Vegetation - Delta Vegetation and Land Use Update - 2016 [ds2855]

Change detection was done comparing 723,426 acres, which were identical in the 2007 (2005 base imagery) and 2019 (2016 base imagery) efforts. GIC utilized the key produced for the 2007 mapping effort, in conjunction with the 2009 Central Valley key, as well as the CNPS membership rules online to determine classification levels and vegetation communities. Vegetation mapping is to alliance level when possible, otherwise it is left at group level (based on the National Vegetation Classification Standard, see biology.usgs.gov/npsveg/nvcs.html ); land use is mapped to Anderson Level 2 classification (see pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0964/report.pdf ).

The map classification is based on a vegetation classification derived from field data collected in summer and fall of 2005 produced by the Vegetation Classification and Mapping Program (VegCAMP) of the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Membership rules for each alliance can be found at vegetation.cnps.org/. 2016 National Agricultural Inventory Program (NAIP) one meter orthoimagery was the baseline imagery used. Google Earth imagery was used as supplemental imagery.

Natural vegetation comprises approximately 17% of the Delta study area, 65% is agriculture and pasture, 10% is urban/other and 8% is open water. The minimum mapping unit was 250 acres (100 ha). Link to download report: nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=174866 .