AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Average percentage vegetation cover from vegetation monitoring in Klamath Network parks, 2011-2019

Average percentage vegetation cover (± standard error) for each height strata by park and sample frame for each sample event. Summary statistics are shown for all parks and all sample events. CRLA = Crater Lake National Park, LABE = Lava Beds National Monument, LAVO = Lassen Volcanic National Park, ORCA = Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve, REDW = Redwood National and State Parks, and WHIS = Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.

Tags: height-strata, monitoring, percentage-cover, vegetation
Organization: Department of the Interior
Coastal Topography Monitoring Data for Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS) through 2020

These files contain topographic profiles collected at ASIS through the 2020 field season

Tags: application-inventory-registry, beach, coastal-topography, dune, geomorphologic, im, inventory-monitoring, ncbn, northeast-coastal-and-barrier-network, shoreline, vital-sign
Organization: Department of the Interior
Field data for the Vegetation Mapping Inventory Project of Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site - Open Format Data Package

These data were converted from the originally delivered Microsoft Access PLOTs database from the Vegetation Mapping Inventory Project of Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site.  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, allegheny-portage-railroad-national-historic-site, alpo, botanical-survey, classification, database, habitat-types, imagery, national-vegetation-classification, nvc, nvcs, plots, releve, remote-sensing, usnvcs, vegetation, vegetation-inventory, vegetation-map, vegetation-mapping
Organization: Department of the Interior
Lichens, Mosses and Liverworts of Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve

an extracted  Monument-level list from Martin Hutten's personal database. Provided to CRMO with NPSpecies in mind

Tags: arthonia-glebosa, dermatocarpon-rivulorum, dot-lichen, ecological-framework-biological-integrity-focal-species-or-communities-desert-communities, ecological-framework-biological-integrity-focal-species-or-communities-shrubland-communities, ecological-framework-biological-integrity-focal-species-or-communities-sparsely-vegetated-commu, fungi, hutten, lichen, liverwort, marchantia-polymorpha, moss, non-vascular-plant, riccia-cavernosa, silverskin-lichen
Organization: Department of the Interior
White Tailed Deer Inventory at Vicksburg National Military Park 2023 - Open Format Dataset

White-tailed deer (WTD) can exert substantial impacts on the ecosystems in the Southeastern United States. WTD populations in Vicksburg National Military Park (VICK) have not been surveyed since 2010. This study aimed to develop a cost-effective visual count-density conversion method using WTD counts from spotlight surveys and density estimates from fecal-DNA spatially explicit capture-recapture (SECR) models. We conducted spotlight surveys of WTD in January, March, and May, 2023. Average visual counts of WTD were 96.0 in January, March, and May. Direct visual deer counts were greater than those of the 2009 VICK WTD spotlight surveys by 40%-220%. Average WTD relative abundances were 8.5 deer per mile in January, March, and May, respectively. Average density estimated by distance sampling models was 0.65 deer per ha. We used eight microsatellite markers to genotype WTD fecal samples, fecal DNA spatially explicit capture-recapture models estimated 778 WTD within VICK. The WTD densities were positively related to the proportions of forests and open fields in VICK. White-tailed deer appeared to be overabundant within VICK, causing concerns relative to WTD-human conflicts and exacerbating the risk of wildlife disease transmission. We proposed a method for estimating WTD densities with visual counts, which will allow park staff to convert WTD visual counts from spotlight surveys to WTD densities until substantial changes in VICK’s vegetation and/or habitat management occur. The timely, cost-effective monitoring of WTD populations can help park staff better manage natural resources within VICK, including the mitigation of the damages caused by overabundant WTD to natural resources.

Tags: darwin-core-archive-dwc-a, data-package-type, deer-density-estimation, distance-sampling, edna, imd, national-park-service, nps, nps-inventory-and-monitoring-division, nps-species-inventory-program, open-format, spatial-distribution, spatially-explicit-capture-recapture-models, spotlight-survey, vick, vicksburg-national-military-park, white-tailed-deer
Organization: Department of the Interior
Plant Species Data from Wetland Monitoring at Cuyahoga Valley National Park, 2008-2025 - Data Package

Cuyahoga Valley National Park includes nearly 2,000 wetlands within its legislative boundary that feed, filter, and protect an extensive network of headwater streams as well as our namesake, the Cuyahoga River. They also provide important habitats and other ecological services within the park. Because of their sensitivity to surrounding land use, we monitor wetlands as part of the National Park Service’s vital signs monitoring program.

