Geospatial data for the Vegetation Mapping Inventory Project of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve

The files linked to this reference are the geospatial data created as part of the completion of the baseline vegetation inventory project for the NPS park unit. Current format is ArcGIS file geodatabase but older formats may exist as shapefiles.

To map the vegetation and land cover of JELA, 26 map classes were developed. Of these 26 map classes, 24 represent natural (including ruderal) vegetation types, most of which types are recognized in the USNVC. For the remaining 2 of the 26 map classes, 1 of the map classes represents a USNVC cultural subclass type for developed areas, and the other map class represents a non-USNVC type for nonvegetated open water. Features were interpreted from viewing 3-band digital aerial imagery using digital onscreen three-dimensional stereoscopic workflow systems in geographic information systems; digital aerial imagery was collected during July 25–26, 2014. The interpreted data were digitally and spatially referenced, thus making the spatial-database layers usable in a geographic information system. Polygon units were mapped to either a 0.5-hectare (ha) or 0.25-ha minimum mapping unit, depending on vegetation type. A geodatabase containing various feature-class layers and tables presents the locations of USNVC vegetation types (vegetation map layer), vegetation plot samples, verification sites, AA sites, project boundary extent, and aerial image centers and flight lines. The feature-class layers and related tables for the vegetation map layer provide 2,463 polygons of detailed attribute data covering 11,058.5 ha, with an average polygon size of 4.5 ha when physiognomic cover-density modifiers are not considered; with modifiers, the vegetation map consists of 2,867 polygons, with an average polygon size of 3.9 ha. The vegetation map includes the administrative boundary for the Barataria Preserve within JELA and the Fleming Plantation area.