File Geodatabase Feature Class
Tags
Vegetation, plant species
The primary purpose for creating these maps is provide a landscape-scale approach to monitoring changes due to land use, invasive species, recreation, hydrology, and climate. These digital maps, documenting changes and their causes, are then tools for prioritizing future conservation actions. The outdated map of the Coachella Valley MSHCP areas, created before 1999, was based on the Holland classification system and was inconsistent with current standards prescribed by CDFWs Vegetation Classification and Mapping Program (VegCaMP). As part of the CVMSHCP/NCCP monitoring program, a phased work plan to remap all 746,000 acres of Conservation Areas began in 2012. These mapping areas together nearly complete the remap of the Plan Area, together with other Conservation Lands mapped by other entities, and previous work by UCR CCB. The completion of these maps updates the 2007 CVMSHCP/NCCP natural community map. This section of the map provides critical information to assist in monitoring habitat suitability in conservation areas, and quantifies attributes to help researchers understand the effects of environmental variability, including drought and climate change. An updated vegetation map was required to enhance understanding of species and their habitats, and identify management needs to ensure persistence of target species within the Plan area. The updated vegetation map is an essential element of monitoring for other covered species and natural communities and provides a baseline to monitor natural communities and landscape-scale vegetation change. Quantification of biotic habitat variables help document factors that may influence species population fluctuation. These data are key to conservation of biological diversity in the Plan area, in light of the listed threats to habitats in this management unit: invasive species; threats to hydrological regime/processes; climate change and habitat fragmentation, wildfire management, off-highway vehicle use, and other anthropogenic surface disturbance (CVMSHCP, Section 8). Understanding habitat requirements for species will help to guide the development of land management actions that support recovery and sustainability of healthy populations. Data produced under this effort is publicly available and supports concurrent CVMSHCP/NCCP monitoring.
The University of California Riverside s Center for Conservation Biology (CCB) has created fine-scale vegetation maps for a number of Conservation Areas under the jurisdiction of the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (CVMSHCP) under contract with the Coachella Valley Conservation Commission (CVCC). The primary purpose for creating these maps is provide a landscape-scale approach to monitoring changes due to land use, invasive species, recreation, hydrology, and climate. These digital maps, documenting changes and their causes, are then tools for prioritizing future conservation actions. The vegetation classification follows Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) and National Vegetation Classification Standards (NVCS; Federal Geographic Data Committee 2008). The classification is meant to align with previous and concurrent efforts previous survey and classification work done by California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Vegetation Classification and Mapping Program (VegCaMP) and Aerial Information Systems (AIS) for the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan Area as well as the southeastern Salton Sea Mid-Desert Area, and by the National Park Service for Joshua Tree National Park. This unit was mapped using the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and California Natural Plant Society Combined (CNPS) Vegetation Classification and Mapping Program protocol (CNPS 2014).
This map and report addresses the Coachella Valley Stormwater Channel and Delta Conservation Area (4,404 acres). Fieldwork, photo-interpretation and mapping were performed from 2016-2017. Within the study areas, rapid assessment protocol vegetation plots and supplemental reconnaissance observations were obtained within the study at pre-determined points in order to document the plant community, disturbances, and invasive species across space and types. Photo-interpretation of 2013 imagery and field information were combined to produce delineations of vegetation alliances and associations according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife classification system, outlined in the Manual of California Vegetation Second Edition (Sawyer et al. 2009). Thus, the current version of the map best represents the status of vegetation in 2013.
We digitized the vegetation of the Coachella Valley Stormwater Channel and Delta Conservation Area from 2013 imagery provided by the Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG); it includes approximately 316 delineated polygons, each assigned one of 18 vegetation alliances or land-cover types. We assigned the still finer scale association attribute where field plot data (Rapid Assessment Plot or reconnaissance observation) was available within the polygon boundaries, or where the association could be clearly identified from aerial imagery. This unit has several map classes that have less than 2% absolute vegetation cover, including Disturbed/Built-Up, Water, and a generic Non-Vegetated Habitat type. The largest amount of land cover is of the non-vegetated habitat type, encompassing 1153 acres 467 ha), followed by iodine bush scrub (1040 acres, 421 ha), and Tamarix thickets (818 acres, 331 ha). This report and accompanying data are to be released at the end of 2017.
The original vegetation map described above was prepared for publication in CDFW's Biogeographic Information and Observation System (BIOS) by the Vegetation Classification and Mapping Program (VegCAMP).
Lynn C. Sweet - (UC Riverside Center for Conservation Biology) - Project lead; photo interpretation, creation and description of polygons; classificaiton Cameron W. Barrows - (UC Riverside Center for Conservation Biology) - Principal Investigator James Heintz (UC Riverside Center for Conservation Biology) - vegetation field assessments, classification Roxann Merizan (UC Riverside Center for Conservation Biology) - vegetation field assessments Robert F. Johnson (UC-Riverside Center for Conservation Biolgy) - GIS geodatabase originator
License: This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ). Using the citation standards recommended for BIOS datasets ( https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Data/BIOS/Citing-BIOS ) satisfies the attribution requirements of this license.
Disclaimer: The State makes no claims, promises, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or adequacy of these data and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in these data. No warranty of any kind, implied, expressed, or statutory, including but not limited to the warranties of non-infringement of third party rights, title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from computer virus, is given with respect to these data.
The original vegetation map is a public dataset funded by the Coachella Valley Association of Governments. The authors of this dataset (Center for Conservation Biology, University of California, Riverside) and the Coachella Valley Association of Governments must be cited if used in a published study or as appropriate.
CDFW appreciates learning how our datasets are being used so that we can leverage support for classifying and mapping new areas and let users know of any updates. Please contact VegCAMP (https://wildlife.ca.gov/Data/VegCAMP) when using this dataset.
Extent
| West | -116.110581 | East | -115.991150 |
| North | 33.569447 | South | 33.483898 |
| Maximum (zoomed in) | 1:5,000 |
| Minimum (zoomed out) | 1:150,000,000 |
License: This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ). Using the citation standards recommended for BIOS datasets ( https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Data/BIOS/Citing-BIOS ) satisfies the attribution requirements of this license.
Disclaimer: The State makes no claims, promises, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or adequacy of these data and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in these data. No warranty of any kind, implied, expressed, or statutory, including but not limited to the warranties of non-infringement of third party rights, title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from computer virus, is given with respect to these data.
The original vegetation map is a public dataset funded by the Coachella Valley Association of Governments. The authors of this dataset (Center for Conservation Biology, University of California, Riverside) and the Coachella Valley Association of Governments must be cited if used in a published study or as appropriate.
CDFW appreciates learning how our datasets are being used so that we can leverage support for classifying and mapping new areas and let users know of any updates. Please contact VegCAMP (https://wildlife.ca.gov/Data/VegCAMP) when using this dataset.