Identification_Information:
  Citation:
    Citation_Information:
      Originator: U.S. Geological Survey, National Wetlands Research Center
      Publication_Date: 2001
      Title:
        Interactive effects of climate change and fire on bird
        communities: GIS measurements
      Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Digital tabular data
  Description:
    Abstract:
      This data set contains GIS measurements that were made from a 60m
      resolution landcover map of Big Bend National Park and the Trans-Pecos
      region of Texas. The map was created with LandSat TM5 data and was
      classified according to the five plant communities: grassland,
      shrubland, yucca-ocotillo shrub, riparain and montane forest.
      FRAGSTATS was used to measure 6 landscape variables for each of the 70
      2-km radius sampling circles in Big Bend National Park. These
      variables included the percent cover of: grassland, shrubland,
      yucca-ocotillo shrub, riparian vegetation, montane forests and roads.
      Leaf area index measurements were also collected from 45 sites in the
      park to produce a leaf area index map for the study area. Leaf area
      index measurements are included in the data set as the mean leaf area
      index per site and as the average coefficient of variation of leaf
      area index per site.
    Purpose:
      To asses the interactive effects of climate change and fire on the
      capacity of the Trans-Pecos Region to support bird communities.
  Time_Period_of_Content:
    Time_Period_Information:
      Multiple_Dates/Times:
        Single_Date/Time:
          Calendar_Date: 19990314
        Single_Date/Time:
          Calendar_Date: 19990323
    Currentness_Reference: Publication date
  Status:
    Progress: Complete
    Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None planned
  Spatial_Domain:
    Description_of_Geographic_Extent: Big Bend National Park and Trans-Pecos region of Texas.
    Bounding_Coordinates:
      West_Bounding_Coordinate: -105.1
      East_Bounding_Coordinate: 102.16
      North_Bounding_Coordinate: 31.5
      South_Bounding_Coordinate: 28.52
  Keywords:
    Theme:
      Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
      Theme_Keyword: climate change
      Theme_Keyword: fire
      Theme_Keyword: landcover
      Theme_Keyword: landscape
      Theme_Keyword: leaf area index
      Theme_Keyword: percent cover
      Theme_Keyword: GIS
      Theme_Keyword: geographic information systems
    Place:
      Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
      Place_Keyword: Big Bend National Park
      Place_Keyword: Trans-Pecos
      Place_Keyword: Texas
      Place_Keyword: West Texas
      Place_Keyword: Chihuahuan Desert
    Temporal:
      Temporal_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
      Temporal_Keyword: late winter
  Access_Constraints:
    This data will be available for public use after it has been published in
    peer-reviewed, scientific outlets.
  Use_Constraints:
    Acknowledgement of the National Wetlands Research Center as a data source
    would be appreciated in products developed from these data. Users should
    be aware of that comparisons with other data sets for the same area from
    other time periods may be inaccurate due to differences in data collection
    procedures
  Point_of_Contact:
    Contact_Information:
      Contact_Organization_Primary:
        Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey, National Wetlands Research Center
        Contact_Person: Wylie C. Barrow, Jr.
      Contact_Position: Wildlife Biologist
      Contact_Address:
        Address_Type: Mailing and Physical
        Address: 700 Cajundome Blvd
        City: Lafayette
        State_or_Province: LA
        Postal_Code: 70506
      Contact_Voice_Telephone: 337 266-8668
      Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 337 266-8592
      Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: wylie_barrow@usgs.gov
  Native_Data_Set_Environment: MS Excel 97, FRAGSTATS
  Cross_Reference:
    Citation_Information:
      Originator: U.S. Geological Survey, National Wetlands Research Center
      Publication_Date: 2001
      Title:
        Interactive effects of climate change and fire on bird communities
        - Point count data
      Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Digital database
  Cross_Reference:
    Citation_Information:
      Originator: U.S. Geological Survey, National Wetlands Research Center
      Publication_Date: 2001
      Title:
        Interactive effects of climate change and fire on bird communities
        - landcover map
      Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: digital raster data
  Analytical_Tool:
    Analytical_Tool_Description:
      The LAI-2000 calculates Lead Area Index (LAI) and other canopy
      structure attributes from radiation measurements made from a fish-eye
      optical sensor.
    Tool_Access_Information:
      Tool_Access_Instructions: See website for instructions
      Online_Linkage: http://www.eurosep.com/Dep_biolog/bvam61.htm
    Tool_Contact:
      Contact_Information:
        Contact_Organization_Primary:
          Contact_Organization: Eurosep Instruments
        Contact_Address:
          Address_Type: Mailing and Physical
          Address: 47 avenue den Genottes, BP 8233 Cergy St. Christophe
          City: F-95801 Pontoise Cedex
          Country: France
        Contact_Voice_Telephone: 33 01 34 22 95 22
        Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 33 01 34 22 95 32

