Salt Marsh Vegetation Monitoring for Cape Cod National Seashore (CACO): 1997-2025 - Data Package
This data package contains vegetation monitoring data from 1997-2025 at Cape Cod National Seashore (CACO) by the CACO staff. Beginning in 1997, field crew collected vegetation percent coverage data at ten sites to assess species diversity and abundance over time in both tidally restricted and unrestricted marsh habitats. Salt marsh ecosystems are an important natural resource within CACO, comprising nearly 10% of the total landcover within the park. Some salt marshes within CACO have been directly impacted by hydrologic restrictions to tidal flow (e.g., Hatches Harbor, Provincetown; East Harbor, Truro; Herring River, Wellfleet). Unrestricted salt marshes may be influenced by a variety of other factors including accelerated sea level rise, nutrient inputs, herbivory, and climate change. The salt marsh vegetation of three restricted and seven unrestricted systems is being monitored at CACO to better understand how these ecosystems function and change over time and how they may be managed in the future. The CACO Salt Marsh Monitoring data package contains one EML metadata file and four data tables in CSV format. These files contain information on: 1) Survey site locations and descriptions; (2) vegetation percent cover data collected via point-intercept surveys from 1997-2004; (3) vegetation percent cover data collected via quadrat surveys from 2002-2025; and (4) original and current scientific names as well as unique identifier IDs for all species observed during monitoring.
Resources
5 resources available
-
CACO_SaltMarsh_Veg_1997-2025_metadata.xml
XML -
CACO_SaltMarsh_Veg_Locations_1997-2025.csv
CSV -
CACO_SaltMarsh_Veg_Quadrats_2002-2025.csv
CSV -
CACO_SaltMarsh_Veg_PointIntercept_1997-2004.csv
CSV -
CACO_SaltMarsh_Veg_Taxonomy_1997-2025.csv
CSV
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Complete Metadata
| accessLevel | public |
|---|---|
| bureauCode |
[ "010:24" ] |
| contactPoint |
{ "fn": "NPS IRMA Help", "@type": "vcard:Contact", "hasEmail": "mailto:NRSS_DataStore@nps.gov" } |
| description | This data package contains vegetation monitoring data from 1997-2025 at Cape Cod National Seashore (CACO) by the CACO staff. Beginning in 1997, field crew collected vegetation percent coverage data at ten sites to assess species diversity and abundance over time in both tidally restricted and unrestricted marsh habitats. Salt marsh ecosystems are an important natural resource within CACO, comprising nearly 10% of the total landcover within the park. Some salt marshes within CACO have been directly impacted by hydrologic restrictions to tidal flow (e.g., Hatches Harbor, Provincetown; East Harbor, Truro; Herring River, Wellfleet). Unrestricted salt marshes may be influenced by a variety of other factors including accelerated sea level rise, nutrient inputs, herbivory, and climate change. The salt marsh vegetation of three restricted and seven unrestricted systems is being monitored at CACO to better understand how these ecosystems function and change over time and how they may be managed in the future. The CACO Salt Marsh Monitoring data package contains one EML metadata file and four data tables in CSV format. These files contain information on: 1) Survey site locations and descriptions; (2) vegetation percent cover data collected via point-intercept surveys from 1997-2004; (3) vegetation percent cover data collected via quadrat surveys from 2002-2025; and (4) original and current scientific names as well as unique identifier IDs for all species observed during monitoring. |
| distribution |
[ { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "title": "CACO_SaltMarsh_Veg_1997-2025_metadata.xml", "format": "xml", "mediaType": "application/xml", "description": "EML Metadata", "downloadURL": "https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/DownloadFile/761387?Reference=2319052" }, { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "title": "CACO_SaltMarsh_Veg_Locations_1997-2025.csv", "format": "csv", "mediaType": "text/csv", "description": "Vegetation Monitoring Location Data for Salt Marsh Monitoring at Cape Cod National Seashore", "downloadURL": "https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/DownloadFile/761357?Reference=2319052" }, { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "title": "CACO_SaltMarsh_Veg_Quadrats_2002-2025.csv", "format": "csv", "mediaType": "text/csv", "description": "Vegetation One Meter Quadrat Survey Data for Salt Marsh Monitoring at Cape Cod National Seashore", "downloadURL": "https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/DownloadFile/761359?Reference=2319052" }, { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "title": "CACO_SaltMarsh_Veg_PointIntercept_1997-2004.csv", "format": "csv", "mediaType": "text/csv", "description": "Vegetation Point Intercept Survey Data for Salt Marsh Monitoring at Cape Cod National Seashore", "downloadURL": "https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/DownloadFile/761358?Reference=2319052" }, { "@type": "dcat:Distribution", "title": "CACO_SaltMarsh_Veg_Taxonomy_1997-2025.csv", "format": "csv", "mediaType": "text/csv", "description": "Vegetation Taxonomic Data for Salt Marsh Monitoring at Cape Cod National Seashore", "downloadURL": "https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/DownloadFile/761360?Reference=2319052" } ] |
| identifier | http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/NPS_DataStore_2319052 |
| issued | 2026-08-14T00:00:00Z |
| keyword |
[ "CACO", "Cape Cod National Seashore", "Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Estuarine Communities", "Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Wetland Communities", "Massachusetts", "long term monitoring", "salt marshes" ] |
| landingPage | https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2319052 |
| license | https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en |
| modified | 2026-08-14T00:00:00Z |
| programCode |
[ "010:118", "010:119" ] |
| publisher |
{ "name": "National Park Service", "@type": "org:Organization" } |
| spatial | -70.2515,41.5995,-69.9231,42.0869 |
| theme |
[ "Data Package" ] |
| title | Salt Marsh Vegetation Monitoring for Cape Cod National Seashore (CACO): 1997-2025 - Data Package |