These datasets address one of our protocol objectives: To identify temporal changes in wetland condition at CUVA, using intensive methods (i.e., the Vegetation Index of Biotic Integrity (Mack and Gara 2015)). Intensive methods such as the VIBI are sensitive enough to detect change over time more quickly than rapid methods, but the survey is labor intensive so less wetlands are sampled. The intensively assessed wetlands included randomly selected “survey sites” and intentionally selected “sentinel sites”. Sentinel sites are further broken down into “reference” sites and “wetlands of management concern” sites. This information can be found in the locations table (`SurveyType`). Most wetlands of management concern have multiple VIBI plots because they are large wetland complexes and we surveyed several unique dominant plant community / hydrogeomorphic class combinations.

Permanent corner stakes are deployed and survey tapes are stretched within these boundaries carefully to minimize intra-observer error, however taxonomic skill grew over time, resulting in some minor ID error across survey years.

Tags: beaver-marsh, brookside, cuva, fawn-pond, htln, kendall-lake, monitoring, ohio, plants, pleasant-valley, rockside, sentinel, stumpy-basin, survey, vegetation, vibi, wetlands
Organization: Department of the Interior
Sea otter distribution aerial survey, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska

Sea otters may be expanding their range along the Lack Clark National Park and Preserve (LACL) coast. Because of the unique history of sea otter extirpation and impending reoccupation, and the presence of razor clams and bears, the LACL coast provides a unique opportunity to begin to study the cascading effects of sea otter reoccupation on the coastal habitat. These surveys provide a baseline of sea otter distribution along the LACL coast. As such, these data streams should be considered for re-sampling in the future as conditions change. Establishment of this baseline will improve park management abilities to assign causes of observed change.

Tags: aerial-survey, common-porpoise, ecological-framework-biological-integrity-focal-species-or-communities-intertidal-communities, enhydra-lutris, harbor-porpoise, lake-clark-national-park-and-preserve, phocoena-phocoena, sea-otter
Organization: Department of the Interior
1994-1996 Dall Sheep Exclosures Dataset: Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve

Little documentation exists for habitat use by Dall’s sheep, or the role sheep play in the disturbance and/or maintenance of sensitive vegetation associations within Yukon-Charley Rivers NP.  To expand the knowledge base for Dall’s sheep habitat attributes, resource management personnel from Yukon-Charley Rivers NP installed 5 grazing exclosures at 4 locations within the upper Charley River basin to document sheep impacts on arctic steppe (alpine tundra) plant communities.  The exclosures were installed in 1994 and exclosure(s) were sampled in 1994, 1995, and 1996.  Exclosure and control plots were sampled at each site using ocular estimation of percent cover for individual plant species.   The purpose of this report was to compile existing data, methodology, and information about these grazing exclosures and make recommendations for future monitoring priorities and schedules.  Monitoring of plots at grazing exclosures should continue, but annual visits are not required.  Monitoring of the Dewey Bluff exclosure is of low priority due to minimal use by Dall’s sheep.

Tags: alaska, exclosure, ovis-dalli, sheep, vegetation
Organization: Department of the Interior
Field data for the Vegetation Mapping Inventory Project of Agate Fossil Beds 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 Agate Fossil Beds 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, agate-fossil-beds-national-monument, agfo, botanical-survey, classification, database, habitat-types, imagery, national-vegetation-classification, nvc, nvcs, plots, releve, remote-sensing, usnvcs, vegetation, vegetation-inventory, vegetation-map, vegetation-mapping
Organization: Department of the Interior
Field data for the Vegetation Mapping Inventory Project of Acadia 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 Acadia 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: acad, acadia-national-park, 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
Organization: Department of the Interior
Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway Invertebrate Data Package by the Great Lakes Inventory and Monitoring Network

Benthic macroinvertebrates have long been used as an indicator of water quality impairment in streams and rivers. Indices of Biotic Integrity (IBI) calculated from macroinvertebrate diversity and abundance data can be used to assess if stream ecosystems are being subjected to stressors, such as pollution, low dissolved oxygen, high temperatures, excessive sedimentation, or changes in flow. Beginning in 2016, the Great Lakes Inventory and Monitoring Network (GLKN) and  park staff have been monitoring macroinvertebrates annually at up to ten sites on the St. Croix and Namekagon rivers within the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway (SACN).  In this effort, Hester-Dendy artificial substrate samplers are deployed in July, colonized by macroinvertebrates over a six-week period, and are then retrieved. Samples are cleaned of debris and macroinvertebrates, then preserved and sent to the laboratory. At the laboratory, samples are enumerated and identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level. This dataset contains all GLKN large river macroinvertebrate data collected to date at SACN. At time of publication, all known relevant parameters needed to assess abundance and diversity of macroinvertebrates and calculate relevant IBIs at mainstem Namekagon and St. Croix River sites within SACN are included in the dataset.

