# Presentation: 057630

## USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Overview

- Karl E. Brown, Vegetation Mapping Program Mgr
- Natural Resource Program Center
- Biological Resources Management Division,
- I&M National Meet: Successful Approaches Feb 8, 2006

## Outline

*** ****** ****Background*
*  **Approach, Process & Products*
*  **Present Program Status*
* **Hybrid Techniques*
* **Available Data / Website *

*USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Overview*

## Outline – Leveraged Efforts

*Biological Inventories Program – Mark Wotawa*
*  **Aquatic Vegetation inclusion; Standards & Map Classes*
*  **FIREPRO*
* **Sister Agency partners DOI*
*Agriculture - Forest Service*

*USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Overview*

## Biological Inventories Program

**NPSpecies Breakout Friday will include Biological Inventories Program and ATBI’s**
**Biological Resource Management Division**
**Loyal Mehrhoff, Chief**
**Mark Wotawa, Program Manager**
**http://www.nature.nps.gov/biology/BiologicalInventories**
**Continues beyond vertebrates and vascular plants**
**All taxa – all parks**
**Presence, absence, distribution, abundance**
**Central Biodiversity Information System**
**NPSpecies, NatureBib, Biodiversity Data Store**
**We need your data**
**Reports, datasets, GIS maps **

*Biological Inventories Program*

## What is it?

-   High priority requirement of the NPS
-       I&M Program
-   National (Service Wide) Program
-   Begins long term vegetation monitoring
-       program
-   Has many short term immediate
-       applications

*Background*

## NPS I&M Program

-   Base Cartographic
-   Soils
-   Geology
**  *****Vegetation***
-   Bibliographies
-   Species lists
-   Air quality
-   Water quality

*Background*

## National Program

- Differs from other
- NPS vegetation mapping projects
- ~270 park units (full park coverage)
- 4423 7.5 minute USGS quadrangles
- National scope
- Participation of multiple agencies
- Consistency in detail and accuracy between parks
- Produces digital products available on WWW
- Coordination at multiple levels

*Background*

## Standards

- NPS management policies, standards & guidelines
- Federal Geographic Data Committee standards
- metadata, transfer, classification etc.
- Nationally consistent, hierarchical, classification scheme
- National Map Accuracy Standards
- Thematic accuracy >80% per class
- Scale of 1:24,000
- Minimum mapping unit of 0.5 hectare

*Background*

## Major Steps for each Park

- Scoping meeting
- Data review
- Data acquisition
- Field sampling
- Classification characterization
- Photo interpretation, mapping and automation
- Accuracy assessment
- Final product review

**Notes:**
These are the basic steps that are required for each park unit
Data review - there are usually a lot of data avalaible for each unit, and it takes time and coordination to bring them together
The field sampling should ideally take place when the photo interpreters are doing their field work, so there can be coordination between what the ecologists classifiy and what the intepreters identify
The accuracy assessment should ideally be done when the mapping is complete so we can design a stratified random sample, but for efficiency’s sake, we often do accuracy assessment at the same time as the original field sampling

## Products from the Program

- Aerial photography/ imagery (hardcopy / digital, some new DOQQs)
- Field data (hardcopy and database)
- Classification report (Description and Key)
- Photo interp report  (Description and Key)
- Accuracy report
- Vegetation map data (digital coverage)
- All appropriate metadata

## FGDC National Vegetation Classification System

**A.  PHYSIOGNOMY**
**Division/Order** - Tree Dominant (dominant life form)
**Class** - Woodland  (spacing & height of dominant form)
**Subclass** - Evergreen Woodland (morphological & phenological similarity)
**Group** - Temperate Evergreen Needle-leaved (climate, latitude, growth form, leaf form)
**Formation **- Evergreen Needle-leaved Woodland with  Rounded Crowns (mappable units)
**  ****B. FLORISTICS**
**Alliance (Cover Type) **- Douglas Fir Woodland  (dominant species)
**Association (Community) **- Douglas Fir / Snowberry Woodland (subdominant or associated species)

**Notes:**
The system is hierarchical which allows it to be used for many different levels  of analysis and study - from National to regional to each Park to each site.

It is also standard - so we do not have to reinvent the wheel for each park, although a lot of development work has to be done for each park.

## Present Status

- Approximately 109 projects in process
- 30 Parks started (1994-2000)
- 29 Park projects started in 2001
- 11 Park projects started 2002-2004
- 2005 completed 11 more parks, continued 73 ongoing projects, and initiated 24 new starts
- 39 Parks completed for web access
- more completed soon; 62 AA stage completed
- 62 FY 05; 80 FY 06; 116 FY 07; 146 FY 08
- Alaska: 6 parks complete in 2003;  3 in 2004; 3 new ongoing in 2005; 4 more completed 2006-7; 3 more starts 2006-08
- USGS partnering on funding, 3 protocols, archiving contract, collaborative fire and fuels datasets, variability analysis and surface model developments

## Status January 2005

*Program Status*

## Maps and Spatial Data

*Process & Products*

## Accuracy Assessment

- Assessment of class accuracy across the park:

*Process & Products*

## Metadata

*Process & Products*

## Reports

*Process & Products*

## Data Availability

- All products are made available via a public internet website:
- http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg/

*Process & Products*

## Gunnison Gorge NCA

*Gunnison Gorge NCA*

*Program Status*

## USGS-USFWS Vegetation Mapping Projects

*Program Status*

**Notes:**
We are just getting started with FWS.  We are working with Region 6 out of Denver to start 2 refuges – Ouray and Lacreek.  There are close to 150 refuges in Region 6 and over 500 refuges nationwide covering  92 million acres of land and water.
Region 6 is taking the lead for the Agency on this effort – we have really not had national support to date, but I think with the completion of these two projects will really show the agency the value of these products – consistent, useful for practical on-the-ground management, yet scientifically sound.

