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Layer: Water Conservation Areas Vegetation Communties (2003-2004) (ID: 0)

Name: Water Conservation Areas Vegetation Communties (2003-2004)

Display Field: AREA_NAME

Type: Feature Layer

Geometry Type: esriGeometryPolygon

Description: <DIV STYLE="text-align:Left;"><DIV><DIV><P><SPAN>The Water Conservation Area 1 (WCA-1) (Located within the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge) vegetation map was compiled from color infrared photography that was collected in December 2003 and January 2004. A quarter hectare grid (50 x 50 meter) was generated and superimposed over the aerial photography, resulting in 227,429 individual grid cells covering all of WCA-1. Vegetation within each individual grid cell was photointerpreted utilizing a Leica SD2000 stereo-plotter and labeled with the majority vegetation category observed. Vegetation was classified using the Vegetation Classification for South Florida Natural Areas (Rutchey et al. 2006). For ground-truthing, 775 locations within WCA-1 were visited using differential GPS navigation by airboat or helicopter. These points were determined to be areas in question or "unknown" during the photointerpretation process. The final overall map accuracy was determined to be 93.2%. This map represents an overall generalization of vegetation classes found in WCA-1, with the dominant vegetation within a grid cell being depicted. Exotics, cattail and tree islands were also labeled as secondary vegetation classes within individual grid cells but are not depicted in this map. </SPAN></P><P><SPAN>The Water Conservation Area 2A (WCA-2A) vegetation map was compiled from 1:24,000 scale color infrared aerial photography that was collected in January and February 2003. A quarter hectare grid (50 x 50 meter) was generated and superimposed over the 2003 aerial photography, resulting in 170,429 individual grid cells covering all of WCA-2A. Vegetation within each individual grid cell was photointerpreted utilizing a Leica SD2000 stereo-plotter and labeled with the majority vegetation category observed. Vegetation was classified using A Vegetation Classification System for Southern Florida's National Parks and Preserves (Jones et al. 1999). For ground-truthing, 1332 locations within WCA-2A were visited using differential GPS navigation by airboat or helicopter. These points were determined to be areas in question or "unknown" during the photointerpretation process. A separate effort was completed in August of 2003 that concentrated on cattail within this area and was found to have an overall map accuracy of 92.9%. The results of that effort along with new ground-truthing data were utilized to improve on the cattail areas and also to create a vegetation map, which not only includes cattail but all other vegetation within the impoundment. This new complete vegetation map was found to have an overall map accuracy of 90.7%. </SPAN></P><P><SPAN>The Water Conservation Area 3 (WCA-3) vegetation map was compiled from the collection of approximately 320 color infrared 1:24000 scale photographs collected in 2004. The aerial photographs were digitally scanned and the photointerpretation was conducted using customized DAT/EM Summit Evolution digital photogrammetric workstations, which provided sufficient magnification capability to accurately identify and delineate the vegetation within a virtual three-dimensional (3-D) rendered landscape. Vegetation mapping was conducted by overlaying a one-quarter hectare (50 x 50 meter) grid within the boundaries of WCA-3A/WCA-3B, resulting in 939,415 grid cells. Advantages of grid system mapping include greater time and cost efficiency, and the unique ability to classify vegetation within the same quarter hectare grid cells from this analysis and during past and future mapping efforts. In addition, the grid system more accurately depicts the overall heterogeneity of Everglades vegetation than using a vector approach (Rutchey et al., 2008; Rutchey and Godin, 2009). Each grid cell was labeled according to the majority vegetation community as described in the Vegetation Classification System for South Florida Natural Areas (Rutchey et al., 2006). WCA-3 was divided into six nearly equal sections to make certain that the requirements of overall map accuracy of 90 percent or better was being met as the project was progressing. Two-hundred-and-twenty random sampling points were selected for each section and used to calculate an overall map accuracy assessment. Overall individual map accuracies ranged from 85.9-95.5 percent for the six sections. These accuracies reflect the relative difficulties of mapping the various sections. The average for the six sections was 90.8 percent, which compared favorably to the overall map accuracy of 90.9 which was calculated for the entire project area. These data establish a trend from which future vegetation mapping products can be compared and to help to ascertain if the implementation of restoration efforts are successful in preserving and restoring predrainage landscape features. The most significant finding may be that cattail expanded approximately 12,500 ha in comparison to a previous vegetation map done of WCA-3 nine years earlier in 1995 (Rutchey et al., 2005). Further evaluation and study are needed to ascertain the driving mechanisms that resulted in this expansion. This map represents an overall generalization of vegetation classes found in WCA-3, with the dominant vegetation within a grid cell being depicted. Exotics, cattail and tree islands were also labeled as secondary vegetation classes within individual grid cells but are not depicted in this map.</SPAN></P><P><SPAN>Advantages of the grid system mapping are a greater time and cost efficiency and the unique ability to classify vegetation within the same quarter hectare grid cells from this analysis and during future mapping efforts. In addition, the grid system more accurately depicts the overall heterogeneity of Everglades' vegetation than using a vector approach (Rutchey et al., in press; Rutchey and Godin, submitted). See the </SPAN><A href="https://apps.sfwmd.gov/sfwmd/gsdocs/TPubs/Rutchey_Veg_classfn.pdf"><SPAN>Vegetation Classification </SPAN></A><SPAN>document.</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 11 0;"><SPAN>The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), authorized as part of the Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) of 2000 (U.S. Congress 2000), is an $US8-10 billion hydrologic restoration project for south Florida. CERP includes 68 separate projects to be managed over the next 30 years by the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Restoration Coordination and Verification (RECOVER) is a system-wide program within the CERP to organize and provide scientific and technical support for design, implementation, and assessment of the restoration program. It is the role of RECOVER to develop a system-wide monitoring and assessment plan that will document how well the CERP is meeting its objectives for ecosystem restoration. Vegetation mapping will be used to document changes in the spatial extent, pattern, and proportion of plant communities within the landscape.</SPAN></P><P><SPAN /></P><P><SPAN /></P></DIV></DIV></DIV>

Service Item Id: b7884e230a1f4504b372bb4dacfe1a31

Copyright Text: SFWMD Scientific Data Management Policies and Procedures govern these environmental monitoring data. Acknowledgment of the South Florida Water Management District would be appreciated for products derived from this file.

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