Tags: aquatic-ecosystems, benthos, community, composition, ecology, epifauna, freshwater, glkn, great-lakes-inventory-and-monitoring-network, insects, larvae, long-term-monitoring, macroinvertebrates, namekagon-river, river, sacn, saint-croix-national-scenic-riverway, st-croix-river, stream-ecology
Organization: Department of the Interior
Coastal Topography Monitoring Data for Cape Cod National Seashore (CACO) through 2025

These files contain topographic profiles collected at CACO between Spring 2024 and Spring 2025

Tags: application-inventory-registry, beach, coastal-topography, dune, ecological-framework-geology-and-soils-geomorphology-coastal-oceanographic-features-and-process, geomorphologic, im, inventory-monitoring, ncbn, northeast-coastal-and-barrier-network, shoreline, vital-sign
Organization: Department of the Interior
North Carolina’s Candid Critters: A Statewide Camera Trap Survey in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Summary of proposed field methods and activities:
Methodology
This project will engage citizen scientist to run camera traps, code images, and upload data that can be used to address our research objectives. This section describes our study design and analysis plan for the three wildlife objectives, training and recruitment of volunteers, and data management. 

Fawn/Doe Ratios
Our survey design will involve working with citizen scientists at 2-3 counties per deer management unit to set camera traps at 70-100 sites per county during the ~1 month period when 90% of fawns are at least 14-18 weeks old. Each camera will be set for 2 weeks and then moved to a new site for the second 2-week period. Cameras will be attached to trees at roughly knee height. Fawning dates and harvest seasons vary across the state; therefore, the exact survey timing will vary by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission Biological Deer Management Unit (BDMU) a given county falls into. 
Camera sites within each county will be stratified between 3 major habitat types (forest, open, developed) in the proportions that those habitat types make up the county to ensure that the estimate is representative of the county as a whole. Open sites (e.g. agriculture fields) will be sampled along their edge due to the logistics of setting cameras on trees. If trees, posts, or any acceptable structures are available in open areas, we will opportunistically set cameras on them instead of on the edges.

Occupancy of coyotes and other species
Cameras from all seasons will be used to quantify the distribution and estimate county-wide occupancy rates that can be compared across the state using occupancy models. Our survey design will target setting 28 cameras in each county in three biological season (Spring (Mar-May), Summer (Jun, July, Aug), Winter (Dec, Jan, Feb)). Camera sites will be stratified equally within different habitat types and spaced a minimum of 200m apart. Cameras will be affixed to trees at roughly knee height and run for 3-4 weeks at a site and then moved to a new site. Cameras sites will be chosen randomly within each stratification level, to the extent possible with volunteers.

We will not collect any specimens. We try not to modify any of the vegetation at a camera site, but occasionally need to trim some greenery away from the 2m area immediately in front of a camera with garden sheers to give it an unobstructed view.

Tags: aphn, appalachian-highlands-network, great-smoky-mountains-national-park, grsm, origin-external, ser, southeast-region, status-inactive, studyid-grsm-02007
Organization: Department of the Interior
A Dataset of Amphibian Species in U.S. National Parks, Version 1.4

National parks and other protected areas are important for preserving landscapes and biodiversity worldwide. An essential component of the mission of the United States (U.S.) National Park Service (NPS) requires understanding and maintaining accurate inventories of species on protected lands. We describe a new, national-scale synthesis of amphibian species occurrence in the NPS system. Many park units have a list of amphibian species observed within their borders compiled from various sources and available publicly through the NPSpecies platform. However, many of the observations in NPSpecies remain unverified and the lists are often outdated. We updated the amphibian dataset for each park unit by collating old and new park-level records and had them verified by regional experts. The original version of this dataset contained occurrence records for 292 of the 424 NPS units and includes updated taxonomy, international and state conservation rankings, hyperlinks to a supporting reference for each record, specific notes, and related fields which can be used to better understand and manage amphibian biodiversity within a single park or group of parks. This version of the dataset (Version 1.4) now contains amphibian occurrence records for 336 of the 431 NPS units as of publication in 2024.

Tags: amphibians, checklist, data-validation, national-park-service, nps, occurrence, records, species
Organization: Department of the Interior
Herpetofauna Inventory at Biscayne National Park in 2002-2003 - Data Package

An inventory of amphibian species in Biscayne National Park (BISC) was conducted during 2002 and 2003. The goals of the project were to create a georeferenced inventory of amphibian species, use new analytical techniques to estimate proportion of sites occupied by each species, look for evidence of known stressors or problems that may lead to amphibian population decline (invasive species, disease, die-offs, and so forth), and to establish a baseline and methodology that could be used for future monitoring efforts. Visual encounter surveys and anuran vocalization surveys were the primary means of sampling, but opportunistic collections and nighttime road surveys were also used to augment the visual encounter methods for more rare or cryptic species.

