Introduction to the U.S. National Vegetation Standard

1. Introduction to the U.S. National Vegetation Standard 2014 National Military Fish and Wildlife Association Natural Resources Monitoring and Vegetation and Classification Denver, Colorado March 12, 2014 Alexa McKerrow, Biologists Implementation Manager USNVC USGS Core Science Analytics, Synthesis, & Libraries

2. Objectives • Describe the US NVC Standard. • Provides examples of the use of the USNVC in applications in support of Natural Resource Management. • Provide a brief overview of the accomplishments, and vision of the FGDC Vegetation Subcommittee in implementing the USNVC Standard.

3. The Partnership • Federal Geographic Data Committee Vegetation Subcommittee members* • U.S. Forest Service (Lead Agency) • U.S. Geological Survey, Core Science Analytics, Synthesis & Libraries (Implementation Management) • Ecological Society of America (Panel on Vegetation Classification) • NatureServe • Subcommittee Members • Natural Resources Conservation Service • U.S. National Park Service • U.S. Bureau of Land Management • U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service • National Aeronautics and Space Administration • Department of Defense • Environmental Protection Agency 4

4. Objectives of the Vegetation Standard Because vegetation represents a synthetic surrogate for landscape level processes our objectives include: • Providing mechanisms for developing uniform federal statistics for vegetation in the U.S. • Encouraging partners to use a common system when working with federal agencies 5

5. Guiding Principles of the FGDC Vegetation Classification Standard 2008 • The classification standard will be dynamic, allowing for refinement as additional information becomes available. • The NVCS is of existing, not potential, vegetation. • The NVCS is hierarchical. • Upper levels of the NVCS are based primarily on physiognomy (life form, cover, structure, leaf type) of the vegetation (not individual species). • Lower levels of the NVCS are based on actual floristic (vegetation) composition and supported by field data. • The classification is applicable over extensive areas.

6. USNVC Hierarchy

7. How does the USNVC Classify Natural Vegetation? • The NVC vegetation classification is based on a combination of: • growth forms, as these respond to climate, elevation, substrates, etc, and • species, both dominant and diagnostic, as these reflect biogeographic and ecologic relations. • The classification is hierarchical and incorporates the physiognomic (top 3 levels), general floristic-biogeographic (mid 3 levels), and detailed floristic (lowest 2 levels) criteria, guiding all criteria by ecological considerations.

8. Table 1. Summary of USNVC hierarchy levels for natural vegetation

9. Forest & Woodland (Mesomorphic)Shrubland & Grassland Semi-Desert Vegetation (Xeromorphic Vegetation) Aquatic Vegetation (Hydromorphic Vegetation) Nonvascular Vegetation (Lithomorphic Vegetation) Loiseleuria procumbens Polar and High Mountain Vegetation (Cryomorphic Vegetation) Agricultural Vegetation; Developed Vegetation

10. Orchards and Treed Lawns Plantation Forests Natural Forests Northern cherry orchard Apple orchard (Empire) Lawn with trees (Thomas Jefferson home) Poplar plantation Douglas fir plantation (40 yr) Red pine plantation Beech - maple northern hardwood forest, - mature & partially logged Red pine forest Semi-natural, Plantation and Native Vegetation Cultural Vegetation

11. Extent and Mapping Resolution The hierarchical structure of the USNVC allows agencies to apply the classification in synoptic planning. Characterizing the vegetation at the appropriate scale to address their management questions. Regional – changes in state (formations, divisions, macrogroups) Watersheds or landscapes – changes in pattern (groups, alliances) Individual stands – changes in composition (alliance, associations) 14

12. Is the use of the USNVC Mandatory? • Federally-funded vegetation classification projects must collect, record, and classify data and information in a manner that allows others to “crosswalk” the project vegetation classes to some level of the USNVC. • In one sense, this means that descriptions from a given project classification should be relatable to descriptions within the USNVC. • At the most fundamental level, field data collected to support a federal agency project should meet the minimum standards for vegetation data collection set forth in the standard (http://usnvc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/NVCS_V2_FINAL_2008-02.pdf; FGDC 2008 for more information).

13. All-Lands Approach USFS 2012 Planning Rule • Land management planning in FS is done in the context of the larger landscape • Planners consider conditions beyond the plan area and how resources within and outside boundaries affect each other 16

14. All-Lands Approach . Proposed Planning Directives • Ecological Integrity • Sustainability • Diversity • Listed Species • Threatened &Endangered • Proposed, Candidate • Social and Economic Sustainability • Cultural • Economy of communities 17

15. Linking Forest Service Data to the USNVC • FIAObjectives: Crosswalk plot data to USNVC Groups. • Key to all USNVC types down to Group for the eastern U.S. • All FIA plots linked to USNVC types across the U.S. Benefits:New possibilities for partnership among FIA clients. National trends in forest data will be displayed with USNVC types. • Region 8 Objectives:Characterize National Forest vegetation using the USNVC. • List of USNVC Types for each National Forest. Benefits:Regionally consistent classification and map products allowing for cross-forest and cross boundary analyses. • Revised Vegetation Technical Guide Objectives:update and revise previous Technical Guide to make it consistent with FGDC standards Benefits:Agency vegetation classification will be aligned with OMB Circular A-16 direction. All-lands approach can be used in land management planning. 18

16. National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring • Objectives: Develop vegetation classifications for national park units; support consistent & accurate mapping of the vegetation using a stable / evolving standard. • Major Deliverables • Association or Alliance-level classifications; descriptions (local & global); field keys • Ecologically meaningful mapping legends • Benefits: High quality vegetation maps to support natural resource management, ability to efficiently and effectively share data, information, and approach across agencies. 19

17. Bureau of Land Management – Guidance to Field Offices • Objectives: Encourage the application of the NVC Standard in all field offices throughout the bureau. Land Use Plans required to report at Macrogroup level. • TimeframeOngoing • Benefits: Standardized map legends for use in land use management planning at a variety of scales. Facilitate the all lands approach to inventory and monitoring. 21

18. California classification and mapping projects that meet national standards • As of August 2013, 1/3 of non-urban and non-agricultural portions of the state- covered (tan and blue bordered portions are in progress) • represents not only data collection and analysis, but areas are mapped using results of the classification • Most map units are Alliance level, but some to Group level, and some Association level 24

19. USNVC Proposed Data Flow NVC Web Viewer Legacy NVC classification Extraction Screening NVC Database Classification Mgt. NVC Proceedings US-NVC Panel Peer Review Proposal submission Key External Action Analysis & Synthesis Internal Action VegBank & other plot archives Software Entity 25

22. Resources for accessing USNVC content NatureServe.org Detailed association level descriptions http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?init=Ecol

23. Resources for accessing USNVC content USNVC.org Currently - Hierarchy Browser provides an overview of the classification. Soon a searchable database of all levels of the hierarchy

24. www.usnvc.org