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Vegetation Types in Coastal Louisiana in 2021 Raster Data

Metadata Updated: July 6, 2024

Coastwide vegetation surveys have been conducted multiple times over the past 50 years (e.g., Chabreck and Linscombe 1968, 1978, 1988, 1997, 2001, and 2013) by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) in support of coastal management activities. The last survey was conducted in 2013 and was funded by the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as a part of the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) monitoring program. These surveys provide important data that have been utilized by federal, state, and local resource managers. The surveys provide information on the condition of Louisiana’s coastal marshes by mapping plant species composition and vegetation change through time. During the summer of 2021, the U.S. Geological Survey, Louisiana State University, and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries jointly completed a helicopter survey to collect data on 2021 vegetation types using the same field methodology at previously sampled data points. Plant species were identified and their abundance classified at each point. Based on species composition and abundance, each marsh sampling station was assigned a marsh type: fresh, intermediate, brackish, or saline marsh. The field point data were interpolated to classify marsh vegetation into polygons and map the distribution of vegetation types.
We then used the 2021 polygons with additional remote sensing data to create the final raster dataset. We used the polygon marsh type zones (available in this data release), as well as National Land Cover Database (NLCD; https://www.usgs.gov/centers/eros/science/national-land-cover-database) and NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (CCAP; https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/data/ccapregional.html) datasets to create a composite raster dataset. The composite raster was created to provide more detail, particularly with regard to “Other”, “Swamp”, and “Water” categories, than is available in the polygon dataset. The overall boundary of the raster product was extended beyond past surveys to better inform swamp, water, and other boundaries across the coast. A majority of NLCD and CCAP classification during a 2010-2019 period was used, rather than creating a raster classification specific to 2021, as there was a desire to use published datasets. Users are cautioned that the raster dataset is generalized but more specific than the polygon dataset.
This data release includes 3 datasets: the point field data collected by the helicopter survey team, the polygon data developed from the point data, and the raster data developed from the polygon data plus additional remote sensing data as described above.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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Dates

Metadata Created Date May 31, 2023
Metadata Updated Date July 6, 2024

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI EDI

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date May 31, 2023
Metadata Updated Date July 6, 2024
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
@Id http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/5203441ab31e8c3d6b422f75aa57407d
Identifier USGS:624ddf10d34e21f82766a6eb
Data Last Modified 20230414
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://datainventory.doi.gov/data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id 97b78460-7656-40c7-9864-f5a66bf89c39
Harvest Source Id 52bfcc16-6e15-478f-809a-b1bc76f1aeda
Harvest Source Title DOI EDI
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial -93.9487,28.7884,-88.6728,30.9254
Publisher Hierarchy White House > U.S. Department of the Interior > U.S. Geological Survey
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 131a92d79f4bb3733d2358b04745574fe67d817567a2b8b9e773c5b0be16eee2
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -93.9487, 28.7884, -93.9487, 30.9254, -88.6728, 30.9254, -88.6728, 28.7884, -93.9487, 28.7884}

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