Tags: amphibians, anurans, bisc, biscayne, ecological-framework-biological-integrity-focal-species-or-communities-amphibians-and-reptiles, florida, frogs, herpetofauna, herps, inventory, lizards, reptiles, snakes
Organization: Department of the Interior
National Capital Region Network Amphibian Monitoring Data Package - cumulative through 2024

This is the amphibian monitoring dataset collected by the National Capital Region Network (NCRN) Inventory and Monitoring Program through 2024.

Tags: amphibian, amphibian-monitoring, anura, desmognathus, eurycea, freshwater, frog, gyrinophilus, herpetology, im, imd, inventory-and-monitoring-division, monitoring, national-capital-area, national-capital-region, national-capital-region-network, national-park-service, nca, ncr, ncrn, ncrn-amphibian-data, nps, plethodon, pseudotriton, salamander, stream, vernal-pool, water
Organization: Department of the Interior
Coastal Topography Monitoring Data for Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS) through 2025

These files contain topographic profiles collected at ASIS through the Spring 2025 field season

Tags: application-inventory-registry, beach, coastal-topography, dune, ecological-framework-geology-and-soils-geomorphology-coastal-oceanographic-features-and-process, geomorphologic, im, inventory-monitoring, ncbn, northeast-coastal-and-barrier-network, shoreline, vital-sign
Organization: Department of the Interior
Klamath Lakes Monitoring Data Package 2013-2019

This dataset contains monitoring data for lakes and pond at Crater Lake NP, Lassen Volcanic NP, and Redwood NSP. Ponds and lakes are integral components of the Klamath Network landscape. Healthy water bodies are rich in biodiversity and support many ecosystem functions, but lakes and ponds are complex ecosystems that are influenced by a range of local as well as regional environmental conditions. Therefore, lakes can be useful indicators of impacts from disturbances across the landscape, for example nearby impacts, such as visitor use and distant impacts, such as agricultural activities and wildfires. Since 2013, the Klamath Inventory and Monitoring Network has been conducting monitoring of lakes and ponds in three parks. The protocol combines monitoring water quality characteristics of the lakes, such as the chemical and physical conditions, with monitoring the aquatic communities that the lake supports, such as the fish, plants, and macro invertebrates.

Objectives are to:
Determine the status and trends of ecological conditions in Klamath Network mountain ponds and lakes
Assist parks with “impaired quality waters,” also known as “303d” lists as defined by the Clean Water Act
Assist parks with monitoring of “Outstanding National Resource Waters” or Tier 3 waters as defined by the Clean Water Act
We measure/collect:
Physical environment including substrate composition and percentage, depth, area, water clarity, shoreline complexity, and water level.
Water quality parameters including dissolved oxygen, temperature, specific conductivity, turbidity, and pH.
Water anions, cations, dissolved organic carbon, and nutrients.
Algal biomass.
Littoral zone benthic macroinvertebrates.
Visual Encounter Surveys for amphibians.
Fish populations.
Photographs to provide visual comparisons over time.

Tags: ecological-data, ecological-monitoring, lakes, lakes-monitoring, long-term-monitoring, national-parks, water-quality
Organization: Department of the Interior
Southeast Utah Group Long-term Vegetation Monitoring Data, Utah, USA: 1998 - 2022

The Southeast Utah Group of National Parks (Arches and Canyonlands National Parks and Hovenweep and Natural Bridges National Monuments) established a long-term upland vegetation monitoring program in 1983. The data in this data package are from 1998 through 2022. Data collected prior to 1998 are not available at this time. From 1983 through 2010 all plots were sampled annually. Starting in 2011, a seven-year rotating panel was initiated as natural resource objectives changed. Currently, sampling is conducted two years in a row and then a plot is rested for five years. A priori site selection based on professional opinion was used to select sampling plots. A stratified sampling frame was not used to select plot locations. Most sampling plots consist of two transects of 50 0.5mx0.5m Daubenmire quadrats (100 quadrats per plot), although the layout of transects can vary. Each quadrat is approximately 2-3 meters apart. The data provided here are plant and ground frequency and cover class estimates from visual observations.

Tags: community-composition, lichens, long-term-ecological-monitoring, plant-community, soil
Organization: Department of the Interior