National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Heartland Inventory & Mapping Network Vegetation Classification and Mapping of Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve Project Report USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve Vegetation Classification and Mapping of Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve Kelly Kindscher1*, Hayley Kilroy1, Jennifer Delisle1, Quinn Long1, Hillary Loring1, Kevin Dobbs2, Jim Drake3 1Kansas Natural Heritage Inventory Kansas Biological Survey University of Kansas 2101 Constant Ave. Lawrence, KS 66047 2Kansas Applied Remote Sensing Program Kansas Biological Survey University of Kansas 2101 Constant Ave. Lawrence, KS 66047 3NatureServe P.O. Box 9354 St. Paul, MN 55109 *contact [email protected] On the cover: Tallgrass prairie landscape at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve; view of stone school with wild rye (Elymus canadensis), wild alfalfa (Psoralidium tenuifolium), and blacksamson echinacea (Echinacea angustifolia) seedheads in the foreground. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the National Park Service. Please cite this publication as: Kindscher, K., H. Kilroy, J. Delisle, Q. Long, H. Loring, K. Dobbs, and J. Drake. 2010. Vegetation Mapping and Classification of Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. i USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve Contents List of Figures................................................................................................................iii List of Tables..................................................................................................................iv Summary.........................................................................................................................1 Project Statistics.............................................................................................................4 Introduction.....................................................................................................................5 Methods...........................................................................................................................8 Results...........................................................................................................................17 Discussion.....................................................................................................................40 References....................................................................................................................42 Appendix A: Contingency Table for Vegetation Mapping at TAPR.........................45 Appendix B: Example of a Plot Survey Form.............................................................47 Appendix C: Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve Plant Associations.....................49 Appendix D: Example of an Accuracy Assessment Survey Form...........................50 Appendix E: Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve Species List................................51 ii USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve List of Figures Figure 1. Location of Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve………………..........................3 Figure 2. Map of the vegetation project boundary and park boundary……………….…...9 Figure 3. Locations of all vegetation plots collected at TAPR in 2008……………….…..11 Figure 4. Location of all accuracy assessment points collected at TAPR in 2009….….16 Figure 5. Vegetation map of Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve and environs…….….19 Figure 6. Bur Oak Woodland………………………………………………………………....20 Figure 7. Successional Forest………………………………………………………………..22 Figure 8. Native Tallgrass Prairie……………………………………………………….…...24 Figure 9. Rocky Mixed Prairie………………………………………………………….….…26 Figure 10. Wet Ravine………………………………………………………………..……....29 Figure 11. Seep……………………………………………………………………….…….…32 Figure 12. Restored Prairie………………………………………………………….………..35 Figure 13. Weedy area……………………………………………………………….……….37 iii USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve List of Tables Table 1. Target number of AA samples per map class...................................................14 Table 2. Summary of the AA statistics use.....................................................................15 Table 3. Map units identified at TAPR, with their Total Frequency and Acreage...........18 Table 4. Overstory Tree species within Bur Oak Woodland...........................................21 Table 5. Overstory Tree species within Successional Forest.........................................23 Table 6. Most common species within Native Tallgrass Prairie......................................25 Table 7. Most common species within Rocky Mixed Prairie...........................................27 Table 8. Most common species within Wet Ravines......................................................30 Table 9. Most common species within Seeps and Springs............................................31 Table 10. Most common species within Smooth Brome Haymeadows..........................34 Table 11. Most common species within Restored Prairies.............................................36 Table 12. Most common species within Weedy Areas...................................................38 iv USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve Summary Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve (TAPR) encompasses 10,894 acres in eastern Kansas, just north of Strong City (see Figure 1). This park unit is the first to protect a large acreage of tallgrass prairie. A scoping meeting for mapping the vegetation of Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve was held in June 2007 as the official start of this project, which was attended by representatives from the Kansas Biological Survey, the National Park Service, and NatureServe. This report serves as the official document of that mapping effort. The Kansas Biological Survey and the Heartland Network Inventory & Monitoring Program collected plot data, interpreted aerial photography, read past reports, and analyzed plot data. This work produced eight distinct plant associations and alliances. Descriptions and a field key for all eight unique plant assemblages for TAPR are included in this report. To produce the digital map, a combination of digital ortho-imagery (acquired by the Kansas Applied Remote Sensing Program and by the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Farm Service Agency’s Aerial Photography Field Office) and GPS-referenced ground data were used to interpret the complex patterns of vegetation and land-use. Overall, 12 map units (eight vegetated and four land-use) were developed and directly matched to corresponding plant associations and land-use classes. All of the interpreted and remotely sensed data were converted to Geographic Information System (GIS) databases using ArcGIS© software. Draft maps were printed, field tested, reviewed and revised. Following the National Park Service Vegetation Inventory procedures, 112 accuracy assessment (AA) data points were collected in 2009 by the Kansas Biological Survey and used to determine the map’s accuracy. The accuracy assessment revealed an overall thematic accuracy of 92.0%. Products developed for Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve are described and presented in this report. These include: • A Final Report that includes keys to the vegetation and imagery signatures, AA information, and all of the methods and results of the project; • A Spatial GIS Database containing spatial data for the vegetation, plots, and AA points; • Digital Photos from sample plots and miscellaneous park views; • Metadata for all spatial data [Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC-compliant]; • Vegetation Descriptions to the map classes and associations/alliances. In addition, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve received copies of: 1 USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve • Digital data files and hard copy data sheets of the observation points, vegetation field plots, and accuracy assessment points; • Hardcopy vegetation maps. Additional data not included in this report can be found on the USGS website. These data include text and metadata files, keys, lists, field data, spatial data, the vegetation map, and ground photos. Please access the following for this information: http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg/index.html For more information on the NVCS and NVC alliances/associations in the United States please visit NatureServe’s website: http://www.natureserve.org. 2 USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve Figure 1. Location of Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Chase County, KS. 3 USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve Project Statistics Field Work Summers of 2008 and 2009: Plot Sampling = 77 Plots: 54 Plots Sampled in July 2008 by Hayley Kilroy, Quinn Long, Hillary Loring, and Kelly Kindscher 23 plots from Home Heartland Network, sampled in 2008 Accuracy Assessment Points = 132 112 points assessing vegetation classification 20 additional points to assess presence of seeps All collected in July 2009 by the Kansas Biological Survey staff Classification: 6 NVC Plant Associations 2 Park Special Vegetation Classes 4 Non-Vegetated Land-Use Classes GIS Database 2006 – 2009: Project Size = 18,805 acres Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve = 10,894 acres Environs = 7,911 acres Base Imagery acquired from the NPS: Fall 2005 IKONOS image Ancillary Imagery acquired by the Kansas Applied Remote Sensing Program,