{FD683594-C5DB-428F-880B-B454A3CAE2B0} eng; USA utf8 dataset EnviroAtlas Coordinator US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park ORD/NERL/EnviroAtlas 000-000-0000 109 TW Alexander Dr. Research Triangle Park NC 27711 EnviroAtlas@epa.gov pointOfContact 2025-02-11 ISO 19115 Geographic Information - Metadata ISO 19115:2003/Cor.1:2006(E) EnviroAtlas - Rare Ecosystems in the Conterminous United States Web Service 2013-05-21 publication U.S. EPA Office of Research & Development (ORD) - National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) Research Triangle Park NC publisher US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) originator This EnviroAtlas web service supports research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas). This EnviroAtlas dataset identifies rare ecosystems using base landcover data from the USGS GAP Analysis Program (Version 2, 2011) combined with landscape ecology principles. This raster dataset represents an index of rarity ranging from 0 (common) to 100 (rare). EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets). The overall goal of EnviroAtlas is to employ and develop the best available science to map indicators of ecosystem services production, demand, and drivers for the nation. completed EnviroAtlas Coordinator US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park ORD/NERL/EnviroAtlas 000-000-0000 109 TW Alexander Dr. Research Triangle Park NC 27711 EnviroAtlas@epa.gov pointOfContact asNeeded Ecosystem Environment theme EPA GIS Keyword Thesaurus Biodiversity Conservation Ecology Ecosystem Ecosystem Services EnviroAtlas Environment Environmental Atlas Habitat Land Cover Management Natural Resources Protected Lands Quality Recreation Supply of Ecosystem Services theme EnviroAtlas Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas United States Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington DC West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Austin, TX Detroit, MI Durham, NC Fresno, CA Milwaukee, WI Phoenix, AZ Portland, ME Portland, OR Tampa Bay, FL place None https://edg.epa.gov/EPA_Data_License.htm otherRestrictions Use Constraints: None. Please check sources, scale, accuracy, currentness and other available information. Please confirm that you are using the most recent copy of both data and metadata. Acknowledgement of the EPA would be appreciated. otherRestrictions Access Constraints: None. PUBLIC FIPS Pub 199 Standard Technical Controls eng; USA environment -128.02839229 -65.20336449 22.7348894 51.6773602 2013-02-06 true Entity and Attribute Information Entity and Attribute Overview: Ecosystem rarity was determined through the calculation of a rarity index through the following steps: 1. The USGS GAP Analysis landcover data (Version 2, 2011) was used to identify the natural terrestrial ecosystems of the United States. This means that landcover types relating to open water and human use ( i.e. urban, agriculture, or plantation forests) were removed from the landcover data set. 2. These natural ecosystems were then grouped into their corresponding spatial pattern category, of which there are four. These four patterns are each defined by set criteria and include a discussion of disturbance regimes and are derived from the work of Comer et al. 2003. Small patch forming systems are defined as those that form small, discrete areas of vegetation cover, typically limited in distribution by localized environmental features. In undisturbed conditions, typical occurrences range from 1-50 ha (2.47 - 123.5 acres). Large patch forming systems are defined as systems that form large areas of interrupted cover and typically have narrower ranges of ecological tolerances than matrix types. Individual disturbance events tend to occupy patches that can encompass a large proportion of the overall occurrence (e.g. >20%). In undisturbed conditions, typical occurrences range from 50-2,000 ha (123.5 - 4940 acres). Matrix forming systems are defined as those that form extensive and contiguous cover, occur on the most extensive landforms, and typically have wide ecological tolerances. Disturbance patches typically occupy a relatively small percentage (e.g. <5%) of the total occurrence. In undisturbed conditions, typical occurrences range in size from 2,000 to 100,000 ha (4940 - 247,000 acres). Linear systems are defined as systems that occur as linear strips and are often ecotonal between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. In undisturbed conditions, typical occurrences range in linear distance from 0.5 to 100 km (0.31 - 62 miles). 