National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Northeast Region Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Vegetation of Shenandoah National Park in Relation to Environmental Gradients, Version 2.0 Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR—2009/142 Cover photo: Forest cover, Shenandoah National Park, 2001. Photograph by: John Young. Vegetation of Shenandoah National Park in Relation to Environmental Gradients, Version 2.0 Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR—2009/142 John Young1, Gary Fleming2, Wendy Cass3, Chris Lea4 1 U.S. Geological Survey Leetown Science Center Kearneysville, West Virginia 2 Virginia Natural Heritage Program Department of Conservation and Recreation Richmond, Virginia 3 National Park Service Shenandoah National Park Luray, Virginia 4 National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program Denver, Colorado December 2009 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Northeast Region Philadelphia, PA 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 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 front 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 134/100756. Please cite this publication as: Young, J., G. Fleming, W. Cass, and C. Lea. 2009. Vegetation of Shenandoah National Park in Relation to Environmental Gradients, Version 2.0. Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR—2009/142. National Park Service. Philadelphia, PA. NPS 134/100756 December 2009 ii Table of Contents Page Figures ............................................................................................................................................ v Tables .......................................................................................................................................... vii Appendixes .................................................................................................................................. ix Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................ xi Abbreviations and Acronyms .................................................................................................... xiii Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................... xv 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Background .................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Scope of Work ............................................................................................................... 2 2 Methods ...................................................................................................................................... 3 2.1 Environmental Gradient Modeling ................................................................................ 3 2.2 Sample Site Selection ...................................................................................................... 5 2.3 Field Survey Methods .................................................................................................... 5 2.4 Plot Data Analysis and Classification Methods ............................................................. 9 2.5 Image Processing and Classification ............................................................................ 14 2.6 Accuracy Assessment Design ...................................................................................... 19 3 Results ...................................................................................................................................... 23 3.1 Vegetation and Accuracy Assessment Plots ................................................................ 23 3.2 Vegetation Classification Scheme ............................................................................... 23 3.3 Vegetation Map ............................................................................................................ 47 3.4 Accuracy Assessment .................................................................................................. 48 4 Discussion ................................................................................................................................ 61 5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 69 iii Table of Contents (continued) Page 6 Literature Cited ........................................................................................................................ 71 iv Figures Page Figure 2.1. Example ASTER imagery and North subdistrict "a" boundary. .............................. 16 Figures 3.1a. Shenandoah National Park vegetation map, v 2.0 output, north district, subdistrict (a). ........................................................................................................ 49 Figure 3.1b. Shenandoah National Park vegetation map, v 2.0 output, north district, subdistrict (b). ........................................................................................................ 50 Figure 3.1c. Shenandoah National Park vegetation map, v 2.0 output, central district, subdistrict (a). ..................................................................................................... 51 Figure 3.1d. Shenandoah National Park vegetation map, v 2.0 output, central district, subdistrict (b). ..................................................................................................... 52 Figure 3.1e. Shenandoah National Park vegetation map, v 2.0 output, south district, subdistrict (a). ........................................................................................................ 53 Figure 3.1f. Shenandoah National Park vegetation map, v 2.0 output, south district, subdistrict (b). ....................................................................................................... 54 Figure 3.1g. Legend for 35 community types mapped in Shenandoah National Park, v 2.0 output. ......................................................................................................... 55 Figure 3.2. Example of issues suggesting consideration of accuracy using “fuzzy” summary methods as described in Congalton and Green. .............................................. 59 Figure 4.1. Example class probability map for map class F23 for a section of Shenandoah National Park near Thomton Gap. ...................................................................... 63 Figure 4.2. Illustration of close proximity of map classes F8, F12, and F24 in both field plots and mapped community boundaries. ....................................................... 66 Figure 4.3. Illustration of close proximity of map classes F14 and F16 in both field plots and mapped community boundaries. .................................................................. 66 Figure 4.4. Illustration of close proximity of map classes F4 and F18 in both field plots and mapped community boundaries. .................................................................. 68 v Tables Page Table 2.1. Aggregate geological classes used as dummy variables in data analysis. .........................................................................................................................................