Standardized ecological classification units should form the foundation for effective data collection, assessment, and reporting. However, many conservation and resource assessments often lack comprehensive, consistent and detailed classification systems to guide mapping and other applications. Over the past decade, the partners engaged in national and regional land cover mapping have gained much practical experience integrating ecological classification into mapping efforts at thematic and spatial resolutions relevant to resource management. Since the early 1990s, NatureServe has collaborated with partners to classify existing vegetation using the U.S. National Vegetation Classification (US-NVC). The US-NVC is a conceptual taxonomy of existing vegetation, and it's units are arranged within a nested organizational structure. Criteria at each level of the hierarchy determine how types are defined, and how finer-level types arrange within. The US-NVC is now undergoing major revision to its structure and content; making it far more robust for resource managers. NatureServe has also developed a terrestrial ecological systems classification for the United States that defines over 800 “meso-scale” units, integrating vegetation pattern with local biophysical features and dynamic processes which help create standardized mapping units. Terrestrial ecological systems have formed the basis for regional and national map legends, extending our ability to map ecological concepts of much greater thematic detail than previously thought feasible at national scales.
Results/Conclusions
Together, these classifications form a robust foundation for ecologically-meaningful land cover mapping at local, regional, national and international scales. This poster documents key aspects of these ecological classifications. We then illustrate the utility of this multi-faceted classification approach to mapping, including a new national map developed by NatureServe by integrating regional map products from the U.S. Gap Analysis Program and national products from the Interagency LANDFIRE effort.
