Marguerite Madden Ctr. for Geospatial Research, Geography, University of Georgia
Thomas Jordan Ctr. for Geospatial Research, Geography, University of Georgia
David Cotten Ctr. for Geospatial Research, Geography, University of Georgia
Sergio Bernardes Ctr. for Geospatial Research, Geography, University of Georgia
Nancy O’Hare Ctr. for Geospatial Research, Geography, University of Georgia
Brandon Adams Ctr. for Geospatial Research, Geography, University of Georgia

23G

Researchers at the University of Georgia Geography Department’s Center for Geospatial Research have created detailed vegetation databases for 28 National Park Service (NPS) units in the Southeastern United States as part of the Vegetation Inventory Program conducted jointly by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Center for Biological Informatics and the NPS. Beginning with Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve in 1995 and ending with six Parks in the Southeast Coast Network in 2018, mapping and analysis methods used by UGA-CGR have evolved from manual interpretation of analog aerial photographs to hybrid manual/automated techniques using multi-modal digital imagery, field data collection with mobile devices and unmanned aerial systems (UAS).  Although these inventories followed National Vegetation Classification Standards and were independently verified to meet minimum overall accuracies of 80% using standard accuracy assessment protocols, new methods are now required to update and maintain the over 300 National Park vegetation resource databases in the upcoming Inventory 2.0 Program. Emerging geospatial technologies including mobile mapping, cloud-based image processing, UAS-mounted multispectral sensors, structure from motion photogrammetry, virtual/augmented reality geovisualization and machine learning are being used by CGR researchers to assess vegetation changes over time. Best methods and practices for integrating advanced geographic techniques for effective and efficient updating of NPS vegetation databases are currently being assessed in case studies of vegetation recovery following disturbance. Examples will be presented for National Park units ranging in size from small National Monuments a few hectares in size to extensive National Parks preserving our nation’s forests, grasslands, freshwater wetlands and coastal marshes.

This presentation is intended for a special session on NPS Vegetation Inventory Program being organized by Dr. Karl Brown, NPS Vegetation Mapping Inventory Program Manager and myself, Dr. Marguerite Madden, University of Georgia. We expect several other abstracts to be separately submitted and also intended for one or two NPS VEG special sessions.

11:30 Maintaining National Park Service Vegetation Databases Using Emerging Geospatial Techniques, Marguerite Madden