2017 ESA Annual Meeting (August 6 -- 11)

OPS 1 - U.S. National Vegetation Classification: Advancing the Description and Management of the Nation’s Ecosystems

Monday, August 7, 2017: 4:30 PM-6:30 PM
Exhibit Hall, Oregon Convention Center
Organizer:
Alexa McKerrow
In 2016 the US National Vegetation Classification Version 2.0 was rolled out by the FGDC Vegetation Subcommittee and its partners. This represents the formal release of the classification based on the 2008 FGDC dynamic content standard. The USNVC fills a critical need for a standardized system for vegetation classification that allows land managers to collaborate across ownership boundaries and manage and identify trends on a landscape, regional, and national scale. Key partners contributing to the development and working to implement the standard include the US Forest Service which serves as the Subcommittee Chair, US Geological Survey (USGS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service (NPS), NatureServe, Ecological Society of America (ESA), and LANDFIRE.

The intent of this session is to increase awareness of the important progress that has been made on the standard and the future direction related to it continued implementation. The standard is maintained through a dynamic process that allows for broad participation in the development of the classification through time. Since its adoption, the initial content of the NVC and the infrastructure necessary to support it have been rapidly evolving, and its applications to basic and applied science are steadily growing, including mapping, monitoring and assessment. This session will be interactive, allowing the audience to speak directly with ecologists involved in implementing the NVC. The posters will provide the framework to guide discussions but the expectation is that the audience will have many questions related to the classification and the underlying Standard. The format will foster the one-on-one interaction and provide the audience with a more personalized experience related to the vegetation classification.

Introduction to the USNVC, VegBank and the Proceedings
Marianne K. Burke, USDA Forest Service; Alexa McKerrow, United States Geological Survey; Scott Franklin, University of Northern Colorado
Classifying USFS FIA program plot data to the U.S. National Vegetation Classification
Shannon E. Menard, NatureServe; Don Faber-Langendoen, NatureServe; Kevin Nimerfro, US Forest Service; Mark Nelson, USDA Forest Service; Mary Miller, US Forest Service; Milo Pyne, NatureServe
NVC Review Board: Engaging vegetation ecologists in support of the USNVC
Scott Franklin, University of Northern Colorado; Don Faber-Langendoen, NatureServe
North American perspectives: The Canadian and U.S. National Vegetation Classification collaboration
Don Faber-Langendoen, NatureServe; Ken Baldwin, Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service; Todd Keeler-Wolf, California Department of Fish and Wildlife; Del Meidinger, Meidinger Ecological Consultants Ltd; Esteban Muldavin, Natural Heritage New Mexico; Robert K. Peet, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Vegetation classification for the Mojave Desert Inventory and Monitoring Network of National Parks
Julie Evens, California Native Plant Society; Keith A. Schulz, NatureServe; Marion S. Reid, NatureServe; Jaime Ratchford, California Native Plant Society; Kendra Sikes, California Native Plant Society
Social and economic benefits of using a standard classification for conservation in California
Todd Keeler-Wolf, California Department of Fish and Wildlife; Dennis Grossman, Conservation Biology Institute
Cancelled
OPS 1-11
The U.S. National Vegetation Classification for dry coniferous forests and woodlands of the southern Appalachian Mountains: A reassessment
Thomas R. Wentworth, NC State University; Raafiah Haroon, Perll Diagnostics, Inc.; Kimberly Israel, North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation; Michael T. Lee, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Brooklynn M. Newberry, NC State University; Robert K. Peet, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Michael P. Schafale, NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources; Alan S. Weakley, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Use of the NVC hierarchy to scale the GAP/LANDFIRE National Ecosystems Map Legend
Donald Long Jr., USDA Forest Service; Anne Davidson, Boise State University; Todd S. Earnhardt, North Carolina State University; Alexa McKerrow, United States Geological Survey
Classification of Pawnee National Grasslands: Challenges of fitting locally-geographic plot-based classifications into the USNVC
Michael H. Schiebout, Union University; Scott Franklin, University of Northern Colorado; Jozef Shibik, Slovak Academy of Sciences; Don Hazlett, U.S. Forest Service