3. Within the four spatial pattern categories, the ecosystems were aggregated up a taxonomic level (within the National Vegetation Classification (NVC) hierarchy) to the macrogoup. The NVC macrogroups are defined as subcontinental or regional communities differing by mesoclimate, geology, substrate, hydrology, and disturbance regimes (Faber-Langendoen et al. 2009). Many of the ecosystems in the GAP Version 2 dataset are similar to one another. This raised the question of whether or not the ecosystem unit was the correct scale to consider for the conservation of biodiversity. For example, there are six ecosystems with titles that begin with "Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp." Each of these six systems has a unique modifier associated such as "Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier" or "Okefenokee Pine Modifier;" yet these six systems seem comparable enough to act as habitat substitutes for one another. To deal with the potential niche overlap of the individual ecosystems, we aggregated up a level in the NVC hierarchy to the macrogroup level. Aggregating the ecosystems into macrogroups assures adequate variability in species assemblages, both plant and animal, between ecological communities considered in calculating the rarity metric. 4. We have first sorted the ecosystems into their corresponding spatial patterns in order to rank relative rarity amongst comparable systems. Next, we aggregated the systems within each spatial pattern type up to the macrogroup level to reduce habitat niche overlap that may exist at the finer ecosystem scale. This sorting of ecosystems by spatial pattern category followed by aggregation to the macrogroup level created a unique set of ecological entities that could not be referred to as either ecosystems or macrogroups. We refer to this unique set as ecoforms, of which there are 199. We ranked each of the four spatial pattern sets of ecoforms by descending area (i.e. the ecoform with the greatest area is ranked as 1, then the ecoform with the second greatest area is ranked as 2 etc...). We then divided this rank by the total number of ecoforms in each spatial pattern set. This ratio was then normalized by multiplying by 100 and rounding to the nearest integer. This gives us an index of rarity ranging from 0 (common) to 100 (rare). 5. A threshold value of 75 was selected; thus defining ecoforms (and corresponding ecosystems) with index values > 75 as rare. 6. The GAP Version 2 landcover raster was reclassified to this raster with 5 values. The 0 values represent all the GAP landcover codes that are not identified as rare by this index. The 1 values represent all the large patch forming ecosystems identified as rare. The 2 values represent all the linear ecosystems identified as rare. The 3 values represent all rare matrix forming ecosystems. The 4 values identify all the rare small patch type ecosystems. References: Comer, P., D. Faber-Langendoen, R. Evans, S. Gawler, C. Josse, G. Kittel, S. Menard, M. Pyne, M. Reid, K. Schulz, K. Snow, and J. Teague. 2003. Ecological systems of the United States: A working classification of U.S. terrestrial Systems. NatureServe, Arlington, VA. Faber-Langendoen, D., D. L. Tart, and R. H. Crawford. 2009. Contours of the revised U.S. National Vegetation Classification Standard. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 90:87-93. GAP, USGS. 2011a. National Landcover, Version 2. GAP, USGS. 2011b. Protected areas database of the United States (PADUS) version 1.2. Entity and Attribute Detail Citation: https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets EnviroAtlas Coordinator US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park ORD/NERL/EnviroAtlas 000-000-0000 109 TW Alexander Dr. Research Triangle Park NC 27711 EnviroAtlas@epa.gov distributor https://enviroatlas.epa.gov/download/Rare_Ecosystems.zip download Download The URL providing direct access to the downloadable dataset. download https://enviroatlas.epa.gov/arcgis/rest/services/Supplemental/Rare_Ecosystems/MapServer ESRI:ArcGIS API The endpoint of a web service to access the dataset (REST endpoint, WMS GetCapabilities URL, or a SOAP WSDL endpoint). webMapService https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-data information Documentation URL for accessing related documents such as data dictionary, technical information about a dataset, developer documentation, etc. information https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas information Home Page Alternative landing page used to redirect user to a contextual, Agency-hosted "homepage" for the Dataset or API information dataset Horizontal Positional Accuracy Report Data were collected using methods that have unknown accuracy (EPA National Geospatial Data Policy [NGDP] Accuracy Tier 10). For more information, please see EPA's NGDP at https://www.epa.gov/geospatial/geospatial-policies-and-standards Features represented have not been tested for completeness Features represented have not been tested for completeness Tests for integrity have not been performed. This lineage was generated by the FGDC CSDGM to 19139 transformation The processing steps are clearly outlined in the overview. 2013-02-06T00:00:00 Web service created. 2013-05-17T00:00:00 Web service metadata created. 2013-05-21T00:00:00 Web service metadata updated. 2016-11-08T00:00:00 unknown 2029-02-11 This metadata was automatically generated from the FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata standard (version FGDC-STD-001-1998) using the 2024-02-09T11:11:00 version of the FGDC CSDGM to ISO 19139 transform. EnviroAtlas Coordinator US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park ORD/NERL/EnviroAtlas 000-000-0000 109 TW Alexander Dr. Research Triangle Park NC 27711 EnviroAtlas@epa.gov pointOfContact