Developing vegetation classifications for federal lands in New York using analysis of plot data

Background/Question/Methods

From 2000 through 2012 New York Natural Heritage Program ecologists sampled 1,020 vegetation plots on federally owned or administered lands in the state. Relevé sampling followed protocols developed under the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program. The USGS-NPS Vegetation Characterization Program is a cooperative effort by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Park Service (NPS) to classify, describe, and map vegetation communities across the United States. Products meet Federal Geographic Data Committee standards for vegetation classification and metadata, and national standards for spatial accuracy and data transfer. We statistically analyzed and grouped these vegetation plots using Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMS), Cluster Analysis (CA), and Two-Way Indicator Species Analysis (TWINSPAN) in PC-ORD 5. NatureServe, an important partner in the USGS-NPS Vegetation Characterization Program, is the steward of the National Vegetation Classification System (NVC), which is used by the program to classify vegetation communities. Each plot was classified to the Association level following the US NVC.

Results/Conclusions

For each federally owned or administered land parcel in New York we produced a detailed report with a complete classification and wall-to-wall GIS vegetation map as part of the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program. The size of each federal parcel, number of plots sampled, number of US NVC Associations described, and final report year for each site were as follows:

Fire Island National Seashore (1,649 ha, 60 plots, 25 associations, 2002).

Saratoga National Historical Park (1,376 ha, 186 plots, 54 associations, 2008).

Sagamore Hill National Historic Site (36 ha, 16 plots, 10 associations, 2008).

Gateway National Recreation Area (10,093 ha, 178 plots, 35 associations, 2008).

Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site, Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site (517 ha, 147 plots, 50 associations, 2009).

Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River (22,251 ha, 227 plots, 50 associations, 2008).

Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge (4,110 ha, 72 plots, 20 associations, 2008).

Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge (4,552 ha, 90 plots, 23 associations, 2008).

Appalachian National Scenic Trail (25 plots, in progress)

Fort Drum Military Reservation (43,409 ha, 19 plots, 2013).

Baseline information on plant community composition and rarity is critical to developing desired conditions and federal land management goals relating to native plant communities, nonnative plant and insect species, and effects of deer browse and other disturbances. The identification and description of plant communities also provide habitat information important to understanding associated organisms.