Data_Quality_Information:
  Attribute_Accuracy:
    Attribute_Accuracy_Report: All data entry was doubled checked for potential errors.
  Logical_Consistency_Report:
    FRAGSTATS was used to measure 6 of 8 landscape variables. The grid size
    for the files was set to 60 based on the 60m resolution of the map. The
    background values were set to -9999, ArcView's no data value. The maximum
    number of patch types was set to 6. Data was transferred from FRAGSTATS to
    Excel. The data transfer was checked for errors. Leaf area index was
    measured by following standard procedures.
  Completeness_Report: There are no known ommissions in the dataset.
  Lineage:
    Methodology:
      Methodology_Type: Field
      Methodology_Description:
        In this study, LAI was measured with the LAI-2000 at 45 locations
        in the Big Bend National Park. In March, 2000, 30 of the 45 sites
        were measured. At each site, two 30-m transects were established
        in north-south and east-west directions with the midpoint of each
        transect on the site marker. The LAI-2000 was set to measure an
        initial above canopy reading, measured at the beginning of each
        transect (either south or west), followed by 8 measurements along
        the transect collected approximately every 1.8m towards plot
        center. A second above canopy reading was collected at plot
        center, followed by 8 readings for the remainder of the transect.
        The same process was repeated for the second transect. As a
        result, two files were produced per plot from which the transect
        average LAI was created. All measurements were taken with the 45
        degree cap of the LAI-2000 optic to reduce the effect of close
        plant materials on the measured LAI value. All data was downloaded
        to a PC at the end of the day and inspected for overall quality.
        Above canopy readings were especially scrutinized (as they provide
        the reference radiance value from which LAI is derived). The two
        above canopy readings collected from each transect were compared
        visually for anomalies. No anomalies were found in all the data
        collected. The LAI-2000 data was post-processed using software
        provided by the LAI-2000 vendor. This software is used to correct
        field calculated LAI values, especially, where gaps occur in the
        canopy. The software forces calculation of an LAI for each
        transect when an individual point measurement transmittance is
        equal to 1.0. This is necessary as the desert canopies are widely
        distributed with many gaps. The functional LAI, as detected by
        satellite, includes these gaps, therefore, they must be included
        for comparison. Transect average LAI values were derived for both
        north and east transects and imported into a MS Excel spreadsheet.
        A plot average LAI was then calculated by multiplying the LAI
        values by 1.6, a factor that accounts for self-shading in the
        LAI-2000 data.
    Process_Step:
      Process_Description:
        Measurements were made from a 60m resolution landcover map of Big
        Bend National Park and the adjacent Trans-Pecos region. The map
        was created from LandSat TM5 data and was classified into five
        vegetation classes: grassland, shrubland, yucca-ocotillo shrub,
        riparian and montane forest. FRAGSTATS was used to measure 6
        landscape variables from 70 2km radius sampling circles located
        throughout Big Bend National Park. The variables are in percent
        cover. Data was transferred from FRAGSTATS to MS Excel. The data
        transfer was checked for errors
      Process_Date: 2000

Entity_and_Attribute_Information:
  Overview_Description:
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
      The data set contains 8 landscape variables measured for each of 70
      2km radius sampling circles. These variables are mean leaf area index,
      mean coefficient of variation of leaf area index, percent of
      grassland, percent cover of shrubland, percent cover of yucca-ocotillo
      shrub, percent cover of riparian vegetation, percent cover of montane
      forest, and percent cover of roads.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: Project defined

Metadata_Reference_Information:
  Metadata_Date: 20011214
  Metadata_Review_Date: 20020205
  Metadata_Contact:
    Contact_Information:
      Contact_Person_Primary:
        Contact_Person: Lori Randall
        Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey, National Wetlands Research Center
      Contact_Position: Biologist
      Contact_Address:
        Address_Type: mailing and physical
        Address: 700 Cajundome Blvd
        City: Lafayette
        State_or_Province: LA
        Postal_Code: 70506
        Country: USA
      Contact_Voice_Telephone: 337 266-8665
      Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 337 266-8592
      Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: lori_randall@usgs.gov
  Metadata_Standard_Name: Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata
  Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998
  Metadata_Extensions:
    Profile_Name:
      Biological Data Profile of Content Standard for Digital Geospatial
      Metadata
    Online_Linkage: http://www.fgdc.gov/standards/status/sub5_2.html
  Metadata_Access_Constraints: None
  Metadata_Use_Constraints:
    Acknowledgement of the National Wetlands Research Center as the metadata
    source would be appreciated. Please cite the original metadata when using
    portions to created another record for slightly altered data, such as
    reprojection.