FGDC Vegetation Subcommittee Update to Coordination Group Marianne K. Burke, Ph.D Chair of the Vegetation Subcommittee Forest Service Research and Development October 21, 2014 Coordination Group Meeting

2 Purpose of the Subcommittee The coordination of terrestrial vegetative data-related activities among Federal agencies and the establishment of a mechanism for the coordinated development, use, sharing, and dissemination of terrestrial vegetation data.

3 Partners US Forest Service (subcommittee chair) US Geological Survey NatureServe Ecological Society of America National Park Service Natural Resources Conservation Service Bureau of Land Management University of North Carolina

4 NGDA Data Themes and Data Sets The Vegetation Subcommittee is organized under the Land Use–Land Cover Theme The following data themes and data sets fall under the purview of the FGDC Vegetation Subcommittee: The National Vegetation Classification Standard. Revised content (types and descriptions) for eight levels of the NVC hierarchy. VegBank – a permanent archive of the vegetation plot data.

5 Recent Meetings Monthly Subcommittee conference call meetings Monthly ESA Veg. Panel conference call meetings ESA Vegetation Panel Annual Workshop - Sacramento ESRI demonstration of an online tool for using the NVC for land management Special session at Ecological Society of America meeting 2014 – “Use of NVC in vegetation mapping”.

6 Recent accomplishments (Subcommittee Administration) MOU has been signed (Forest Service and main partners) Vegetation Subcommittee Charter in place. Vegetation Subcommittee Implementation drafted. Hierarchy Revision document is being printed by Forest Service as a multi-agency document Forest Service funded a contractor to evaluate what it will take to house the NVC on the FS server. Submitted paper to Frontiers in Ecology and Environment. Finalized a pilot project testing the peer review process for identifying types and performing modifications to types described in the NVC Standard.

7 Recent Accomplishments (cont.) (Subcommittee Administration)  Finalized the NSDI Cooperative Agreements Program project with the California Native Plant Society and the California Dept. Fish and Game.  Had a booth at the Ecological Society of America meeting.  Helped to develop auto-keys for federal agencies to allow crosswalks with existing databases to NVC.  A no cost extension and additional funding provided cooperative agreement from Forest Service to Ecological Society of America  New FS-ESA agreement has been developed and will be submitted to the Forest Service. Proposal is for funding Education, Outreach, Peer Review, and Data Management for the NVC.

8 Core Objective #1 Maintain and disseminate the dynamic content: complete description for all levels of the hierarchy QA/QC Content development for Conterminous US almost finished Alaska, Hawai’i, Caribbean underway Allow content editing of record as needed Served through web tools that allow for easy searching by users Additional content development for developed, ruderal, and agricultural vegetation types to be done.

9 Revised Hierarchy Example Upper Level 1 – Formation ClassShrubland & Grassland [mesomorphic] Level 2 – Formation SubclassTemperate & Boreal Shrubland & Grassland Level 3 - FormationTemperate Grassland & Shrubland Mid Level 4 – DivisionGreat Plains Grassland & Shrubland Level 5 – MacrogroupTallgrass Prairie Grassland & Shrubland Level 6 – GroupTallgrass Mesic Prairie Grassland Lower Level 7 – AllianceBig Bluestem – Indian grass Grassland Level 8 – AssociationBig Bluestem – Indian grass / Gayfeather Grassland Classification Hierarchy Revised

10 Core Objective #2 Maintain and disseminate the supporting data Conduct a requirements analysis for a website portal Contract is in place Upgrade and adopt a vegetation database. VegBank or compatible database Develop a workplan for evaluating additional data sources for the NVC Portal. Identify potential collaborations for building infrastructure (NRCS PLANTS)

11 Requirements Analysis diagram

12 Core Objective #3 Formalize process for revising NVC Content Appoint a peer review board Secure funding for an editor and travel for board members. Develop a process for publishing proceedings of changes Any investigator can review and propose changes to the NVC set of vegetation types. Proposed changes will be evaluated by an independent peer-review board. Seek Support for regional analyses and tests of the process.

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14 Core Objective #4 Expand direct use and crosswalks with NVC Oversee review, publication, and dissemination of resources Protocols Software tools Training materials Develop keys to the group level in FY2015 Develop an approach for regional keys below group level in subsequent years Provide a prototype of keys to associations at a state level Develop best practices articles on use of NVC Develop information sharing methods with partners Post relevant crosswalks on the NVC website

15 Forest Inventory Analysis crosswalk with NVC  Key to the Eastern Forest Macrogroups  (drafted, final in Dec. 2014)  Verification and QAQC is needed.  NVC will be implemented in FIA database  Eventually Western Forests and non- forested types will be included.

16 Core Objective #5 Develop marketing and communication plans General training and education vegetation classification use of the Standard Produce new concept papers Wetland classification Mapping and the USNVC Relationship between USNVC and Ecological Site Descriptions Host a workshop at Society for Range Management meeting Get funding to hire outreach coordinator Develop symposia for demonstrating the NVC efficacy for management and research.

17 Core Objective #6 Inter-agency and International Collaboration Continue to work toward broader use of the NVC  Build on successes with USFS, USGS, NPS, BLM, LANDFIRE  Ensure NVC representation at critical inter-agency and international meetings  Maintain formal collaborative relationships with individual country classification initiatives.

18 Interagency Collaborations using NVC USNVC is being used in for Vegetation classification in the Parashant National Monument (BLM), Lake Mead Natural Recreation Area (NPS) Grand Canyon National Park (NPS)

19 Interagency Collaborations using NVC LANDFIRE LANDFIRE involves vegetation mapping in support of fire and fuels management, and conservation planning. Products include spatial data that are moderate resolution vegetation maps for the US (current & historic distributions, structural characteristics, fuel loadings, etc).

20 Interagency Collaborations using NVC LANDFIRE  Future plans: Link plot data labeling for forested and non-forested areas to NVCS throughout the US  Status: Currently initiating a new national mapping effort. Auto-keys will be developed for groups and macro- groups across the U.S.  Benefits: A comprehensive wall-to-wall spatial data for the US to support natural resource planning and management.

21 Questions? Marianne Burke, Forest Service R&D Phone –