coastal, espenberg, ikpek, imik, kotlik, krusenstern, kupik, lagoon, quality, sisualik, tasaychek, water
Organization: Department of the Interior
Field data for the Vegetation Mapping Inventory Project of Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway - Open Format Data Package

These data were converted from the originally delivered Microsoft Access PLOTs database from the Vegetation Mapping Inventory Project of Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway.  These comma-delimited data tables contain(s) vegetation mapping plot classification and accuracy assessment data, as well as summary information about the data itself. If a table is empty, then it was empty in the original database.

Tags: accuracy-assessment, botanical-survey, classification, database, habitat-types, imagery, national-vegetation-classification, nvc, nvcs, plots, releve, remote-sensing, sacn, saint-croix-national-scenic-river, usnvcs, vegetation, vegetation-inventory, vegetation-map, vegetation-mapping
Organization: Department of the Interior
Breeding Bird Inventory at Petroglyph National Monument 2022 - Open Format Dataset

Data Set created during the Breeding Bird Inventory at Petroglyph National Monument that includes events conducted and species occurrences obtained. Please refer to the project for more information found here: https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2302577. We used (1) point-count surveys to inventory breeding birds across the full extent of the monument and (2) area searches to understand if proposed escarpment trail-crossing locations would affect nesting habitat. We conducted 196 point-count surveys and 15 area searches, detecting 57 species in over 1200 detections; using these data, we estimated breeding densities for nine species. We found distinct bird communities in grassland, shrubland, and rocky escarpment habitat, and at least 27 species of open-habitat and pinyon-juniper passage migrants. However, suburban expansion showed pronounced effects on bird spatial distributions: non-native and generalist species were most common near the suburban boundary, while grassland-specialist species showed an aversion to non-grassland edges. We found no evidence of raptor breeding behavior during area searches, likely because the nearby riparian corridor provides superior nesting habitat, and many areas of the escarpment are subject to high human disturbance. The proposed trail network will likely reduce the negative impacts of social trails on breeding birds and is unlikely to significantly affect raptor and songbird nesting habitat on the escarpment.

Tags: arid-grassland, avian, biology, bird, breeding, habitat, imd, inventory, national-park-service, new-mexico, nps, nps-inventory-and-monitoring-division, nps-species-inventory-program, petr, petroglyph-national-monument, raptor, rocky-escarpment, social-trails
Organization: Department of the Interior