Vegetation Classification and Mapping Project Report
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USGS – NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Northeast Region Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Vegetation Classification and Mapping at Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR—2007/079 USGS – NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site ON THE COVER Allegheny Hardwood Forest in Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site. Photograph by: Ephraim Zimmerman. USGS – NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site Vegetation Classification and Mapping at Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR--2006/079 Stephanie J. Perles1, Gregory S. Podniesinski1, Ephraim A. Zimmerman1, Elizabeth Eastman 2, and Lesley A. Sneddon3 1 Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program Western Pennsylvania Conservancy 208 Airport Drive Middletown, PA 17057 2 Center for Earth Observation North Carolina State University 5112 Jordan Hall, Box 7106 Raleigh, NC 27695 3 NatureServe 11 Avenue de Lafayette, 5th Floor Boston, MA 02111 March 2007 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Northeast Region Philadelphia, Pennsylvania i USGS – NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site The Northeast Region of the National Park Service (NPS) comprises national parks and related areas in 13 New England and Mid-Atlantic states. The diversity of parks and their resources are reflected in their designations as national parks, seashores, historic sites, recreation areas, military parks, memorials, and rivers and trails. Biological, physical, and social science research results, natural resource inventory and monitoring data, scientific literature reviews, bibliographies, and proceedings of technical workshops and conferences related to these park units are disseminated through the NPS/NER Technical Report (NRTR) and Natural Resources Report (NRR) series. The reports are a continuation of series with previous acronyms of NPS/PHSO, NPS/MAR, NPS/BSO-RNR, and NPS/NERBOST. Individual parks may also disseminate information through their own report series. Natural Resources Reports are the designated medium for information on technologies and resource management methods; "how to" resource management papers; proceedings of resource management workshops or conferences; and natural resource program descriptions and resource action plans. Technical Reports are the designated medium for initially disseminating data and results of biological, physical, and social science research that addresses natural resource management issues; natural resource inventories and monitoring activities; scientific literature reviews; bibliographies; and peer-reviewed proceedings of technical workshops, conferences, or symposia. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the National Park Service. This report was accomplished under Cooperative Agreements 4560A0019 and H4506060766, with assistance from the NPS. The statements, findings, conclusions, recommendations, and data in this report are solely those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Print copies of reports in these series, produced in limited quantity and only available as long as the supply lasts, or preferably, file copies on CD, may be obtained by sending a request to the address on the back cover. Print copies also may be requested from the NPS Technical Information Center (TIC), Denver Service Center, PO Box 25287, Denver, CO 80225-0287. A copy charge may be involved. To order from TIC, refer to document D-109. This report may also be available as a downloadable portable document format file from the Internet at http://www.nps.gov/nero/science/. Please cite this publication as: Perles, S. J., G. S. Podneisinski, E. A. Zimmerman, E. Eastman, and L. A. Sneddon. 2007. Vegetation Classification and Mapping at Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site. Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR—2007/079. National Park Service. Philadelphia, PA. NPS D-109 March 2007 ii USGS – NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site Table of Contents Page Figures............................................................................................................................................. v Tables ........................................................................................................................................... viii Appendixes .................................................................................................................................... ix Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................... x Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................... xi Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 General Background ................................................................................................................... 1 Park-specific Information ........................................................................................................... 2 Project Area .................................................................................................................................... 4 Location and Regional Setting .................................................................................................... 4 Park Environmental Attributes ................................................................................................... 4 Materials and Methods .................................................................................................................... 8 Planning and Scoping ................................................................................................................. 8 Preliminary Data Collection and Review of Existing Information ............................................. 8 Aerial Photography Acquisition and Processing ........................................................................ 8 Photointerpretation ...................................................................................................................... 9 Field Data Collection and Classification .................................................................................. 10 Field Survey .......................................................................................................................... 13 Vegetation Classification and Characterization .................................................................... 15 Vegetation Map Preparation ..................................................................................................... 16 Accuracy Assessment ............................................................................................................... 17 Positional Accuracy Assessment .......................................................................................... 17 iii USGS – NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site Thematic Accuracy Assessment ........................................................................................... 17 Results ........................................................................................................................................... 23 Vegetation Classification and Characterization ........................................................................ 23 Vegetation Association Descriptions ........................................................................................ 26 Vegetation Map Production .................................................................................................... 100 Accuracy Assessment ............................................................................................................. 100 Positional Accuracy ............................................................................................................ 100 Thematic Accuracy ............................................................................................................. 100 Project Deliverables ................................................................................................................ 104 Discussion ................................................................................................................................... 105 Vegetation Classification and Characterization ...................................................................... 105 Vegetation Map Production .................................................................................................... 107 Recommendations for Future Projects .................................................................................... 107 Literature Cited ........................................................................................................................... 109 iv USGS – NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site Figures Page Figure 1. Location of Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site in Blair and Cambria counties on the Hollidaysburg, Cresson, Nanty Glo, and Geistown, PA 1:24,000 USGS topographic