## Relationship of the Veg Mapping Program with FIREPRO efforts

- Fire Fuels Mapping
- Similar but not the same (ht to live crown, dead and down)
- Fire Effects Monitoring
- Similar but not the same (sampling techniques)

## New Models and FIREPRO efforts

-   Relationship with FIREPRO
-   Multiple park unit projects
-   Initiate and manage locally
-   “Regional/Network” field teams
-   Field based proposals
-   “New/other” technologies

*Program Status*

## New Models

-  “New/other” technologies
- High Resolution Remote Sensing
- eCognition segmentation
- Laser Rangefinder Remote GPS positioning
-  Sister Bureau hybrid techniques
- FWS Lower cost Veg Map “Light”
- Savings from reduced field collection

*New Models*

## Multiresolution Segmentation

- Levels can be used to compare results of segmentation based on different scale parameters and homogeneity criterion.
- Layers can be weighted. Weights determine to which degree the information is used during the process of object generation.

*Hybrid Techniques*

## Image Object information

- Identify
- Shape
- Add new items from the Feature View
- Number of Objects
- Average object Size
- Input Mode Options

*Hybrid Techniques*

## Create Polygons

- Polygons will be generated for the highlighted levels
- Show Polygons

*Hybrid Techniques*

## eCognition Contacts

- Definiens Imaging- eCognition
- _[http://www.definiens-imaging.com](http://www.definiens-imaging.com/)_
- Erin Stockenberg
- _[erin_stockenberg@fws.gov](mailto:erin_stockenberg@fws.gov)_
- Beverly Friesen
- _[bafriesen@usgs.gov](mailto:bafriesen@usgs.gov)_

*Hybrid Techniques*

##  Hybrid techniques – summary of current efforts

- Mixed imagery and Sister Bureau eCog segmentation and skeleton polygon sampling (GRSA)
- PI / eCog linework and model verification (MEVE) / ground reference; add attributes (field & automation savings)
- Classical accuracy assessment (AA) or small park protocol (census of MMU @ GRKO, LIBI, KNRI, FOUN)
- Verify eCog gradient test against completed AA (ROMO)
- Machine classification and PI field sample verification (LAVO)

*Hybrid Techniques*

##  National Park / Environs – data successes

* **National Park / Environs – data successes*

- Consider areas of interest for small park protocol
- Evaluate sparse vegetation protocol need and sample sizes
- Fire and fuels protocols may integrate fuels stratification in sample design
- Develop fuel model polygons from NVCS vegetation polygons / photos
- Other fire and monitoring program data needs...

*Summary & Partnerships 1*

##  NPS / Environs – fire data summary

* **NPS / Environs – fire data summary*

- Park Fire Management team field verify / photo reference fuel model types
- Evaluate Landfire data potential
- How map classes improve Landfire and other models
- Research partnering for a hybrid approach, as needed
- Fire fuel classes / types
- Fuel loadings (1/10/100 hr...)
- Fire Regime Condition Class
- Landfire update as appropriate and as supported by partnership

*Summary & Partnerships 2*

## Summary of Efforts in 2006

- Fund ongoing projects in 25+ networks
- Provide technical support and planning assistance to parks, networks, and regions
- Prioritize candidate projects with VMP team
- Facilitate new starts based on funding in 12-18 networks using hybrid innovations
- Action plan for creation / migration of NPS data, and USGS-NPS archiving
- Develop a VMP advisory group process, and serve planning templates on the web

## More Information

- Visit the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Website: _[http://](http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg)__[biology.usgs.gov/npsveg](http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg)_

- Chris Lea
- NPS I&M (Ecologist)
- (303) 969-2807
- chris_lea@nps.gov

- Karl Brown, Ph.D.
- NPS I&M (Program Lead)
- (970) 225-3591
- karl_brown@nps.gov

*Contact Information*

- Mike Mulligan
- USGS (Program Lead)
- (303) 202-4242
- mike_mulligan@usgs.gov

- Theresa Singh
- USGS (VMP Website)
- (303) 202-4227
- theresa_singh@usgs.gov

## Thanks

**	****Karl Brown, Ph.D.**
**NPS I&M (Program Lead)**
**(970) 225-3591**
- _[karl_brown@nps.gov](mailto:karl_brown@nps.gov)_
**Chris Lea**
**NPS I&M (Ecologist)**
**(303) 969-2807**
- _[chris_lea@nps.gov](mailto:chris_lea@nps.gov)_