2013 California Desert Vegetation Map and Accuracy Assessment in Support of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan
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2013 CALIFORNIA DESERT VEGETATION MAP AND ACCURACY ASSESSMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE DESERT RENEWABLE ENERGY CONSERVATION PLAN Vegetation Classification and Mapping Program California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Aerial Information Systems, Inc. For the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Renewable Energy Program and the California Energy Commission March 27, 2013 FINAL ABSTRACT Aerial Information Systems (AIS) and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Vegetation Classification and Mapping Program (VegCAMP) created a vegetation map of a 5,969,650-acre portion of the Mojave Desert and Colorado Desert in California to assist with the development of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP). The map was produced using heads up digitizing based on 2010 National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery. The minimum mapping unit (MMU) was 10 acres, with exceptions made for wetlands and certain wash types (1 acre MMU) and areas characterized as human land use polygons (2.5 acre MMU). This map will provide planners with detailed information to help identify high quality habitats and rare communities. Although the primary purpose of the map is to document vegetation communities, it provides multiple attributes including structural data such as herbaceous, shrub and tree cover, and information about the level of disturbance within the vegetation stand. These are important habitat factors for Covered Species of the DRECP, including the Mohave ground squirrel and desert tortoise. This report covers the project purpose, intended map uses, and accuracy assessment of the map as conducted by VegCAMP and the California Native Plant Society. A separate report by AIS (Menke et al. 2013) discusses the ecological setting in the mapping area and provides a thorough discussion of mapping standards and methods. Their report also includes descriptions, photointerpretation signatures, distributions, elevation ranges, and ground photos of the vegetation types mapped. i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Funding for this project was provided by the California Energy Commission, US Bureau of Land Management, California Wildlife Conservation Board and California Department of Fish and Wildlife. This project could not have been accomplished without the assistance of many people. Among others, we thank the following public land managers and resource experts for permitting and facilitating our field data collection visits and for help with the project overall: Aspen Environmental Group: Tom Murphy California Department of Fish and Wildlife: Region 6 - Inland Deserts Region: Kim Nicol, Jeff Brandt, Katrina Banda, Patricia Jimenez, Natasha Krupnak, Gabbi Gatchel, Angela Salcedo Region 5 - South Coast Region: Mary Meyer, Karen Miner Biodiversity Data Branch: Kristi Lazar Habitat Conservation Planning Branch: Junko Hoshi Climate Science and Renewable Energy Branch: William Condon California Department of Food and Agriculture: Fred Hrusa California Department of Parks and Recreation: Carrie Bemis California Energy Commission: Scott Flint, Misa Milliron, Paul Richins, Kristy Chew Colorado River Indian Reservation: Lisa Swick Kern County Department of Parks and Recreation: John Fedorsin Mojave Desert Manager’s Group: Fon Duke National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex: April Holmgren, Geoffery Hewitt National Park Service: Tasha LaDoux, Nita Tallent Saint Mary’s College: Phil Leitner Tejon Ranch Conservancy: Mike White US Bureau of Land Management: Barstow Field Office: Anthony Chavez Palm Springs South Coast Field Office: Mark Massar ii Ridgecrest Field Office: Marty Dickes, Glenn Harris, Hector Villalobos, Matt Duarte (SCA Conservation Corps) California State Office: Christina Lund US Department of Defense: Edwards Air Force Base: Mark Bratton, Dan Reinke Fort Irwin National Training Center: Liana Aker, Clarence Everly, Dave Housman, Mark Hessing, George Peck Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake: Tom Campbell, Tim Ludwick, Anna-Maria Easley US Forest Service, Angeles National Forest: Bob Blount, Steven Goldschmidt We apologize to anyone we may have left off of this list. iii PROJECT STAFF Vegetation Classification and Mapping Program (VegCAMP): Jim Alford, Rachelle Boul, Mary Jo Colletti, Diana Hickson, Todd Keeler-Wolf, Anne Klein, Aicha Ougzin, Gina Radieve, Cynthia Roye, Rosalie Yacoub Aerial Information Systems, Inc. (AIS): Lisa Cotterman, John Fulton, Arin Glass, Anne Hepburn, Ben Johnson, Debbie Johnson, John Menke, Lisa Morse, Mike Nelson, Ed Reyes, Janet Reyes California Native Plant Society (CNPS): Scott Batiuk, Jennifer Buck-Diaz, Rebecca Crowe, Julie Evens, Kendra Sikes, Deborah Stout, Sara Taylor iv CONTENTS Abstract ................................................................................................................................................................................................. i Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................................................................ ii Project Staff ......................................................................................................................................................................................... iv Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Methods ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 10 Mapping Area ................................................................................................................................................................................. 10 Classification................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Reconnaissance .............................................................................................................................................................................. 12 Mapping ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Accuracy Assessment ..................................................................................................................................................................... 14 Accuracy Assessment Results ............................................................................................................................................................. 17 Discussion and Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................. 25 Literature Cited .................................................................................................................................................................................. 29 FIGURES Figure 1: DRECP project area and mapping boundary. ........................................................................................................................ 1 Figure 2: Detail of GAP 2008 and the current map. ............................................................................................................................ 2 Figure 3: Narrow dendritic washes depicted in the current map. ........................................................................................................ 3 Figure 4: Macrogroup-level map of an area near Blythe in the Colorado Desert................................................................................. 6 Figure 5: Depiction of selected attributes within individual vegetation polygons............................................................................... 7 Figure 6: An example of local and regionally rare vegetation communities. ....................................................................................... 8 Figure 7: Areas mapped by AIS and VegCAMP in 2013, and previous mapping efforts within the DRECP boundary. ....................... 10 Figure 8: Locations of Rapid Assessment surveys collected by VegCAMP in 2011. ............................................................................ 11 Figure 9: Map production Modules. ................................................................................................................................................... 13 Figure 10: Location of AA points (AAPs) surveyed by VegCAMP and CNPS. ....................................................................................... 15 Figure 11: Overview of AA contingency table. ................................................................................................................................... 26 Figure 12: Detail of the lower right area shown in Figure 11. ........................................................................................................... 27 v TABLES Table 1: Trip dates and USGS quadrangles covered in VegCAMP’s field reconnaissance. ................................................................. 12 Table 2: Completion dates for map Modules. ...................................................................................................................................