The files linked to this reference are the geospatial data created as part of the completion of the baseline vegetation inventory project for the NPS park unit. Current format is ArcGIS file geodatabase but older formats may exist as shapefiles.

The vector (polygon) map is in digital format within a geodatabase structure that allows for complex relationships to be established between spatial and tabular data, and allows much of the data to be accessed concurrently. Strict nomenclature was enforced for polygons and a unique name was assigned to each polygon. These reflected the verified physiognomic formation type by a prefix of representative letters (e.g., W = Woodland, SS = shrub savanna), followed by a number. Using ArcMap, polygon boundaries were buffered and excluded based on the distance equal to the radius of the selected plot size, positional accuracy of the map, and positional error of the GPS to be used by the assessment crew (Lea and Curtis 2010). The resulting polygons were converted to raster format and points were distributed using the “distribute spatially balanced points” function in ArcToolbox. This function uses the RRQRR algorithm (Theobald et al. 2007) to distribute spatially balanced points throughout the raster. Next, each point was buffered using the radius of the assigned plot size to create a circular area (see Figure 3-1) that was later used as a visual aid to delineate the survey area. These circular plot areas (polygons, essentially) and the plot centroids for all map classes were merged and assigned a unique identifier. All information was removed that could give an assessor any indication as to which class it belonged.